Terra sebv s acta mvsei sabesiensi s
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T. M. Stepanskaya, L. I. Nekhvyadovich
166 chronological frame, these academics state that Russian landscape painting existed as an independent genre from the 18 th century, but its original national character formed gradually during the 19 th century, and it was not until the second half of the 19 th century that a mature school of Russian landscape painting began to develop, in which national artistic traditions were manifested in the depiction of nature. The artistic canon which forms this school has a particular dynamic. However, in its semantic, historical- typological and stylistic aspects, it is defined by certain limits, conditioned by historical-ethnographic and geographical factors. The beginning and peak of the Russian school of landscape painting is represented by the creativity of the Itinerants (Peredvizhniki) of the second half of the 19 th
century, such as A. K. Savrasov, I. I. Shishkin, V. A. Vasilyev, V. D. Polenov, I. I. Levitan and A. I. Kuindzhy. This was a period of intense development of the Russian style of landscape painting; it became a dominant genre within the fine arts of Russia and a central example of artistic integrity, a way to express not only aesthetic, but also social, moral, civil, patriotic, philosophical and religious ideas. According to Russian academic tradition, realism, as a creative method, constitutes the conceptual basis of Russian landscape painting and determines its style, the range of themes and motifs, and the artistic means of expression. With regards to artistic content, the typical general feature is the use of motifs of the natural landscape of provincial Russia. Epic context is conveyed through the depiction of forest areas, boundless plains, roads and large expanses of water. The views of Russian villages are lyrical, as well as the paths covered with snow, forest edges and small pools; sunny mornings or midday scenes - transient states of nature - convey the feeling of tranquillity. The lyrical style of Russian landscape painting initiated by A. K. Savrasov was developed to its highest peak in the creative works of I. I. Levitan and K. A. Korovin, the masters of the Russian Painters’ Union; the epic style grew out of the creative work of I. I. Shishkin, A. F. Vasnetsov and others. As an example, let us consider the variety of artistic approaches to the World Tree image. In the creative work of I. I. Shishkin, this image occurs through motifs of forests of conifers (fir, pine) and deciduous woods. Published recollections of his contemporaries testify that, “Shishkin was a phenomenal expert in and lover of the forest. He knew the anatomy of different species of trees perfectly.” 27 The work Oak Wood (1887) offers a deep sense of the oaks as a symbol of immortality and endurance; they are
25 Manin 2000. 26 Lenyashin 1985. 27 Allenova 2008, p. 367. www.cclbsebes.ro/muzeul-municipal-ioan-raica.html / www.cimec.ro Ethnocultural Traditions as a Basis of National Originality of Schools of Art
167 similar to strong, wise old men, with young trees nearby, approaching them. The image of the World Tree appears here in genealogical divisions: from the forefathers to the current generation to the descendants (temporal sphere). Another variant of such interactions can be found in canvases where the dominant motif is of pines, a symbol of inviolability and long life, for instance, Pine Forest: Mast Timber (1872), Pine Forest (1885), A Morning in the Pine Forest (1889) and A Pine (1892). As a formal principle in his works, the painter uses features of Russian realist landscape painting: mytho-poetic imagery, monumentality, panoramic characteristics, planned nature, precision of detail, light-and-dark modelling, line and silhouette. Shishkin’s forest landscapes offer a stable and majestic worldview. The World Tree motif is also a conceptual constant of the landscapes of A. K. Savrasov. The picture The Rooks Come Flying (1871) presents the author’s artistic reconstruction of this archetype: the trees join different levels of the world order, but are connected by means of the birds. The creative work of I. I. Levitan illustrates another angle in the interpretation of the tree motif. In his lyrical landscapes Birchwood (1885-1889) and Over the
complex mood. Ethnocultural motifs help the author to create a national colour and to deepen the ethnopsychological constituent of images. A striving for monumentality and epicism in landscape painting was dictated by the character of the Russian nationalist ethos, as well as the academic principles of the Russian School. A particular feature of the artistic imagery of Russian realist landscape painting is the depiction of depth: a three-dimensional system of spatial composition is the one of the tradition’s most stable aspects. The foreground, as a rule, is more energetic in terms of the colour, contrast, detail and depth of objects. Further back, the characteristics of objects become less prominent. They become softened by air and light. Moving away from the viewer, objects lose their depth; their colours become less intense, acquiring the shades of atmospheric mist. Another consistent feature of Russian landscape painting is the tradition of reproducing the colours of natural objects, taking into consideration their tonal relationships and state of illumination. The tradition is pictorial, based on the conditions of nature, out in the open air. One major artistic contribution by Russian landscape painters lies in their development of techniques for tonal painting. Two types of tonal colouring were developed: dramatic, based on the contrast between light and shadow; and colour-based, utilising the contrast between colour tones. The main tendency of open-air transformations in Russian painting of the period from 1880 to 1890 was the move towards a life-like, three- dimensional environment, which was reflected in the formation of the www.cclbsebes.ro/muzeul-municipal-ioan-raica.html / www.cimec.ro Yüklə 12,44 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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