Scientific Papers of St Petersburg Academy Of Fine Arts’71. Issues of Theory of Culture

The article attempts to fill the existing gap in the philosophy of ancient painting. The concept of “class migration” is introduced into the history of Hellas instead of traditional ideas about the resettlement of tribes, the collapse of the patriarchal family and colonization. The urban settlement called “polis” was formed as a result of the class migration of artisan people – not farmers and not the military. The potential of the polis culture was determined by the original requirement for all citizens: to be rich while observing an ascetic lifestyle. This requirement in itself sets a gaming intention for the life of the city and is held only by the convention of the game in the form of sport events, festivals and various arts. The playful intention of ancient painting goes back to the concept of silhouette in its catching expressiveness. Neither vase painting nor wall painting in their main meaning were decorations of ceramics or walls, but were means of creating a collective mood, as a rule, not alien to irony. Beauty was determined not by things, but by the transformation of the faces contemplating them.

The article is devoted to the issues of composition in painting and the possibility of considering them from the viewpoint of the science of sign systems. Composition in the visual arts is one of the most important form-generating factors that allows to convincingly embody the author’s idea with maximum efficiency. The concept of composition is widely used both in artistic practice and in teaching art in universities and colleges. At the same time, work on composition often occurs intuitively, its analysis lacks evidence, terminological precision. The author of the article refers to the concept of a sign as one of the elements of a sign system, or language, as a carrier of certain information and a means of communication between people. The semiotic approach significantly expands the possibilities of studying composition in visual arts, allowing us to evaluate both the diversity of structural constructions and the richness of the meanings they generate. Of particular importance is the analysis of the pictorial field, the format of the picture, the plane of which is a complex, non-homogenous structure, each part of which is endowed with different meanings, marked in a certain way. The work shows how various oppositions, hierarchies, power axes, and centers of attention arise in this field, which ultimately ensures the richness of meaning contained in the work and the ability of a viewer to read this specific text.

The article examines theoretical foundations and hidden polemics of avant-garde artists Kazimir Malevich and Vasily Chekrygin. The focus is on the avant-garde projects of artists, whose connection consists in the synthesis of creativity and theoretical developments. An attempt to show the identity of the theoretical problems posed by both artists is made. Therefore, two views on the model of a new humanity and the construction of a new reality arise.

Provenance (fr. provenir – to occur, to arise) is the origin; the history of the existence of a thing. The article emphasizes the importance of provenance as a factor influencing the price of a work of art in the art market. The existing methods of provenance confirmation are considered. The article shows the history of interest in the origin and existence of the artifact, which was not always important in the art market. The article shows the history of the use of the term in Russian academic literature. The problem of falsification of provenance and the most egregious cases of falsification (substitution of archival records), including in our country, are partially addressed. Traditionally, provenance is considered as confirmation of the authenticity of a thing, but at the same time it confirms the legality of the presence of the thing being sold on the market. In the modern world, the list of those whose origin the interested public demands to confirm is steadily expanding: from packaging materials.

The article analyzes the account book of 1643/44 of the Vologda Episcopal House of St Sophia. This source was revealed in the Department of Manuscripts of the Russian State Library. The manuscript contains records of the arrival of money (crown duties) and various expenses (purchases of food, utensils, payment of salaries). In general, these expenses show us the ongoing process of arrangement and construction in the bishop’s house and the bishop’s patrimony itself throughout the year. It was both directly related to the erection of buildings and social construction – establishing new relationships and maintaining the old ones.

The article examines the history of the emergence of compositions in the church painting of Yaroslavl illustrating the miraculous events that took place in the Moscow Kremlin in 1521. The objects of art history analysis are the border scenes of the icon of the mid-17th century “Virgin of Vladimir with 18 Border Scenes of Miracles” (from the Yaroslavl Museum-Preserve), attributed to the icon painter Joseph Vladimirov and the fresco of 1707 in the Yaroslavl Church of St Nicholas in Melenki, by the icon painter Fyodor Fyodorov. The purpose of scientific research is to clarify the content of the scenes included in the composition “Miracle of the Icon of Virgin of Vladimir during the Siege of Moscow by the horde of the Crimean Khan Mehmed Giray.”

The article restores the historical and cultural context of the portrait creation of the hostess of the famous St Petersburg literary salon Alexandra Voeikova, who entered literature under “Svetlana” name. A. Voeikova’s relationship with representatives of the Polish Diaspora in St Petersburg, the artist Yu. Oleshkevich and the writer F. Bulgarin is an interesting page of literary and artistic life of the first third of the 19th century. The analysis of its mythological reception, literary and everyday realities allows us to expand and clarify the current view.

The article restores the historical and cultural context of the portrait creation of the hostess of the famous St Petersburg literary salon Alexandra Voeikova, who entered literature under “Svetlana” name. A. Voeikova’s relationship with representatives of the Polish Diaspora in St Petersburg, the artist Yu. Oleshkevich and the writer F. Bulgarin is an interesting page of literary and artistic life of the first third of the 19th century. The analysis of its mythological reception, literary and everyday realities allows us to expand and clarify the current view.

The article examines the motif of prophet messengership in literature and the lives of two Russian writers: Daniil Kharms, the member of the literary community, which is called OBERIU and the last symbolist in literature Daniil Andreev. The research focus is on various aspects of the semantics of the prophet messenger: the messenger as an artistic image, the metaphor of the transcendental world; the messenger as a prophet and seer. The author reflects on the reasons for the actualization of the image of the prophet messenger in Russian culture of the first half of the 20th century, pointing out the influence of symbolist aesthetics and the need to form a new mythology.

The article focuses on the activity of the Friendly Society of the Academy Undergraduates (1871–1917). This paper presents, for the first time, periodical and archival materials from the fonds of the Russian State Historical Archive and the Scientific Archive of the Russian Imperial Academy of Arts. These materials relate to the history of the emergence and activities of the Society that was initiated by the Council of the Imperial Academy of Arts. The presented materials allow us to reconstruct the events of that time and reveal the role of the Society in the public life of the Imperial Academy of Arts.

The article traces the history of the appearance of iconostasis compositions in the interiors of Russian churches of the second half of the 19th century, which include some unique historical artifacts – constructive and artistic elements of the carved Royal Gates of the lost iconostases of the Middle Ages. The iconostases of the Church of the Nativity of the Theotokos on Kulikovo Field and the Church of St Tsarina-Martyr Alexandra in the palace of Grand Duke Pavel Alexandrovich in St Petersburg became the subject of the art criticism analysis. The appearance of a new type of iconostasis – the iconostasis-reliquary is associated with the work of architect N. Sultanov.

The article analyzes the surviving parts of one of the most significant monuments of Vladimir-Suzdal pre-Mongol architecture – the Nativity of the Mother of God Cathedral (1222–1225) in the city of Suzdal, built on the site of the first temple of the 12 century. Based on architectural analogues, Archaeological materials 19–21 centuries, Architectural and graphic reconstructions and the classical laws of form formation, the author proposes the reconstruction of the Suzdal Theotokos-Christmas Cathedral of the beginning 13 c. with three chapters, Two-tiered western porch and bell tower.

The article examines the issue of the essence of the concepts of “abstract art” and “non-objective art”. The problem is suggested not to be exclusively terminological, and there is an essential difference between non-objective and abstract art, despite the fact that these phenomena are certainly related. Revealing differences not only in the method of creation, but also in the perception (interpretation) of works of abstract and non-objective art allows us to talk about the special nature of each one, and therefore about the need to revise the established tradition of using these terms.

The article speaks about the Tehran Museum of Modern Art and its activities after the Iranian Revolution of 1979. The creation of the museum project, and then its implementation took place a year before the start of radical transformations in Iran. The unique building with deeply symbolic forms that relate to both traditions and innovations has managed in a very short time to become the home place for a collection that includes the high quality works by world famous artists. With the advent of the new government, the main task was not only to keep museum with its unique works as a place of access to the art of the past 20th century, but make it stay the main platform for displaying modern works and holding various events dedicated to contemporary art in the country. The article analyzes various periods of the post-revolutionary history of Iran, reveals their features and results of the Museum activity.

The author of the article suggests considering new forms of communication in modern megacities. Recently, city museums were spaces where all the splendors of the world are collected, and were in demand as unique cultural attractions of the city. But, the technocratic approach in urban planning deprived the urban environment of the usual communications and the variety of forms of historically formed social ties. And the influence of media on all spheres of life became the main engine in the development of VR or AR, seriously affecting the attitude to the reality itself and traditional values. When the sphere of interests in societies is formed by various forms of media, the focus of interests in megacities is shifted to media panels – “Big screens”, which until recently were used to promote advertising. When changing the tasks of broadcasting screens to cultural and educational ones, they can quite successfully solve the problems of communication in public space today, and become new attractions that unite communities.