Actual Problems of Theory and History of Art
"Actual Problems of Theory and History of Art", being published since 2011, is one of the leading Russian scientific journals in the field of history and theory of fine arts and architecture. The founders and publishers of the journal are Lomonosov Moscow State University and Saint Petersburg State University. The publication covers all areas of contemporary art history, including source studies, theory and history of fine arts, architecture and restoration, as well as auxiliary historical disciplines, interdisciplinary studies, museum research, art criticism, and reviewing. The journal editorial board strives to acquaint the international professional community with the results of the latest scientific research, trends and achievements of global art history.
On the Construction and Reconstruction of the Church of St. Panteleimon on Plaošnik in Ohrid: the Sacred Image and Its Interpretation
This study is based on the research supported by the Program of Fundamental Research of the Ministry of Construction, Housing and Utilities of the Russian Federation and of the Russian Academy of Architecture and Construction Sciences — 2024–2026, research project 1.1.1.1. The article is devoted to a comprehensive analysis of the Church of St. Panteleimon on Plaošnik in Ohrid (North Macedonia) — a monument situated at the intersection of key historical, architectural, and ideological contexts. The study traces the sacred image of the object from its origins – a small triconch built in the late 9th century by St. Clement of Ohrid on the ruins of early Christian basilicas — to its large-scale reconstruction at the turn of the 21st century. The study examines in detail the medieval construction history of the church, including controversial issues regarding the dating and layout of the attached pronaos, and analyzes possible architectural prototypes of the triconch within the Byzantine tradition. Central attention is paid to the “instauration” project (1999–2002/2006), which resulted in the erection of a modern church building based on archaeological data and hypothetical reconstructions. The authors conclude that the architectural solution of the Church of St. Panteleimon represents a carefully considered compilation of forms that quote significant monuments from various eras and regions within the sphere of influence of the Ohrid Archbishopric (9th–14th centuries). A recurring theme of the article is the interpretation of the sacred image not only as a historically significant architectural object but also as a tool for constructing cultural memory and national identity. This reveals the phenomenon of creating an ideologically saturated retroutopia, where historical authenticity is sacrificed to create a holistic, emotionally appealing narrative of national and spiritual revival.
Trilobe Church Facades in the Eastern Adriatic Architecture (15th–16th centuries): Italian Influence and the Local School of Architecture
This work is supported by the Russian Science Foundation (grant 25-18-00656) and done at the Research Institute of Theory and History of Architecture and Town Planning — branch of the Central Research and Project Institute of the Construction Ministry of Russia. In the 15th century, Dalmatia experienced an influx of cultural influence from Venice, which marked the architecture of the Adriatic coastal cities. One of the architectural types that show parallels with Venetian architecture is the type of trilobe churches. The earliest examples of these are the Gothic Duomo of Santi Giovanni e Paolo in Muggia in Istria and the key Renaissance monument in Dalmatia, St. James Cathedral in Šibenik. The article analyzes these buildings in comparison with the Northern Italian Gothic and Renaissance monuments which are the most likely sources of the trilobe façade silhouette. The article focuses on expanding the range of possible sources beyond Venice in other Italian regions, as well as analyzing the architects’ creative interpretation of borrowed elements. The article also suggests reviewing the role of the Šibenik Cathedral in the further development of the type of churches with a three-lobed façade silhouette. In conclusion the article briefly describes the changes in the attitude of architects towards borrowings from Venetian architecture during the 16th century.
Medieval Frescoes of Dalmatia and the Artistic Dialogue between Byzantium and the West: A Historiographical Survey
This research was carried out with the financial support of the Russian Scientific Fund, project No. 25-18-00656, at the Research Institute of Theory and History of Architecture and Urban Planning — branch of the Central Research and Project Institute of the Construction Ministry of Russia. The paper deals with the history of research on medieval frescoes in Dalmatia and examines how scholarly perceptions of these monuments have evolved from the late 19th century to the early 21st century. The main focus is on identifying the key stages, directions, and methods of study, as well as summarizing the principal arguments of academic discussion. Special attention is paid to changes in terminology, to the interpretation of the relationship between Byzantine and Western elements, and to the impact of political and cultural contexts on the understanding of Dalmatia’s artistic heritage. The article synthesizes more than a century of scholarship on Dalmatian monumental painting and outlines prospects for further research.
The Problem of Identification of an Episcopal Complex: Cases of the Residences of the 4th–6th Centuries in the Prefecture of Illyricum
This work is supported by the Russian Science Foundation (grant 25-18-00656) and done at the Research Institute of Theory and History of Architecture and Town Planning — branch of the Central Research and Project Institute of the Construction Ministry of Russia. The archaeological research of many Late Antique episcopal complexes has been going on for several decades. However, the issues concerning their identification and functionality are still debatable. Nevertheless, recent studies of the ensembles built within the prefecture of Illyricum in the 4th–6th centuries allow to enrich our understanding of the phenomenon of a Late Antique episcopal complex, as well as to clarify its architectural specifics. The newest archaeological data on the complexes in the Balkans facilitate detailed analysis of the characteristic aspects of functioning for the episcopal complexes both in the largest religious centers, such as Stobi and Salona, and in the “small” bishoprics, like those in Byllis and Louloudies. A special layout of the architectural ensemble was a hallmark for the Late Antique residential complexes built in the Northern Balkans, both episcopal and secular. It includes an apsidal hall symmetrically flanked by smaller orthogonal rooms. As a rule, the hall was situated at the side of a peristyle court, which was opposite to the main entrance to a residence. This layout was not characteristic for the episcopal complexes in other regions of the Late Roman Empire.
Aisled Tetraconch as a Regional Variation of the Architectural Type in the Northern Balkans (5th–6th Centuries)
This work is supported by the Russian Science Foundation (grant 25-18-00656), https://rscf.ru/en/project/25-18-00656/, and done at the Research Institute of Theory and History of Architecture and Town Planning — branch of the Central Research and Project Institute of the Construction Ministry of Russia. In the late 5th — first half of the 6th century, a number of aisled tetraconchs were built in the Northern Balkans. The quatrefoil churches in Lychnidos (Ohrid), Lin, Perushtitsa, and Justiniana Prima (Caričin Grad) display a number of characteristic features, the most important of which is the absence of an ambulatory on the east and the presence of a narthex with adjoining rooms. Uncommon for the tetraconchs in Italy, Syria, and Egypt, these traits distinguish the Balkan group as a specific variation of the architectural type. The narthex layout and mosaic decoration of the Ohrid basilicas find close parallels in the region, suggesting they were the work of local artists. The tetraconch in Hadrian’s Library in Athens (second quarter of the 5th century), which served as the first Christian center of the city, is considered as a likely prototype. Its connotations may have influenced the layout of the churches in question, which functioned as important centers of devotion. An analysis of the spatial arrangement of the tetraconchs along the main routes crossing the Balkans (Via Egnatia and Via Diagonalis) and within the urban fabric, in conjunction with certain details of the complexes (presence of a crypt and baptistery, mosaic features), attests to their shared pilgrimage nature.
Enamel Paints: A Study of the Elemental Composition of Artistic Paints for the Enamels of the 19th–21st centuries Using Scanning Electron Microscopy and X-ray Fluorescence Analysis
Following the replacement of cloisonné enamel, enamel painting emerged as a distinct artistic medium, characterized by the use of specialized paints analogous to those employed in painting on canvas. This transformation of enamel art into a distinct painting genre is a significant development in the history of visual arts. In the 18th century, masters used colored enamels for painting, and in the 19th century, overglaze paints for porcelain painting began to be used for painting enamel, which were powders from crushed ready-made colored enamels. The increase in demand for porcelain products contributed to the expansion of the color palette. With the discovery of new chemical elements, new pigments began to appear. Some of the emerging pigments gradually entered the palettes of porcelain painters, and, consequently, were used in enamel paints. This study is devoted to the results obtained with the help of modern analytical devices, the study of the elemental composition of the paint layer from museum exhibits with enamel of the 19th–21st centuries, clearly demonstrating what pigments in the composition of paints could be used by enamel masters in different historical periods. Particular attention has been paid to identifying some late pigments that were not previously used in enamel painting, since their use may be associated with the destruction of the paint layer of the 20th century Rostov enamels.
Interdisciplinary Methods in the Research on Cultural Heritage
Copyright (c) 2025 Татьяна Валерьевна Юрьева, Анна Владимировна Михайлова (Автор)
Anhydrite as a Filler for the Primers of Nev’yansk Icons: its Origin and Peculiarities of Identification
In the course of the study of a selection of 90 Nevyansk (Ural) icons of the 18th–19th centuries, the authors found that the main component of the ground in over 95% of the artworks is anhydrite (CaSO₄). Over many years of research by GOSNIIR, this mineral was identified in the primers of only a few works, while typical ground fillers used in Russian icon-painting are chalk (CaCO₃) and gypsum (CaSO₄.2H₂O). Analysing the obtained result we came to the conclusion that the presence of anhydrite in Nevyansk icon painting can be explained as follows. Firstly, the icon painters could use a natural mineral, the deposits of which are known in the Urals. Secondly, the icon painters could dehydrate gypsum by calcining it (anhydrite is formed at a calcining temperature of 400–700 ºC). This hypothesis is based on the fact that in many 17th–19th-centuries Russian manuals for icon-painting, there are instructions recommending that gypsum should be strongly calcined before preparing the ground. In order to determine the origin of anhydrite in Nevyansk icons, we prepared model mock-ups of ground made of gypsum and anhydrite, both untreated and heat-treated (at 400 and 650 ºC). All samples of minerals before and after calcination, as well as model mock-ups, were investigated by a complex of analytical methods, which made it possible to determine their exact chemical composition. An important part of the experiment involved the study of optic properties of the minerals’ crystals. It allowed us to reveal specific features that enabled us to make assumptions about the origin of the ground filler in the Nevyansk icons.
A Study of the Wall Paintings of the Annunciation Aisle of the Church of Nikola Nadein in Yaroslavl
The Church of Nikola Nadein is the first monument to have established a tradition of wall painting in 17th-century Yaroslavl. Yet, its paintings dating to 1640 remain understudied. This is largely due to the fact that most of it is still under the layer of 1882 renovations. However, thanks to the efforts of specialists, who restored wall paintings of the Annunciation aisle, the northern and partially western gallery from 2006 to 2014, researchers have the opportunity to focus on the authentic paintings. The article provides the history of the wall paintings restoration in the Annunciation aisle. It also presents the results of chemical analyses of the artistic materials used by the masters in their work on the compositions of the narthex, the northern gallery, and the Annunciation aisle itself, as well as the basement and the staircase entrance to the Annunciation aisle. One of the important results was the discovery of blue verditer in the composition of the painting layer, while its initial use in icon painting is believed to have occurred in the second half of the 17th century. Thus, the study of the wall paintings revealed one of the earliest documented cases of the use of this pigment. In addition, a mixture of smalt, blue verditer, and a small amount of artificial ultramarine blue was identified in the 1882 restoration layer, which is completely uncharacteristic of the second half of the 19th century. As a result, our findings allow us to correct the existing assumptions concerning the time of use of these art materials.
About One Little-Studied Style of Old Russian vyaz’
The paper investigates a rare and little-studied style of Old Russian vyaz’. This type of writing may be classified as highly stylized, it has much in common with the so-called monocondyle compositions. This kind of vyaz’ was first identified in the Stroganov ABC-book of 1604 and was considered not to be intended for writing in books but for engraving in metalwork, as soon as other examples of this kind of writing were not known. The discovery of some other instances of its use in headpieces and other elements of Old Russian manuscripts radically changes this concept and leads us to the opposite conclusions. At present, besides the Stroganov ABC-book, three other contemporary documents are known which also demonstrate the examples of stylized vyaz’. These include the Collection of Znamenny chants from the National Library of Russia (Vyaz. O.20), the so-called Efrem’s Gospels from the National Museum of Republic of Tatarstan (KP-5833) and the ABC-scroll also from the National Library of Russia (F.III.131). The paleographic analysis of these manuscripts shows that they all may be dated to the first quarter of the 17th century. The earliest is the Stroganov ABC-book. It also displays the samples of vyaz’ that could be used both in written books or documents and on other objects that belonged to Nikita Grigorievich Stroganov. The making of ornaments in these samples may be linked with the professional artists from the Armoury Chamber and Posol’sky Prikaz working upon the state commissions, such as Fyodor Sergeevich Basov and Parfenij (Bogdan) Perfiriev. This style of vyaz’ was a kind of local fashion in the first quarter of the 17th century that later fell in disuse. It was probably created by Fyodor Sergeevich Basov, the compiler of the Stroganov ABC-book of 1604.
On the Problem of Dating the Ancient Novogrudok Tiles from the Collection of the State Russian Museum in the Light of Technical and Technological Research
The article focuses on the glazed and terracotta tiles of Ancient Novogrudok from the collection of the State Russian Museum, which were examined using X-ray fluorescence analysis and X-ray diffractometry. The exhibits are made of clay of a similar chemical composition, probably obtained from the same deposit. The ceramic base of only a few tiles contains phosphorus. A green lead glaze on the surface of the tiles includes iron and copper compounds. A total of six tiles contains tin in their glaze. Antimony was detected in the glaze of one tile; the molding of its front plate differs from the technologies used in the creation of other objects from the museum collection. In the glaze of two samples, phosphorus was not identified, unlike the rest of the tiles. The terracotta fragment with the geometric ornament (inventory number DRI–197) has close analogues among Lithuanian tiles. The lead content in the clay of some tiles does not correlate with the time of their creation or the presence of glaze on the front plate.
Letters, Codes, Ciphers in Contemporary Russian Art (Based on Materials of the Exhibition “Message” in the Russian State Museum)
The research is devoted to the problem of the visualization of notional signs in the Russian art of the end of the 20th and the first quarter of the 21st centuries. It is based on the materials of the exhibition “Message”, which was held at the Russian State Museum (St. Petersburg, Russia) from August to November of 2024, in the halls of the Benois Wing building. The section of the exhibition, titled “Writings, Codes, Ciphers”, brought together a significant layer of works by authors, working in this field: ranging from street artists to conceptualists. The analysis of their oeuvre allowed to identify the main directions of their searches in the field of reflecting on the boundaries of conceptual and imaginative thinking. Among the most significant were defined as follows: an appeal to the visuality of early forms of writing (Anatoly Belkin, Vitaly Komar, Alexandra Melamid); to the problem of author’s handwriting and font (Taras Vilkhovsky, Denis Dmitriev, Vadim Kulikov, Nikita Nomerz, Maxim Ima, Vasily Vlasov); to the consideration of the objective (tactile) qualities of the text (Gennady Kornilov, Vasily Livanov, Peter Bely, Sergey Katran); to the peculiarities of modern pictographs and ciphers (Vladimir Abikh, Maxim Svishchev, Leonid Lamm, WEKMAN); to the secret coding and covert surveillance (Leonid Lamm, Evgeny Semenov, Denis Patrakeev, Vladimir Tsigal). The inclination of contemporary artists to comprehend the interrelationships of verbal and visual elements has been recognized as an important cultural phenomenon in the era of the visual turn.
Copyright (c) 2025 Анастасия Ивановна Карлова (Автор)
An Archaeologist Facing the Jerusalem Myth: Yana Chekhanovets’ Book “Jerusalem on Earth and Underground”
In 2023, the “Slovo” publishing house released a book by archaeologist Yana Chekhanovets, a major specialist in Christian archaeology of the Holy Land, dedicated to Jerusalem. “Jerusalem of the Earth and Underground” is a unique study, since it introduces the reader in a popular form to the most serious problems of the archaeology of Jerusalem, which still has many dark spots. The author, himself a resident of the Old City, offers 40 essays in which he reveals various aspects of the existence of Jerusalem, its monuments, its inhabitants, and its researchers. As a result, Jerusalem is presented as a complex psychological space created by the geniuses of past eras, in which an equal role belongs to the descendants of King David and the Roman urban planning genius and the British pro-Jerusalem Council of 1917, and the inhabitants of the past and present city. Presented in this way, “Jerusalem of the Earth and Underground” appears as unique material for researchers of the phenomenology of the city and the social theory of the city. The past, revealed by the archaeologist, gives meaning to the present.
Copyright (c) 2025 Лидия Сергеевна Чаковская (Автор)
The Concept of Atmosphere as a New Approach in the Theory of Decorative and Applied Arts
Since the 1950s there have been an ongoing debate among the researchers in the field of Russian art history and art criticism regarding the status of decorative and applied arts, as well as the correctness of the term itself. In general, decorative and applied arts were usually viewed as the peripheral area of study; the trend continues to this day. At the same time, it is applied arts that remain “closest” to man. However, in recent decades the growing scientific interest towards the phenomenon of aestheticization of everyday life has once again raised the issue of the peripherality of decorative and applied arts and has stimulated the search for new approaches to their study. The present paper proposes to apply the theory of the atmosphere as a new methodological move. The aim of the article is to substantiate the resourcefulness of the atmospheric theory for the study of objects of decorative and applied arts. The main methodological sources include the concepts of the Italian aesthetician Tonino Griffero, as well as the German philosopher Gernot Böhme. The author marks out the main concepts of atmospheric theory suitable for productive analysis of objects of decorative and applied art such as ecstaticity and affordances. The relevance of atmospheric theory is largely due to attention it pays to form and material, a category crucial for the studied area. It was revealed that the compatibility of materials can be viewed as one of the strong and promising aspects of atmospheric theory; however, it remains understudied. This gap can be bridged by further research within the field of decorative and applied arts that has a high atmospheric potential.
Copyright (c) 2025 Елизавета Юрьевна Кравченко (Автор)
(Non)Human Addition: Elaborated Heritage
The article examines the problem of the influence of digital image processing technologies on the perception of works of art in the perspective of mastering or appropriating the cultural heritage of previous eras. The projects of the Australian artist and curator S. Kenderdine and the Russian artist E. Kraft, both using technologies of “augmentation” and processing of “big data”, are analyzed as examples. Against the background of the already traditional methods of description based on such terms as “doubling”, “augmentation”, “virtualization”, “proliferation”, the author refers to the understanding of heritage by J. Derrida’s, according to which heritage is never a given, but a result of an accurate comprehensive elaboration being done by successors. In such framing this is not so much authenticity that is important, which in the case of “digital copies” can be easily challenged, as the construction of a connection, interface with the viewer. Derrida’s conclusions can therefore be “augmented” by considering the problematization of materiality that these two projects, in particular, produce, each in its own way.
Copyright (c) 2025 Нина Николаевна Сосна (Автор)
Unconscious Recognition and Materialization of Presence in the Visual Language of Dmitri Cavander
The study was supported by an internal grant of the Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia (project No 47VG). The article analyzes the phenomenon of unconscious recognition and the process of materializing the viewer’s presence in the visual language of the artist Dmitri Cavander. Special attention is given to the investigation of perception mechanisms that activate the work of the unconscious in the recipient and provoke their emotional engagement through the observation of oneiric images: empty urban landscapes, lonely interiors, and endless roads. The work relies on the theories of G. Didi-Huberman, B. L. Ettinger, G. Deleuze, and F. Guattari, who consider art as a space of dialectics between the observed object and the viewer. Key concepts such as “aura”, “the uncanny”, “matrixial space” and “affect” are used to explain the interaction between conscious and unconscious perception. Through the analysis of Dmitri Cavander’s visual language, the phenomenon of “negative recognition” is revealed, where the observed images evoke a sense of connection with the viewer’s own memories. This effect is linked to traumatic memory, which makes possible the unconscious co-participation of the recipient in the meeting-event with the artwork, in which all participants are involved in a dynamic and interactive process. A special role in perception is played by the affective connections between the image and the viewer, which allow the viewer to include his or her own body in the process and feel physically “inside” the image. Art is viewed as a specific way of thinking that creates a shared space between the artist and the viewer, where the rupture between different states of being and time is recognized as an opportunity for experiencing the vulnerability and fragility of memories transmitted through the memory of the other. Thus, the effect of co-presence in the artwork is conditioned by the activation of unconscious mechanisms of memory, desire, and anxiety, making art a space for experiencing loss and the loss of control over the past.
Contemporary Painting in Exposition Space: “Unpacking” Practice
Contemporary paintings are becoming more noticeable as a part of gallery exhibitions, curatorial projects, independent and commercial biennials. Various options of mounting and layouts of non-stretched canvas become more popular. This non-standard display of painting is considered in the article as a marker of a certain institutional and artistic adoption. It can be interpreted as an experience of assimilation of painting into the new art media in the environment of modern exhibition complex. The origins and main methods of transformation of the pictorial basis during 20th – early 21st centuries and their possible historical prototypes are analyzed in the article. The theory of modern representation is considered, which allows us to correlate the categories of distance and presence, significant for the art of the 20th century, with the idea of the abstract as a manifestation of the objectivity of works of art and the art media themselves. Unsaturation of plastic manifestations and the expansion of symbolic meanings, relevant for the art of the first quarter of the 21st century, are reflected in stylistic preferences of metamodern. Informal methods of display can be interpreted as a trigger and experience of temporary, playful reformatting — semantic “unpacking”. The author of the article notes the liminal position of painting in the contemporary art space. Transitional forms of non-conventional representation testify to the active search for the ways of integration of contemporary painting into contemporary art media.
Evolution of the Problem of National Style in Cultural Theory and Aesthetics
The article provides theoretical and methodological analysis of the evolution of the national style problem research in culture and art. This problematic was formed during the 19th–20th centuries in the context of considering the correlation between the general and particular, stable and dynamic in culture. The paper criticises the concepts of cultural development as spiritual self-development, the opposition of national tradition to the general historical process of cultural development, the dissolution of style diversity in the model of multiculturalism, the identification of folk and national culture, national identity and mentality, as well as the interpretation of the genesis of national style from the sphere of unconscious sensuality or mythology. New approaches to the problem are considered in the structural-semiotic and dialogical concepts of culture developed by Lotman and Bakhtin, which justify the understanding of national style as a form of cultural creativity, which transforms the boundaries of cultures into a collective symbolic image of the dialogue of the external and internal, tradition and renewal. The analysis concludes that national style is an expression of the historical formation of national self-consciousness, on the way from dissolving into anonymous ethnic tradition to finding its own voice in the dialogue of cultures and eras. Historical style modifications structure the national self-consciousness with a palette of aesthetically expressive artistic images, which together give a picture of the semantic volume and linguistic diversity of national culture, not reducible to a single style. Such understanding leads to a dialectical understanding of the creative nature of national style in the historical development of culture, thereby transcending the contradictions of the opposition of the national and the universal, tradition and dynamism, the local and the foreign.
“Journey Through China” from St. Petersburg to Paris: Illustrations for Pavel Piasetskii’s Travelogue in Russia and France
In 1874–75, Pavel Piasetskii — a Russian doctor, writer, and amateur artist — journeyed to China as part of a scientific and trading expedition organised by the Russian government. During his travels, he created approximately one thousand drawings and watercolour paintings. A selection of these works was later reproduced as lithographs to accompany his “Journey through China”, which documented his experience. In 1883, a French translation of Pyasetsky’s travelogue was published in Paris, featuring ninety new engravings based on his original drawings. However, these engravings diverged significantly from Piasetskii’s initial compositions. This article explores how politics, culture, technology, and fashion shaped Piasetskii’s portrayal of China and the subsequent transformation of his works in France. Key factors include the rivalry between Russia and Great Britain during the “Great Game” in Central Asia, the spread of “Yellow Peril” ideologies in Europe, the rise of photography, and the enduring tradition of chinoiserie.
The Features of Sacred Spaces Images in Vajrayana Buddhist Art
The article analyzes the images (painting and votive models) of sacred sites in the art of Buddhism, primarily in Vajrayana. Authors posit the thesis of their early emergence, almost simultaneously with the advent of pilgrimage practices, during the time of Emperor Ashoka (3rd century BCE). The focus is on sites and their images in India, China, Korea, and Mongolia. Special attention is given to the representations of the temple in Bodh Gaya (Bihar, India) where Ashoka built the Mahabodhi Temple, which took on its present form in the 5th–6th centuries. The first representations of this temple in sculpture (votive models) appeared in India in the 9th century and maintained their presence in the history of Buddhist art until the 15th century. It should be noted that with the development of Vajrayana Buddhism and its geographical spread, the emergence of new sacred sites within Buddhism was be associated with the locations of residence or special blessings of various bodhisattvas. Typically, these are mountain ranges, within the valleys of which monasteries are gradually built. Examples of such sites include the Five-Headed Mountain Wutai in Shanxi Province, China, associated with the cult of the bodhisattva Manjushri; Mount Geumgangsan on the Korean Peninsula, a space where many bodhisattvas reside; Mount Otgontenger in Mongolia, the abode of Vajrapani; and many others. The authors propose that the emerging sacred geography of Vajrayana not only had a significant impact on the formation of iconography (for example, the emergence of the form of Simhanada Manjushri, riding on a lion, is closely linked to Wutai), but these sacred places themselves became subjects of representation and can be regarded as a unique iconographic type.
The Artistic Specificity of Buryat Lama Portrait Sculpture, 19th–21st Centuries
This article examines the artistic characteristics of sculptural portraiture in the Buddhist art of Buryatia during the second half of the 19th and 20th centuries. Although portrait painting held significant importance in the Vajrayana tradition, depicting revered religious leaders according to established iconographic conventions, the artistic specificity of Buryat sacred portraiture remains under-researched. Like their Tibetan counterparts, memorial portraits of highly venerated lamas in Buryatia functioned as substitutes for the physical presence of deceased teachers and served as focal points for devotional practice. This research aims to identify the distinctive artistic features of sculptural portraiture in Buryat Buddhist art through the analysis of images depicting revered local teachers. Drawing on portraits of Buryat lamas from the collections of the National Museum of the Republic of Buryatia and the State Museum of the History of Religion, this study identifies characteristics of traditional iconographic conventions and traces the development of a tradition that combined idealized representation with individualized features. By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Buryat artists increasingly emphasized the personal characteristics of spiritual figures in their work. The study reveals the existence of distinct artistic workshops associated with monasteries in the Agin region, particularly at Tsugol Monastery. The analysis demonstrates that following the disruption of this tradition during the Soviet era, contemporary Buryat Buddhist communities have adopted a more flexible approach to commissioning artwork, engaging artists with varying levels of formal training and artistic background.
Wang Dongling’s Calligraphic Experiments: The Path from Tradition Renewal to Its Deconstruction
Among modern Chinese calligraphers, Wang Dongling (born in 1945) stands out for his wide popularity in the West. His solo exhibitions are regularly held in the largest museums of the world. Wang Dongling belongs to the generation of pioneers of “modern Chinese calligraphy” (xiandai shufa) and is the author of original experiments with calligraphic plastics. He has published dozens of theoretical studies, and the Internet is filled with videos of his performances. Wang Dongling considers it his mission to promote the art of Chinese calligraphy all over the world. Experimenting with calligraphic forms throughout his half-century of creative activity, Wang Dongling is moving further away from the traditional direction. Counting on modern exhibition spaces, he maximizes the format of calligraphic works and writes with very large brushes. Wang Dongling uses not only traditional paper, but also photographic paper, plexiglass, bamboo trunks, and uses acrylic paints in addition to ink. He combines the calligraphy of basic handwriting with photographs of nude models and sitters. The master considers his main achievement to be the invention of luanshu cursive handwriting, in which adjacent columns of hieroglyphs are found on top of each other, some signs are written on top of the previous ones, so that graphemes retain recognition, but the hieroglyphs themselves are not readable. Wang Dongling regularly organizes calligraphic performances, accompanied by performances by dancers reproducing the movements of his brush. Wang Dongling’s work provides an opportunity to explore the boundaries of the transformation of Chinese calligraphy, beyond which calligraphy ceases to be what it is.
Architectural Environment Formation Today: Meanings and Images
The article prepared within the framework of the Program of Fundamental Scientific Research of the Russian Academy of Architecture and Construction Sciences and the Ministry of Construction, Housing and Utilities of the Russian Federation for 2025. The article raises issues related to the content of the current architectural environment. It emphasizes the connecting role of the concept of the environment, which makes it possible to use different aspects of comprehension and organization of the modern person’s living space. Today, several influential centers of attraction connecting the theory and practice of design have emerged, including historical-cultural, functional, technological, social, ecological, conceptual, and new artistic dimensions. Interdisciplinarity seems to be not only a problem, but also a serious resource consonant with the times. Hybridization has become one of the key tools allowing integration of heterogeneous beginnings in the environment. The artistic-figurative aspect is presented in the dialogical unity of three enlarged fields of integration: spatio-temporal contexts, artistic interaction of art forms and personal approaches of architects or users of the architectural space. The article also addresses the issue of expanding the semantic boundaries of architectural and design education, conceptual revision, and inclusion of the following basic concepts: art integration, dynamic communication, “drifting” identity, theatricality and theatricalization, the performative principle, facts of individual history and personal reality, the atmosphere and aura of a place, moments of vitality and the vital qualities of the environment, motives of nature and organic laws. The priorities proposed in the article show an updated spectrum of qualities of environmental formation, covering historical and cultural meanings, the evolutionary line of sustainable development, timeless concepts and motives of work in space, environmental theories and artistic practices, the potential of technology and the philosophy of peaceful coexistence with the environment, individual and interdisciplinary principles, spontaneous creative manifestations.
International Art in the 20th and 21st Centuries
The International Exchange Programs in the Development of the Leningrad Textile School
The article was written with the financial support of the Russian Science Foundation, grant 23-18-00419 “Enterprises of the art industry of Leningrad in the 1940s–1960s. and their role in shaping the living environment”. The Leningrad Textile School is a phenomenon of design that unites the educational system, serial production and innovative searches of the school’s leaders — outstanding artists. The School developed actively in the early 1950s, after the restoration of the Art and Industrial school, which until 1917 was called the Central School of Technical Drawing of Baron A. Stieglitz. The Leningrad Textile School formed its own traditions, responding to the demands of the Industry and current trends in Decorative Art. This phenomenon has not been fully studied, but it is also not sufficiently understood. Based on the Study of archival materials, it was possible to find out that since the 1950s, the Leningrad Higher School of Art and Industry has been implementing international Exchange Programs with Academies and Universities in Hungary, Poland, Germany, and Great Britain. Industrial Internships were organized for the students from Leningrad at the textile factories in the Baltic countries. The article notes the contribution of the Latvian school to the development of textile art in Leningrad, carried out through cultural exchange at exhibitions and in the creative workshop Dzintari. Student internships at the Higher School of Decorative Arts in Prague in the early 1960s contributed to the development of some weaving skills, while the collaboration with the Hungarian Institute of Applied Arts influenced the development of textile design. International exchange programs existed in the Leningrad Union of Artists. Textile factories (especially the V. Slutskaya cotton-printing factory) took part in the International Industrial Exhibitions, expanding the export zone of Leningrad fabrics.
Revision of Classicism and Academism in the Works of T. Novikov and the Masters of the New Academy of Fine Arts
The subject of the article is the revision of the traditional understanding of classical heritage and aesthetic approach of academicism in the work of the participants of the New Academy of Fine Arts, which is often unreasonably perceived in the context of neoclassicism. Visually, the works of the founder of the Academy, T. Novikov, in contrast to the works of certain members of the Academy, in particular, G. Guryanov or Y. Strausova’s works, have no connection to classical art, although he used key symbols and images of Ancient Greece and Rome: the images of Olympic gods and mythological heroes, famous ancient works of art, etc., presenting them in an unexpected context. Timur Novikov’s Russian neoclassicism does not create an ideal pseudo-classical world, it is rather ironic and simulates neoclassical intentions. Timur Novikov’s academic innovations have become significant today in the spirit of the conservative and imperial paradigm, but the reception and interpretation of academicism in individual artistic concepts of the masters of the New Academy of Fine Arts is too diverse and controversial to claim a single interpretation in the context of the consistent evolution of academicism. Considering that contemporary art is difficult to evaluate using the criteria of classical aesthetics, the revision of the traditional aesthetic and formal tools of academicism and classicism by the masters of the New Academy is an illustrative example of conservative trends in art, realized through original artistic means.
Copyright (c) 2025 Марина Валерьевна Бирюкова (Автор)
Socialist Realist Art: Towards New Approaches to Interpretation
The study was carried out within the framework of project No. 25-28-00351 “Representation of everyday life in Soviet visual culture of the 1950s–1970s”, funded by the Russian Science Foundation. The article considers the issue of possible strategies for interpreting Soviet realistic art. Socialist realist painting is a difficult object to study, since most influential modern approaches to its understanding are oriented towards the criteria set by the development of 20th-century Western art. An analysis of the key approaches to the interpretation of Soviet art allows us to identify a range of dominant trends, which, with all their inherent differences, are united by their orientation towards the aesthetic criteria of the artistic avant-garde. From this point of view, socialist realism is an anomalous phenomenon in the history of 20th-century art and can only be considered as an untenable artistic project. The article proposes to approach the study of socialist realism from the perspective of a “social” or “anthropological” framework and to look at Soviet fine art as a reflection of specific socio-cultural practices. The implementation of such an approach will allow us to pose new research questions, in particular, to draw attention to the relationship between the transformation of the figurative system of Soviet painting and the multidirectional processes that took place in Soviet society. The solution to the problem formulated in this way will require a study of various empirical material, that is, a study of the totality of images and texts generated by Soviet culture. Such an extension of the study framework allows us to claim that the subject of the study is not art as an autonomous sphere, but visual culture as a whole.
Creative Activity of the Easel Painting Workshops of the All-Russian Academy of Arts (1932–1947)
The All-Russian Academy of Arts existed in Leningrad from 1932 to 1947. It revived the system of training in personal workshops under the guidance of prominent Soviet artists. Around the heads of the workshops were formed interesting creative teams consisting of painters of different generations. The All-Russian Academy of Arts contributed to the revival of the pre-revolutionary traditions of the national art education system and the creation of a new system of art education. The creative activity of easel painting workshops is of great interest, as they played a crucial role in establishing the basic principles of art education. They produced numerous students, many of whom became outstanding masters of Russian painting. They were led by such artists as I. I. Brodsky, A. A. Osmerkin, A. I. Savinov, B. V. Ioganson, and other masters. Despite the serious interest of researchers to the problems of the domestic art of the 1930 and 1940s, the history of the Academy has not been yet sufficiently studied. It is important to evaluate objectively, from the standpoint of modern art history, the role of the Academy of Arts in the restructuring of the Soviet academic system of art education and in the development of art in general. The article aims to provide a reconstruction of the creative activity of the easel painting workshops of the All-Russian Academy of Arts.
Rhythmodynamics and the “Fate of Events”: Projection Theatre as an Experimental Platform for Artists
The paper considers the Projection Theatre as one of the important phenomena in the contextual field of the Society of Easel Artists. The Projection Theatre, which emerged among the first abstract theatres in Russia in 1922, was created by the artists themselves and became part of the life-building project of the Avant-garde of the 1920s. The study established that the concept of projectionism proposed by the first director of the theatre Solomon Nikritin was subsequently followed by Sergei Luchishkin. Luchishkin became one of the main members of the Society of Easel Artists, and at the same time he directed the theatre from 1926 until 1930, which almost completely coincided with the time of OST’s activity on the art scene. According to Luchishkin, the Projection Theatre he developed was intended to decipher modernity and “tune” the viewer in a certain way, literally, in a physical sense, charge him with the help of “rhythmodynamics” brought to perfection. Other OST artists searched to embody the same thing, only through painting or graphics. In both theater and painting, a new mobile artistic integrity emerged as an important element for the Society of Easel Artists. The performance, just like the picture, had to embody a “plastically developing construction.” This became possible thanks to the OST members’ favorite principle of dynamic montage. As the study shows, the practice of the Projection Theater turned out to be extremely important for the appearance of several original features in OST painting. This includes the desire for all-encompassingness, a world as if newly created, and characters as if mastering the algorithms of movement for the first time, distinguished by a purely functional appearance, characters necessary for revealing the properties of space (often thought of as global). The Projection theatre, which was invariably called “new” by its creators, was supposed to reveal the “world connection” of phenomena. Meanwhile, the actor, trained according to the directors’ authorial methodology and playing many roles in the same performance, was supposed to demonstrate that the characters were merely “material for the development of events.”
Reproductive and Unique in the Art Postcard of the Russian Empire
Recently, in the field of humanities studies, a new trend in the research of visual arts has emerged — the inclusion of reproduction into the sphere of interest of scientific knowledge. This tendency was laid as early as in the works of W. Benjamin, who considered reproducing as an inevitable stage in the development of culture, which has a negative impact on it due to the loss of the recipient’s sense of authenticity of a work of art. It is not surprising that until today, book, magazine and newspaper illustration, postal and applied graphics, including artist signed postcard, were on the periphery of scientific interest in classical history of art. Studying of art history it is possible to examine the problems of work of different artists in their co-operation with postcard publishers, the methods of their work on drawings and their reproducing, technical aspects of print. It is not always possible to establish whether a drawing was created specifically for a postcard or whether the artist gave it from ready-made drawings suitable in subject matter, size and difficulty of reproducing. The archive of the Community of St. Eugenia publishing house makes it possible to establish the exact history of the publication of individual postcards, to see the stages of the artist’s work, and to determine the degree of originality of certain works. Many artists opted to formalize the commission, refraining from creating special drawings. I. E. Repin, V. M Vasnetsov, and M. V. Nesterov offered a variant of postcards-reminders of their famous works independently of each other. The artists of the ‘World of Art’ association for the first time thought of the printing press as an artist’s tool and offered their own variants of working on prints, excluding the sketch drawing from the process. The latter was in line with the trend of expanding artists’ understanding of what can serve as a tool for them, testified in itself to the presence of an artistic aura in reproductions, and influenced the development of contemporary media art.
Visual Elements of the Literary Text of I. F. Tyumenev’s Autobiography and Diaries
The research was carried out at the expense of a grant from the Russian Science Foundation No. 22-78-10135. The unique memoir and diary work of Ilya Fedorovich Tyumenev (1855–1927) — a representative of an ancient merchant family, writer, musician, artist, translator, ethnographer, and collector — consists of 16 handwritten volumes stored in the Department of Manuscripts of the National Library of Russia. The work has been created since 1879, with last lines dating back to the year of the author’s death. Five volumes were titled by the author as “My Autobiography”, and the diaries begin in the middle of the sixth volume. When transmitting certain information, I. F. Tyumenev sought not only to tell about the events he witnessed, but also to preserve the most reliable evidence about them, so the artistic text of the work includes both a literary outline and a number of visual elements: drawings, photographs, concert programs, business cards, etc. The article provides a systematic review of these elements. Based on a de visu review of a large number of documents of this type created in the second half of the 19th — first half of the 20th century, the place of Tyumenev’s autobiographical work was determined. The conclusion has been made about the culminating significance of Tyumenev’s work in the evolution of the form of autobiographical works, which reflected the generally changing human mindset, the emergence of increasing attention to detail, and the accuracy of information. Likewise, this form embodied the desire for the synthetics of art, a characteristic of the turn of the 19th–20th centuries.
In Search of a “National Style”: The Image of Kievan Rus’ on the Theatrical Stage in the Early 19th Century
The research was funded by a grant from the Russian Science Foundation № 24-28-00856, https://rscf.ru/project/24- 28-00856/ A surge in interest in plots from Russian history and antiquity, sparked by Catherine II’s operas and continued by early 19th-century playwrights and composers, necessitated the depiction of medieval Russian cities, noble palaces and military camps of the prince’s retinue, etc., in the stage designs. Thanks to А. Olenin and the Moscow Armory experts, the search for suitable national architectural models for antique construction yielded results around 1810. Theatre decorators were at the forefront of creating a national artistic style, yet were restricted to a defined set of known 17th-century Moscow architectural examples. In short, the onstage representations of medieval Kiev, Chernigov, and Novgorod chambers drew their key stylistic elements from the richly ornamented architecture of the 17th century. This style most effectively reflected view on the wealth and variety inherent in the Russian architectural tradition. The musical theatre, unbound by the unity of place and action and boasting far greater resources for scenery and staging than the dramatic theatre, shaped the visual image we recognize as Kievan Rus’.