Actual Problems of Theory and History of Art
Fatih Camii at Enez and the Cathedrals of the Middle Byzantine Period
Fatih Camii at Enez is traditionally considered to be a part and parcel of the Constantinopolitan architectural school. However, its construction date and role in the history of Byzantine architecture are still debated. Recent architecture-archaeological studies of the monuments erected during the 11th century with assistance of the Constantinopolitan master builders allow to suggest that the cathedral at Enez may have been built in the same time period, possibly, in the first half – middle of the 11th century. The revised data of the dendrochronological analysis of the examples taken from Fatih Camii also testify in favor of the given decades. Certain constructional, technological, compositional and decorative characteristics of Fatih Camii find their closest parallels in two monuments: the katholikon of Nea Moni on Chios and the cathedral of St. Sophia in Kiev. Both churches were built in the 1030s–1040s. The church in Nea Moni shares with Fatih Camii a similar set of decorative elements executed in brick and similar location on the façades, as well as the final treatment of the walls with incised plaster coating, imitating regular masonry. Moreover, the cathedral in Kiev has an analogous layout and constructional characteristics, such as an elongated western part of the naos without additional eastern bays and lowered arches, supporting the dome. 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, research project 1.1.1.1.
Green Zone in the Architecture and Theory of English Brutalism during the 1950s and 1970s
In modernist, especially functionalist, theory, nature was given a rationally justified hygienic function, which obviated the need for artistic design of landscapes. However, after World War II the architectural community started to feel the inadequacy of the functionalist method and sought to humanize it. The CIAM discussion developed new principles, based on the idea of communication and community building, as well as blending of functions like in the traditional city. It was presented by a group of young architects who called themselves ‘Team X’. On this basis, the group’s leaders, British architects Alison and Peter Smithson, created the New Brutalism which rapidly gained popularity in England. This article aims to explore the landscape architecture of the green space in Brutalist urbanism and housing in its relation to the theory and practice of green spaces in international modernism, the theory of Brutalism itself, and the critique of modernism that emerged at the turn of the 1950s and 1960s. Although the texts and declarations of the Brutalists themselves contain much fewer direct reference to the general principles of green spaces than program texts of Functionalism, there is a clear evolution and increasing complexity of in its design. Gradually they acquire a character of their own and become understood as part of a coherent urban communication system. Thus, the practices of the New Brutalism allowed a progressive sophistication of the relationship between the architecture and urban green spaces, which is of great importance for the subsequent existence of landscape architecture.
International Art in the 20th and 21st Centuries
World Heritage of Istanbul from Perspective of Vernacular Architecture
Istanbul, strategically situated between Europe and Asia on the Bosphorus Peninsula, has served as a hub of political, religious, and artistic significance for over two millennia. The city is home to four distinct areas inscribed as the “Historical Areas of Istanbul” on the UNESCO World Heritage list: the Archaeological Park, the Süleymaniye Quarter with its iconic mosque complex and surrounding bazaars, the Zeyrek area centered around the Zeyrek Mosque, and the Theodosian land walls region, once home to the Blachernae Palace. Despite their historical and cultural value, these heritage sites face significant threats from population growth, industrial pollution, and unchecked urbanization. This paper focuses on the challenges confronting the vernacular wooden architecture of the Süleymaniye Quarter, an area where monumental structures often overshadow the more vulnerable civil architectural heritage. Although Istanbul’s city center has been free of serious conflicts for centuries, the Süleymaniye Quarter bears the appearance of a conflict zone, grappling with issues such as tourism pressures, urban development, neglect, and mismanagement. International guidelines suggest that reconstruction of historical centers is warranted only after wars or natural disasters. Yet, the Süleymaniye Quarter faces a gradual decline rooted in evolving legal regulations and urban policies. This paper seeks to uncover the underlying causes of decay in the area and explores how to address the social, cultural, and architectural deterioration that has emerged without the presence of an explicit conflict.The study is grounded in a comprehensive review of local research conducted over the past two decades, aimed at understanding the approaches taken to preserve the Süleymaniye Quarter. Additionally, site investigations have been conducted to assess the authenticity of the area’s architectural heritage, particularly as many vernacular buildings have been reconstructed over time rather than preserved in their original form. The analysis also incorporates the latest findings from the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality’s on-site evaluations. Preserving the invaluable heritage of the Süleymaniye District is a race against time. Situated in a seismically active region, Istanbul faces a high probability of a major earthquake within the next two decades. Protecting the district’s fragile wooden structures requires immediate action, not only to strengthen their physical resilience but also to address the social and economic vulnerabilities intensified by earthquakes, population pressures, industrial pollution, and uncontrolled urban growth.
Interdisciplinary Methods in the Research on Cultural Heritage
Marquetry: Historical Analysis of the Term and Its Definitional Boundaries
The article is devoted to the study of the emergence and use of the term ‘marquetry’ from its origin in the 15th century to the present day. It explains the etymology of the word and discusses a number of terms for various techniques that were known as ‘marquetry techniques’ in past centuries. In the course of studying the subject, the famous work of André-Jacob Roubo, L’art du Menuisier-ébéniste, published at the end of the 18th century, was translated into Russian for the first time. In his work, Roubo describes all stages of creating pieces of furniture for various purposes, from manufacturing of veneer to polishing. Roubo, as many authors who have dealt with the use of typesetting wood in works of art, is often inconsistent in the basic classification of typesetting woodwork. Quite often, the motif of the image served as the basis for determining the technique of performance. Especially often, until the beginning of the 20th century, the meanings of the terms ‘marquetry’ and ‘intarsia’ were confused. The considered material allows us to see the use of the term ‘marquetry’ over time, as well as to describe the specifics of the marquetry technique.
Preservation Evaluation, and Restoration of the Collection of Dutch Atlases Damaged by Verdigris
The collection of Western European engraved atlases at the National Library of Russia is unique in terms of both in the range of cartographers and the number of items. The collection comprises over 400 volumes of masterpieces of world cartography from the 16th –18th Century. The superior historic and artistic value of this collection, as well as its uniqueness, makes the problem of its preservation a matter of extreme importance. The preservation evaluation of the collection of West European engraved atlases and the creation of the database of preservation measures have showed that the previously implemented complex of conservation measures ensures the good condition of the documents, allows to predict the condition of an individual item or the collection as a whole. The preservation program also enables us to organize scientific and exhibition activities with a minimal risk of document deterioration.
Imitations of Cloisonne Enamels in Ancient Russian Art on the Example of Archaeological Finds from the Vladimir-Suzdal Region
The design and technological features of polychrome enamels on three Old Russian (12th–13th centuries) bronze objects, an icon pendant, a kolt and a cross, found in the Vladimir-Suzdal region were studied by X-ray, synchrotron, and neutron tomography. The enamel images decorating them are similar in appearance to the cloisonné enamel technique. However, the obtained data allow us to conclude that their technology does not have the main features of either type of cloisonné enamel: European and Byzantine. In the objects under consideration, the enamels are deposited into recesses, which is not the case with European enamels, while the recesses are obtained by casting, which is not used in Byzantine cloisonné enamels. Moreover, various copper alloys used as the base material for the objects, were not used in either European or Byzantine cloisonné enamels. The study showed that the enamel inserts were not made using the cloisonné enamel technique, where metal partitions are placed on a plate or in a recess, forming cells that are subsequently filled with enamel of different colors. The order of operations was the revised: first, the enamels were applied, then the partitions were placed on certain places, and then the enamel was fired. The partitions had a decorative function, as a contour that limited the images. The products made with such a simplified technology can be considered as imitations of expensive gold items of princely-boyar attire made using the complex jewelry technique of cloisonné enamel. The work was carried out within the framework of the state assignment implementation of the National Research Centre "Kurchatov Institute" in part of X-ray tomographic studies, and the state assignment of the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (R&D No. 122011200266-3) in terms of technological studies of ancient Russian enamels.
Fresco Painting of Post-Byzantine Macedonia. General Remarks and Prospects for Study
The article is dedicated to the study of post-Byzantine painting in Macedonia from the late 15th to the early 18th century. The post-Byzantine period in Macedonian art is considered to begin in the late 15th century, as the influence of northern Greek masters became dominant during this time. Artists from the northern Greek villages of Linotopi and Grammousta developed their style based on late Byzantine painting: the deep spatial composition and sculptural qualities were replaced by a more decorative approach, emphasizing ornaments and local colors. These artists emerged as the leading artistic force in Macedonia, their stylistic preferences shaping the tastes of patrons and forming the local artistic tradition. The painting style of Slavic artistic workshops essentially merged with northern Greek painting, to the extent that works by Slavic masters are indistinguishable from those of artists from Kastoria and Linotopi. A general artistic crisis in the first half of the 17th century, characterized by uniformity and reproduction of established stylistic formulas, spurred artists to seek new solutions. One way of introducing innovations was the use of Western European engravings, which enriched the local artistic language and prepared it for closer interaction with Western culture in the future. The discussion of post-Byzantine art in the region can be concluded in the first half of the 18th century when new Baroque artistic trends began to emerge in the Balkans, and Mount Athos became the center of Orthodox art. This period also coincided with the decline of the Ohrid Archbishopric’s influence, as it lost its status of a major ecclesiastical center. This work is supported by the Russian Science Foundation (grant 20-18-00294-P) 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 Role of National Saints and Ktitors’ Compositions in the Fresco Programs of the Ohrid Archbishopric Churches in the Middle – Second Half of the 14th Century
The study is devoted to the problem of the influence of church-political ideology on the composition of the iconographic programs of the churches of the Ohrid Archbishopric during the period of Serbian rule and in the decades following the collapse of the Serbian Kingdom. The article examines the wall paintings of monuments located in the territories under the jurisdiction of the Ohrid Archbishopric during the reign of the ruling Serbian dynasty of Nemanjić (1331–1371). Additionally, individual fresco ensembles created during the collapse of the Serbian state (1371–1395) are studied to analyze the transformation of the ktitors’ compositions and the role of the images of national saints in the church decorations of these lands. Having analyzed a number of church decorations, we came to the conclusion that the visualization of the process of settling relations between the Serbian authorities and the representatives of Ohrid Archbishopric commenced as early as the beginning of the 14th century under the Serbian King Milutin (1282–1321). During the reign of Dusan the Strong (1331–1355) this tendency only intensified. However, under the last Serbian tsar Uroš V (1355–1371), due to the weakening of autocratic power, church relations with secular authorities acquired greater significance, which is reflected in the ktitors’ compositions. In the last quarter of the 14th century, several territories that had been once part of the Serbian state were passed into the hands of various rulers. Thus, the composition in Markov monastery can be considered not only as ktitors’ representation, but also as the portraits of a new royal dynasty of Mrnjavčević. The study of this issue can also provide some important insights into the formation of local specifics in the iconographic programs of the frescoes in the churches of the Slavic-Balkan states, which were under the strong influence of the Byzantine art during the Middle Ages. The monumental painting in the considered territories therefore is the product of synthesis of Slavic and Greek traditions. This work is supported by the Russian Science Foundation (grant 20-18-00294-P) 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.
Images of Local Saints in the Wall Paintings of Churches in the Ohrid Archbishopric from the 11th to the Beginning of the 14th Century
The author assesses the role of the images of local saints in the painted churches of Ohrid Archbishopric, basing on the analysis of the Byzantine ensembles from the 11th century to the period of Serbian domination (14th century) and taking into consideration some new data and hypotheses. The survey of surviving wall paintings shows that there were several key moments when the role of the local saints was conceptualized and put forward in purposefully created ensembles that eventually served as landmarks and models. A first attempt was made by the tsar Samuel in the church of St Achilleus (986‒990) on Prespes, thus launching the cult of this saint in the Northen Balkans. The most important landmarks however were the mid-eleventh century cathedral of St Sophia in Ohrid and the church of St George at Kurbinovo (1191) built and painted upon the orders of learned archbishops Leo (1037‒1056) and John Kamateros (1183‒1215). The choice and placement of the images of saints in these wall paintings demonstrated the position of the Byzantine church towards the origins, the status and the mission of Ohrid Archbishopric. The images of the apostles to the Slavs, saints Cyril and Methodius, as well as that of their pupil Clement of Ohrid, take their place in the hierarchy of the Christian saints and become part of this unity. In the end of the 13th century after the break of traditions and the emergence of the autocephalous Serbian and Bulgarian Churches, other attempts were made to reassemble this system. A new synthesis was created in the church of the Virgin Perivleptos in Ohrid. In the main apse the great church fathers were put together with the patriarchs of Constatninople and the leaders of other Churches, local saints of the neighboring Greek metropolies were painted in the diaconicon, yet the honorary place before the altar screen was reserved for the venerated Ohrid hierarchs, saints Clement and Constantine Kavasilas. During the reign on Serbian kings Milutin and Dušan, the attempts to add the Serbian saints to the local ones remain rare in the wall paintings of the Ohrid Archbishopric. The opposite tendency is more apparent: in the 14th century the images of saints Clement and Achilleus become popular elsewhere in the Northern Balkans, whereas in the Ohrid Archbishopric saint Clement ultimately takes the place of its chief saint patron. This work is supported by the Russian Science Foundation (grant 20-18-00294-P) 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.
church of the Virgin Perivleptos in Ohrid
The Architecture of the Archbishopric of Ohrid in the 13th–14th Centuries
The article attempts to present a comprehensive picture of the development of architecture in the lands under the jurisdiction of the Ohrid Archbishopric in the 13th–14th centuries. At that time, during the constant military clashes during the rivalry of the Byzantine and Slavic medieval states for supremacy in the Balkans, the borders of the diocese were constantly changing, geographically the Archbishopric turned out to be part of different states, but retained autocephaly. The article reveals and characterizes the architectural originality of the monuments of the Ohrid Archbishopric in the context of historical, church-political and historical-architectural processes of the 13th–14th centuries, identifies its origins and traces the features of development, defines the role and place of this group of monuments in the broad context of late Byzantine architecture. This work is supported by the Russian Science Foundation (grant 20-18-00294-P) 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.
Stylistic Aspects of the Frescoes of St. Nicolas Church in Melnik. Historiography and Artistic Context
The church of St. Nicholas in Melnik, Bulgaria, is a well-known monument with a complicated fate, repeatedly mentioned in scholarly literature. In a recent article by Georgi Gerov, its dating to 1211–1216 has been confirmed, thus allowing us to discuss the place of this ensemble in the context of the Balkan art of this period. The frescoes at Melnik present many features of a transitional trend, uniting different versions of the new 13th century style formed on the basis of the Byzantine Comnenian artistic paradigm. The article discusses in detail the peculiarities of the coexistence of these artistic tendencies, as well as the place of Melnik among other coeval ensembles in which similar processes can be traced. This work is supported by the Russian Science Foundation (grant 20-18-00294-P) 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.
Western Influences in the Early Christian Architecture of the Northern Balkans
The article presents an overview of Early Christian churches of the Northern Balkans. The emphasis is placed on architectural features and liturgical equipment that could be associated with one of the regional traditions known for the area in order to trace political and cultural influences. The Northern Balkans are divided in the study into three parts — Greek-speaking territories of the Eastern Illyricum, the coast of the Adriatic sea and the Latin-speaking provinces of the Northeast. The main issue for the study was the question of limits that Roman influence gained in the Balkans. The area belonged to the jurisdiction of the Roman cathedra for the whole Early Christian period, so the regional building tradition was expected to be determined by the West. However, the forms and extents of alleged control, uneven in various Balkan provinces, remain questionable. Our research shows that no distinct traces of Roman impact can be revealed in liturgical arrangement of churches in this region. The Northern-Greek buildings seem to follow a local version of the Constantinopolitan tradition. The Latin-speaking areas were affected by the intense impact of the capital only in the 6th century. It took diversified forms depending on the routes of distribution coming directly from Constantinople or indirectly via Ravenna or Justiniana Prima. The buildings of the 5th century in the Adriatic zone demonstrate the greatest isolation from the capital, however, they follow the Northern Italian rather than Roman tradition. Yet there are examples of anomalous features in every region, that can be associated with isolated centers of Roman, Dalmatian or Greek presence. This work is supported by the Russian Science Foundation (grant 20-18-00294-P) 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.
Contemporary Art at the State Russian Museum: On the Question of the Replenishment of the Collection
The research is devoted to the problem of the replenishing the collection of contemporary art at the State Russian Museum. The objective was to trace the main stages of the collection’s development from the end of the 19th century (when the museum was founded) until now and to identify the basic features and characteristics of contemporary museum practice in this field. The theoretical understanding of these stages, as presented in the article, allowed to consider the phenomenon of collecting contemporary art in a historical perspective. An examination of the accounting and storage documentation, as well as the main regulations governing the stock work, allowed to identify the problematic field of the creation and sustenance of a museum collection of contemporary art in the 21st century. The issues related to the museumification of new art forms and trends present both theoretical (the works of media artists often blur the boundaries between the concepts of ‘original’ and ‘copy’, questioning the idea of the uniqueness of the work), and practical challenges (it is not always clear what should be preserved in case of street art works: a part of the wall with an image, a stencil, or perhaps just photo and video documentation). On the basis of the analysis of several curatorial projects held by the Department of Contemporary Art (“Russian Museum. Gifts and Acquisitions. Section of the Newest Trends”, “Generation of Thirties in Contemporary Russian Art”, etc.), the “exhibition” method of replenishing funds has been emphasized as the most adequate to the task of the replenishment of museum collections of contemporary art.
Museum: Collection, Exhibition, Curatorial Practices
Researching Ancient Colours in Museums Collections: Best Possible Practices and Prospects
With this contribution, we intend to retrace all the salient phases adopted by the writer and the research groups involved starting from 2014 to date regarding the experimentation and search for an ideal method to be able to communicate the ancient colours in Greek and Roman sculptures. The cognitive path, which began in 2014 at the Uffizi Galleries, thanks to the following two and a half years, has ensured the structuring of a method of cognitive approach to ancient polychromy. Considering the activities at the Galleries definitively concluded, it was decided to set up a new working group that would put into practice the results obtained from the analysis of the experimentation with a stable and continuous museum method. In 2018, a new chapter of the project was launched at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples whose conceptual, theoretical, and practical structure retraces in its entirety the guidelines adopted previously: for this reason, this contribution, ample space will be given to the Florentine three-year period in favour of a greater understanding of the cognitive processes currently adopted in Naples, without whose preliminary discussions they would not be clear or understandable.
Dialectics of Media, Critique of Image, and Construction of the World: Three Faces of Vilém Flusser’s Technical Image Theory
Vilém Flusser’s theory of technical images delved deeply into the ethical values of technical images in post-industrial society and their impact on the development of human civilization. This paper holds that technical images, emerging as a new possibility following the crises of traditional images and linear texts, play a crucial role in reshaping our understanding of the world, influencing human behavior, and altering social structures. Flusser’s theory provides a perspective on constructing an ideal world of technical images through political dialogic reform, the development of immaterial culture, and the defense of human creativity. By emphasizing the double-edged nature of technical images, Flusser calls for an awareness of the responsibility in defending human subjectivity and promoting ethical social practices. This paper further explores how technical images, through the ethical dimensions of dialogue and coexistence, can build a more humane world and a new world order based on information and dialogue, offering a solution to the ethical challenges of post-industrial society. Furthermore, the paper underscores that in the epoch of technical images, humans should achieve a new mode of coexistence with the world through creative play and artistic actions with technical images.
Ancient Logos as Influence on Urban Planner Constantinos A. Doxiadis
The famous Greek architect and urban planner Konstantinos Doxiadis (1913–1975) was a 20th century spatial scientist with great vision and important contribution to spatial planning on various scales throughout the globe. Indicatively, in the 1960s he was the lead architect of Islamabad, the new capital of Pakistan. Gifted with sharp intelligence and with superb strategic talent, Doxiadis mobilized state-of-the-art technology to design new cities and whole areas, but also to contribute imaginatively to the advancement of knowledge during a period of postwar and postcolonial restructuring and of absolute trust in the positivist promise of technology. As he said, “what human beings need is not utopia (‘no place’) but entopia (‘in place’) a real city which they can build, a place which satisfies the dreamer and is acceptable to the scientist, a place where the projections of the artist and the builder merge.” However, many of Doxiadis’s other proposals did not materialize, due to unfavorable political and economic constraints. Doxiadis was also known as “the father of ekistics”, which concerns the science of human settlements, including regional, city, plus community planning and dwelling design. The concept of ekistics not only encompasses all scales of human habitation, but also explores the archaeological and historical record of both great cities as well as of settlement patterns. Doxiadis never succumbed to blind trust in science and technology, choosing instead to prioritize human values and vision, real as well as transcendental. Towards this stance, he was prepared by his education and constant references, moral, scientific, philosophical and literary, both ancient and contemporary. In this, he followed the lead of his distinguished mentor, architect Dimitris Pikionis, Professor at the School of Architecture in Athens. A look at the exact manner in which the ancient thought, seen as a major intellectual substratum, influenced Doxiadis’s oeuvre, is the subject of the present analysis. Recently, a fresh round of disagreement broke out in regard to the Acropolis, as a new concrete pathway across much of the site was deemed necessary to facilitate disabled visitors. This addition has been controversial, though the pathways are reversible, cushioned, not directly attached to the surface of the Sacred Rock, and approved by UNESCO. Critics argue that the Rock as a natural monument is devalued. Following the analysis here, a further point may be that the ensuing strong, two-dimensional linearity, which, starting from the Propylaea, frames the Periclean monuments, strengthens a visual manner that evokes Doxiadis’s criticized proposal. But, as we suggested, Doxiadis duly distanced himself from it in later stages of his career, because it contravenes the ancient visual principles and spatial feeling.
visual and spatial arrangement of ancient precincts
divergent interpretations of the Athenian Acropolis
Doxiadis and global postcolonial development
Deafult, Seizure, and the Ordnung Principle in Russian Art at the Beginning of the 21st Century
The article examines the work of two generations of artists from the 2000s to the 2010s, who sought to interpret the traditions of Western conceptual art and explore the material and formal structures of the corporate world and office life. The purpose of this introductory material is to identify key trends in addressing new types of reading the administrative-bureaucratic discourse of Conceptualism of the 1960s on the territory of artistic life of the last twenty years. Its main goal is to map the key conceptual and event series that illuminated the art of this era. The article examines the works of authors from different generations and schools, but at the same time focuses on the representatives of the younger generation of the 2000s and young artists of the 2010s on the Moscow art scene, who have been engaged in reworking the principles of Western European institutional criticism in a new way. Thus, in the 2000s, the activities of the ABC (Art Business Consulting) group (Maxim Ilyukhin, Mikhail Kosolapov, Natalya Struchkova) acquired some significance. In the 2010s, besides the ASI (Agency of Singular Investigations) art group (Anna Titova, Stanislav Shuripa), associated with the circle of the above-mentioned artists, the most characteristic key representatives of various approaches to the processing of bureaucratic imagery became artists such as Anastasia Ryabova and Kirill Savchenkov. In addition to indicating some of the key projects of the aforementioned artists, the article touches those authors, as well as cultural workers, who were involved in conceptualizing the theme of the workplace and the office during the designated period.
Blind and Automatic Drawing in the Late 20th — Early 21st Centuries in the Art of Western and Eastern Europe
Drawing with eyes closed and other non-visual art practices in the late 20th – early 21st centuries clearly resonate with the avant-garde critique of rational vision and the post-war tradition of overcoming collective trauma. Being affected by current personal or geopolitical events, contemporary artists are often ready to close their eyes. This paper aims at tracing the origins of non-visual techniques in the art of the early 21st century, as well as at comparing them with the methods of the Dada, Surrealists, Futurists, and other experiment groups of the early 20th century. Let us trace how drawing reveals a connection with tactility and bodily interaction in different periods, how blind and automatic drawing becomes a method of exploring a non-obvious, deferred meaning. These practices allow multiple interpretations of the art work and such polysemy becomes a part of the artistic statement — there can be no certainty about what exactly we see and how we relate to it. The article provides examples of different artistic strategies for using blindness as a creative method in the late 20th – early 21st centuries, when rethinking of traditional creative techniques, among other things, leads to the rejection of visual control and dominance of one sensory channel.
Russian Lacquer Miniature in the Jewelry Production of the 1970s – 1980s: A Unique Artistic Innovation and the Problems of Its Implementation in Practice
Innovative tendencies were characteristic of Russian applied arts artists throughout the Soviet period. In particular, in the 1970s–1980s, the masters of Russian lacquer miniatures have carried out active experiments in jewelry. The most peculiar artistic experiment in the history of lacquer crafts of the late Soviet period attempted by the Union of Artists of the RSFSR was the creation of jewelry with Palekh lacquer miniatures. It constituted an important, albeit still little-known page in the history of the Palekh craft, which rarely attracted the attention of the researchers, none of whom had ever viewed this problem as a holistic phenomenon. The article discusses the course of these experiments in Palekh art, analyzes the reasons for their appearance and initial failures, as well as the impact that they had on the art of crafts related to Palekh: Fedoskino and Kholui. The article also analyzes the practice of turning to the jewelry business by Russian lacquer miniature artists of the post-Soviet period and present day. The main idea of the study is to substantiate the thesis that the long path traveled by the miniaturists of Palekh, Fedoskino, and Kholui in the 1970s–1980s turned out, despite some miscalculations, to be a generally fruitful creative experiment, which lessons should be used in the further artistic practice of Russian lacquer crafts.
Soviet Paper Architecture of the 1980s and the Language of Its Images
The field of ’paper architecture’ has always existed on the margins of ‘real’ architecture. Architects perceived this genre as a form of sharing their ideas as well as saving architectural impressions. In the 20th century, paper architecture morphs into conceptual architecture, becoming a language of communication between architects and viewers. The number of conceptual projects has increased in the 1970s and 1980s. The architecture of the postmodern period which may be viewed as an offshoot of the French ‘architecture parlante’ movement has brought a sense playfulness into a real building process. The ‘double coding’ of architectural images, as manifested by Charles Jenks, allowed the architecture to communicate with the viewer on many levels of perception. Conceptual projects have become a much-needed link between the architecture and architectural theory. The Soviet ‘paper architecture’ of the 1980s has a lot in common with the postmodernist system. ‘Paper’ projects are easy to understand due to its language partially shaped by the rules of Japanese concept competitions. Soviet ‘paper architecture’ was largely created using this language. Although eloquent descriptions of projects have lots of highbrow quotations and references, ‘paper’ architects also used comic strips with characters to illustrate their ideas. The names of these projects usually describe some scenarios of how the structure transforms or how the user interacts with it. These traits allow discussing a certain language of ‘paper’ projects with its own logics and a set of images that are commonly associated with such projects.
Spatial Projects by Dvizhenie Collective and the Emergence of Installation Art in Russia
The article focuses at the intersection of two underexplored fields: the history of Russian installation art and the history of Russian kinetic art. The question of what work can be called the first installation in Russia is as relevant as it is debatable. In turn, studying the work of the kinetic collective ’Dvizhenie’ (Movement), whose members were the first Soviet unofficial artists to create large spatial projects, is a challenging research task for a whole number of reasons. The present article aims to reveal what role the projects by ’Dvizhenie’ played in the formation of installation art in Russia. The article examines the conceptual and theoretical framework of Russian kinetic art, building upon the texts by the ’Dvizhenie’ ‘s leader Lev Nusberg. Further, utopian projects (Artificial Bionic-Kinetic Environment), as well as actually realized exhibition design projects by ’Dvizhenie’, are addressed — mainly, the ’Electronics-70’ exhibition. In conclusion, the legacy of the collective is compared with the Western history and theory of installation art and is placed within the general context of installation art in Russia. The article is based on unpublished materials from the Archive of the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art.
Thaw and Armenian Painting: Рages of Art Criticism of the 1950s
The article is the first to examine the significance and characteristics of the Khrushchev Thaw transformations in Armenian painting. The main source material is derived from the press of the period under investigation. The author draws attention to the formation of a new conjuncture in Soviet painting and art criticism during the 1950s, which corresponded to the Khrushchev’s reforms and their associated propaganda, as well as the opposition of Armenian artists to this conjuncture. A special attention is paid to totalitarian methods of art management and their criticism, which became possible as a result of the reforms, the general directions of art democratization, as well as the national policy regarding the art of Soviet peoples. The article is based on the analysis of a large-scale exhibition of Armenian fine art, held in June 1956 in Moscow as a part of the Decade of Armenian art and literature and, in particular, two eminent Thaw paintings which became the revelation of the exhibition: “Spring” by Hovhannes Zardaryan and “Komitas. Last night” by Sargis Muradyan. By their example, the author identifies two main directions in the renewal of Armenian painting of the Thaw period as purely artistic and thematic. The author comes to the conclusion that after the Stalinist restrictions, the revival of Armenian Soviet painting of the second half of the 20th century was not so much a direct consequence of the Thaw, but rather the continuation of its pre-revolutionary national and European artistic traditions.
Decade of Armenian Art and Literature in Moscow
national features in Soviet Armenian art
History of Soviet Architecture as Seen from Mid-Century Leningrad: On the Diversity of Historiographical Perspectives
During the 1930s to the 1950s the Academy of Architecture of the USSR developed several projects on the history of Russian and Soviet architecture. By the turn of the 1940s and 1950s, some of them reached the manuscript stage and became the subject of reviewing and professional discussion. These discussions demonstrated impressive variety of opinions. Along with the “All-Union” (Moscow-centric) perspectives, there were also “local” ones. Despite the centralization and ideological constraints, the Leningrad architectural community retained a certain degree of autonomy in terms of both style and values. The article has been based on archival documents including the discussions of the ‘Concise Course of the History of Soviet Architecture’ at the Leningrad branch of the Academy. They allow to reconstruct a peculiar “Leningrad perspective” on the Soviet history of architecture. A certain autonomy of the Leningrad architecture was reflected in the view that the city was practically unaffected by “formalist” and modernist trends, in the assertion of professional continuity in relation to the works of the masters of the pre-revolutionary period, in the constant emphasizing of the city-planning and ensemble qualities that underlie the local tradition, and, finally, in the selection of monuments and personalities to whom separate essays should be devoted in the course.
Scenes from Old Russian History in Book Illustration of the 1750s-Early 1830s: On the Specifics of Subjects
Whereas the theme of Old Russian history in academic painting and sculpture of the 2nd half of the 18th ‒ 1st third of the 19th century has justly attracted considerable scholarly attention, the prints and, specifically, book illustrations dealing with the same subject have remained largely ignored. The paper presents the results of the research which revealed 37 editions dating from the 1750s to the 1830s and illustrated with scenes from Old Russian history. Only a minority of works in question pertain to history (7). They are of interest primarily from the point of view of visual studies, as illustrations had a much wider scope than painting or sculpture and consequently played a significant role in the development of national identity. The gradual formation of national-state narrative resulted in greater attention to state-forming events (in this respect the themes of illustration are similar to those addressed in academic programs) and the pre-Slavic past on the territory of future Russia. Some subjects are evocative of the 18th-century tradition of interpreting history as a collection of didactic events. The illustrations to fiction (30 editions) are of interest also from the point of view of art history as they foreshadow trends which later, from the mid-19th century, would become typical for painting: the interpretation of large-scale historical events projected to the fate of particular characters, eventless history genre dealing with manners and customs of the past, interest to negative characters and dramas around them. The accompanying fiction on the Old Russian theme with a series of three to four illustrations presenting scenes which became conventional at the turn of the 1820 and the 1830s influenced the practice of illustrating works on history and culminated in the grandiose edition of “Painted Karamzin” (1836‒1844). The research was financed by the grant of the Russian Scienсe Foundation, № 24-28-00856, https://rscf.ru/project/24-28-00856/
In Splendor of Virtues: Bathing of Susanna by Tintoretto and the Symbolism of the Wedding Jewelry Set
. It may seem that in the painting Bathing of Susanna kept in Vienna, Jacopo Tintoretto portrays the Old Testament heroine as an embodiment of temptation. But is she revealed as frankly as we imagine? The naked woman is depicted in paired bracelets and pearl earrings, a necklace, while a bone comb, a long silver hairpin, an embroidered wide belt, a miniature box are placed all around her. We assume that the listed jewelry is endowed with a semantic and symbolic role in the program of the canvas. Indeed, all the listed jewelry made up the wedding set of a Venetian bride of the 16th century which was given to her by her future husband. Later, the girl appeared in it as a future wife and hostess and kept the ceremonial attire for her entire life. Consequently, the depiction of the wedding jewelry in Tintoretto’s painting reflects the entire story of Susanna and the set should be seen as a promise of a happy ending: the danger that threatened Susanna will be resolved by the triumph of her virtue. The interpretation of the plot itself in the eyes of the contemporaries was probably not obscene, since the naked heroine was "protected" by jewelry that reminded of her devotion to her husband.
The Problem of “Diamond-Cut” Rustication of the Diamanti Palace in Ferrara: Sources of Inspiration and Semantics
The article focuses on the problem of the possible sources of artistic inspiration and semantics for the so-called “diamond-cut” rustication of Palazzo Diamanti in Ferrara (Biagio Rossetti and North Italian artists, 1493 – beg. 16th century ca.). Firstly, the analysis of the series of supposed prototypes leads to the conclusion that the very idea of the Diamanti palace rustication could have been Florentine in its origin; its “cut” shape refers not only to one of the renown “imprese” of the Este, but also to the “diamond-cut” decoration of Palazzo Sanseverino in Naples, among others; while its colour turns out to be purely “Venetian”. The Venetian aspect is particularly investigated respecting M. Torboli’s standpoint concerning Palazzo Estense (Fondaco dei Turchi) on Canale Grande, with its special role in the problem (2010). It turns out that the Este family owned at least two palaces with “diamond-cut” rustication, set aside pictorial “diamonds” on the facades. Secondly, the comparison of the Diamanti and Corner (Ca del Duca) palaces rustication in the context of Venetian (namely, Corner) interests in the Eastern Mediterranean region and Aegean Sea (Duchy of Archipelago) has also been proposed. The contradictions of the war between Venice and Ferrara (1482–1484) and the period of a new “eastern threat” (revived in 1453) make such a comparison highlight traces of inner contest in such similarities as the strongly articulated chivalric connotation of the “diamond-cut” ashlars (traditional for the Este, new for the Corner) and the affinity with the Aegean post-Byzantine area (mythological and political for the Este, mainly commercial for the Corner).
Italian Polyptych of the Late 15th – Early16th Centuries: Renaissance Form and Pre-Renaissance Ways of Creating Meaning
The altar polyptychs of the end of the 15th – first half of the 16th centuries, as a rule, remain on the periphery of the study of Renaissance art, overshadowed by the altarpieces of the new Renaissance pala quadra type. Nevertheless, the late polyptychs, produced in various centers outside Florence (Umbria, Rome, Northern Italy, Liguria), are often impressive art-works by leading artists, commissioned by prominent patrons. This indicates that the polyptych, as a form of altarpiece with its specific ways of constructing meanings, which avoid direct narrative and are based on a visual confrontation of themes and images located in different parts of the work, remained in demand among patrons and different audiences and required the preservation of a multi-part structure of altarpiece. The new visual language of the Italian Renaissance art, with its emulation of ancient architectural and ornamental forms, perspective space constructions, the use of figurative elements, and techniques of Transalpine painting, has traditionally been considered incongruent with the multi-part structure of the polyptych, which originated in the Gothic era in the late 13th – early 14th centuries. Based on the analysis of selected late altarpieces in the form of polyptychs, the paper outlines the transformation of the polyptych into a genuinely Renaissance phenomenon, making the most of Renaissance artistic means and putting them to its service, adapting it to the new aesthetics, but preserving its multi-paneled structure and thus its ancient semantic possibilities.
Belarusian Tiles of the 16th‒17th Centuries in the Collection of the Russian Museum
The group of medieval stove tiles was discovered during the excavations in the ancient town of Novogrudok in the 1950–60s. In 1979, 73 items were included in the collection of the State Russian Museum. The tradition of decorating stoves with ceramic tiles came to Belarusian cities and castles from Germany. The most ancient type of tiles from Novogrudok resembles a cylindrical vessel and is dated to the mid-14th century. However, most of the exhibits from the museum collection belong to the 17th century. Some of the tiles are glazed. There are two types of glaze: self-colored green and polychrome. The front sides of the tiles were decorated with a variety of ornaments, including geometrical, floral, armorial, hieratic, and animalistic. The tiles from Novogrudok show similarities with Lithuanian and Polish pieces, yet they also display distinctive features. The artists employed a combination of modern trends and traditional schemes (such as plain geometrical patterns) in their work.
Tsar’s Nativity and the Prophet’s Blessing: Sources for Miniatures of Russian Copies of the Alexander Romance
The article presents preliminary findings of studies on the cycles of miniatures of Russian illuminated manuscripts of the Serbian Alexander Romance. It can be stated with a reasonable degree of certainty that the existing manuscripts originate from several different illuminated archetypes. Their illustrations were created without reference to the developed iconographies of the earlier versions of the Alexander Romance. However, they have connections with general compositions of Biblical scenes and iconographies of Biblical characters that are characteristic of Christian art. The artists responsible for the Old Rus illuminated protographs of known codices were careful enough in following the illustrated text, which is evident when comparing them with South Slavonic manuscript copies. At the same time, it became apparent that Russian miniaturists were preoccupied with subjects, connected with the role of Alexander the Great figure and his tsardom in the Providential Christian history. It is our perspective that this focus can be attributed to the exceptional significance of the Serbian version of the Romance, whose protagonist personifies the image of the ideal ruler, for the Russian culture during the epoch of the Moscow Great Principality and the formation of the tsardom. The research is supported by the Russian Science Foundation project Nr. 21-78-00050.
The Murals of St. Gregory Church of Khachut in the Context of Byzantine and Transcaucasian Art of the Late 12th – First Third of the 13th Centuries
The article analyzes the style of paintings of the Church of St. Gregory of Khachut in Ani based on surviving fragments from the State Hermitage Museum (St. Petersburg). The church was discovered during the first archaeological campaign of N. Y. Marr in 1892. As a result of the excavations seventy-two stones with paintings were discovered, three of them were deposited in the Hermitage, the fate of the rest is unknown to date. The study determines the originality of the artistic methods of the painting of the Church of St. Gregory, which, on the one hand, distinguish it against the background of Armenian and Georgian ensembles of the turn of the 12th–13th centuries, and, on the other hand, show the stylistic commonality with the Byzantine art of that time. The paintings of St. Gregory’s church are conservative, they are clearly oriented to the monuments of earlier times, belonging to the “asceticizing trend”, which became relevant again in the early 13th century. As the closest analogies to the fragments from St Gregory’s church, we suggest such monuments as icons from the State Tretyakov Gallery: the Mandylion (the last third of the 12th century) and the Assumption of the Mother of God (the beginning of the 13th century), miniatures of a Georgian manuscript (A-26, the beginning of the 13th century), National Center of Manuscripts, Tbilisi) and others. The paintings of St. Gregory’s Church overcome the expression and emotionality of the Comnenian style and are characterized by contemplation and calmness, which allows us to see the monument in the line of the new line of development of the style of the beginning of the century. A benchmark example of such art are the frescoes of the Church of Our Lady in Studenica (1208–1209). The study has been realized by the grant of the Russian Science Foundation, project no. 22-18-00354, https://rscf.ru/project/22-18-00354/, in the Moscow State University of Civil Engineering (MGSU), National Research University.