CREATIVE ART ASSOCIATION "WORLD OF ART"

In Russia in the XX century there were more than fifty art associations and creative unions. The cultural life in Russia was very lively. The society showed an increased interest in numerous art exhibitions and auctions, in articles and reports of the periodical press devoted to the visual arts. All sorts of artistic associations arose that set themselves various tasks. One of them was the association, and then the first Russian modernist magazine "World of Art" (1898-1904). It, at different times, included almost all leading Russian artists, such as: L. Bakst, A. Benois, M. Vrubel, A. Golovin, M. Dobuzhinsky, K. Korovin, E. Lansere, I. Levitan, M. Nesterov, V. Serov, K. Somov and others. Artists, musicians and people in love with opera, theater and ballet have set themselves the task of "grooming Russian painting, cleaning it up and, most importantly, bringing it to the West, exalting it in the West." The purpose of this association was the study of artistic culture, both modern and past eras, perceived synthetically, in all the variety of types, forms, genres of art and everyday life. All of them, very different, were united by a protest against the official art and naturalism of the Itinerant artists.

Initially, it was a small, home-based "self-education" circle. His friends from the private gymnasium of K. May gathered at A. Benois's apartment: D. Filosofov, V. Nouvel, and then L. Bakst, S. Diaghilev, E. Lansere, A. Nurok, K. Somov. This association did not represent any artistic movement, direction, or school. It was made up of bright individuals, each went his own way.

Motivating the emergence of the World of Art, Benoit wrote: “We were guided not so much by considerations of an 'ideological' order as by considerations of practical necessity. A number of young artists had nowhere to go. They were either not accepted at all at large exhibitions - academic, traveling and watercolor, or they were only accepted with rejection of everything in which the artists themselves saw the most clear expression of their quests ... And that's why Vrubel was next to Bakst with us, and Somov was next with Malyavin. The "unrecognized" were joined by those of the "recognized" who were uncomfortable in the approved groups. Mainly, Levitan, Korovin and, to our greatest joy, Serov came up to us. Again, ideologically and by the whole culture, they belonged to a different circle, they were the last offspring of realism, not devoid of a "itinerant coloring". But with us they were bound by hatred for everything musty, established, dead. " Benois A. The emergence of the "World of Art". L .: 1928

Since the mid-1890s. the group was headed by S.P. Diaghilev. In 1898, he convinces famous figures and art lovers S.I. Mamontov and M.K. Tenishev to finance a monthly art magazine. Soon a double issue of the magazine "World of Art" was published in St. Petersburg, the editor of which was Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev.

The World of Art was the first art magazine whose character and direction were determined by the artists themselves. The editors informed the readers that the magazine will consider the works of Russian and foreign masters "of all epochs of art history, to what extent the aforementioned works are of interest and significance for modern artistic consciousness."

In the magazine "World of Art" Diaghilev touched upon many issues, such as: the goals and objectives of art and criticism, classics and contemporary art, illustration and book graphics, museum business, artistic culture of other countries and, finally, what we now understand by the words "international cultural cooperation".

In addition to the magazine, Diaghilev was involved in organizing art exhibitions. He was attentive to the composition of the exhibitors, as well as to the selection of exhibits.

Art exhibitions organized by the "World of Art" were a great success. They introduced the Russian society to the works of famous Russian masters and novice artists who have not yet achieved recognition, such as Bilibin, Ostroumova, Dobuzhinsky, Lancere, Kustodiev, Yuon, Sapunov, Larionov, P. Kuznetsov, Saryan.

In 1899, the first international exhibition of the World of Art magazine was held, at which more than 350 works were presented. Along with leading Russian artists, foreign artists took part in it (C. Monet, G. Moreau, P. Puvis de Chavannes, J. Whistler and others). Items of decorative and applied arts were also shown. In 1900-03 there were four subsequent art exhibitions organized by the magazine "World of Art". More than sixty artists took part in them, including such outstanding masters as M.A. Vrubel, V.M. Vasnetsov, A.S. Golubkina, M.V. Dobuzhinsky, P.V. Kuznetsov, A.P. Ryabushkin. In 1902, the works of the world of art were exhibited in the Russian section of the International Exhibition in Paris, where K.A. Korovin, F.A. Malyavin, V.A. Serov and P.P. Trubetskoy received the highest awards. And the next year they merged with the Moscow group "36 Artists" to form the "Union of Russian Artists".

In the Paris Autumn Salon, the World of Artists showed their work at an exhibition of Russian art, which was then exhibited in Berlin and Venice. From that time on, Diaghilev began an independent activity to promote Russian art in the West. He achieved success in the so-called Russian Seasons, which were held annually in Paris from 1909-14. In the history of not only Russian, but also world culture, the era of opera and ballet performances to classical and modern music in innovative productions by young directors-choreographers, performed by a whole galaxy of stars, in designs by Bakst, Benoit, Bilibin, Golovin, Korovin, Roerich made up an era.

The World of Art grouping was closest to Roerich, but in it he also denied and did not accept much. In the late 1890s, when a sharp, intense struggle broke out between the Itinerants and the World of Art, Roerich joined this struggle. He was most of all jarred by the Westernizing orientation of the ideologues of the "World of Art", their oblivion of the social role of the artist. To an intensified invitation from Diaghilev in 1900 to join the "World of Art" Roerich responded with a categorical refusal. He sharply criticized the first performances of the "World of Art" in his articles "Art and Archeology" (1898), "Our Artistic Affairs" (1899). “If the editorial board of Mir iskusstva considers itself to be a champion of the new direction, then how can one explain the presence of routinely decadent works at the exhibition, old and stereotyped in a way? .. Such promiscuity of the organizers of the exhibition brings little good to art; an untimely decrepit, obsolete decadence and a new, fresh trend are not at all the same, ”the artist writes in 1899.

Roerich's irreconcilable, critical attitude to the organizers of the "World of Art" Diaghilev, Benois, Somov is also eloquently indicated by his letters from 1900-1901 to Stasov.

In the fall of 1902, Diaghilev again invited Roerich to join the "World of Art". This proposal was strenuously accompanied by persuasion on the part of Nesterov and Botkin. Roerich again refused membership, but agreed to participate in the 1902 exhibition. He takes part in the next exhibition as well. Now, when the "World of Art" has grown and taken shape, when great masters have entered it, Roerich began to attract a lot in the creative practice of this group. He was close to the aspiration of her artists to the past, their search for the beauty of content, the development of new formal techniques.

It is no accident that when in 1910 St. Petersburg artists revived the "World of Art", Roerich became a member of this association and its chairman. But still strained relations remain with him with the main core of artists, the "Versailles rhapsods". And they, in turn, did not share Roerich's interest in past eras, or, as Benoit wrote, to "distant bestial ancestors", considered him a "stranger" in their midst. And it becomes clear why in 1903 he wrote with bitterness about his contemporaries: "But we do not know how, we do not want to help the people again find beauty in their difficult life." V.P. Knyazeva, I.A. Sobolev. N. Roerich (album).

The new association was actively involved in exhibitions in St. Petersburg-Petrograd and other cities of Russia. The main criterion for the selection of works for exhibitions was proclaimed "skill and creative originality". This tolerance has attracted many talented artists to exhibitions and to the ranks of the association. Subsequently, B.I. Anisfeld, K.F. Bogaevsky, N.S. Goncharova, V.D. Zamirailo, P.P. Konchalovsky, A.T. Matveev, K.S. Petrov-Vodkin, M.S. Saryan, Z.E. Serebryakova, S.Yu. Sudeikin, P.S. Utkin, I.A. Fomin, V.A. Shuko, A.B. Shchusev, A.E. Yakovlev and others. Among the exhibitors were the names of I.I. Brodsky, D.D. Burliuk, B.D. Grigorieva, M.F. Larionova, A.V. Lentulova, I.I. Mashkova, V.E. Tatlin, R.R. Falk, M.Z. Chagall and others.

The dissimilar, sometimes directly opposite creative attitudes of the participants did not contribute to the artistic unity of both the exhibitions and the association itself, which eventually led to a serious split in the association. The last exhibition "World of Art" was held in 1927 in Paris.

---> "World of Art": stages and nature of activity. Easel and theatrical decorative arts, magazine graphics and literary illustrations. A.A. Benois is the leader of the artistic association. The "older" generation of organizers of the "World of Art" at the turn of the 1890s -

In 1898 a new artistic association was founded in St. Petersburg, which was named "The World of Art". The formed circle was headed by the artist A.N. Benois and the patron S.P. Diaghilev. The main core of the association was L.S. Bakst, E.E. Lansere, K.A. Somov. The World of Art organized exhibitions and published a magazine under the same name. The association included many artists: M.A. Vrubel, V. A. Serov, I. I. Levitan, M. V. Nesterov, A. P. Ryabushkin, N. K. Roerich, B. M. Kustodiev, ZE . Serebryakova, K.S. Petrov-Vodkin.

The "classic" period of the "World of Art" activity - 1898-1904; during this time 6 exhibitions were organized. The last, sixth exhibition was an attempt by SP Diaghilev to prevent the active demarcation of creative forces within the World of Art (in 1901 a number of Moscow artists left the society and organized an Exhibition of 36 Artists, in 1903 the Union of Russian Artists appeared).

The aesthetics of the majority of the World of Art representatives is a Russian version of Art Nouveau. Miriskusniki defended the freedom of individual creativity. Beauty was recognized as the main source of inspiration. The modern world, in their opinion, is devoid of beauty and therefore is not worthy of attention. In search of the beautiful, the World of Art artists often turn to the monuments of the past in their works. For artists of the early twentieth century, social problems in history are losing paramount importance, the leading place in their work is the image of the beauty of ancient life, the reconstruction of historical landscapes, the creation of a poeticized romantic image of "bygone centuries." Sharp collisions and significant historical figures interested them much less than the originality of the costume, the unique flavor of antiquity. The genre of history became the leading one in the works of many artists who were part of the "World of Art".

The classic period in the life of the association fell on 1900-1904 - at this time the group was characterized by a special unity of aesthetic and ideological principles. The artists organized exhibitions under the auspices of the World of Art magazine.

Artistic orientation of the "World of Art" was associated with modernity and symbolism. In contrast to the ideas of the Wanderers, the artists of the World of Art proclaimed the priority of the aesthetic principle in art. Members of the "World of Art" argued that art is primarily an expression of the artist's personality. In one of the first issues of the magazine, S. Diaghilev wrote: "A work of art is important not in itself, but only as an expression of the personality of the creator." Believing that modern civilization is antagonistic to culture, the "world of art" sought the ideal in the art of the past. Artists and writers, in their paintings and on magazine pages, revealed to Russian society the then little-appreciated beauty of medieval architecture and ancient Russian icon painting, the elegance of classical Petersburg and the palaces surrounding it, made them think about the modern sound of ancient civilizations and re-evaluate their own artistic and literary heritage.

In the history of theatrical and decorative painting of the 20th century, the masters of the "World of Art" played an outstanding role, the value of which is not limited by the limits of the national visual culture. It is not only about the broad European recognition of Russian theater artists, but also about the direct impact of the latter on the world theatrical and decorative painting. By this time, Russian theatrical and decorative painting, which once knew periods of high prosperity, had managed to fall into miserable decline, because it had largely lost its connection with the advanced phenomena of contemporary national art. From the hands of great artists, it passed into the hands of "professionals" who could do nothing outside of their narrow specialty, and even in it, they rarely rose above the craft level. In the Mamontov Opera, this practice was dropped. Great painters again turned to theatrical work - first the Itinerants V.M. Vasnetsov and V.D. Polenov, and after them the masters of the younger generation - M. Vrubel and K. Korovin. As a result of their activities, the role of the artist in the theater increased again, and the confidence in the creative community that the scenery and costumes were an integral element of the artistic image created by the performance was strengthened. The work of M. Vrubel, A. Golovin and K. Korovin had another meaning: overcoming the "everyday life" of impersonal standard decorations, they created on the stage an atmosphere of a special "theatrical reality", poetically elevated above everyday life.

Certain artists of the World of Art were involved in theatrical life at a time when such productions as the opera The Tale of Tsar Saltan set by Vrubel (1900), the ballet The Little Humpbacked Horse set by K. Korovin (1901) and the opera "The Woman of Pskov" set by Golovin (1901). A new stage in the development of Russian decorative painting began.

In 1898, the first issue of the monthly illustrated art magazine "World of Arts" was published in St. Petersburg, which came out until 1904. The magazine was the organ of the art association "World of Art" and Symbolist writers.

From the first issue, the artists rallied around S.P. Diaghilev, they not only participated in the creation of the magazine, making covers, preparing illustrations, splash screens and vignettes, but formed a new idea of ​​popular and artistic publications. They drew attention to the meaning of font and format, the relationship between text and illustrations.

The Bronze Horseman with illustrations by A. Benois and White Nights designed by M.V. Dobuzhinsky. In exile, the "world of art" continued to create illustrated editions, which were published in Paris, Berlin, Rome and New York. A.N. Benois illustrated "The Captain's Daughter" by A.S. Pushkin, "The Sinner" by Henri de Rainier. I.Ya.Bilibin made drawings for Russian folk tales and French medieval ballads. BD Grigoriev performed 60 illustrations for “The Brothers Karamazov” by F.M. Dostoevsky, designed "First Love" by I.S. Turgenev, "Childhood" A.M. Gorky and "Children's Island" by S. Cherny.

The main participants in the "World of Art" - an artistic association formed in 1898-1899. Petersburg, - A. N. Benois, the recognized leader of the group, artist and critic, K. A. Somov, M. V. Dobuzhinsky, E. E. Lansere, L. S. Bakst. S. P. Diaghilev played the main organizing role in all the enterprises of the World of Art. V. A. Serov was a member of the exhibition council of the World of Art. At the exhibitions of the association, the works of M. A. Vrubel were shown for the first time; K. A. Korovin, I. Ya. Bilibin, A. P. Ostroumova-Lebedeva, A. Ya. Golovin, I. E. Grabar. The first period of the association's activity lasted until 1904. The World of Art published a magazine under the same name - a kind of literary and artistic almanac, in which artists, poets and philosophers collaborated. The richly illustrated magazine became one of the first examples of the art of book design - a field of artistic activity in which the "World of Art" became true reformers. They organized their own exhibitions, attracting Western European masters to participate in them. The most important aspect of World of Art's activity is the revival of interest in the forgotten pages of Russian culture in the 18th and early 19th centuries: retrospective exhibitions of old art are organized, articles and monographs dedicated to the masters of that time are regularly published, and a special edition Art Treasures of Russia is published.

K. A. Somov. Winter. Rink. 1915. Oil on canvas. State Russian Museum. Leningrad.

The World of Art defended the freedom of individual self-expression in art. Everything that the artist loves and worships in the past and present has the right to be embodied in art, regardless of the spite of the day - this is the aesthetic program of unification. At the same time, beauty was recognized as the only pure source of creative enthusiasm, and the modern bourgeois world, according to the artists of the World of Art, is devoid of beauty. Therefore, in their own work, the "world of art" act as interpreters of the beauty enshrined in the monuments of art of past eras. Life interests them only insofar as it has already expressed itself in art. The genre of history became the leading one in the painting of the World of Art. History is presented here not in mass actions and not at turning points, as in V.I.Surikov, but in the private details of the past life, but life that is necessarily beautiful, aesthetically designed. "The King's Walk" (painting by A. N. Benois, 1906), "Empress Elizabeth Petrovna in Tsarskoe Selo" (painting by E. E. Lancere, 1905), masquerade festivities and fireworks (paintings and drawings by K. A. Somov, 1904 - 1908) - these are the typical plots of their historical fantasies.

Almost all of the World of Art artists are excellent illustrators. Classical examples - illustrations by A. N. Benois to the "Bronze Horseman" by A. S. Pushkin (1903-1922), E. E. Lansere to "Hadji Murad" by L. N. Tolstoy (1912-1937), later - M V. Dobuzhinsky to "White Nights" by F. M. Dostoevsky (1922).

The 1910s were the heyday of the theatrical and decorative activities of the World of Art. It is associated with the "Russian Seasons" organized by S. P. Diaghilev in Paris, which included a whole series of opera and ballet performances, to which the largest forces of Russian art were attracted F. I. Shalyapin, Anna Pavlova, V. Nizhinsky, choreographer M. Fokin other. Outstanding phenomena of theatrical and decorative art were the sets by A. N. Benois for the ballet by I. F. Stravinsky "Petrushka", the costumes and sets by L. S. Bakst for "Sheherazade" to the music of N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, "The Firebird "I. F. Stravinsky and others.

A. N. Benois. The King's Walk. 1906. Watercolor, gouache, ink, gold, silver. State Tretyakov Gallery. Moscow.

The style of the World of Art was formed under the strong influence of German and English magazine graphics. The plane of the picture is often likened to the screen of a shadow theater (for example, in the works of the Versailles series by A. N. Benois). The "World of Art" is characterized by a love for the silhouette, for the exquisite ornamental organization of the image, the predominance of the linear-graphic principle over the painting, the predominant interest in the techniques of gouache, watercolors, and pastels.

In the mid-1900s. "World of Art" stops exhibition and publishing activities. In 1910, the "World of Art" was restored, but this time exclusively as an exhibition organization, not held together, as before, by the unity of the creative program and uniting artists of various trends.

However, some artists of the new generation, modifying, inherit and continue the traditions of the former "World of Art". These include graphic artists G. I. Narbut, D. I. Mitrokhin, painters N. K. Roerich, B. M. Kustodiev and others.

The last exhibition of the World of Art was held in 1922. High graphic culture, unusually wide awareness in various areas of artistic life and art of past historical eras, fine artistic taste are the most valuable features of the World of Art, which retain their significance and influence to the present days, especially for theatrical and decorative arts and book illustration.

"A work of art is important not in itself, but only as an expression of the creator's personality" (Sergei Diaghilev).

In these words of S. Diaghilev, the essence of the work of the artists of the World of Art association is expressed. For them, the priority was the aesthetic principle in art, the ideas of the Wanderers were not only alien to them - they resisted them.

Association history

The founders of the art association "World of Art" were the St. Petersburg artist A.N. Benois and theatrical figure S.P. Diaghilev.
The "World of Art" has existed since the late 1890s. and with interruptions until 1924. The main core of the association was A.N. Benois, L.S. Bakst, K.A. Somov, M.V. Dobuzhinsky, E.E. Lanceray, I. Ya. Bilibin. K.A. Korovin, A. Ya. Golovin, B.M. Kustodiev, N.K. Roerich, S. Yu. Sudeikin, B. I. Anisfeld and others. At various times the association included V. Serov, I. Levitan, M. Nesterov, M. Vrubel. Ilya Repin shared the views of the Miriskuns.
As we have already said, the activities of the World of Art association opposed themselves to the Itinerants and the Academy of Arts. But what did they suggest? Their program was rather controversial. On the one hand, the artists of this association were supporters of "pure art". On the other hand, they did not break with realism, and in the 1910s. The "world of art" opposed decadence and formalism, although at the beginning of their activity they strove for modernity and symbolism. The strongest trend in their work was a retrospective, fascination with the culture of the 17th-18th centuries.

Leon Bakst. Costume design for I. Stravinsky's ballet "The Firebird" (1910)
Most of all, the activity of the "World of Art" manifested itself in book graphics and theatrical scenery. Defending the content and integrity of the performance's solution, the artist's active role in it, "World of Art" continued the reform of theatrical and decorative art, begun by the decorators of the opera S.I. Mamontov.

A. Benois. Illustration for the poem by A.S. Pushkin's "The Bronze Horseman"
The decoration works of the World of Art artists are characterized by high culture, enrichment of the theater with the achievements of modern painting, artistic integrity of solutions, delicate taste and depth of interpretation of stage works, including ballet ones.

Prerequisites for the creation of the association "World of Art"

B.M. Kustodiev "Group portrait of artists of the society" World of Art "" (1916-1920). State Russian Museum (St. Petersburg)

The prerequisites were dictated by the time itself. By the end of the XIX century. many young artists were disenchanted with academic painting, which was officially supported by the Academy of Arts. At first, several young artists united who did not always even have an art education (for example, Alexander Benois studied at the law faculty of St. Petersburg University).
The artists were united by a longing for the past, the search for ideals in the art of the era of Peter I, in the baroque of the middle of the 18th century, in the empire of the times of Paul I. They also respected the cultural heritage of Western Europe.
The critic V.V. Stasov was hostile to the members of the new association, since they were far from democratic art. He saw in them only representatives of decadence.

"Russian Seasons" by S. Diaghilev

V. Serov. Portrait of Diaghilev (1909)
A large role was played by the artists of the "World of Art" in the design of the performances of "Russian Seasons" abroad, organized by S.P. Diaghilev, one of the leaders and ideological inspirers of the World of Art. In 1899-1904. Diaghilev published a magazine of the same name in St. Petersburg.

B. Anisfeld "Underwater Kingdom", composition based on the fantastic ballet of the same name to music from the opera "Sadko" by N. Rimsky-Korsakov. Russian Seasons Abroad, by S. Diaghilev's entreprise (1911). Theater Châtelet (Paris)
"Russian Seasons" - touring performances of Russian ballet and opera dancers (1908-1929), organized by the famous cultural figure and entrepreneur Diaghilev abroad: from 1908 - in Paris, from 1912 - in London, from 1915 - in other countries. Ballet became the main activity of the enterprise. Operas were staged mainly until 1914. But the beginning of the "Russian Seasons" was 1906, when Diaghilev brought an exhibition of Russian artists to Paris. In 1908, the opera Boris Godunov was performed in Paris, in the production of which A. Benois, K. Yuon, E. Lanceray took part; costume sketches were created by I. Bilibin; the opera's soloists were Chaliapin, Kastorsky, Smirnov, Ermolenko-Yuzhina and others. In 1908-1909. operas "The Woman of Pskov" by Rimsky-Korsakov, "Prince Igor" by Borodin and others were performed.

A. Benois. Sketch for the ballet "Sylphides"
In 1909, ballets by M.M. Fokine: "The Pavilion of the Armida" (art. AN Benois), "Polovtsian Dances" (art. NK Roerich); "Sylphides" ("Chopiniana") to the music of Chopin, "Cleopatra" ("Egyptian Nights") by Arensky (art. LS Bakst) and the divertissement "Feast" to the music of Glinka, Tchaikovsky, Glazunov, Mussorgsky.
The ballet troupe consisted of artists from the St. Petersburg Mariinsky and Moscow Bolshoi theaters. Soloists: A.P. Pavlova, V.F. Nijinsky, T.P. Karsavina, E.V. Geltser, S.F. Fedorova, M.M. Mordkin, V.A. Karalli, M. P. Fromman and others. Choreographer - M. M. Fokin.
Since 1910, Russian Seasons passed without the participation of the opera. In 1911 Diaghilev decided to create a permanent troupe, which was finally formed by 1913 and was named Diaghilev's Russian Ballet.

Leon Bakst. Costume design for Nijinsky's ballet "Afternoon of a Faun" (1912)
With the new season of 1912, Diaghilev began to change the character of his entreprise, moving more and more away from the traditional idea of ​​ballet and moving towards new, experimental forms. After Diaghilev's death in 1929, his troupe broke up.
Russian Seasons played a huge role in the promotion of Russian art abroad and in the development of the world artistic process of the 20th century.

World of Art magazine

Leon Bakst. Cover of the magazine "World of Art" No. 2, 1902

One of the organizers and ideologists of the art association "World of Art" was Alexander Benois, and the magazine was organized by Sergei Diaghilev at the expense of Princess M. Tenisheva and Moscow philanthropist Savva Mamontov. After his bankruptcy V. Serov took care of providing the magazine with state support. The editorial secretary of the publication was a Russian publicist, art and literary critic D. Filosofov.

Further history of the art association "World of Art"

The classic period in the life of the association dates back to 1900-1904. At this time, the association was distinguished by a special unity of aesthetic and ideological principles. On February 24, 1900, in the editorial office of the World of Art magazine, a meeting of participants in the magazine's exhibitions was held, which was attended by artists L. Bakst, A. Benois, I. Bilibin, I. Braz, I. Walter, Ap. Vasnetsov, N. Dosekin, E. Lancere, I. Levitan, F. Malyavin, M. Nesterov, A. Ober, A. Ostroumova, V. Purvitis, F. Rushits, S. Svetoslavsky, K. Somov, V. Serov, J. Tsionglinsky, S. Diaghilev.
After 1904, the association expanded, but lost its ideological unity. In 1904-1910. most of the members of the World of Art were members of the Union of Russian Artists. In 1910, the art society "World of Art" was revived, N.K. Roerich.
After the revolution, many of its leaders emigrated. The association actually ceased to exist by 1924. The last exhibition of the "World of Art" was held in Paris in 1927.
We will tell you about the work of some artists, members of the World of Art association in separate articles.

"The ABC of the World of Art"

In 1911 M. Dobuzhinsky compiled the comic "ABC of the World of Art" - a series of watercolor caricatures on the "World of Artists" from A to Z.

At the end of the 19th century, artistic life in Russia was very lively. The society showed an increased interest in numerous art exhibitions and auctions, in articles and reports of the periodical press devoted to the visual arts. Not only Moscow and St. Petersburg, but also many provincial newspapers and magazines had corresponding permanent headings. All sorts of artistic associations arose, which set themselves various tasks, but mainly of an educational nature, in which the influence of the traditions of itinerant movement was reflected.

In these conditions, Diaghilev's idea of ​​rallying the young artistic forces of St. Petersburg and Moscow, the need for which had long been felt in Russian art, was greeted favorably.

In 1898, Diaghilev first achieved their joint performance at the Exhibition of Russian and Finnish Artists. It was attended by Bakst, Benois, A. Vasnetsov, K. Korovin, Nesterov, Lancere, Levitan, Malyutin, E. Polenova, Ryabushkin, Serov, Somov and others.

In the same 1898 Diaghilev managed to convince the famous figures and art lovers S. I. Mamontov and M. K. Tenisheva to finance a monthly art magazine. Soon a double issue of the magazine "World of Art" was published in St. Petersburg, the editor of which was Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev.

It was the first art magazine, whose character and direction were determined by the artists themselves. The editors informed the readers that the magazine will consider the works of Russian and foreign masters "of all epochs of art history, to what extent the aforementioned works are of interest and significance for modern artistic consciousness."

The next year, 1899, the First International Exhibition of the World of Art magazine took place. It featured over 350 works and was attended by forty-two European artists, including P. de Chavannes. D. Whistler, E. Degas, C. Monet, O. Renoir. Exhibition

allowed Russian artists and viewers to get acquainted with various areas of Western art.

Thanks to the appearance of the magazine "World of Art" and the exhibitions of 1898-1899, a circle of young artists who sympathized with the direction of the magazine emerged.

In 1900, Diaghilev managed to unite many of them in the creative community “World of Art”. This “brilliant team” (the expression of A. P. Ostroumova-Lebedeva) was made up of remarkable artists who came to art in the 1890s, namely: Bakst, Alexander Benois, Bilibin, Braz, Vrubel, Golovin, Grabar, Dobuzhinsky. K. Korovin, Lancere, Malyutin, Malyavin, Ostroumova, Purvit, Roerich, Ruschits, Serov, Somov, Trubetskoy, Tsionglinsky, Yakunchikova and Yaremich.

In addition, Repin, V. and E. Polenovs, A. Vasnetsov, Levitan, Nesterov, Ryabushkin took part in some of the exhibitions of the World of Art of that time.

From 1900 to 1903, three exhibitions of the "World of Art" were held. Organizing these exhibitions, Diaghilev focused on young Russian artists. They were Petersburgers - Bakst, Benoit. Somov, Lanceray and Muscovites - Vrubel, Serov, K. Korovin, Levitan, Malyutin, Ryabushkin and others. It was on the Muscovites that Diaghilev pinned the greatest hopes. He wrote: "... all our present art and everything from which we can expect the future is in Moscow." Therefore, he did his best to attract Moscow artists to the World of Art exhibitions, which he did not always succeed in.

The World of Art exhibitions thoroughly introduced the Russian society to the works of famous Russian masters and novice artists who have not yet achieved recognition, such as Bilibin, Ostroumova, Dobuzhinsky, Lancere, Kustodiev, Yuon, Sapunov, Larionov, P. Kuznetsov, Saryan.

There is no need to cover in detail here the activities of the "World of Art", since recently there have been publications dedicated to it. It should be said about some of its general features, they were emphasized by the world of art themselves and many contemporaries.

The World of Art association was not an accidental phenomenon in Russian art, but a historically conditioned one. Such, for example, was the opinion of I. E. Grabar: “If it were not for Diaghilev<...>, art of this order was bound to appear ”.

Touching upon the issue of the continuity of artistic culture, Diaghilev said in 1906: "The whole present and future of Russian plastic art ... will somehow feed on the same precepts that the World of Art received from a careful study of the great Russian masters since the time of Peter."

A.N. Benoit wrote that everything done by the World of Artists "did not mean at all" that they "broke with all the past." On the contrary, Benois argued, the very core of the World of Art "stood for the renewal of many, both technical and ideological traditions of Russian and international art." And further: “... we considered ourselves to a large extent representatives of the same quests and the same creative methods that we valued in the portrait painters of the 18th century, and in Kiprensky, and in Venetsianov, and in Fedotov, as well as in outstanding masters directly the generation that preceded us - in Kramskoy, Repin, Surikov ”.

V. E. Makovsky, a well-known itinerant, in an interview with a journalist said: “We have done our job<...>We are constantly given examples of the Union of Russian Artists and the World of Art, where all the best forces of Russian painting are supposedly concentrated now. But who are they, these best forces, if not our children?<...>Why did they leave us? Yes, because they felt cramped and they decided to found their new society ”.

In the works of the World of Art, this continuity of the best traditions of itinerant movement manifested itself during the 1905 revolution. Most of the artists of the World of Art joined the struggle against tsarism, taking an active part in the publication of publications of political satire.

The World of Art has played a noticeable and sometimes even decisive role in the creative destiny of many artists. I. E. Grabar, for example, only after meeting with members of the committee of exhibitions "World of Art", Diaghilev, Benois and Serov, "believed in himself and began to work." Even Serov himself was said, not without reason, that “the active sympathy of the World of Art circle miraculously inspired and strengthened his work”

KS Petrov-Vodkin wrote in 1923 in his memoirs about The World of Art: “What is the charm of Diaghilev, Benoit, Somov, Bakst, Dobuzhinsky? Such constellations of human groups appear at the boundaries of historical turning points. They know a lot and carry these values ​​of the past with them. They know how to extract things from the dust of history and, reviving them, give them a modern sound ... "The World of Art" played its historical role brilliantly. " And in another place of the same memoirs: “When you remember how twenty years ago, among the miasms of decadence, among the historical bad taste, blackness and slush of painting, Sergei Diaghilev and his comrades equipped his ship, how we, young men, took wings then along with them, suffocating in the obscurantism that surrounds us - you will remember all this, you will say: yes, well done, guys, you brought us on your shoulders to the present ”.

NK Roerich declared that it was the “World of Art” that “raised the banner for new conquests of art”.

Remembering the distant 1900s at the end of her life, A.P. Ostroumova-Lebedeva wrote: “The Mir artists chose and invited young artists to their society when they noticed in them, in addition to talent, a sincere and serious attitude to art and to their work<...>The Mir artists persistently put forward the principle of "crafts in art", that is, they wanted artists to make paintings with full, detailed knowledge of the materials with which they worked, and to bring the technique to perfection<...>In addition, they all talked about the need to raise the culture and taste among artists and never denied the themes in the paintings and, therefore, did not deprive the fine arts of its inherent properties of agitation and propaganda. " The conclusion of Ostroumova-Lebedeva was very definite: “You simply cannot destroy the significance of the World of Art society and deny it, for example, as art critics do in our country because of the principle of“ art for art ”.

K.F. Yuon noted: “The World of Art” indicated the untouched virgin lands of diverse means of artistic expression. He encouraged everything soil and national ... ”. In 1922, A. M. Gorky defined this concentration of remarkable talents as "a whole trend that revived Russian art."

The "World of Art" ceased to exist in 1903, but continued to retain a tremendous attractive force for contemporaries. In 1910, the World of Art society re-emerged in St. Petersburg, but Diaghilev no longer took part in its work. Diaghilev's artistic activity took a different direction.

In 1905, in the Tauride Palace in St. Petersburg, he arranged a grandiose Historical and Art Exhibition of Russian portraits. Not limited to works from the capital's palaces and museums, Diaghilev toured the province, revealing a total of about 4,000 portraits. There were many interesting and unexpected finds at the exhibition. Russian portrait art appeared to be unusually significant and rich. V. E. Borisov-Musatov wrote in those days to V. A. Serov: “For this work [v. that is, the arrangement of the exhibition] Diaghilev is a genius, and his historical name would have become immortal. Its meaning is somehow little understood and I am sincerely sorry for him that he was somehow left alone. " The photographs taken at the initiative of Diaghilev from most of the exhibits (the negatives are kept in the TG) now make it possible to get acquainted with many masterpieces of Russian art that perished or disappeared during the turbulent events of the 1905 revolution, civil and world wars (for example, the fate of eighteen works by D. G. Levitsky, who, among his other works, were exhibited at the Tauride exhibition).

In the spring of 1905, cultural figures in Moscow decided to honor Diaghilev in gratitude for the fact that he edited the magazine "World of Art" and arranged a Historical and Art Exhibition. Responding to greetings, Diaghilev said: “... it was after these greedy wanderings [Diaghilev is referring to the trips across Russia that he undertook, collecting works for the Historical and Artistic Exhibition] that I was especially convinced that the time had come for the results. I observed this not only in the brilliant images of ancestors, so clearly distant from us, but mainly in descendants who are living out their days. The end of life is here<...>We are witnesses of the greatest historical moment of outcomes and ends in the name of a new, unknown culture that will arise by us, but will sweep us as well. And therefore, without fear and disbelief, I raise a glass to the destroyed walls of beautiful palaces, as well as to the new testaments of a new aesthetics ”