Abstract: "Silver Age" in Russian art. Key images of the Silver Age Silver Age of Russian painting

19.2. Painting and music " Silver Age»

19.2.1 Painting: from the “World of Art” to avant-garde. The artists of the “World of Art” were repulsed by the academicism and tendentiousness of the Wanderers, and they advocated innovations in painting. Most of them belonged to hereditary artistic families and saw their mission as spreading high culture in society, preserving artistic traditions and artistic taste. “The world of art,” wrote P.N. Milyukov, “...is also driven no less sharply from accusatory tendencies and, in general, from civic ideas in art and from the realistic and positivist worldviews that dominated the previous generation.” The “World of Art” group was headed by the artist A.N. Benois, who was its ideologist and theorist. In his “History of Art” in 1902, he wrote: “Frequent exhibitions of foreign artists organized in St. Petersburg and Moscow, the general availability of foreign travel, the prevalence of illustrated publications about art“All this brought us closer to the West.” All this contributed, Benois continues, to the fact that the requirements for painting have increased immeasurably and revealed there was a low artistic level of our painting. The goal was formulated– raise the purely picturesque side artistic works over content. At the same time, similar demands arise in music - to raise the purely sound side above the “program” amma" musical work. But criticism of the Wanderers was not limited to criticism of their form; their worldview and their realism were sharply criticized. The task new school became a rejection of realism, a rejection of the topic of the day.

The artists of this group (Benois, Lanceray, Somov) focused on studying the past of St. Petersburg art and from there moved on to the study of French art XVIII V.

Artists from another society turned to the origins of Russian art- “Union of Russian Artists” (1903 – 1923), which included K. F. Yuon (1875 – 1958), F. A . Malyavin (1869 – 1940), S. IN . Malyutin (1859 – 1937), A. E. Arkhipov (1862 – 1930) and others. They are characterized by an interest in native nature and the original features of Russian folk life, decorative picturesqueness, and an appeal to the plein air.

N.K. Roerich went his own way (1874– 1947). Using his example P .N. Milyukov explains the cosmopolitanism of a number of Russian artists of the Silver Age. "An archaeologist by profession,- Miliukov writes about Roerich, - he left the present not into history, but into a prehistoric legend. Here, in full scope, he deployed his talent as a colorist. Pre neglect of the line for the sake of paint, covering entire surfaces with paint without shades“These techniques of impressionism found wide application in Roerich’s painting.” Miliukov emphasizes that over time, the element of mystery became the dominant feature of Roerich. O. Stylization, which progressed among some decorators, became the fundamental law for Roerich.

Silver Age painting was multi-style, but impressionism occupied a significant place in it. Under the influence of the impressionists, K.A. Korovin wrote his paintings (1861– 1939) – emotional landscapes (“In Winter”), genre paintings (“At the Balcony”) and colorful theatrical scenery. Post-Impressionists influenced V. E. Borisova - Musatova (1870 – 1905), an original artist (“Pond”), a neo-romanticist, whose paintings depict his favorite elegiac landscape– a park, quiet, mysterious women, as if shadows of the past – are easily recognizable.

The sophistication and ambiguity of a man at the turn of the century was embodied in the portraits of his contemporaries painted by K.A. Somov, V.A. Serov, K.A. Korovin. The leading artist of the World of Arts, Somov, was the son of the curator of the Hermitage, received an excellent education, graduating from the Academy of Arts, and visited Europe a lot. He created a series of graphic portraits of his contemporaries– intellectual elites: A. Bloka, F. Sologuba, M. Kuzmina, V. Ivanova, E. Lanceray, M. Dobuzhinsky and others. IN . A . Serov is the author of portraits of actress M. N. Ermolov oh, writer M. Gorky, K. A. Korovin– portraits of F. AND . Shalyapina, I. AND . Levitan. Portraits created by artists of the Silver Age are not just portraits of real people, they are a gallery of creative people of the era who embodied the ideals of the artists in their lives.

M.A. Vrubel (1856 – 1910) began his activities back in the 80s of the 19th century. He gravitated towards the symbolic-philosophical generalization of images, often taking on a tragic overtones. To his contemporaries, Vrubel seemed like an alien from some other time. His painting was called “magical”, and the origins of its magic lay in the fact that the artist’s sophisticated gaze “penetrated” to the very depths.

Classic example– late work “Pearl Shell”. Let's forget about the mermaids that the artist placed in it - the magic is not so much in them , so much in how the texture of the shell is conveyed, the wonders of its overflows... Vrubel argued that the point here is not in the colors, but in the complexity of the structure of mother-of-pearl- “accurately conveying the drawing of those smallest plans from which the form is created in our imagination, about volume of the object and color.” Numerous “Lilacs” were written using the same method of “tiniest plans”– resemblance to some kind of amethyst architecture; swan wings with a jagged layer of feathers - such a swan is ready to turn into a princess; prickly thickets of burdock - Such burdocks are alive, they seem to be talking to each other (the painting “Toward Night”). The artist delved into the weaving of stems, spruce branches, the structure of ice crystals that form fern-like patterns on glass in winter, the ornamentation of rocks, and the flickering of smoldering lights. And all these natural phenomena, encountered at every step and, however, so poorly noticed by automated vision, grew under the artist’s watchful gaze into an extraordinary fantastic world.

Representatives of the avant-garde were V.V. Kandinsky (1886– 1944), whose abstract compositions are characterized by a combination of colorful spots and broken lines (“Smutn oe"), K.S. Malevich (1878– 1935), founder of one of the types of abstract art – Suprematism, author of “Black Square”, P. N. Filonov (1883 - 1941), who sought to symbolically express the patterns of processes in world history (“Feast of Kings”), M. Shag al (1887 - 1985), who created works on folklore and biblical themes, colorful and joyful. (“Me and the Village”, “Above Vitebsk”, “Wedding”). Despite the pronounced individuality the creative manner of each of these artists, characteristic of All were asociality, a self-sufficient form, an absolutization of the creative “I”. Their goal was to penetrate the subconscious– an area not yet accessible to knowledge.

M.F. Larionov painted his canvases in a primitivist manner (1881– 1964) and N. WITH . Goncharova (1881 – 1962). They created genre paintings: Larionov’s was the life of a provincial street and soldiers’ barracks, and Goncharova’s was peasant life. The forms of their works are flat and grotesque, stylized to resemble a child's drawing. Larionov is considered founder OS both directions in abstract art- Rayonism. In 1913 he published a book called Rayism. Miliukov called these artists “Russian innovators” who not only caught up with the West in their creativity, but also tried to overtake it.

The processes that unfolded at the turn of the century in painting took place just as intensely in music and literature.

19.2.2 Music. During this period, such outstanding composers as S.V. lived and composed music. Rachmaninov, A.N. Scriabin, I.F. Stravinsky. Having left Russia in 1917, S.V. Rachmaninov (1873-1943) spent the rest of his life in exile and was very homesick for his homeland, the theme of which became the main theme in his work. He is the author of remarkable works: four concertos for piano and orchestra, preludes, etudes-pictures, three symphonies, “Symphonic Dances” for orchestra, the operas “Aleko”, “ Stingy Knight", "Francesca da Rimini", "Liturgy of John Chrysostom", "All-Night Vigil" and romances. His musical works combine melody and sublime emotionality. Rachmaninov- one of the greatest pianists in the world.

In the music of another outstanding composer of the Silver Age- A . N. Scriabin (1871-1915) traces the transition from realism to impressionism and from and impressionism to expressionism. Scriabin's work revealed a striving for unknown cosmic spheres. Music innovator expressive means, Scriabin developed the idea of light music and, for the first time in musical practice, introduced the part of light into the symphonic poem “Prometheus”.

I.F. Stravinsky (1882-1971)– authorballets"Parsley", "Springsacred", "Heat- bird", relatedWithpaganarchaic, RussiansfolkloreAndritualism. INRussiaStravinskylivedto 1914 G., Athen– forborder. CompositionsHelearnedstudied with N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov; until 1911, his musical models were N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov and A.K. Glazunov (1865-1937), author of the ballet “Raymonda”. At different periods of his life, Stravinsky turned to various musical trends: neo-folklorism, ancient polyphony and dodecaphony. The Italian writer A. Moravia wrote that Stravinsky, Picasso and Joyce “opened the door to the culture of the twentieth century.”

In the first decades of the 20th century. In Russia, the older generation also created their own works. N.A. During this period, Rimsky-Korsakov wrote three wonderful opera-fairy tales: “Koschei the Immortal”, “The Legend of the Invisible City of Kitezh...”, “The Golden Cockerel”. The work of S.I. was distinguished by its philosophical orientation. Taneyev (1856-1915) (cantata “John of Damascus” and “After the Reading of the Psalm”).

The work of most Russian artists of this period is difficult to attribute to any style. All of them combined features of different trends and styles in their works - from realism and impressionism to symbolism and modernism. So, Mikhail Vasilievich Nesterov(1862-1942) began writing in realistic manner peredvizhniki, but experienced by him spiritual crisis forced him to turn to the images of holy ascetics of the past. This is how one of the most famous works Nesterov - “Vision to the Youth Bartholomew” (1889-1890), written based on an episode from the life of Sergius of Radonezh. A huge burden in this picture is borne by the landscape, creating a mood of contemplation and tranquility. This painting became the beginning of the “Sergius Cycle” (1892-1899), which included a number of works dedicated to St. Sergius. At the same time, many works appeared, the heroes of which were monks, hermits, hermits, also written against the backdrop of a discreet Russian landscape (“Under the Good News”, “Great tonsure”, etc.).

M.V. Nesterov Holy Rus'

The paintings “Holy Rus'”, depicting Christ surrounded by Russian saints and people, and “In Rus'”, showing a procession of the cross, became milestones for the artist’s work. In them, Nesterov managed to create a generalized image of the Russian people.

A very important part creative heritage The artist's genre was portraiture. Particularly interesting are the portraits of outstanding Russian philosophers and religious figures - P.A. Florensky and S.N. Bulgakov, painted by those walking at the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, as well as a portrait of I.A. Ilyina. A large number of portraits of Moscow scientists and artists were created by Nesterov in Soviet era(he did not write anything else after the revolution).

For creativity Konstantin Alekseevich Korovin(1861 - 1939) was greatly influenced by impressionism. His paintings show a subtle play of light and shadow and the ability to convey fleeting impressions and sensations. This creates the atmosphere of joy and fullness of life inherent in Korovin’s paintings. Purely impressionistic was his indifference to plot and content and increased attention to form, the desire to solve purely pictorial problems (“Portrait of a Chorus Girl”, landscapes “Paris. Boulevard des Capucines”, “In Winter”, still lifes “Fish, Wine and Fruit”).

The most famous part of the creative heritage Valentin Aleksandrovich Serov(1865-1911) - portraits. Among them is the famous “Girl with Peaches”, a portrait of S.I.’s daughter. Mamontov, in which he fully managed to convey the feeling of freshness, youth and purity. The artist skillfully placed his models in a familiar environment, which emphasized the precise psychological images created by the artist. That is why, although many sought to order a portrait from a fashionable and famous artist, they were at the same time wary of his merciless gaze and the characteristics that he gave to his characters. Thus, the artist’s irony is clearly visible in the portraits of S.M. Botkina, Z.N. Yusupova, Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich. Most of all, Serov loved to paint artists, writers, artists (in the 1890s he painted portraits of K.A. Korovin, N.S. Leskov, I.I. Levitan, N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, and in 1905-1911 - M.N. Ermolova, O.K. Orlova, V.I.

No less interesting are Serov’s landscapes, painted in an impressionistic manner. He perfectly managed to convey the discreet beauty of the Russian landscape (“Winter in Abramtsevo. Church”, “Overgrown Pond”, “October. Domotkanovo”, etc.). Participating in exhibitions of the World of Art association, Serov became interested in historical topics. This is how a series of pencil drawings, gouaches, watercolors, tempera and oil paintings appeared. Small compositions seem unusually lifelike, as if written from life (“Hunting Departure of Peter II and Elizaveta Petrovna”, “Peter I”). Very interesting are Serov’s paintings, painted after his trip to Greece in 1907. Among them is the famous work “The Rape of Europe,” painted in the Art Nouveau style, with its characteristic clean, bright colors, a subtle combination of convention and reality.

He combined features of impressionism with his own observations of nature in his work. Victor Elpidiforovich Borisov-Musatov(1870-1905). He was interested not so much in the plot as in painting technique. He tried to capture the play of air and color. By the end of the 1890s, the range of topics that interested the artist had been determined - the idealized world of the old “nests of the nobility”, in which he was hiding from the upheavals of modernity. Borisov-Musatov’s paintings are written in pastel and tempera techniques, giving gentle, muted tones - “Self-Portrait with Sister”, “Autumn Motif”, “Harmony”, “Walk”, “Tapestry”. In the artist’s later works, the mood of aching longing for the past gradually developed into anxiety, melancholy and despair - “Pond”, “Emerald Necklace”, “Ghosts”, “Requiem”.

V.A. Serov

Portrait of Ida Rubinstein

The portrait reflected the theme of “life for show”, which fascinated the artist. Ida Rubinstein - famous dancer and actress, whose life passed under the close attention of the public

V.E. Borisov-Musatov. Self-portrait with sister

In his canvases, the artist, like the Impressionists, tried to capture the play of air and color

K.S. Petrov-Vodkin. Dream

The picture is designed in the spirit of symbolism. Like two destinies, two maidens await the awakening of the sleeper

M. Vrubel. Pan

Silence and mystery are full-fledged characters in Vrubel’s paintings

I have been searching for my own path in painting all my life. Mikhail Alexandrovich Vrubel(1856-1910), also worked a lot as a decorator, majolica master, and interior decorator. His pictorial manner of crushing forms into edges, painted from the inside with light and color, was close to symbolism. Vrubel's muse was the singer Nadezhda Zabela, who later became his wife. We find its features in many of the artist’s famous works - “The Swan Princess”, “Lilac”. Very often Vrubel turned to folklore, mythology, and medieval motifs (“The Judgment of Paris,” the compositions “Faust,” “Margarita” and “Mephistopheles,” “Mikula Selyaninovich,” “Princess Dream”). A significant place in Vrubel’s work is occupied by the image of the Demon, in which the artist tried to embody the idea of a challenge to the world, an individual’s impulse to freedom. The artist returned to the Demon again and again, painting him in different ways (“The defeated Demon”, “The seated Demon”). Vrubel was also an excellent portrait painter, he easily conveyed portrait likeness and human character traits. In 1902, Vrubel became seriously ill and spent the rest of his life in hospitals, destroying almost all of his drawings and sketches.

He was a consistent symbolist Kuzma Sergeevich Petrov-Vodkin(1878-1939). His creative style was seriously influenced by Serov, Vrubel, Gauguin, Chavannes, and the Nabists, but gradually the tradition of ancient Russian art became the main one for him. He became a mature master in the 1910s. Then such famous works as “Dream” and “Boys” appeared. The painting “Bathing the Red Horse” became the programmatic piece in the artist’s work, which embodies the dream of beauty and readiness for future challenges. Paints play a special role in Petrov-Vodkin’s paintings; color becomes the basis of the symbol, an exponent of the artist’s unique mythological thinking. Later, other works by the artist appeared, in which he developed the same principles - “Mother”, “Girls on the Volga”, “Morning. Bathers", "1918 in Petrograd", "Death of a Commissar". The artist remained faithful to his creative style in Soviet times.

The play "Uncle Vanya" on the stage of the Moscow Art Theater

Photo from 1899

Chekhov's theatrical debut in 1896 was unsuccessful: the first production of The Seagull was a resounding failure on stage Alexandrinsky Theater in St. Petersburg. To succeed, he needed it, just as the new theater needed itself. Two years later, Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko opened the Moscow Public Art Theater, in which they abandoned traditional methods: they were replaced by psychologism, and it required new works. In December 1898, “The Seagull” brought fame to both the theater and Chekhov. Drama-tourism becomes a symbol of the Moscow Art Theater: the very next year Stanislavsky staged “Uncle Vanya”, then “Three Sisters” and “ Cherry Orchard" The main female roles are played by Olga Knipper, Chekhov's wife since 1901.

Wikimedia Commons

Portrait of V. Ya. Bryusov

Drawing by Mikhail Vrubel. 1906

In 1894, the young poet Valery Bryusov published a collection of poems “Russian Symbolists” - a manifesto. In the preface, he writes that the goal of symbolism is to capture subtle moods and convey them through vague images and hints. Following the poets, artists also turn to symbolism, primarily Mikhail Vrubel. He will begin painting Bryusov’s portrait at the end of his life and will never finish it due to illness. Bryusov himself would later say that all his life he had strived to be like this portrait.

State Tretyakov Gallery

“Soldiers, brave boys, where is your glory?”

Painting by Valentin Serov. 1905

On January 9 (22), 1905, St. Petersburg workers, who had been on strike for almost a week, went with a petition to Winter Palace, demanding the convening of a Constituent Assembly. Unarmed demonstrators were shot, which served as the impetus for the beginning of the first Russian revolution - and this day later went down in history as Bloody Sunday. Valentin Serov watched the dispersal of protesters from the windows of the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg. After these events, in protest, he resigned from the academy, the president of which was the emperor’s uncle, Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich, who personally suppressed the unrest.

State Russian Museum

“Group portrait of artists from the World of Art society”

Painting by Boris Kustodiev. 1920

Boris Kustodiev decides to paint a portrait of his friends and like-minded people soon after constituent assembly"World of Art" in 1910. This is already the second composition of the World of Art students: the heyday of the first, “classical” one, occurred in the years 1898-1904, when Alexandre Benois and Sergei Diaghilev proclaimed the rejection of academicism and the search for inspiration in subjects of the distant past. In a hurry to capture the “World of Art” for history, Kustodiev first paints individual portraits, and later plans to combine them into a monumental canvas. He manages to create a group portrait after the revolution. In the picture from left to right in the background: Igor Grabar, Nicholas Roerich, Evgeny Lanceray, Ivan Bilibin, Alexander Benois, Georgy Narbut, Nikolai Milioti, Konstantin Somov, Mstislav Dobuzhinsky; in the background: Boris Kustodiev, Anna Ostroumova-Lebedeva, Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin.

State Russian Museum

Costume design for Iskander (Vaclav Nijinsky) for the ballet “Peri”

Drawing by Leon Bakst. 1911

In 1906, entrepreneur Sergei Diaghilev organized the “Russian Seasons” for the first time - bringing paintings to Paris Russian artists. After incredible success, he organized a tour for composers, and in 1909 it was his turn. The costumes and scenery, bright and unusual, are created according to sketches by world artists Leon Bakst and Alexandre Benois. Diaghilev turns to young composers and dancers, and the Parisian public enthusiastically receives Mikhail Fokine, Ida Rubinstein and Vaslav Nijinsky. The music for the ballet “Peri” is written by Paul Dukas, the role of Iskander is given to Nijinsky, but the production will never take place with this cast due to internal conflicts. Diaghilev's seasons will continue until the death of the entrepreneur in 1929, and the ballet will become one of the symbols of Russian culture.

Metropolitan Museum of Art

“Self-portrait and portrait of Pyotr Petrovich Konchalovsky”

Painting by Ilya Mashkov. 1910

In 1910, an exhibition called “Jack of Diamonds” opened in Moscow - and instantly. The paintings of Ilya Mashkov, Pyotr Konchalovsky, Aristarkh Lentulov are full of rough, farcical aesthetics, unusual in both form and content. At the center of both the exhibition and the scandal is Mashkov’s canvas, where he depicted himself and Konchalovsky as half-naked wrestlers. On the bookshelf in the upper left corner there is a volume with the inscription “Cezanne” - for the “Jacks of Diamonds” he is the main idol. The following year, the same name is created artistic association, but some of the organizers of the exhibition - including Mikhail Larionov, who came up with the name - are no longer going to participate in it. During this period, trends replaced each other with incredible speed, Donkey Tail artists were at odds with the Jacks of Diamonds, futurists argued with each other, and opponents were accused of academicism.

State Russian Museum

Costume designs for the opera “Victory over the Sun”: Some Malicious One, Athlete of the Future, Funeral Man, Reader

Drawings by Kazimir Malevich. 1913

Since 1910, when Velimir Khlebnikov and David Burliuk published the collection “The Fishing Tank of Judges,” the futurists have been tirelessly shocking the public, writers and critics. In 1913, they created a work that unites poets, artists, and composers - the opera “Victory over the Sun.” Alexey Kruchenykh and Velimir Khlebnikov write the libretto (“the dreamy whistle of the foam will fill the contemplation”), Mikhail Matyushin composes dissonant music, and Kazimir Malevich paints the scenery. The opera declares the main idea of the futurists: the people of Buddhism (that is, the futurists themselves) defeat the Sun, symbolizing everything familiar, old, all the previous aesthetics that seemed unshakable.

Wikimedia Commons

“The heroic case of Kozma Kryuchkov”

Drawing by Dmitry Moor. Lithograph of the Partnership of I. D. Sytin. 1914

Cossack Kozma Kryuchkov became the first Russian hero of the World War, after four of his comrades attacked 27 German cavalrymen on the border and defeated the enemy. All Cossacks were awarded the Cross of St. George, and Kryuchkov himself, who killed 11 Germans, remained a symbol of national valor for a long time: he was constantly written about in the newspapers, his portrait even adorned the wrapper of “Heroic” sweets. During the World War, he received another St. George Cross and two medals “For Bravery,” and died in 1919 during the uprising of the Don Cossacks against the Bolsheviks.

Caption for the picture:
“4 Cossacks - Kozma Kryuchkov, Astakhov, Ivankov, Shchegolkov - drove 27 German cavalrymen...<…>The painting depicts how Kozma the hero impales the Germans on pikes and plants them like trees. It’s cooler to drive home with a fishing line.”

State Public Historical Library of Russia

Members of the royal family caring for the wounded during the First World War

Photo from the Romanov family album. 1914-1915

Royal family from the very beginning of the World War, he tries to show that he is experiencing hardships together with his subjects. Emperor Nicholas II appears in public in a modest field uniform, and the Grand Duchesses and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna help the wounded in the hospital as nurses. State propaganda tirelessly emphasizes the participation of the imperial family in the lives of ordinary soldiers. However, with every year of the war they talk about the august persons. Dressing as a sister of mercy does not save Alexandra Fedorovna from rumors about her connection with Rasputin and espionage for Germany.

Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Plucked double eagles

Photo from 1917

In March 1917, the Russian monarchy fell - Nicholas II abdicated the throne, and power passed to the Provisional Government. The first weeks of life without the tsar were marked by getting rid of the symbols of the regime: portraits of the emperor and his family were burned at the stake, double-headed eagles and crowns were knocked down from fences and buildings.

At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, significant changes took place in Russian painting. Genre scenes faded into the background. The landscape lost its photographic quality and linear perspective and became more democratic, based on the combination and play of color spots. Portraits often combined the ornamental conventionality of the background and the sculptural clarity of the face.

The beginning of a new stage in Russian painting is associated with the creative association “World of Art”. At the end of the 80s of the XIX century. In St. Petersburg, a circle of high school students and art lovers arose. They gathered at the apartment of one of the participants - Alexandra Benois. Charming, able to create a creative atmosphere around himself, he became the soul of the circle from the very beginning. Its permanent members were Konstantin Somov and Lev Bakst . Later they were joined by Eugene Lanceray, Benoit's nephew, and Sergei Diaghilev , who came from the province.

The meetings of the circle were a bit clownish in nature. But the reports presented by its members were prepared carefully and seriously. The friends were fascinated by the idea of uniting all types of art and bringing together the cultures of different peoples. They spoke with alarm and bitterness that Russian art was little known in the West and that domestic artists were not sufficiently familiar with the achievements of modern European artists.

The friends grew up, went into creativity, and created their first serious works. And they didn’t notice how Diaghilev ended up at the head of the circle. The former provincial turned into a highly educated young man with a refined artistic taste and business acumen. He himself did not engage professionally in any type of art, but became the main organizer of a new creative association. In Diaghilev’s character, efficiency and sober calculation coexisted with some adventurism, and his bold undertakings most often brought success.

In 1898, Diaghilev organized an exhibition of Russian and Finnish artists in St. Petersburg. Essentially, this was the first exhibition of artists of a new direction. This was followed by other vernissages and, finally, in 1906, an exhibition in Paris “Two Centuries of Russian Painting and Sculpture.” Russia's "cultural breakthrough" into Western Europe occurred thanks to the efforts and enthusiasm of Diaghilev and his friends.

In 1898, the Benois-Diaghilev circle began publishing the magazine “World of Art”. Diaghilev’s programmatic article stated that the purpose of art is the self-expression of the creator. Art, Diaghilev wrote, should not be used to illustrate any social doctrines. If it is genuine, it in itself is a truth of life, an artistic generalization, and sometimes a revelation.

The name “World of Art” was transferred from the magazine to a creative association of artists, the backbone of which was made up of the same circle. Such masters as V. A. Serov, M. A. Vrubel, M. V. Nesterov, I. I. Levitan, N. K. Roerich joined the association. They all bore little resemblance to each other and worked in different creative styles. And yet there was much in common in their creativity, moods and views.

“Mirskusniki” was alarmed by the onset of the industrial era, when huge cities were growing, built up with faceless factory buildings and inhabited by lonely people. They were worried that art, designed to bring harmony and peace into life, was increasingly being squeezed out of it and becoming the property of a small circle of “chosen ones.” They hoped that art, having returned to life, would gradually soften, spiritualize and unite people.

“Miriskusniki” believed that in pre-industrial times people came into closer contact with art and nature. The 18th century seemed especially attractive to them. But they still understood that the age of Voltaire and Catherine was not as harmonious as it seems to them, and therefore the few Versailles and Tsarskoe Selo landscapes with kings, empresses, gentlemen and ladies are shrouded in a slight haze of sadness and self-irony. Each such landscape by A. N. Benois, K. A. Somov or E. E. Lanceray is finished as if with a sigh: it’s a pity that it’s gone forever! Too bad it wasn't actually that pretty!

Oil painting, which seemed somewhat heavy to the artists of the World of Art, faded into the background in their work. Watercolor, pastel, and gouache were used much more often, which made it possible to create works in light, airy colors. Drawing played a special role in the work of the new generation of artists. The art of engraving was revived. Much credit for this belongs to A.P. Ostroumova-Lebedeva. A master of the urban landscape, she captured many European cities (Rome, Paris, Amsterdam, Bruges) in her engravings. But at the center of her work were St. Petersburg and its palace suburbs - Tsarskoe Selo, Pavlovsk, Gatchina. The stern and restrained appearance of the northern capital in her engravings was reflected in the intense rhythm of silhouettes and lines, in the contrasts of white, black and gray colors.

A revival is associated with the creativity of the “MirIskusniks” book graphics, art book. Not limiting themselves to illustrations, artists introduced splash pages, intricate vignettes and endings in the Art Nouveau style into books. It became clear that the design of a book should be closely related to its content. The graphic designer began to pay attention to details such as book format, paper color, font, and trim. Many outstanding masters of that time were involved in the design of books. Pushkinsky " Bronze Horseman” was firmly connected with Benois’s drawings, and Tolstoy’s “Hadji Murat” - with Lanceray’s illustrations. Beginning of the 20th century deposited on library shelves with many high-quality examples of book art.

The artists of the World of Art paid a generous tribute to art, especially music. The decorations of the artists of that time - sometimes exquisitely refined, sometimes blazing like a fire - combined with music, dance, and singing, created a dazzlingly luxurious spectacle. L. S. Bakst made a significant contribution to the success of the ballet “Scheherazade” (to the music of Rimsky-Korsakov). A. Ya. Golovin designed the ballet “The Firebird” (to the music of I. F. Stravinsky) in an equally bright and festive way. N.K. Roerich’s scenery for the opera “Prince Igor,” on the contrary, is very restrained and severe.

The ballet “Petrushka”, which has performed on the stage in many countries, was a joint work of composer Igor Stravinsky and artist Alexandre Benois. The simple plot of how Petrushka fell in love with the Ballerina, played gracefully, with slight irony and sadness, evoked gloomy thoughts about the fate of the artist in a ruthless world where physical strength and rough passions reign.

In the field of theatrical painting, the “miriskusniks” came closest to fulfilling their cherished dream - to combine different types of art into one work.

The fate of the World of Art association turned out to be difficult. The magazine ceased publication after 1904. By this time, many artists had left the association, and it had shrunk to the size of the original circle. The creative and personal connections of its members continued for many years. “The World of Art” has become an artistic symbol of the border of two centuries. A whole stage in the development of Russian painting is associated with it. A special place in the association was occupied by M. A. Vrubel, M. V. Nesterov and N. K. Roerich.

Mikhail Alexandrovich Vrubel (1856 – 1910) was a versatile master. He successfully worked on monumental murals, paintings, decorations, book illustrations, and drawings for stained glass. And he always remained himself, passionate, passionate, vulnerable. Three main themes, three motives run through his work.

The first, spiritually sublime, manifested itself, first of all, in the image of the young Mother of God with the Child, painted for the iconostasis of the St. Cyril Church in Kyiv.

Vrubel's demonic motives were inspired by Lermontov's poetry. But Vrubel’s Demon became an independent artistic image. For Vrubel, the Demon, a fallen and sinful angel, turned out to be like a second “I” - a kind of lyrical hero. This theme was heard with particular force in the film “The Seated Demon.” The mighty figure of the Demon covers almost the entire canvas. It looks like he should stand up and straighten up. But your hands are lowered, your fingers are clasped together painfully, and there is deep melancholy in your eyes. This is Vrubel’s Demon: unlike Lermontov’s, he is not so much a merciless destroyer as a suffering personality.

In 1896, for the All-Russian Exhibition in Nizhny Novgorod, Vrubel painted the panel “Mikula Selyaninovich”, in which he endowed the folk hero-plowman with such power, as if he contained the primitive power of the earth itself. This is how the third direction appeared in Vrubel’s work - the epic-folk direction. His “Bogatyr” was written in this spirit, exaggeratedly powerful, seated on a huge horse. The painting “Pan” is adjacent to this series. The forest deity is depicted as a wrinkled old man with blue eyes and strong hands.

The last years of Vrubel’s life were doomed by severe mental illness. In moments of enlightenment, new ideas were born to him - “The Vision of the Prophet Ezekiel”, “The Six-Winged Seraphim”. Perhaps he wanted to combine, merge together the three main directions of his creativity. But such a synthesis was beyond the power of even Vrubel. On the day of his funeral, Benoit said that future generations “will look back at the last decades of the 19th century. as in the “era of Vrubel”... It was in him that our time expressed itself in the most beautiful and saddest way that it was capable of.”

Mikhail Vasilievich Nesterov (1862-1942) wrote his early works in the spirit of the Wanderers. But then religious motifs began to appear in his work. Nesterov wrote a series of paintings dedicated to Sergei of Radonezh. The earliest of them was the painting “Vision to the Youth Bartholomew” (1889-1890). A white-headed boy who was destined to become a spiritual mentor Ancient Rus', reverently listens to the prophetic words, and all of nature, the simple Russian landscape of the end of summer, seemed to be filled with this feeling of reverence.

Nature plays a special role in Nesterov’s painting. In his paintings she acts as a “character”, enhancing the overall mood. The artist was especially successful in subtle and transparent landscapes of northern summer. He loved to paint Central Russian nature on the threshold of autumn, when the quiet fields and forests were preparing to await it. Nesterov has almost no “deserted” landscapes and paintings without landscapes are rare.

Religious motives in Nesterov’s work were most fully expressed in his church painting. Based on his sketches, some mosaic works were executed on the facades of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ, erected in St. Petersburg on the site of the assassination of Alexander II.

The artist created a whole gallery of portraits of prominent people of Russia. Most often, he depicted his heroes in the open air, continuing his favorite theme of “dialogue” between man and nature. L. N. Tolstoy was captured in a remote corner of the Yasnaya Polyana park, religious philosophers S. N. Bulgakov and P. A. Florensky - during a walk (the painting “Philosophers”).

Portraiture became the main direction of Nesterov’s creativity during the years of Soviet power. He wrote mainly to people close to him in spirit, Russian intellectuals. His special achievement was the expressive portrait of Academician I. P. Pavlov.

Nicholas Konstantinovich Roerich (1874 – 1947) created more than seven thousand paintings during his life. They decorated the museums of many cities in our country and abroad. The artist became a public figure on a global scale. But the early stage of his work belongs to Russia.

Roerich came to painting through archeology. Even in his high school years, he participated in the excavations of ancient burial mounds. The young man’s imagination painted vivid pictures of distant eras. After high school, Roerich simultaneously entered the university and the Academy of Arts. The young artist began to implement his first big plan - a series of paintings “The Beginning of Rus'. Slavs".

The first picture in this series, “Messenger. Generation after generation rose up,” was written in the manner of the Wanderers. Subsequently, color began to play an increasingly active role in Roerich’s painting – pure, intense, unusually expressive. This is how the painting “Overseas Guests” was painted. Using intense blue-green color, the artist managed to convey the purity and coldness of river water. The yellow-crimson sail of an overseas boat splashes in the wind. His reflection is crushed in the waves. The play of these colors is surrounded by a white dotted line of flying seagulls.

For all his interest in antiquity, Roerich did not leave modern life, listened to its voices, and was able to catch what others did not hear. He was deeply concerned about the situation in Russia and in the world. Beginning in 1912, Roerich created a series of strange paintings in which, it would seem, there is no specific place of action, eras are mixed. These are a kind of “prophetic dreams”. One of these paintings is called “The Last Angel”. An angel ascends in swirling red clouds, leaving the land engulfed in fire.

In paintings painted during the war, Roerich tries to recreate the values of religion and peaceful labor. He turns to the motives of folk Orthodoxy. On his canvases, saints descend to earth, take away trouble from people, and protect them from danger. Roerich completed the last paintings of this series in a foreign land. In one of them (“Zvenigorod”), saints in white robes and with golden halos come out of an ancient temple and bless the earth. In Soviet Russia at this time, persecution of the church was unfolding, churches were destroyed and desecrated. The saints went to the people.

The revival of book graphics and the art of books is associated with the creativity of the “miriskusniks”. Not limiting themselves to illustrations, artists introduced splash pages, intricate vignettes and endings in the Art Nouveau style into books. It became clear that the design of a book should be closely related to its content. The graphic designer began to pay attention to details such as book format, paper color, font, and trim. Many outstanding masters of that time were involved in the design of books. Pushkin’s “The Bronze Horseman” was firmly connected with Benois’s drawings, and Tolstoy’s “Hadji Murat” with Lanceray’s illustrations. Beginning of the 20th century deposited on library shelves with many high-quality examples of book art.

In the field of theatrical painting, the “miriskusniks” came closest to fulfilling their cherished dream - to combine different types of art into one work.

The first, spiritually sublime, manifested itself, first of all, in the image of the young Mother of God with the Child, painted for the iconostasis of the St. Cyril Church in Kyiv.

Mikhail Vasilievich Nesterov (1862-1942) wrote his early works in the spirit of the Wanderers. But then religious motifs began to appear in his work. Nesterov wrote a series of paintings dedicated to Sergei of Radonezh. The earliest of them was the painting “Vision to the Youth Bartholomew” (1889-1890). The white-headed boy, who was destined to become the spiritual mentor of Ancient Rus', reverently listens to the prophetic words, and all of nature, the simple Russian landscape of the end of summer, seemed to be filled with this feeling of reverence.