Russian painting from the 10th to the 18th century: from Byzantine to Western influence
Under the influence of Byzantium, which affected art as well as religion, architecture and literature, Russian painting was dominated by religious themes until the 18th century. Following strict rules, these works were often by Greek painters invited to work in the country, who anchored and perpetuated Byzantine culture. It was with Peter the Great and his famous European openness that art emancipated itself from religion and renewed its subjects. Setting up the capital in Saint Petersburg, he cut it off from the traditional cultural influences of Moscow in order to initiate a new pictorial orientation. For this, he brought in foreign painters to train Russian artists. Opening up to German, French and Italian painting, Russian creation takes on a new lease of life. Thus, a dichotomy is created between Moscow, which becomes the sanctuary of religious art, and Saint Petersburg, where a new school of painting is born.
The 19th century, an emancipating century for Russian painting
It is from the 19th century that Russian painting emancipated itself from the previous models to find its own way. Contrary to the vogue for neoclassicism, which honours the ancient art of Greece and Rome, one figure stands out for the inventiveness of his creations: Alexei Venetsianov (1780-1847). This painter was inspired by rural life, whose charm and serenity he expressed in bucolic depictions of beautiful genre scenes. His painting Summer, depicting a peasant woman breastfeeding her child, is emblematic of his main theme: the parallel between working the land and motherhood. The two artists who then dominated the second quarter of the 19th century were Karl Bryullov (1799-1852) and Alexander Ivanov (1806-1858). The latter helped to shape a distinctly Russian style, independent of the great foreign models. "The Last Day of Pompeii is the first day of Russian art," exclaimed one critic of Bryullov's painting! The artist then acquired a reputation throughout the West.
The "ambulant": the birth of social painting
With the fall of the Russian Empire and the advent of the USSR, classical painting was seen as representative of the decay of the old regime, and as destined to collapse. New canons will be designated, and it is the realistic vein, in perfect harmony with Soviet ideals, that will take over. The realist painters of the 19th century will thus be restored to honour, following the example of Vassili Perov (1834-1882). This precursor exploited social themes such as poverty, harsh working conditions and alcoholism. This realist painting gradually led to a social painting that was embodied in the protest movement of the "Ambulants", of which Perov was one of the leading figures. They are so called because they criss-cross Russia to awaken the peasant world to art. The leading artist of this movement was Ilya Repine (1844-1930), whose most remarkable works are The Breath of the Volga (1870-1873), The Zaporogues Cossacks writing a letter to the Sultan of Turkey (1880-1891) and Ivan the Terrible kills his son(1885). Their raw realism and the impression of life that emerges from them make a great impression on Russia at the time. Many of his paintings can be admired at the Tretyakov Gallery.Naive art
Northern Russia has a rich tradition of naive art. Many of its self-taught painters have contributed their vision and interpretation of the world without following academic rules. Figurative, this painting mostly depicts genre scenes. Peasant life is one of the themes most developed by the "naive painters", themselves from this world. One of the most renowned artists of this trend is Efim Chestnyakov (1874-1961) and his paintings with round-faced figures dressed in local fashion. They provide a touching insight into the popular life in the countryside during the first part of the 20th century. Vladimir Zaznobin (1900-1981), a carpenter turned woodcarver, whose anthropomorphic and functional statues (beehives, mills, etc.) are recognizable at a glance.
From art with a social aim to art for art
From 1885 until 1925, Russia experienced a real artistic effervescence and shone on the international cultural scene. The centre of this effervescence was the Abramtsevo estate (which can still be visited today) of the industrialist Savva Mamontov, where the whole world of painting, architecture and sculpture came together. It is here that the Symbolist current developed, which influenced the whole world by creating a radical break with realism. National folklore is celebrated as a source of inspiration. It was a painter who frequented Abramtsevo, by the name of Mikhail Vroubel (1856-1910), who was the first to break with the tradition of social painting established by the Ambulants, thus giving artistic creation a completely new scope. His obsession with the Devil gave rise to a work of absolutely remarkable fantastic tonality (see The Seated Demon, 1890, and The Devil Struck Down, 1902, both visible at the Tretyakov Gallery). He was thus, against the tide of the social art movement, the precursor of "art for art's sake". In 1898, a group of artists claiming to be "art for art's sake", the Russian version of the German Jugendstil or French Art Nouveau, was formed. They sought to decompartmentalise the different types of art, theatre, painting and literature. The magazine they create, Le Monde de l'art, will have a great impact on future generations.The great era of the Russian avant-garde
(1915), exhibited at the Tretyakov Gallery, foreshadows a real break in the history of art, cutting off creation from the representation of reality to take it to explore completely unknown dimensions in lines and materials, what Malevitch himself would call "suprematism". As for the painter and sculptor Vladimir Tatline (1885-1953), he was the precursor of constructivism. In addition, Marc Chagall (1887-1985), who spent most of his life abroad, lulled his canvases with dreamlike tones. Finally, Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin (1878-1939) was inspired by icon painting. He used, as the rules of icon painting prescribe, bright reds and gold, symbolic of divinity, giving his characters the same luminosity as iconic saints.From socialist realism to underground art
, built in the 1930s, is symbolic of this trend: it is intended to show the world that socialism can do as well as capitalism, so many artists are called upon to come and decorate it. Artists who do not respect the canons are mostly banned from exhibiting. But until 1945, there was no real pictorial dissent or underground scene. With the thaw initiated by Khrushchev from 1953 a new period begins. The many artists who oppose the dogmas of socialist realism propose an innovative, even revolutionary painting. The era of the apartment exhibitions where these forbidden paintings are shown begins. At the end of the 1960s, there is a separation between official and underground art, and an opposition painting is born, of which Ilya Kabakov (b. 1933), Vitaly Komar (b. 1943) and Alexander Melamid (b. 1945) are the most famous representatives. They divert the clichés of socialist realism to challenge a way of life. 1974 is a landmark year: the artists decide to organize public exhibitions, one of which will be crushed by a bulldozer.Photography, at the heart of Russian history
Photography, a genre that was highly developed in Russia throughout the 20th century, is an excellent way to understand the country's history. Don'tmiss to discover all the richness and variety of this medium: the Moscow House of Photography
. Created in 1996, this museum brings together masterpieces of Russian photographic art, notably by Alexander Grinberg (1885-1979) and Max Penson (1893-1959) among the Pictorialists, and Alexander Rodchenko (1891-1856) and Dmitri Baltermants (1912-1990) among the Realists. But it also actively supports emerging photographers by organizing festivals, competitions and temporary exhibitions. With the Soviet revolution, it was of course social photography and documentary reportage that dominated, at their peak in the 1920s, with key artists such as Rodchenko. This tradition continues well beyond the Soviet era and takes on more critical contemporary accents in the last generations, who seek to account for the sometimes brutal changes that the country has undergone. To name but a few, Alexander Abasa (1934-2005), Yuri Kozyrev (1963), Igor Mukhin (1969) and Georgy Pervov (1974) are representative figures of the style and its evolution.A contemporary art in development
Since the 1980s, Russian art, no longer needing to correspond to a model or to oppose it, has been searching for its way. As a result, the creative process is going through a slow period until the 2000s, which marks the beginning of a renewal in local creation. Today, the artistic scene is concentrated in Moscow, although other cities, such as St. Petersburg, also have their say. The country has many centres of contemporary art and since 2000 Moscow has been hosting a biennial event that attracts a growing international audience. The impressive Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, created in 2008 by two philanthropists, has in just a few years become a benchmark institution for contemporary creation, and has brought Moscow up to the same level as other world capitals in this respect.
Such infrastructures, accompanied by the efforts of local curators and gallery owners (such as the Tatintsian Gallery), are an important support for emerging Russian artists and allow them to gain visibility both within the country and internationally. Strengthened by this institutional support, they increasingly dare to speak out in the face of power, despite censorship that remains very real. Indeed, they are frequently called to order, as in 2014 when an exhibition by Vasily Slonov (1969), critic of the Sochi Olympic Games, led to the dismissal of the director of the PERMM, which had programmed it, despite the fact that it is one of the most important contemporary art museums in the country.Street art, an increasingly dynamic scene
Street art arrived in Russia at the end of the 1990s, mainly in Moscow and St. Petersburg at first, before spreading throughout the country. Far from being limited to small graffiti on the sly, street art has become a real culture, with its great masters, its unavoidable places, its references and its rituals. This scene is accompanied by hip-hop or breakdance concerts, a whole atmosphere that contributes to the spirit of community and solidarity of the young people involved. Initially perceived as a delinquent practice, street art is gradually becoming commonplace and is now seen in a more positive light. Municipalities have understood how much it can act as a vector of social cohesion and serve to revitalize and beautify dilapidated or marginalized neighbourhoods.
One of the "fathers" of the genre was Zmogk (1979), one of the first artists to use the streets of Moscow as a canvas. Electric robots, futuristic machines and transformers are recurring themes in his colourful and often monumental works, which can be found all over the world today. New life
, one of his latest frescoes, which was created for the Urban Morphogenesis festival in Odinstovo, is very abstract and mainly made up of flat areas of colour; it bears witness to the more graphic turn recently taken by his work. Painted on the side of a gigantic tower, it adds a little lightness to the decor. If there is not enough time to go in search of these murals one by one, the Street Art Museum in St. Petersburg concentrates works by Russian and international artists that cannot be ignored. This former brick factory, which extends over eleven hectares, is an ideal showcase. It is of course the meeting point for street art enthusiasts, but not only, as it also houses a skate park and regularly organises workshops, meetings and DJ sets. A place of freedom and meeting place not to be missed for the local youth!
