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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 that 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: "All the 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 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<...>Artists persistently put forward the principle of "craft 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 here 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 ”
Russian Art Association. It took shape in the late 1890s. (officially in 1900) on the basis of a circle of young artists and art lovers headed by A. N. Benois and S. P. Diaghilev. As an exhibition union under the auspices of the Mir magazine ... ... Art encyclopedia
Association (1898 1924) of artists, created in St. Petersburg by A.N. Benois and S.P. Diaghilev. Representatives of the World of Art rejected both academicism and the tendentiousness of the Itinerants; relying on the poetics of symbolism, they often went into the world of past ... Modern encyclopedia
"World of Art"- “WORLD OF ART”, an association (1898 1924) of artists, created in St. Petersburg by A.N. Benois and S.P. Diaghilev. Representatives of the "World of Art" rejected both academicism and the tendentiousness of the Itinerants; relying on the poetics of symbolism, they often ... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary
E. E. Lancere. Ships from the times of Peter I. Tempera. 1911. Tretyakov Gallery. Moscow. "World of Art", Russian art association. It took shape in the late 1890s. (officially in 1900) based on a circle of young artists and art lovers ... Art encyclopedia
- (1898–1904; 1910–1924), an association of St. Petersburg artists and cultural figures (A. N. Benois, K. A. Somov, L. S. Bakst, M. V. Dobuzhinsky, E. E. Lansere, A. Ya. Golovin, I. Ya. Bilibin, Z. E. Serebryakova, B. M. Kustodiev, N. K. Roerich, ... ... Art encyclopedia
- "World of Art", Russian art association. It took shape in the late 1890s. (officially in 1900) in St. Petersburg on the basis of a circle of young artists and art lovers headed by A. N. Benois and S. P. Diaghilev. As an exhibition union under ... ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia
"World of Art"- "World of Art", art association. It took shape in the late 1890s. (the charter was approved in 1900) on the basis of a circle of young artists, art critics and art lovers ("society of self-education"), headed by A. N. Benois and ... ... Encyclopedic reference book "St. Petersburg"
An association of Russian artists who opposed the tendentiousness, partisanship and anti-aestheticism of their contemporary "leaders of public opinion", the dictate of academicism and itinerantism. It took shape in the 1890s in St. Petersburg on the basis of a circle ... ... Russian history
1) art association. It took shape in the late 1890s. (the charter was approved in 1900) on the basis of a circle of young artists, art critics and art lovers ("self-education society"), headed by A. N. Benois and S. P. Diaghilev. How … Saint Petersburg (encyclopedia)
"World of Art"- WORLD OF ART artist during the Silver Age. It existed from 1898 to 1927 with interruptions, taking on different organizations. forms: magazine, exhibition, about artists. 1st period of MI 1898 1904. The core of the 1st section of MI was a circle of relatives of Alexander ... Russian humanitarian encyclopedic dictionary
Books
- World of Art. 1898-1927, GB Romanov, This publication is dedicated to the 30-year period in the history of the "World of Art" association. The publication contains portraits, biographies and works of artists. When preparing this encyclopedia for ... Category: History of Russian art Publisher: Global View, St. Petersburg Orchestra,
- World of Art. Art association of the early twentieth century, Vsevolod Petrov, `World of Art ', Russian art association. It took shape in the late 1890s. (officially in 1900) in St. Petersburg on the basis of a circle of young artists and art lovers headed by A.N. Category: History and theory of art Publisher:
The Art Association "World of Art" announced itself with the release of the magazine of the same name at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. The publication of the first issue of the magazine "World of Art" in St. Petersburg at the end of 1898 was the result of ten years of communication between a group of painters and graphic artists headed by Alexander Nikolaevich Benois (1870-1960).
The main idea of the unification was expressed in the article “Difficult Questions. Our imaginary decline. " The main goal of artistic creation was declared to be beauty, and beauty in the subjective understanding of each master. This attitude to the tasks of art gave the artist absolute freedom in choosing themes, images and means of expression, which was quite new and unusual for Russia.
The World of Art opened for the Russian public many interesting and previously unknown phenomena of Western culture, in particular Finnish and Scandinavian painting, English Pre-Raphaelite artists and graphic artist Aubrey Beardsley. Collaboration with the Symbolist writers was of great importance for the masters united around Benoit and Diaghilev. In the twelfth issue of the magazine in 1902, the poet Andrei Bely published an article "Forms of Art", and since then the largest Symbolist poets have regularly appeared on its pages. However, the artists of the World of Art did not confine themselves to symbolism. They strove not only for stylistic unity, but also for the formation of a unique, free creative personality.
As an integral literary and artistic association, the "World of Art" did not last long. Disagreements between artists and writers led in 1904 to the fact that the magazine was closed. The resumption of the group's activities in 1910 could no longer restore its former role. But in the history of Russian culture, this association has left a deep mark. It was it that switched the attention of the masters from questions of content to problems of form and pictorial language.
A distinctive feature of the World of Art artists was their versatility. They were engaged in painting, and the design of theatrical performances, and arts and crafts. However, graphics play an important role in their legacy.
The best graphic works of Benoit; especially interesting among them are illustrations to the poem by Alexander Pushkin "The Bronze Horseman" (1903-1922). Petersburg became the main "hero" of the entire cycle: its streets, canals, architectural masterpieces appear either in the cold severity of thin lines, or in the dramatic contrast of bright and dark spots. At the climax of the tragedy, when Eugene runs from the formidable giant, the monument to Peter, galloping behind him, the master paints the city with dark, gloomy colors.
Benoit's work is close to the romantic idea of opposing a lonely suffering hero and the world, indifferent to him and thus killing him.
The design of theatrical performances is the brightest page in the work of Lev Samuilovich Bakst (real name Rosenberg; 1866-1924). His most interesting works are associated with opera and ballet productions of Russian Seasons in Paris 1907-1914. - a kind of festival of Russian art, organized by Diaghilev. Bakst made sketches of scenery and costumes for the opera "Salome" by R. Strauss, the suite "Scheherazade" by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, the ballet "Afternoon of a Faun" to music by C. Debussy and other performances. Especially remarkable are the sketches of costumes, which have become independent graphic works. The artist modeled the costume, focusing on the dancer's system of movements, through lines and color he tried to reveal the pattern of the dance and the nature of the music. In his sketches, the sharpness of the vision of the image, a deep understanding of the nature of ballet movements and amazing grace are striking.
One of the main themes for many masters of the "World of Art" was the appeal to the past, longing for the lost ideal world. Favorite era was the 18th century, and above all the Rococo period. The artists not only tried to revive this time in their work - they drew the public's attention to the genuine art of the 18th century, in fact, rediscovering the work of French painters Antoine Watteau and Honore Fragonard and their compatriots - Fyodor Rokotov and Dmitry Levitsky.
Benois's works are associated with the images of the "gallant age", in which Versailles palaces and parks are presented as a beautiful and harmonious world, but abandoned by people. Evgeny Evgenievich Lanceray (1875-1946) preferred to paint pictures of Russian life in the 18th century.
Rococo motifs manifested themselves with particular expressiveness in the works of Konstantin Andreevich Somov (1869-1939). He early joined the history of art (father
artist was the curator of the Hermitage collections). After graduating from the Academy of Arts, the young master became an excellent connoisseur of old painting. Somov brilliantly imitated her technique in his paintings. The main genre of his work could be called variations on the theme of the "gallant scene". Indeed, on the artist's canvases, Watteau's characters seem to come to life again - ladies in lush dresses and wigs, actors of comedy masks. They flirt, flirt, sing serenades in the park alleys, surrounded by the caressing glow of the sunset light.
However, all means of Somov's painting are aimed at showing the "gallant scene" as a fantastic vision that flashed for a moment and immediately disappeared. After him, only a painful memory remains. It is no accident that in the midst of light gallant play, the image of death appears, as in the watercolor "Harlequin and Death" (1907). The composition is clearly divided into two planes. In the distance the traditional "set of stamps" of Rococo: the starry sky, couples in love, etc. And in the foreground there are also traditional mask characters: Harlequin in a colorful suit and Death - a skeleton in a black cloak. The silhouettes of both figures are outlined with sharp, broken lines. In a bright palette, in a certain deliberate striving for a template, one feels a gloomy grotesque. Refined grace and horror of death turn out to be two sides of the same coin, and the painter seems to be trying to treat both of them with equal ease.
Somov managed to express his nostalgic admiration for the past in a particularly subtle way through female images. The famous work "Lady in Blue" (1897-1900) is a portrait of a contemporary of the master artist E. Martynova. She is dressed in old fashion and is depicted against the backdrop of a poetic landscape park. The painting brilliantly imitates the Biedermeier style. But the obvious morbidity of the heroine's appearance (Martynova soon died of tuberculosis) evokes a feeling of acute melancholy, and the idyllic softness of the landscape seems unreal, existing only in the artist's imagination.
Mstislav Valerianovich Dobuzhinsky (1875-1957) focused his attention mainly on the urban landscape. His Petersburg, unlike Benois's Petersburg, is devoid of a romantic aura. The artist chooses the most unattractive, "gray" views, showing the city as a huge mechanism that kills the human soul.
The composition of the painting "Man with Spectacles" ("Portrait of K. A. Sunnerberg", 1905-1906) is based on the opposition of the hero and the city, which is visible through a wide window. At first glance, the motley row of houses and the figure of a man with a face immersed in the shadows seem to be isolated from each other. But there is a deep inner connection between these two planes. The "mechanical" dullness of city houses stands behind the brightness of the colors. The hero is detached, immersed in himself, in his face there is nothing but fatigue and emptiness.
The World of Art is a creative association of artists that has existed since the late 1890s. until 1924 (intermittently). The main core of the association included A. N. Benois, L. S. Bakst, K. A. Somov, M. V. Dobuzhinsky, E. E. Lansere, I. Ya. Bilibin. K. A. Korovin, A. Ya. Golovin, B. M. Kustodiev, N. K. Roerich, S. Yu. Sudeikin, B. I. Anisfeld and others joined the World of Art.
The World of Art program was controversial. Opposing its activities to the Itinerants and the Academy of Arts, "World of Art" was a supporter of "pure art". At the same time, the artists of the association did not break with realism, many of them responded to the Revolution of 1905, and in the 1910s. The "World of Art" opposed decadence and formalism. In the work of the artists of the "World of Art" there was a strong retrospective tendency, a fascination with the culture of the 17-18 centuries.
The strongest aspects of the World of Art activities are book graphics and theatrical scenery. Defending the content and integrity of the performance, 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.
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.
A large role was played by the artists of the "World of Art" in the design of the performances
Artistic association
"World of Art"
Direct-Media, Moscow, 2016
ARTOTEKA, no. 36
The art association "World of Art" grew out of a gymnasium, and then a student circle, grouped in the late 1880s - early 1890s around the youngest son of the famous St. Petersburg architect N. Benois - Alexander, in the future an artist, book illustrator, set designer, art historian. art critic.
Creation of a union
The art association "World of Art" grew out of a gymnasium, and then a student circle, grouped in the late 1880s - early 1890s around the youngest son of the famous St. Petersburg architect N. Benois - Alexander, in the future an artist, book illustrator, set designer, art historian. art critic. Initially, it was a friendly circle, which the participants themselves called "a society of self-education." Even then, a feature typical for the "World of Art" in the future manifested itself - the desire for a synthetic coverage of the phenomena of art, culture as a whole. The interests of young people were extensive: painting, literature, music, history, they were especially passionate about theater.
The circle included many future employees of the magazine "World of Art": V. Nouvel, D. Filosofov, L. Rosenberg (later known as L. Bakst). The publication of this publication was preceded by a great deal of preparatory work associated, first of all, with the organization of exhibitions of foreign art in Russia. S. Diaghilev (1872−1929), who later became a major art figure and critic, at some point began to play a noticeable role in a friendly association. It was he who set himself the goal of rallying outstanding Russian artists and making their work known in the West.
In February 1897, on the initiative of Diaghilev, an exhibition of watercolors from England and France was opened in St. Petersburg. It exhibited works by major masters from these two countries, especially Menzel's watercolors, who influenced the chamber solution of historical themes by A. Benois and other artists of the World of Art.
But more significant were the exhibition of Scandinavian artists, which opened in the autumn of the same year in the halls of the Academy of Arts, and the exhibition of Russian and Finnish artists in the Stieglitz Museum in January 1898. Thanks to his organizational talent, Diaghilev was able to attract not only the main members of the friendly circle, but also the largest Russian painters - M. Vrubel, I. Levitan, V. Serov, K. Korovin, M. Nesterov, A. Ryabushkina. Finnish masters headed by A. Gallen and A. Edelfelt also presented their works. These exhibitions, in fact, were among the first exhibitions of foreign art in Russia and were held against the background of overcoming the established conservative views both among the artists themselves and in society as a whole. Diaghilev and his associates felt a passionate desire to more actively involve Russian art in the process of the struggle against the stagnation of academism, which the northern countries had already experienced, and viewed joint exhibitions with foreign masters as one of the most effective ways to renew art. The World of Artists themselves later regarded the joint exhibition of Russian and Finnish artists as "the first performance of the World of Art, but not yet under this name." A. Benois said that it was after her that he and his friends united into one group called the "World of Art".
As already noted, it was the holding of exhibitions of foreign art that contributed to the emergence of the magazine "World of Art". One of its merits was that it turned out to be a free platform for discussions in the field of painting, and in the field of religion, philosophy, and literature. The pages of the publication discussed the most pressing problems of the intellectual life of Russia and the West. From the very beginning, the magazine took a firm place in the artistic life of Russia and gained a large number of admirers. Its editor was S. Diaghilev, but A. Benois also played an active role, defining the artistic policy of the World of Art and outlining a whole aesthetic program: firstly, the recognition of the classics, secondly, the denial of everything painful in art and decadence, in- third, the orientation towards the idea of the art industry by W. Morris with its principle of expediency. A. Benois proposed to call the magazine "Renaissance" and called on "to declare persecution and death to decadence<…>, which threatens the destruction of the entire culture. "
In the first issue of the magazine, published in 1899, S. Diaghilev's article "Difficult Questions" was published, in which the aesthetics of the "World of Art" association was formulated. From the very beginning, Diaghilev set himself the goal of "analyzing all ideas in the field of aesthetics." In his opinion, aesthetic concepts and principles in modern painting diverged from artistic practice: “This amalgam story of the artistic life of the century had a main source in the terrible precariousness of aesthetic concepts and requirements of the era. They were not firmly established for a moment, did not develop logically or freely. Artistic issues were entangled in the general mess of social coups ... ". He further notes that the utilitarian attitude towards art was dominant throughout the 19th century, although there were artistic and aesthetic trends that opposed the subordination of art to any external goals.
Diaghilev contrasted the principle of utilitarianism with the principle of aestheticism as the recognition of beauty as the highest and independent value; the author of the article argued that art is valuable in itself, that its goal is itself. A. Benois shared the conviction of a comrade that beauty should be the highest criterion in the field of artistic evaluations.
Aestheticism is the recognition of the special, exclusive rights of aesthetics, the assertion of the self-sufficient role of beauty, its independence from morality, religion and politics. The concept of aestheticism was first widely reflected in the work of English Pre-Raphaelite artists. In the magazine "World of Art" publications about English art and the Pre-Raphaelites were constant. The editors declared their primary task to develop a new concept of culture, the central place in which was given to the "Nietzschean" values: creativity, beauty, aesthetic sense. The magazine was published from 1899 to 1904 under the editorship of S. Diaghilev and with the participation of a St. Petersburg group of artists, from 1901 I. Grabar joined it, who soon became one of the most influential critics in Russian art. Art exhibitions entitled "The World of Art" were organized annually and brought together Russian and Western European masters.
Thus, the activities of the St. Petersburg association marked the beginning of a new era in the cultural life of the late 19th century.
The main core of the World of Art exhibitions were the works of the masters of the Diaghilev group (actually the World of Artists) - A. Benois, K. Somov and their closest associates, who teamed up with Moscow painters - M. Vrubel, I. Levitan, V. Serov, K. Korovin , M. Nesterov, A. Ryabushkin. The Mir artists involved in their activities major Russian masters, whose work developed independently of the ideological attitudes of the St. Petersburg group, and was distinguished by the pictorial language.
Preferred interest in history and historical styles, nostalgia for bygone eras, the cult of beauty, romantic irony - these are the ideological features of the world of art. They influenced the affirmation in their work of a favorite range of plots and motives.
The creative heritage of Alexander Nikolaevich Benois (1870-1960), the founder and historiographer of the World of Art, is rich and versatile. The result of Benoit's enthusiasm for books telling about the life and customs of the court of the "sun king", as well as the study of French art, were a series of wonderful watercolors. They depict the palace, park, walks of the king and courtiers, bathing marquis. The first such cycle is called "The Last Walks of Louis XIV" and was created in 1897-1898, the second - "Versailles Series" 1905-1906. In the works "The King's Walk" (1897, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg), "Feeding the Fish" (1897, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg), "Ceres Pool" (1897, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg), "The king walks in any weather" (1898, collection of I. Silberstein), as in other sheets from the Versailles series, although united by a single character - Louis XIV, the connecting link is the image of the man-made nature of the royal residence. The Versailles sketches are dominated by the theme of the "old park", in which the past comes to life. All works are connected by the object of the image and the unity of the mood. In the painting "The King's Walk" (1906, State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow), nature is transformed into a theatrical scenery, graceful green curtains open a small stage area. With the lightness and clarity of the silhouettes, the figures resemble toys inscribed in a picturesque landscape. The park admits theatrical performance into its spaces, as into one of the halls of a palace.
Evgeny Evgenievich Lansere (1875−1946) turned in his work to the Peter the Great era. His favorite topics were the construction of St. Petersburg and the new Russian fleet. The artist did not “restore” the historical setting, but created the image of the cold and windy brainchild of Peter I. One of the first was the expressive and full of dynamics painting “Petersburg at the beginning of the 18th century. The Building of the Twelve Collegia "(1902, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg), which depicts a rainy, windy day when the waters of the restless Neva beat against the pier of Vasilievsky Island. A boat moors to the pier. On the stairs are several human figures, among which one can recognize Peter I, who came to inspect the newly erected building of the Twelve Collegia. The author recreates the atmosphere of the construction of St. Petersburg, architecture and nature are given in an indissoluble unity. The landscapes "The Boat of Peter I" (1906, State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow) and "Ships under Peter I" (1911, State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow) are filled with wind, a feeling of spaciousness, and the lapping of waves. Lanceray also turned to subsequent eras. So, he has the composition "Empress Elizaveta Petrovna in Tsarskoe Selo" (1905, State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow), in which the action unfolds against the backdrop of Tsarskoye Selo Park and the Grand Palace, decorated with magnificent sculpture. Lanceray humorously depicts the majestic procession of the Empress, accompanied by a lady-in-waiting. The unity of architecture and costumes brings out and emphasizes the sophisticated elegance and flirtatiousness of both of these elements. By the will of the artist, the regular park has become a living character, a witness to the action taking place. The artist was able to convey the combination of frivolity and ceremonial formality, sensuality and rationalism, inherent in the 18th century.
Valentin Aleksandrovich Serov (1865−1911) was one of the main representatives of the art association "World of Art", not only a constant participant, but also the organizer of exhibitions "World of Art" along with A. Benois and S. Diaghilev.
V. Serov's opinion was highly valued, he was considered as an undeniable authority. It was he who, at a critical time for the World of Art, in 1902, asked Emperor Nicholas II (at that time the artist was painting his portrait) for a financial subsidy for the World of Art, thanks to which the magazine existed for two more years. Serov, remaining a master-realist, embodied the artistic principles of unification in his work, was carried away by the Russian XVIII century. An example of this is the paintings "Peter II and Tsarevna Elizabeth on a hunting dog" (1900, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg), "Catherine II on a falconry", "Peter I on a hunting dog" (both - 1902, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg), "Peter I" (1907, State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow). In the latter, the striving for theatricalization of action, inherent in the works of A. Benois, is obvious. Conventionalness, sharpness of the image, the growth of decorativeness, spectacular theatricalization of the image are characteristic of the works of the master, created in 1910, - "Portrait of Ida Rubinstein" (State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg) and "The Abduction of Europe" (variants in different collections).
Konstantin Andreevich Somov (1869−1939) was one of the central figures in the "World of Art". His work expressed with particular clarity the basic principles of the world of art aesthetics: the master turned to historical retrospection, was inclined to an exquisite style, sophisticated sensuality, most of his works are theatrical. The artist's fantasy landscapes appeared simultaneously with the periods of work from nature. Retrospective visions, as his art developed, acquired more and more new aspects. The leitmotif of Somov's work was love scenes in the interior and in the bosom of nature. As the heroes of the Fireworks series, Somov chose the characters of the Italian comedy of masks, loved by the art of the late 19th - early 20th centuries: the clever and successful Harlequin, the pale, weak-willed loser Pierrot, the frivolous Columbine. The love comedy they play is a hint of the immutability and repetition of human passions. Fireworks (1904, private collection, Moscow) is a work from that series, done in gouache. The silhouettes of the lady and the gentleman in the foreground, with their dresses and headdresses, are reminiscent of the 18th century. Most of the picture is occupied by the sky, with a bright sheaf of fireworks flying upwards, scattering golden lights. What is depicted is perceived as a wonderful vision.
Retrospective portraits of Somov have become a new phenomenon in Russian art. The famous painting "Lady in Blue" (1897−1900, State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow) - the image of a close friend of the artist, a fellow student at the Academy of Arts E. Martynova. This work appeared in 1900 at the exhibition "World of Art" and became the first acquired from the master of the Tretyakov Gallery. By the will of the author, the model was transferred to the past, to an old park devoid of historical concreteness. The whole figure of Martynova is written to the touch and truthfully. The background is kept in a conditional scale, the bush is completely decorative, the characters in the background are also conditional. The landscape seems to be a memory of a harmonious past, rather than a real environment. The contradiction between the heroine's image and the background is perceived as a fine line between the real and the ideal, dreams and reality.
Maria Vasilievna Yakunchikova (1870−1902) more than once became a participant in the World of Art exhibitions, was engaged in the design of the magazine of the same name. The Versailles Park, so beloved by A. Benois, appeared in her works in the 1890s. But Yakunchikova did not perceive Versailles as the rest of the world of art - through the prism of historical memories or memoirs - but tried to convey a direct impression of the motive that had struck her imagination. She does not sink into the past. The conventionality of forms and colors, the principle of decorativeness are consonant with the works of the masters of the World of Art, although Yakunchikova undoubtedly used the discoveries of the French impressionists in her paintings. In the Versailles landscape (1891, VD Polenov Museum-Estate, Tula Region), a huge green bush of clipped greenery, located in the foreground, is illuminated by the rays of the setting sun. The glare and shadows of the sun convey the feeling of the evening and are reminiscent of the works of the Impressionists. Light and shadow for Yakunchikova are the spokesmen for polar psychological states. In her Versailles landscapes there is no irony and theatricalization of A. Benois and K. Somov. Formal techniques - enlargement, generalization of volumes, fragmentation - enhance the elegiac mood, the viewer becomes a tacit witness of the past in a real natural environment.
Yakunchikova painted not only landscapes. She, like other members of the "World of Art", paid attention to old interiors. Many such paintings could be seen at World Art exhibitions.
Such works bore the stamp of the era, and the depicted rooms of bygone times became not so much “portraits” of the old way of life, as an echo of the attitude of the people who created them (“portraits”), nostalgic for the lost beauty. They contrasted the world outside the window and the world inside the house with the quiet life of things and their involvement in human existence. One can also recall the exhibition "Contemporary Art" in 1903, in the organization of which the World of Artists were directly involved: they were the authors of the general concept of interiors, sketches of details of decoration, decorative paintings and saw their task in creating "demonstrative interiors with all furnishings, where the artists of the" World of Art " could put their taste for gracefulness and sense of style - everything that was completely lost in Petersburg life "5.
Yakunchikova strove to convey to the viewer the beauty of the outgoing world of the estate in her works such as Covers, Stairway to the Old House (1899, collection of AS Weber, Evian), From the Window of an Old House. Vvedenskoye "(1897, State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow). These motives will become widespread in Russian art. The works are filled with additional meanings, the viewer has a feeling of tragedy. In the painting "Stairway to the Old House" the author chooses the point of view on which a person would be who is going to climb the stairs. The cut composition resembles the works of A. Benois. The artist attentively examines the stairs, pensively looks from one detail to another; notes with pity the traces of destruction left by time.
Since the mid-1890s, Lev Nikolayevich Bakst (1866−1924) joined the circle of writers and artists united around S. Diaghilev and A. Benois, who later became one of the initiators of the creation of the "World of Art". He had versatile creative interests: he was engaged in portraiture, landscape, book graphics, painted decorative panels. The master's true vocation was theatrical and decorative painting, in which his talent manifested itself most vividly. Passion for old Petersburg, its way of life, costumes is evident in illustrations for Gogol's "Nose" (1904, State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow), watercolors "Gostiny Dvor in the 1850s" (1905, private collection, St. Petersburg), gouaches "Downpour "(1906, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg). In the last named work, the typical features of the artistic practice of the world of art are clearly expressed - illustrativeness, retrospective stylization, an ironic attitude to the past.
The panel "Vase (Self-Portrait)" (1906, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg) bears a noticeable reflection of Benoit's Versailles landscapes and Somov's gallant scenes. In this work, there is no reference to past eras, typical for the artists of the World of Art, the ambiguity of meaning is born in it as a result of the master's play with the plans of the picture and a separate theme - a garden motive.
In Bakst's decorative panel "Ancient Horror" (1908, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg), the symbolist aesthetics, partly characteristic of the world of art, found expression. A panorama of the landscape seen from a bird's eye view, illuminated by flashes of giant lightning, is presented. An archaic statue of the goddess Aphrodite with a frozen smile on her lips rises above the ancient rocky land, flooded with a violent water element. Turning away from the dying world, the goddess remains calm and unperturbed. Some higher wisdom separates her from the surrounding mad chaos. In her hand, clasped to her chest, she holds a blue bird - a symbol of dreams and happiness. The ancient civilization is dying, only beauty reigning over the world remains.
In 1902, the magazine "World of Art" published an article by A. Benois "Picturesque Petersburg" 6, accompanied by many photographs of ancient buildings and drawings by E. Lancere, A. Ostroumova-Lebedeva, L. Bakst. The following year, "World of Art" organized an exhibition "Old Petersburg." The anniversary Tsarskoye Selo exhibition (1910), "Historical exhibition of architecture" (1911) and the exhibition "Lomonosov and the Elizabethan time" (1912) were also of great importance in revealing the appearance of old Petersburg and in promoting its artistic values. Art ”sought to depict the city, freed from everyday scenes, when architecture takes on the main role in creating its artistic image: in St. Petersburg, the resurrected past is intertwined with the features of modernity.
In 1902, Mstislav Valerianovich Dobuzhinsky (1875-1946) became a member of the World of Art. Especially impressive are his sheets depicting St. Petersburg in an emphatically casual form, unusual in form and in its intense inner sound. These include urban landscapes - "A Corner of St. Petersburg" (1904, State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow), "City" (1904, Kirov Regional Art Museum), "Old House" (1905, State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow). The city he saw is devoid of romantic flair. Dobuzhinsky depicts numerous apartment buildings with narrow windows and cramped courtyards, blank walls with ventilation grilles, similar to prison ones. The desertion of his works is a special artistic device that enhances the impression of loneliness and hopelessness.
The role of the urban landscape is significant in Dobuzhinsky's easel painting "A Man with Spectacles" (1905−1906, State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow). This is a portrait of K. Sunnerberg, a poet and art critic close to the World of Art circle. Dobuzhinsky wrote to a friend in his apartment, from the window of which the cityscape was opening. The image of the window turned out to be dominant here. It allows you to combine the portrait of Sunnerberg and the city landscape, consisting of vegetable gardens with woodpiles of firewood, monotonous houses piling one on top of the other and factory chimneys covering the horizon.
The name of Anna Petrovna Ostroumova-Lebedeva (1871−1955) is invariably associated with the majestic images of the urban ensembles of the city on the Neva. Both in engraving and in watercolor, the main theme in the artist's work was the urban landscape. She surprisingly accurately succeeded in guessing the character of the city in the subtle rhythm of architectural forms, in a certain color that was unique to it. Each cycle has a unique color scheme. Undoubtedly, the work in engraving left an imprint on the style and character of Ostroumova-Lebedeva's watercolor painting. The brevity of expression, laconic speech, clarity of lines, characteristic of wood engraving, manifested themselves in a watercolor manner.
In 1901 the artist made the first series of engravings dedicated to St. Petersburg for the magazine "World of Art"; one of the most famous sheets - “Petersburg. New Holland ". In this work, as in many works, the artist depicted a winter city.
Dark planes create the silhouette of an arch in the neoclassical style of the famous monument, the feeling of snowy whiteness is conveyed by the whiteness of the paper itself. The monumentality of the engraving is achieved by the selection and generalization of details. The techniques found - the calm precision of the form, the rhythmic balance of the composition - were developed by the artist in her subsequent works. The Spit of Vasilievsky Island, Rostral Columns, the Stock Exchange building, the Admiralty are her favorite pictorial motifs.
Young artists who joined the main core of the "World of Art", reworking the creative concept of unification, became the successors of the work started by Diaghilev.
As an exhibition organization, the "World of Art" managed to exist from 1899 to 1903. Moscow painters who took part in the exhibitions of the St. Petersburg association created their own group called "36 artists". And in February 1903, during the fifth exhibition of the "World of Art" in St. Petersburg, it was decided to create a new society - the Union of Russian Artists. Many masters of the brush who were part of the St. Petersburg group became members of the Union of Russian Artists.
In 1904, the World of Art magazine also ceased to exist, for the publication of which A. Benois and S. Diaghilev no longer had enough money.
But S. Diaghilev continued his organizational activity. In 1905 he organized an exhibition of Russian portraits in the Tauride Palace, and in 1906 - an exhibition of contemporary painting under the former name "The World of Art", which included the works of M. Vrubel, K. Korovin, M. Larionov, N. Sapunov, P. Kuznetsov and the already deceased Viktor Elpidiforovich Borisov-Musatov (1870−1905). The latter was especially close to the "World of Art" in the images and techniques of his work, but during his lifetime he was not invited to the expositions of the association. When the attitude to the work of Borisov-Musatov changed, he had already died. In 1902, the public was presented with the painting "Tapestry" (1901, State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow), and then Diaghilev, in his review, called its author "an interesting artist", "curious and significant." But only four years later, in 1906, more than fifty works of Borisov Musatov were included in the last exhibition of the St. Petersburg association.
Since the second half of the 1900s, the "World of Art" did not officially exist, but the World of Artists retained a group solidarity, entering the Union of Russian Artists. After its split in October 1910, it was they who revived the union. Since 1910, the "World of Art" was also an exhibition organization, which consisted of artists of various trends. Such masters as N. Roerich, G. Narbut, S. Chekhonin, D. Mitrokhin, Z. Serebryakova, B. Kustodiev continued to develop the artistic principles of the older world of art. K. Petrov-Vodkin, M. Saryan, P. Kuznetsov, N. Altman, I. Mashkov are artists who turned out to be receptive to new phenomena and retained complete independence from the creative concepts that developed at the origins of the "World of Art".
The position of the chairman was held by Nicholas Roerich (1874-1947). Since 1903 he has been a regular participant in the World of Art exhibitions. Roerich was worried about Slavic pagan antiquity, the Scandinavian epic, and the religious legends of medieval Russia.
Interesting are his "Idols" (State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg) and "Guests from Overseas" (1901, State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow), created in 1901, during the artist's stay in France. Features of stylization, the predominance of graphic techniques over painting, decorative understanding of color make these works related to the works of the world of art. In "Idols" the basis of the artistic solution is made up of decorative and graphic techniques characteristic of the style of Art Nouveau, a circular composition, contour lines and local color spots play a decisive role. An ancient pagan temple is depicted - a place for prayers and sacrifices to the gods. In the middle of the temple stands the largest idol, around - smaller ones. Idols are decorated with bright ornaments and carvings. There are no figures of people, the landscape motive dominates. In the theatrical landscape scene, the majestic tranquility of nature and the beauty of the temple merge together. Roerich was attracted by the ability of people of the distant past to dissolve in nature, putting their own experiences and feelings into it.
Interest in Slavic antiquity is evident in the work "Overseas Guests". Elegant painted boats with variegated sails sail along the river; the bows end with the heads of dragons. The patterned ornaments of the Varangian seaworthy boat, colored shields, bright red sails are perfectly combined with the deep blue water and lush green of the hills. The rhythm of the piece is set by the diagonal composition and the use of linear and color ornamentation. The motives of the soaring wings of birds, the running waves formed the basis of the rhythm of the "Overseas Guests". The same pattern of soaring wings is repeated in the contours of the coast, and it seems that the earth "flies" towards the ships. Between "Overseas Guests" and "Slavs on the Dnieper" (1905, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg), there is much in common both in composition and in color. The expressiveness of the picture is based on its simplification and generalization; the rhythmic beginning, bright color spots play an important role in the paintings. Roerich chooses a high point of view on the landscape, when the outlines of forests, winding, bizarre coastline, cut by bays, appear especially decorative and, at the same time, "fabulously" unusual (the artist also worked in the field of theatrical and decorative painting). The thematic of the works, alien to modernity, demonstrates Roerich's attention to the ancient Russian artistic tradition and an emphasized interest in the images and themes of Russian history.
Peasant antiquity, bourgeois-merchant Russia - the main themes in the work of Boris Mikhailovich Kustodiev (1878-1927). He was known as a portrait painter, but in genre works he adhered to the principles of the world of art. In the paintings depicting numerous fairs, Maslenitsa and festivities, the artist sang the beauty of Russian nature, folk customs and the breadth of the Russian people. Winter landscapes, against the background of which merry Shrovetide festivities take place, are sometimes enchanting in the combination of a green-pinkish sky and dazzling blue snow. Among this colorfulness of nature, the costumes and flushed faces are especially festively bright. Kustodiev sets up many plots, reveals the relationship between the characters and at the same time shows the fair as a magnificent spectacle, which he admires together with the audience.
In 1910, the artist began working on a group portrait of members of the World of Art Society for the Tretyakov Gallery, but never finished it. The master made only a sketch (1916−1920, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg). Depicted (from left to right): I. Grabar, N. Roerich, E. Lancere, I. Bilibin, A. Benois, G. Narbut, N. Milioti, K. Somov, M. Dobuzhinsky, K. Petrov-Vodkin, A. Ostroumova-Lebedeva, B. Kustodiev.
Several preparatory sketches have also survived.
In 1911, Sergei Yuryevich Sudeikin (1882−1946) became a member of the World of Art association. He was connected by close friendship with K. Somov. In many respects, Sudeikin made a start from the Somov "marquises" in his works, which also reproduced pastoral scenes of the gallant era: such are "Walking" (1906, State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow), "Harlequin's Garden" (1915-1916, Saratov State Art Museum named after A. . N. Radishcheva). The romantic plot often received from him a naive, primitive popular interpretation, contained elements of parody, grotesque, theatricalization. Still lifes, such as Flowers and Porcelain (early 1910s, private collection, Moscow), also resemble a theatrical performance, a stage. The theme of the theater has repeatedly arisen in Sudeikin's painting: he portrayed ballet and puppet theater, Italian comedy and Russian Maslenitsa festivities. Theatrical and decorative art has become the main business of the artist. S. Mamontov was the first to attract him to the design of opera performances at the Moscow Hermitage Theater. In 1911 the artist worked on ballet performances of the Maly Drama Theater in St. Petersburg, in 1912, together with A. Tairov, at the St. Petersburg Russian Drama Theater. In 1913 Sudeikin took part in the Russian Seasons in Paris, completing the sets and costumes for the ballets The Red Mask by N. Cherepnin and The Tragedy of Salome by F. Schmidt.
Zinaida Evgenievna Serebryakova (1884−1967), who entered the World of Art association in 1911, chose folk themes, her paintings are distinguished by harmony, powerful plasticity, and generalization of pictorial solutions. The artist owns a number of genre works devoted to the work and life of the peasants - "Harvest" (1915, Odessa State Art Museum), "Whitening Canvas" (1917, State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow). Serebryakova's favorite technique is choosing a high horizon for composition, which makes the figures especially monumental and majestic.
In 1914, A. Benois was entrusted with the design of the Kazan railway station in Moscow (not completed), and Z. Serebryakova, along with E. Lancere, B. Kustodiev, M. Dobuzhinsky, was involved in the work.
In the artist's work, a deeply personal, feminine principle also developed, which was especially clearly manifested in her work on self-portraits: in them, the girl's naive coquetry was replaced by an expression of a feeling of maternal joy, then by tender poetic sadness. Such are, for example, the paintings “At the Toilet. Self-portrait "(1909, State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow) and" Self-portrait with daughters "(1921, Rybinsk State Historical-Architectural and Art Museum-Reserve).
Kuzma Sergeevich Petrov-Vodkin (1878−1939), who became a member of the association in 1911, met future like-minded people - P. Kuznetsov, P. Utkin, M. Saryan - at MUZHViZ. Petrov-Vodkin is an example of an artist who was looking for a synthesis of the modern artistic language with the cultural heritage of past eras. In 1912 he created the painting Bathing a Red Horse (State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow). For the first time, the canvas was shown at the exhibition "World of Art" in 1912. The work obviously refers to the images of ancient Russian art: the red horse refers to the motif of the Russian icon - the horse of St. George the Victorious. By design, the central image is not a horseman, but a red-flaming animal. The composition is distinguished by its poise, static. The decorativeness and monumental character of the canvas are fascinating. A powerful, fire-like horse, full of restrained strength, enters the water, on it is a fragile boy with thin hands, a detached face, he holds onto an animal, but does not restrain it - there was something alarming, prophetic in this composition. The picture is not only about youth, beautiful nature or the joy of life, but, perhaps, about the fate of Russia.
Pavel Varfolomeevich Kuznetsov (1878−1968) is an artist for whom the picturesque discoveries of Borisov-Musatov acquired particular importance. The flesh of the visible world melts in his canvases, the picturesque visions are almost surreal, woven from shadow images, denoting subtle movements of the soul. Kuznetsov's favorite motive is a fountain varying the theme of the eternal cycle of life - "The Blue Fountain" (1905, State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow). Kuznetsov preferred tempera, but used its decorative possibilities in a very peculiar way, as if with an eye to the techniques of impressionism, whitening shades of color. Many works are sustained in cold colors - gray-blue, pale lilac, - the outlines of objects are vague, the image of space tends to decorative conventions, for example, "Mirage in the Steppe" (1912, State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow), "Evening in the Steppe" (1912 , State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow). A peculiar synthesis of still life and landscape is the painting "Morning" (1916, State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow). The artist was not yet thirty when his works were included in the exposition of the exhibition of Russian art, organized by S. Diaghilev in Paris in 1906.
The early works of Nikolai Nikolaevich Sapunov (1880−1912), who came to the association from the Blue Rose symbolist group, were close to the aesthetic principles of the World of Art. In the spirit of the gallant festivities of the 18th century, the painting “Night Festivities. Masquerade "(1907, Museum of Russian Art, collection of A. Ya. Abrahamyan, Yerevan). Sapunov's works differ from the works of the masters of the World of Art by their pictorial qualities and themes that are not related to specific historical events. An important place in the artist's work was occupied by images of flowers, in their transfer he achieved real virtuosity, fully revealing his coloristic talent. An example of this is the work "Blue Hydrangeas" (1907, State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow), "Vases, Flowers and Fruits" (1910, State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow). Favorite motives of N. Sapunov were folk festivals and festivities with their traditional attributes, as in the paintings "Carousel" (1908, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg), "Spring. Masquerade "(1912, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg).
Alexander Yakovlevich Golovin (1863−1930) since 1899 participated in exhibitions of the "World of Art", since 1902 - a member of the association, collaborated in the magazine of the same name. In the late 1890s he worked in the pottery workshop of Abramtsev together with M. Vrubel, at whose suggestion he took part in the design of the facade of the Metropol hotel. He designed the performances of the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, in 1901 he moved to St. Petersburg, from 1902 he held the post of chief decorator of the Imperial Theaters and a consultant to the Directorate on artistic issues. Golovin collaborated with the Alexandrinsky and Mariinsky theaters, created portraits of artists, actors in roles, ceremonial portraits, landscapes. In portrait painting, he sharpened the methods of theatricalization of the image. Often the artist carried his heroes into the theater setting and illuminated them with the light of a ramp, for example, in the "Portrait of the Artist D. Smirnov as Chevalier des Grieux in the opera" Manon "by J. Massenet (1909, A. Bakhrushin State Theater Museum, Moscow) or in "Portrait of F. Chaliapin as Boris Godunov in the opera" Boris Godunov "by M. Mussorgsky (1912, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg). Decorative, colorful, sophisticated graphic solutions are characteristic of the master's works. Ornamental plant motifs, which are found in abundance on ceramics according to his sketches, picturesque panels, theatrical decorations and even portraits, were favorites in Golovin's work.
Igor Emmanuilovich Grabar (1871−1960) since 1901 - a member of the association, since 1902 - a participant in the World of Art exhibitions. He was one of those who left the Union of Russian Artists in 1910 and participated in organizing an exhibition association called "The World of Art" in the same year. While still a student, Grabar wrote articles and reviews on art for the famous magazines "Niva", "Strekoza", "World of Art". The nature of central Russia and the Moscow region was one of the main themes of his painting. All Grabar's works are filled with harmony, poetry, and a cheerful mood. Spectacular, bright, textured painting is combined with the invariable beauty of the composition and color. Grabar sought to capture the elusive variability of the "seasons". He especially loved winter landscapes: "February Azure" (1904, State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow), "March Snow" (1904, State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow). In search of ways to convey the light and color power of nature, he used the achievements of French impressionist painters, but was never a direct follower of their direction. In addition to landscape works, Igor Emmanuilovich created many still lifes. He also wrote monographs about the work of V. Serov and I. Repin, an autobiographical book "My Life", which tells about the artistic life of Europe and Russia at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th century. For twelve years - from 1913 to 1925 - Grabar was the director of the Tretyakov Gallery. Over the years, a huge amount of work has been done on the inventory of the gallery, replenishment of its funds, holding exhibitions, and publishing the first scientific catalog. Interest in Russian history, monuments of the past, icon painting connected him with A. Benois, M. Dobuzhinsky, E. Lansere, B. Kustodiev, A. Ostroumova-Lebedeva and N. Roerich. Grabar is the author of a number of monographs on Russian artists. He set himself the task of restoring the sequence of the development of the Russian national school, presenting the work of the largest Russian artists.
In 1924, the last exhibition of the World of Art association was held, where the works of Benoit, Somov, Dobuzhinsky, Golovin, Ostroumova-Lebedeva, Kustodiev, Serebryakova were displayed nearby.
In Paris in 1927, a group of Russian émigrés tried to gather compatriot artists at an exhibition called "The World of Art", the former members of the association, headed by M. Dobuzhinsky, took part in it. The idea of re-creating the association, which arose among the Committee of Russian Emigration, did not find support even among A. Benois, who refused to participate in this exhibition. In the early 1930s, artists of all generations who emigrated from Russia maintained friendly relations with each other, and performed together at exhibitions of Russian art in Paris, Belgrade, and Brussels. But, unfortunately, the World of Art did not exist in contemporary Russian artistic life.
Book graphics of the world of art
The most complete and vivid embodiment of the creative aspirations of the masters of the St. Petersburg association was found in the decoration of books and theatrical (opera and ballet) scenes.
Through the efforts of the World of Art artists, the artistic design of the book was brought to a high level, they approved a new understanding of its beauty and artistry. The World of Art magazine is a large-format publication, all the decoration elements of the cover and pages of which were coordinated in the unity of style. Elegant calligraphy of titles, grace of vignettes, matte yellowish laid paper, color printing made it a luxury item. In August 1898, M. Yakunchikova, at the request of S. Diaghilev, began to collaborate with the "World of Art". She made the cover for the publication: the combination of the patterned landscape and the expression of the silhouette of a swan emphasized the flatness of the cover and was in perfect harmony with the stylized font. And although the first issue came out in the design of K. Korovin, later the editors nevertheless returned to the drawing by M. Yakunchikova.
All printed editions, in the artistic design of which the World of Artists participated, were distinguished by their refined taste.
Petersburg, its history, its reflection in poetry, literature, architecture became the main theme in A. Benois's book graphics. He made numerous illustrations for Pushkin's "Bronze Horseman" (1916, 1921−1922, State Russian Museum St. Petersburg; All-Russian Museum of A.S. Pushkin, Moscow; State Museum of Fine Arts named after A.S. Pushkin, Moscow; private collections in Moscow and St. Petersburg) 7. Benoit's graphics created an organic unity with Pushkin's text. The illustrations of the introduction were associated with the motives of the art of the Pushkin era, since the image of a classically clear city with its architectonic clarity of lines was recreated in the verses. In the following illustrations, the compositions acquire dynamics, graceful harmony, the chased logic of the city landscape disappear. Eugene's duel with the rider ends with a dramatic ending: menacing waves billowing up to the sky, slanting rain and the triumphant silhouette of the monument.
The image of the city becomes the leitmotif of the graphic interpretation of the poem. Granite embankments, the bulk of palaces, the scale of the squares - on all lies Benois's love for the creation of Peter. But the image is born not only of a beautiful capital, but of a city of tragic hopelessness, formidable and ruthless.
M. Dobuzhinsky spoke more than once about how worried he was with Dostoevsky's works. In his illustrations for "White Nights" (1923), St. Petersburg becomes the main character, in accordance with the text of the work. Small figures, almost dissolved in the darkness of the streets, emphasized the general lyrical mood inherent in this work. Although the black-and-white sheets were notable for their strict graphicity, Dobuzhinsky conveyed the ghostly atmosphere of a white night. He avoided ornamentation, but the whiteness of the paper contrasted with the heavy spots of ink, thus creating a decorative effect of the drawings. The city seems deathly empty, a witness to the spiritual drama of a person, personifies the spiritual world of the heroes. The artist revealed the emotional structure of Dostoevsky's story with the help of images of his own work - city landscapes.
Ivan Yakovlevich Bilibin (1876−1942) is a representative of the world of art, who completely turned to book graphics. Despite the fact that outwardly Bilibin's work opposes the Westernizing orientation of most of the artists of the "World of Art", the influence on his work of English graphics, French Art Nouveau and Japanese engraving is very noticeable. The artist's works are distinguished by the beauty of patterned drawing, exquisite decorativeness of color combinations, a subtle visual embodiment of the world, a combination of bright fabulousness with a sense of folk humor. He emphasized the plane of the book page with a contour line, lack of lighting, coloristic unity, conditional division of space into plans and combining different points of view in the composition. The master designed Russian folk tales and epics. The illustrations to Pushkin's "The Tale of Tsar Saltan" (1905, State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg) are significant; this tale gave rich food to Bilibin's fantasy. With amazing skill and great knowledge, the artist depicted ancient costumes and utensils in multicolored paintings of ancient Russian life. It should be noted that in 1902-1904, on the instructions of the ethnographic department of the Russian Museum, Bilibin traveled around the Vologda, Arkhangelsk, Olonets and Tver provinces, collecting works of folk art and photographing monuments of wooden architecture. With his works, the master introduced monuments of ancient Russian art and peasant artistic handicrafts into the sphere of worldly artistic interests.
In 1901, Georgy Ivanovich Narbut (1886−1920) moved to St. Petersburg and met Bilibin; he took him under his protection, introducing him into the circle of the world of art. Narbut made his debut in 1907 with illustrations for children's books, which immediately brought him fame: “Dances, Matvey, don't spare your bast shoes” (1910) and two books with the same name “Toys” (1911) were a great success; in all three he skillfully used stylized images of Russian folk toys. In these illustrations, the careful contour drawing, subtly colored with watercolors, still bore traces of Bilibin's influence. In the design of fairy tales and fables, Narbut often used silhouette drawing in combination with color.
Dmitry Isidorovich Mitrokhin (1883−1973) illustrated several children's books, including "Little Flour" by V. Hauf (1912), "Roland the Squire" by V. Zhukovsky (1913). Each of them was exemplary in the impeccability of the graphic style and the unity of drawings, inscriptions and ornaments.
Artists of the World of Art, renewing their traditions, revived illustrative drawing and graphic design in Russia, and created a consistent system of book design. With their work, the masters contributed to the enhancement of the culture of book design and influenced the development of Russian graphics in the first quarter of the 20th century.