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Файл:Culturology. Educational manual for students of medical universities
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- understand the role of cultural heritage in self-improvement and self-
development of the individual;
- build the professional communication based on the principles of tolerance;
- show respect for representatives of another culture;
- find common patterns inherent in national culture in specific manifestations
of spiritual, material and artistic culture;
3) have:
- skills of studying and analyzing texts with cultural content;
- methods of discussion and polemics;
- skills of public speech and reasoned presentation of their own point of view.
Main notions
Europeanization is a process of bringing elements of European society and
culture into other country.
High (elite) culture is a subculture of privileged groups of society,
characterized by fundamental closeness, spiritual aristocracy and value-semantic selfsufficiency. Appeals to a select minority of its subjects, who, as a rule, are both its
creators and addressees.
Mass culture or pop-culture is a culture that is popular and dominant among
the general population in a given society.
Classical art is the highest artistic achievements of the eras of the rise of art
and culture of different peoples. The traditions of classical art in different countries
may be different due to the peculiarities of their historical and cultural development.
The “Golden” age of Russian culture is the 19th century, when great
successes were achieved in Russian fine arts, Russian architecture, literature,
sculpture, philosophy, music and theater.
The “Silver” Age of Russian culture is the heyday of spiritual culture:
literature, philosophy, music, theater and fine arts. It has been running since the 1890s
until the end of the 1920s.
Romantism is the ideological and artistic direction in European and American
culture of the late 18th century — the first half of the 19th century, is characterized by
the assertion of the inherent value of the spiritual and creative life of the individual,
the image of strong (often rebellious) passions and characters, spiritualized and
healing nature.
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Modernism is a direction in art of the beginning of XX century characterized
by the denial of predecessors, the destruction of established ideas, traditional ideas,
forms, genres and the search for new ways of perceiving and reflecting reality.
Avant-guard is a conventional name for artistic movements and the mentality
of the artists of the 20th century that united them, which are characterized by the
desire for a radical renewal of artistic practice, a break with its established principles
and traditions, the search for new, unusual means of expressing the form and content
of works. The principles of avant-garde were adopted by such literary and artistic
movements as expressionism, cubism, futurism, dadaism, surrealism, as well as the
literature of the “stream of consciousness”, “new novel”, the drama of the absurd, etc.
Social realism is a creative method in literature, cinema, architecture, theater
and painting of the early 20th century. The concept of the method was to demonstrate
the general optimism and idealization of communism.
Role of Peter the Great in the modernization of Russia
A very big role in the evolving of Russian national culture belongs to the
imperator Peter the Great and his reforms. As you remember national culture appears
in artistic literature, art, science, philosophy and so on. His reforms help to emerge
the social basis that has created objects of national culture. Historians have written a
lot about him. For example, Fleener E.M.:
“After becoming Tsar of Russia in 1689, Peter the Great began the process of
profoundly influencing Russian history and culture. Many scholars, as well as
contemporaries from Peter’s day, have connected him with the words “reform” or
“revolution” because he aimed to modernize and transform his country for the better.
This process of modernization was based largely upon Europeanization, or bringing
elements of European society into Russia <…> His educational reforms include
decrees made by Peter, such as his initiation of the compulsory education for the
nobility in 1714, the establishment of his Spiritual Regulation of 1721, as well as the
founding of the Academy of Sciences in 1724 <…> Peter established a new navy,
new towns, as well as new public and private buildings constructed in the European
style. The Tsar also brought experienced people into Russia in order to spread the
study of science and the arts.
<…> Peter then stated that part of his reform included the abandonment of the
old style of dress, as well as the mandatory shaving of beards. He also recalled that in
times past it had been illegal for students to study the sciences outside of Russia. The
Tsar stated that under his rule, however, students are not only allowed to do this, but
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it is mandatory for some <…> Peter also sent students abroad to study foreign
languages, law, economics, medicine, the arts, and architecture <…> Peter’s
instructions point to his involvement in the advancement and spread of education, in
this case education that was centered around naval pursuits. Still, it shows that Peter
often connected the development of education with the development of Russia as a
great power. To Peter, education was key to this greatness. He was building a navy
which had never existed before in Russia, but which would be necessary to the
strength of the country”
32
.
Questions
Elementary level:
1. Why is Peter the Great connected with the word “revolution”?
2. What is Europeanization?
3. What elements of European culture has Peter the Great brought into
Russian one?
Intermediate level:
1. Why have reforms of education taken such a big place in the reforms of
Peter? Give some examples.
Advanced level:
1. Think, if your country was Europeanized. Substantiate your answer.
Questions of the value and meaning of art
Russian painters were sent to Europe to learn European art heritage. These
initiatives helped to develop secular painting in Russia. In the XIX century a lot of
new Russian painters appear. There are Fyodor Rokotov, Vladimir Borovikovsky,
Karl Bryullov, Vasily Polenov, Ivan Shishkin, Pavel Fedotov, Arkhip Kuindzhi,
Valentin Serov among them. Our modern Russian art has evolved from the European
one. Theoretics ask questions about values of art, meaning of art and so on. Let’s
consider these questions.
“The meaning of art
Historically, the dominant theory of meaning in art is the representational
theory. Representation means that something stands for another thing. An image or
symbol can represent an abstract idea or simply represent the subject it portrays. The
represented meaning is inherently communicable and an objective fact about the
32
Fleener E.M. Peter the Great as a Constructive Revolutionary // Western Oregon University: website. URL:
https://wou.edu/history/files/2015/08/Erin-Fleener.pdf.
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artwork. Since Plato's time, art has been predominantly considered a representational
activity. The representation theory of art is that the meaning of an artwork comes
from what it represents. The representation can simply be some thing that is painted,
like in a landscape painting. The representation can also use the straightforward
image in the painting (say, the landscape painting) to represent an abstract idea,
which is not immediately implied by the image in the painting. The landscape could
represent the wildness of nature, or the need for peoples to protect natural resources.
It could also just simply represent that landscape like a photograph would, by giving
us an idea of what it is like to be in that specific natural setting.
The romantics, however, felt the representational theory of art was insufficient.
For the romantics, nothing about the communicable and objective meaning of an
artwork explains why we have the taste for some forms of art and why some art
forms are so moving. The romantics instead thought that the meaning of art was in its
expression. Expression in this sense means that the subject of the artwork is the
emotion attached to the image. The romantic theory of art is that art does not convey
a concept but a powerful emotion or feeling. A good example of this is the romantic
painting Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog by Caspar David Friedrich. While the
painting may not evoke a specific emotion, such as sadness, we do not need to 'read'
the painting in a specific way to understand its objective meaning. Instead, the
painting evokes some kind of strong feeling: that of solitude, or overcoming, or
perhaps wonder at the magnitude of nature.
Even after the romantics, many forms of art defy either representational or
romantic theories of art. This is especially true of modern and postmodern art.
Modern art specifically defines the meaning of art by its form. Form, remember, is
the composition or technique used to create the artwork. In many of these art forms
the point of artwork is to allow the spectator to reflect on what an artwork does and
how their perception is formed by different techniques of constructing the world. This
is especially prevalent in Picasso's cubism, where the painting is meant to show we
understand the objectivity of an object from the different possible viewpoints we can
have on it. This kind of art is more of a 'meta' art, so we can call it reflective art. The
reflective theory of art requires that the content of a painting be a reflection on its
form or presentation to the viewer <…>
The value of art
There is an important difference in ideas about artistic value: should art have
some external use or simply exist for its own sake?
Some objectivists like Plato think art should offer moral instruction, and some
objectivists like the classical art theorists think art should simply portray perfect
proportion and mastery of technique. Similarly, many subjectivists think that art must
provide instruction for moral life, but just as many subjectivists think art is simply for
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pleasure. Often, in our culture, our view is a blend between the last two ideas: that
beauty is subjective and should sometimes provide moral instruction, while
sometimes it should just be for pleasure <…>
To make coherent arguments about art, we need to consider:
1. What the quality is in the artwork that draws us to it (beauty — objective or
subjective);
2. What differentiates it from other artworks (taste — objective or subjective);
3. What makes it art rather than not (representation, expression, reflection).
Value also depends, at least in some part, on the intention of the artist. Is the
value of art determined by the intention of the artist, or is it simply the effect of the
artwork itself? We might think back to those Greek sculptures — are those great
pieces of art because some Greek sculptor thought to himself “I must express the
form of beauty to instruct the masses to live a moral life!” or are they simply great
pieces of art because they show us what it meant to be a Greek? If we look back on
many of the great pieces of art in history, many of them are simply great because they
advance the techniques of their art so far or because they capture the spirit of their
age so well. None of these works, however, is great because the idea in the author's
head is so masterfully represented in the work. Rather, it is because the important
sociocultural impact of these art pieces that they are remembered.
Issues about the value and intention behind the work of art are just a few of
many current problems within aesthetic theory. With the resurgence of traditional
forms of classical art in music and painting, the reflective content of film and video
games, and the relationship between pleasure and morality in mass culture, it is
difficult to say there are any unified views on art anymore that can account for all
contemporary artistic production”33.
Questions
Elementary level:
1. What is the representational theory of art?
2. What is the romantic theory of art?
3. What is the reflective theory of art?
Intermediate level:
1. If it is possible to identify the most important meaning of art from three
theory above? What? Why?
2. What is your opinion about the question “should art have some external use
or simply exist for its own sake?”? Explain your position.
33
Van Cleave M.J., Jurczak P.M., Schneck Ch., Sjoquist D. Introduction to Philosophy. 2019. P. 259–262.
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Advanced level:
1. Choose any three paintings of Russian painters mentioned above and define
what theory of art can be applied to them.
2. Choose any painting of a Russian painter mentioned above (they all are
examples of high art) and answer three questions mentioned above (about beauty,
taste and representation).
3. Choose any film or TV series you want (an example of mass culture) and
answer three questions mentioned above (about beauty, taste and representation). Is it
possible to define a film or a TV series as art?
4. Name any piece of art (from your culture or from foreign one) that capture
the spirit of their age, in your opinion.
Cultural heritage of Russia: Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg as a phenomenon of Russian culture
Saint Petersburg is one of the most beautiful Russian cities. It was founded by
Peter the Great as a new capital of Russian Empire. Right from the beginning the city
was characterized as a Europeanized city. Such style in architecture was for Peter the
way to show other European countries that Russia can achieve the same high level of
development as they have.
There are some photos of the city34:
34
Photos are by Yu.A. Kuzovenkova.
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Task: read the excerpt from an article by Leonid Lavrov and Feodor Perov
“The phenomenon of the Saint Petersburg variant of the regular city” and answer the
questions.
“A.N. Benois wrote: "Rush towards the West has existed from the very origin
of Saint Petersburg. Even its foundation was a result of this rush." Peter the Great
considered foundation of Saint Petersburg a determinative step towards
implementation of a strategic plan for strengthening relations with Europe and was
ready to face all the difficulties in pursuing this goal. It was found in May 1703. And
there were a number of difficulties. Saint Petersburg was founded on a sparsely
populated territory without any considerable settlements. The nearest Russian city
was Novgorod which was located almost 200 km apart. But there were no suitable
roadways to travel. Waterway was the only possible method of communication with
central Russia. Under these conditions a fortress was erected on a small island in the
Neva Delta. On the inland, to the north of this fortress, a temporary settlement was
arranged in a random way. At the same time, on the southern bank of the Neva a
shipbuilding yard was founded; and buildings of palace type along with the Summer
Garden were constructed nearby. The Governor Palace, a building for museum and
scientific establishments were founded on Vasilyevsky Island. In 1712, government
authorities were re-located to Saint Petersburg. Residential settlements along the
rivers expanded. On the bank of the Gulf of Finland in Peterhof, the Palace of
Emperor was found.
When arranging a European-type city, Peter the Great deemed it necessary to
employ the services of foreign specialists. The developments provided in 1715-1717
by Jean Baptiste Le Blond and Domenico Trezzini were based on an "ideal city" and
were considered as a starting point of Saint Petersburg arrangement on the basis of a
planning scheme.
Le Blond and Trezzini agreed that Vasilyevsky Island should be the city center
and the location for the bulk of the population. Peter the Great also supported this
idea. In a short time, on the eastern point of the Island, the base of the important
functional center of the future capital city was founded. Colossal structures that were
novel to this area were erected on the swamp meadow: administrative complex of
Twelve Colleges was 400 meters long; and perimeter of Gostiny Dvor building
equaled 740 meters. These buildings outlined the area of the future large presentable
square compatible in its size to those of some medieval European cities.
Modest buildings prevailed consisting of one or one and a half storey. It was
explained by financial reasoning of building owners and lack of desire to invest in
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construction activities, rather than technical capabilities. Accommodation of the new
capital was a difficult process as the city did not attract people. There was no
motivation for construction activities with the purpose of profit generation. So, as a
rule, each housing building had one household. If the land was allocated to craftsmen
transmigrated to Saint Petersburg, then their houses in some cases were built at the
government expense. Individuals were forced to invest into building development. In
1713, the following ordinance was issued: all individuals considered as noblemen and
nobility having minimum of 30 peasants were to reside in the capital on continuous
basis and have their own houses in Saint Petersburg.
In 1736 and 1737 two terrific fires destroyed the city. Only one third of the
buildings survived in the central Admiralty area of the city. In principle, the concept
of the city development had to be renewed after those fires.
In 1737, immediately after the wild fires, a planning scheme was developed
under the direction of P.M. Yeropkin. This scheme determined layout of three main
traffic roads of the city that began from the spire of the Admiralty building, and
outlined planning solution for other areas, including those located to the south of the
Fontanka river. This plan can be considered as an important document. It determined
the second stage of Saint Petersburg regular development.
In 1833, population of the city equaled 440,000 people. It was one of the
largest European metropolises. The number of buildings equaled 7,976, including
5,246 of wooden buildings. Small wooden constructions composed the building
development at the northern bank of the Neva river (at the Petrograd Side), at the
western part of Vasilyevsky Island and to the south of the Fontanka River. The most
of stone buildings (total of 2,730) were located in the center of the city between the
Neva and Fontanka rivers. This particular part of the city represented the appearance
of the Russian Empire capital city. Its urban planning features complied with the
standards of an "ideal city": clearly delineated regular urban planning was applied
onto completely flat surfaces of the Neva Delta isles. Intersection of straight streets
and loose river bends created exceptional view of this area. By that time all streaming
waters within the city center were embanked with granite and cast-iron enclosures,
trees were planted at the banks. These made the local landscape charming.
Principle of architectural complexes strongly affected organization of urban
buildings image. Image of a building was determined not by its functional purpose,
but by its place in general view of urban landscape. There were just a few accenting
elements and all other buildings were secondary objects of the composition.
Classical building development prevailed and determined the views of urban
landscapes. The squares had clear geometry outlines. The face of building block
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development stretched along the straight line. Buildings located along the streets had
no gaps between, they were adjacent to each other and had the same height. Thus, a
wall was created which stretched from one crossroad to another. Its length could
equal to 447.3 m on Vasilyevsky Island to 426–553.8 m at the Liteyny area where
building blocks were of significant size.
In remote areas one- and two-storey buildings existed within one building
block. But in the city center increase in the building height complied with architects’
concepts. In 1765, the Building Committee asked Catherine II to set the height of
embankment building at the level of 10 sagenes in order “the structures along the
Neva river complied with stone embankment under construction”. By 1830, three-
and four-storey buildings prevailed at Nevsky Prospect and at some other areas of
importance. However, when five-storey buildings were constructed, the authorities
decided to constrain ambitions of individual building owners. According to the
ordinance executed by Nicholas I, height of private buildings could not be above the
cornice of the Emperor’s residence, i.e. Winter Palace (23.47 m). This action was
taken with consideration of European experience where constrains were applied to
building height due to fear of building collapse and for the purpose of fire safety as
well as with regard to prestige.
Administrative control related to design and construction activities with regard
to style became extremely tough at this period of time. For example, the Committee
headed by A. Betancourt targeted at the “correctness, beauty and propriety of each
building as applied to the entire city”. Thus, uniform style of building development in
the center of Saint Petersburg was achieved by natural focus of architects on the use
of the leading architectural concept of that time as well as by direct measures of
control over design and construction activities. A phenomenon of Saint Petersburg
comes out in integrity of its appearance as a result of cooperation between a number
of outstanding craftsmen of the “age of classicism — the golden age of the capital
city art of building”.
The stage of classicism is over. The concept of regular building development is
criticized more often. At that, traditional and randomly developed settlements are
claimed to be the positive options for “ideal cities” of Europe. According to an
emotional saying of N.V. Gogol, “new cities have no appearance: they are too
correct, too smooth… An old-style German town with its narrow streets, colorful
houses and high bell towers looks more vivid”. This saying amazingly complies with
the assessment of “ideal” city fortress arrangement from Laugier, a French
theoretician (1713–1769): “… tasteless straightness prevails there along with cold
uniformity; it makes us regret for our old disordered cities…”.
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Restoration of number of houses in the city center damaged the landscapes of
classical complexes. Frequently, only building frontispieces were renovated in a
stylish way. Advertising panels worsened the appearance of streets. Design
uniformity of Nevsky Prospect depicted in Sadovnikov’s Vista was violated and
within further “150 years the prospect turned into a sampler of styles used in
Petersburg architecture — from baroque to modern and neo-classicism”35.
Questions
Elementary:
1. What was the goal of Peter the Great to found Saint Petersburg?
2. What were the difficulties in the buildings of Saint Petersburg?
3. What constructions were found in the very beginning of the building of Saint
Petersburg?
4. Where the Palace of Emperor was found?
5. What was the most dangerous threat for Saint Petersburg in 18th century?
6. What does the concept of “ideal city” mean.
7. What architectural styles there are in Saint Petersburg?
Intermediate:
1. Why did rich people seen to build their houses from stone?
2. What was the limit of the height of private buildings in Saint Petersburg?
How can you explain it?
3. What was the attention to the concept of “ideal city” in the 18th century? Why?
4. What countries have influenced architectural peculiarities of Saint
Petersburg?
Advanced:
1. How do you think, why Peter decided to found the city in so difficult natural
conditions?
Cultural heritage of Russia: Ballet
One more example of Russian cultural heritage is ballet. You can see some
scenes from performances on following photos36.
35
Lavrov L., Perov F. The phenomenon of the Saint Petersburg variant of the regular city // Architecture and
Engineering. 2016. Vol. 1. No 1. P. 31–39.
36
The sourсe of the photos: Русский Императорский Балет // ArtLiveSound: сайт. URL: https://artlivesound.ru/
russkij-imperatorskij-balet/#portfolio-image/1/.
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