Terra sebv s acta mvsei sabesiensi s

T. M. Stepanskaya, L. I. Nekhvyadovich 

 

170

Metaphorical and associative approaches appear in folkloric pictures by M. 

A. Vrubel (Tsarevna Volkhova) and V. M. Vasnetsov (Three Tsarevnas of the 

Underworld, Sirin and Alkonost). A comparative analysis of these pieces with 

the works of I. I. Shishkin and I. I. Levitan shows that the conventional-

ornamental form, as distinct from artistic realism oriented towards three-

dimensional space, corresponds more closely to the symbolic content of 

modern art. It should be mentioned that in V. M. Vasnetsov’s works Sirin 

and Alkonost,  The Song of Joy and Sadness (1896) and Gamayun (1898), the 

dominant motif is that of mythological birds. In Russian ecclesiastical 

poems, the sirin is a bird-maiden who comes to earth from heaven and 

fascinates people with her singing. In Slavonic mythology, the sirin is a 

wondrous bird who drives away sorrow and grief. The gamayun in Russian 

folklore is a prophetic bird thatcan speak. Its name comes from “gam” or 

“cam,” which is also the root of the words “quack” and “shaman.” In Old 

Russian tradition, Gamayun served Volos and Kolyada. V. M. Vasnetsov 

is considered in art history to be one of the most important 

representatives of the national-folklore movement, having had significant 

impact on the development of fairytale-mythological themes in Russian 

art.

31

 Further evidence for this is provided by the artist’s programatic 

pieces After the Battle of Igor Svyatoslavovich with Cumans (1880), Flying-Carpet 

(1880) and A Knight at the Cross-Road (1882). The image of the bogatyr 

appears in Vrubel’s work Bogatyr (1898). The motif of epic peace is stated 

in the picture. The painter selects artistic devices relevant to this narrative, 

striving for simplification of form and a close-up, immensity of figure. 

A mythologem of femininity became a regular feature of Russian 

painting of this period. In these creative works, special place was given to 

female characters of a fantastical or fairytale nature: princesses, snow 

maidens, mermaids and nymphs. In Russian ethnocultural tradition, the 

female figure was connected with the image of motherland and cultic-magic 

pictures of Tellus and Bereginya were traditionally used in folk art. The 

nature of the soul and the originality of the Russian nation were revealed in 

the anthropomorphising of the image of the Motherland, the native land in 

its historical perception, into female form as seen, for instance, in 

Vasnetsov’s Alenushka, Three Tsarevnas of the Underworld and The Snow Maiden. 

The image of the Russian land is revealed through the image of women in 

works by M. Nesterov, M. Vrubel, N. Rerikh and K. Petrov-Vodkin. 

The influence of ornamental devices from the traditions of amateur 

and folk arts was also brought to bear on professional artistic forms of 

painting and graphics. Examples of this can be seen in the works of A. P. 

Ryabushkin and F. A. Malyavin, where the arabesques and brilliant colours 

                                                 

31

 Plotnikov 1987, p. 39. 

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Ethnocultural Traditions as a Basis of National Originality of Schools of Art 

 

171

found in the decoration of traditional clothes and furniture are depicted, 

bridging the gap between fine art and the ornamental forms found in folk 

art. In the works of A. P. Ryabushkin (1861-1904), the main narrative 

subject is of ceremonial events (round dances, Russian holidays). The 

bearers of “historicity” in these works are national costumes and objects in 

the environment, reconstructed with authentic precision. E. I. Kirichenko, 

analysing the creative method of the painter, states, that “the ideal of beauty 

of Ryabushkin is inseparable from the ideal representation of Russia, is the 

most logically expressed in female images.”

32

 There is no direct appeal to 

Russian ethnocultural tradition in the creative work of the painter, but its 

influence transforms the artistic-imagery system of his paintings: he works 

with pure colours, avoids the three-dimensional interpretation of forms, and 

strives for ornamentality of colour and delicacy in the lines of figures and 

objects, as seen in Russian Women of the 17

th

 Century in Church (1899), Moscow 

Woman of the 17

th

 Century and Northern Idyll (1888). 

 

Ethnocultural sources also provide the basis for the artistic imagery of 

paintings by F. A. Malyavin (1869-1940), as E. I. Kirichenko writes: 

“He is considered in art history to be a painter of peasant themes ... The 

images of peasant women become a symbol and the personification of 

everything Russian for Malyavin.”

33

 

This can be seen, for instance, in Two Maids,  A Peasant Woman and The 

Singing Peasants. 

In the Russian art of the period under consideration, ethnocultural 

traditions are of great significance; their source is the artistic heritage of 

Ancient Rus. Examples of this can be found in the creative methods of N. 

S. Goncharova and E. V. Tatlin (1885-1953). N. S. Goncharova’s 

idiosyncratic approach is most vividly demonstrated in The Mystic Images of 

War (1914). Fine art expert N. Guryanova describes this cycle as a unique 

phenomenon of artistic expression for which it is difficult to find a direct 

analogue not only in Russian and Occidental art, but also in the work of the 

master who created it.

34

 In this graphical series, the painter unites novelty 

with strong influences from Russian ethnocultural traditions. Firstly, 

Goncharova provides a generalised image of battle; secondly, the 

composition of the cycle is built on the collision of sequential and 

simultaneous effects; thirdly, it directly appeals to the traditions of bast 

books, based on the principle of symmetry, and actively using the devices 

of citation and pastiche. 

                                                 

32

 Kirichenko 1997, p. 383. 

33

 Ibid., p. 384. 

34

 Guryanova 1989, p. 63. 

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