27. Russian museum

1895 – the date of foundation of the Russian museum. 1898 – it was opened for visitors.

The tour lasts for an hour and a half. You’ll be acquainted with the history of Russian art. It’s like an illustration to Russian history. Russian museum originally was built as a palace and a living residence for Grand Duke Michael, one of the younger sons of Paul I. The style: You can call it – Russian classical style or an Empire style. It was borrowed from France after the defeat of Napoleon. The architect Rossi built this building in 1819-1825. The interior didn’t survive and only a few rooms can give an idea how the building looked like. For example, the staircase. Here the military motives were chosen for decoration. The ceiling is decorated in grisaille technique. Greyish-brownish colors look very much like moulding. In 1898 the first Russian gallery was opened in this building. Most of the objects of art came from the Academy of Fine Arts, from private collections of Russian tsars. This museum numbers over 300000 exhibits.

Russian portraiture

In the XVII century one can observe gradual transition from icon painting to secular portraiture. This transition wasn’t sudden. First portraits were known as “parsuns” from the word “person”. They were painted on canvases in oil (icon technique). Nevertheless, the change from the beginning was a surprising achievement for single generation. There were very few moments in the history of art when so profound changes occurred during the reign of Peter I. In the first quarter of the XVIII century Russia was a backward state. The period of Peter’s reforms was the most important landmark in the history of Russian culture and art. Peter I invited a great number of foreign artists to Russia. Besides he founded a drawing school in the new capital and sent some of Russian painters to study abroad. Nikitin and Matveev were among them. Nikitin spent 5 years studying art in Venice. “Peter I on Death Bed” belongs to his brush. Matveev was sent to Antwerp. Very few portraits painted by this artist are left in the museums. He’s best known for portrait paintings. He had portrayed himself, his wife and his daughter. In general, the decades following the death of Peter I weren’t favorable to the development of Russian national art. They were in particular years of Anna Ioanovna. And even later during the time of Elizabeth when arts were flourishing the priority was always given to the foreign artists.

In the middle of the XVIII century new genres in painting began to develop in this country such as “cityscape”. Many artists painted still life. Flower-pieces were quite popular. For a long period Russian painters were more at ease in portraiture. Antropov and Argunov were the most notable artists at that period. We can’t consider Matveev to be their teacher. None of them was sent abroad for professional training. They weren’t aristocrats, some of them were even serves. However, they created whole gallery of portraits. Vishnyakovsky The works of this painter present a considerable interest as they convey a good command of color and at the same time reveal the heritage of the parsuns painters. Proportions of the body are unnatural and the movement of posture is strange, too. Argunov He came from a highly gifted family but they were serves. They belonged to count Sheremetiev who was the richest landowner of Russia and supported various arts. They had their own teachers for their pupils for Sheremetiev’s theaters but all actors were serves. Argunov painted portraits of his owners and his friends and so fame came to him. He was commissioned to paint portrait of the new empress Catherine II. Antropov He was the first artist who took a step towards realistic representation. “Portrait of Rumiantseva”. She was the mother of general Rumiantsev. When looking at his portraits one can see how the old and the new are interwoven. There’s no idealization of western type of society portraits. It’s a direct influence of iconic treatment when the most prominent figures couldn’t be painted at any angles but front. In the sphere of art great contribution was made by Lomonosov who revived the art of mosaic the secret of which was lost in the XIII century. Lomonosov carried out many experiments and created the process of making colored glass. Rokotov, Levitsky and Boroviakovsky At the end of the XVIII century 3 names appeared in Russian portraiture: Rokotov, Levitsky and Boroviakovsky. The fate of Rokotov was quite unusual. His life covered long period from 1735 to 1808. He created series of very specific portraits. His style resembles that of the English artist Gainsborough. It’s hardly possible that Rokotov was aware of Gainsborough’s works. He developed his own half-length composition and subtle color scheme of olive-green, silver-grey or golden-pink. Unfortunately, after his death he was forgotten. The largest part of his works was lost. It’s only due to the exhibition organized in Taurida palace by Diagilev in 1905 that all art connoisseurs turned to Rokotov’s paintings with great interest. The Academy of Fine Arts was established in Saint-Petersburg in 1757. It gave excellent technical training to its students and, of course, greatly influenced the development of Russian art. There were rules according to which artist had to paint official portraits. For example, the book is red. If the nose of a sitter is crooked it should be straightened, if the shoulders are stooped the figure must be painted upright. Should it be too short or stout the painter’s task is to make it tall and slim. In the Academy young artist received not only artistic instructions but on early days a general education as well. The project of the Academy had been formulated in the last years of Peter I. It was Catherine I who transformed Peter’s school of drawing into a department of incorporated Academy of Sightseeing. But it was Elizabeth who founded the Academy in 1757. Count Shuvalov was given a task of organization. The staff of professors was selected from numbers of the French academy as they accepted only on

condition that they should work in Saint-Petersburg. It was the way how they eventually founded the Academy. The dominating artist’s style of that period was neoclassicism. A long process of systematic study in Saint-Petersburg was followed by the furthering training in Italy. The predominant genre was historical, mythological and Biblical subjects. Anton Losenko (1737-1773) Russian classicism of the XVIII century found its fullest expression in his works. He’d done a lot for the further development of Russian art. He ranks among the best artists of the XVIII century. He was one of the first students of the Academy and later he became a president and a professor of historical painting., “Vladimir and Rogneda”. Vladimir, the prince of Kiev, was in love with princess Rogneda. He failed in awaking feelings in her. His troops fought against her farther and Vladimir killed him and Rogneda’s brother. He broke into her palace to present his matrimonial proposal. The girl who knew that he killed her family fainted in disgust seeing the conqueror approaching her. Losenko painted his friend Volkov who was called the farther of Russian theater as Vladimir. White columns room It’s one of the guest-rooms in the former Michael palace. It was intended for music parties in which such prominent musicians as Liszt and Chopin took part. The hall was designed by Rossi. Everything here is stuccowork. Mouldings, parquet floor, furniture were made to his drawings. Karl Briullov (1799-1852) He received the best academy training. He was an artist of a great talent. He painted pictures on historical and mythological subjects, portraits. His graduation work was best on mythological subjects. For his work “Narcissus Admiring His Reflection in the Water” he was given a golden medal set up by the Academy. He left for Italy and his painting “Italian Noon” dates back to that period. It’s a genre scene and according to the established rules it wasn’t to be depicted. He stepped away from the regulation set up by the Academy. He used to say: “I want everything to be suffused with light.” Usually painter chooses one subject for his works. Briullov painted beautiful gala portraits. These portraits look very festive. Of course, the most famous Briullov’s work is “The Last Day of Pompei”. In 1827 he visited the city where Pompei stood and began his work on his huge canvas. He faithfully followed the description of eyewitness. In addition, he visited an excavation of ruins of ancient towns. This picture had a success in Rome. It was seen by many distinguished visitors including Walter Scott. Finally, it was seen in Saint-Petersburg. Pushkin said that the last day of Pompei had become the first day of Russian brush. May I remind you that Karl Briullov was the artist who painted the ceiling of the main room of St Isaac’s Cathedral. The oil painting called “Madonna in Glory” covers an area of more than 800 square meters but the painter didn’t live to complete it. The severe illness sent him to Italy where he died soon afterwards. Bruni finished his work in St Isaac’s Cathedral. Ilya Repin (1844-1930) He received his education at the Academy. He lived a long life. He began his work as an icon painter but later he came to Saint-Petersburg and studied at the Academy. He got a gold medal for his picture “Raising of Izarius’s Daughter”. While still a student of the Academy Repin began one of his most famous pictures “Volga Bargemen”. Together with another painter Vasiliev he spent the summer of 1870 in Volga region. Repin got to know the ordinary people well and it was one of the reasons why he succeeded in painting this picture well. At the same time he was trying his hand in many other subjects. On finishing the “Volga Bargemen ” he went to Paris where he studied art of great masters. He visited Louvre. Back from Paris he drew some portraits and in addition his famous “Meeting in the State Council”. Repin was a brilliant historic genre painter. Over 12 years he was working on the picture “The Cossacks Writing a Mocking Letter to the Turkish Sultan”. Repin had carefully studied documents, manuscripts, he visited places where the event depicted in the picture took place. There he listened to the folk songs, the narration of people about the brave Cossacks. Here’s the subject of this picture: there was a story about Cossacks and their chieftain Ivan Serkov who replied to the Turkish sultan who offered him and his men to side with him. The event took place in 1675. The painting depicts a crowd of Cossacks giving a note of diplomatic rebuff to the offer of the sultan. You can see here the diversity of characters. Repin said that it was impossible to add anything here or to take away anything if the picture was perfectly completed. Venetsianov

He studied painting independently outside the Academy. Sometimes hisstudyingwas guided by Boroviakovsky. The artist devoted his first years of work to portrait. During the war of Russia against Napoleon Venetsianov took

part in publication of series of engraved political caricatures.

A new stage of Venetsianov’s work began in 1820. He went to his own village where he occupied himself with the whole-hearted study of nature. He drew subjects from everyday life, portrayed the work and life of peasants. His picture “The Threshing Barn (Floor)” showed a new trend in art. Everything here is in contradiction with the principles of the Academy (its subjects, its heroes). In order to paint from real life he ordered to remove the part of the wall of a peasant’s house.Ivan Shishkin

He was the one who depicted that you just have to keep your eyes open. Look around and see that Russian nature was as beautiful as that of Italy, of the south of France. You just have to be able to see. Then his second step was that you have to know how to paint it. Moreover, in his studies he first painted flowers, grass as he was to paint it as a picture for a book on botany. Every little flower was painted carefully like a textbook or encyclopedia of botany but they were his first steps. Later he started to paint differently. For example, his picture “Three Old Oaks” is considered to be one of his best. This time Shishkin took a small canvas. He painted those oak-trees not in a whole length of them but as if he hadn’t enough space. This way he showed that these old oaks were very powerful and very strong.

One of his later pictures is the “Mast-Pine Grove”. It looks like a photo but at that time to paint Russian landscape in such a way showing the sunlight, every stone, water was a progressive thing to do.

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