Topic: Domestic painting in the pre-Petrine era

Features of ancient Russian painting

1.The presence of numerous religious symbols, i.e. conventional signs or images behind which complex religious ideas are hidden. For example, the most common symbol is a halo - a shining circle around the head, symbolizing holiness, or a cross - a symbol of the martyrdom of the crucified Jesus Christ, etc.

2. The presence of numerous religious attributes, i.e. objects belonging to any saint. For example, a cross is an attribute of a martyr, a scroll is a prophet, a bunch of keys is an attribute of the Apostle Peter, to whom, according to the Holy Scriptures, Jesus Christ, after ascending to heaven, left the keys to the kingdom of heaven - paradise, etc.

3. Bright clear light and its certain symbolism. The Byzantines also developed the doctrine of color: White color- symbolizes moral purity and holiness; black - death, the underworld, the forces of evil; green - youth, youth, hope; blue - heavenly, divinity; scarlet-red - martyrly shed blood; dark cherry - love; gold - eternity, divinity, it's not even a color, but a light that emanated from God and fills the whole world.

4.Peculiar, specific form of image. First, instead of a "linear" perspective, there is a "reverse" one. If in the usual pictures you mentally draw lines that continue the lines of objects, then they should converge at a point on the horizon line. With the help of such a “direct” perspective, a feeling of depth of the picture is achieved, which in fact is not there, because the picture is flat. In an icon, a fresco, the opposite is true. The lines, if continued, converge in front, on the one who is praying. This is the "reverse" perspective. The medieval painter seems to be trying to see objects not from one, but from several points of view. Such an image is not just the inability of the painter or incorrectness. The icon, the fresco seems to open towards the person, helping him to enter his own, special world.

Secondly, there is no three-dimensionality of space, volume in the image, because chiaroscuro is not used, i.e. characterized by a kind of transfer of volume and space. The characters of medieval painting seem to be placed in a flat environment, where there is no depth, no horizon line, no shadows cast by objects. The image of figures and objects also remains flat. This is explained by the fact that the object of depiction in medieval painting is not the real, but the heavenly, divine world.

Thirdly, a peculiar transmission of time is characteristic - the simultaneous transmission of different events.

Fourth, static, immobility of the image. On icons and frescoes, the figures, as a rule, are devoid of any movement, because depicted saints, most often are in a state of religious self-deepening, mystical contemplation. Communication with God does not tolerate the fuss and restlessness inherent in the movement. Therefore, the saints seem to be deadly frozen.

Fifthly, medieval painting is characterized by conventionality in the image. The most significant characters - Christ, the Mother of God - were always depicted large, regardless of their location, in the foreground of the composition or in depth. As a rule, the landscape is conditional, it is, most likely, some signs that indicate where and under what circumstances this or that event of the Holy Scripture takes place. This feature is again explained by the fact that medieval painting is deeply religious in nature, depicts the world not earthly, but divine, where their own laws of time, space, and movement dominate. Much of it is conditional and understandable only to the initiates.

5. Strict adherence to the canon, those. certain strict rules for the depiction of saints in medieval painting. These rules were consecrated by the church and were binding on all artists. And the church strictly followed this. Special drawings or originals were created - contour drawings with a short signature. They explained in detail the types of faces, color, clothing of the saints, contained excerpts from theological works, and cited quotations that the artists had to reproduce in their works.

But according to this “canvas”, each artist “embroiders” his own pattern, he puts his experiences, thoughts, ideas into each image. Therefore, despite the strict canonicity of medieval painting, great masters were able, without deviating from the rules, to create unique, perfect works. The freedom of a medieval painter was manifested in the choice of composition and rhythm. Depending on this, the icon or fresco turned out to be dramatically tense or calm, joyful.

Russian medieval painting borrowed the canon from Byzantium.

According to the canon, each saint was endowed only with his inherent features and details. So, Elijah the Prophet was always portrayed as a stern old man with a stern look, long and straight hair and a beard. And Nicholas the Wonderworker is the opposite - with a good-natured expression, a high forehead with deep bald patches and a small curly beard. The Mother of God (Virgin Mary) - has always been portrayed as a young woman with huge almond-shaped eyes, a thin nose, barely marked red lips, a narrow, rounded chin.

According to the canon, it was not customary to indicate the name of the author of this or that creation, so the art of ancient Russia was anonymous.

6. Russian medieval painting had specific content. It was religious in nature, mainly portrayed: Jesus Christ, numerous saints and various subjects from the Old and New Testaments that make up the Bible. First of all, these are the "twelfth holidays", i.e. 12 most important events related to the life of Jesus Christ and the Mother of God, which are celebrated annually and on certain days.

The most common in Russia were images of Jesus Christ (the Savior in strength, the Savior the Almighty, the Savior Not Made by Hands), the Mother of God (Our Lady of the Sign of the Sign, the Mother of God Hodegetria, the Mother of God of Eleusa-Tenderness), St. Nicholas the Pleasant, St. George, St. Paraskeva Friday, etc. Pantheon saints was formed in Russia, gradually expanded noticeably and at the same time was unified for the whole country during the time of Ivan the Terrible.

Table "Types of ancient Russian painting"

The interest in ancient Russian painting in our country is now enormous, and the difficulties of its perception among those who turn to it today are no less enormous. Almost everyone experiences them, both teenagers and adults, and even people who are otherwise well educated, although in Ancient Russia her painting was available to everyone. The fact is that these difficulties are rooted not just in the lack of knowledge of an individual, their reason is much wider: it is in the dramatic fate of ancient Russian art itself, in the dramas of our history.

Christianity in Russia is a little over a thousand years old, and the art of icon painting has the same ancient roots. The icon (from the Greek word for “image”, “image”) arose before the birth of ancient Russian culture, became widespread in all Orthodox countries. Icons in Russia appeared as a result of the missionary activity of the Byzantine Church at a time when the significance of church art was experienced with particular force. What is especially important and what was a strong inner impulse for Russian ecclesiastical art is the fact that Russia adopted Christianity precisely at the epoch of the revival of spiritual life in Byzantium itself, the epoch of its dawn. During this period, nowhere in Europe was church art as developed as in Byzantium. And at that time, the newly converted Russia received, among other icons, as an example of Orthodox art, an unsurpassed masterpiece - the icon of the Mother of God, which later received the name of Vladimir.

Through the fine arts, ancient harmony and a sense of proportion become the property of Russian church art, enter into its living fabric. It should also be noted that for the rapid development of the Byzantine heritage in Russia there were favorable prerequisites and, one might say, the ground had already been prepared. Latest Research allow us to assert that pagan Russia had a highly developed artistic culture. All this contributed to the fact that the cooperation of Russian masters with Byzantine ones was extremely fruitful. The newly converted people turned out to be able to accept the Byzantine heritage, which nowhere found such favorable soil and nowhere gave such a result as in Russia.

Since ancient times, the word "Icon" has been used for individual images, usually written on a board. The reason for this phenomenon is obvious. The tree served as our main building material. The vast majority of Russian churches were made of wood, so not only mosaics, but also frescoes (paintings on fresh, damp plaster) were not destined to become the common decoration of the temple interior in Ancient Russia.

With their decorative effect, ease of placement in the church, brightness and strength of their colors, icons painted on boards (pine and lime, covered with alabaster ground - gesso) were the best suited for the decoration of Russian wooden churches.

No wonder it was noted that in ancient Russia the icon was the same classical form. visual arts, as in Egypt - a relief, in Hellas - a sculpture, and in Byzantium - a mosaic.

Ancient Russian painting - the painting of Christian Russia - played a very important and completely different role in the life of society than modern painting, and its character was determined by this role. Russia was baptized by Byzantium and together with it inherited the idea that the task of painting is to "embodie the word" to embody the Christian dogma in images. Therefore, the basis of ancient Russian painting is the great Christian “word”. First of all, this Holy Bible, Bible (“Bible” in Greek - books) - books created, according to Christian doctrine, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

It was necessary to embody the word, this grandiose literature, as clearly as possible - after all, this incarnation was supposed to bring a person closer to the truth of this word, to the depth of the dogma that he professed. The art of the Byzantine, Orthodox world - all countries within the sphere of cultural and religious influence of Byzantium - solved this problem by developing a deeply unique set of techniques, creating an artistic system that was never seen before and never repeated, which made it possible to embody the Christian word in an unusually full and clear way. picturesque image.

For long centuries old Russian painting carried to people, unusually vividly and fully embodying them in images, the spiritual truths of Christianity. It was in the deep disclosure of these truths that the painting of the Byzantine world, including the painting of Ancient Russia, the frescoes, mosaics, miniatures, icons, acquired extraordinary, unprecedented, unique beauty.

Over time, the art of the entire Byzantine world, and the art of Ancient Russia, fell into oblivion. The Byzantine Empire fell under the blows of the conquering Turks, the once Christian countries of Asia Minor and many Slavic states were conquered by Muslims. In these troubles, having survived the Tatar-Mongol invasion, Russia alone survived in essence. After the fall of Byzantium, it was the true center of Orthodox culture.

Oblivion, ruin befell the ancient Russian culture, including icon painting, not as a result of conquest by foreigners, but at the time of the highest rise of Russian statehood under Peter I. Peter's reforms, which turned Russia to the West, rejected cultural heritage Ancient Russia. Russian painting after the Petrine reforms, including church painting, is built on these new Western European principles. And although purely religious respect was preserved in the Europeanized, enlightened Russian society, the very differences between ancient Russian and European painting were perceived by him only as evidence of Russian backwardness and barbarism. Gradually, all this painting, like all pre-Petrine antiquity, fell into oblivion. Ancient art system in a greatly simplified form, it was preserved only in peasant icon painting, the centers of which were several “icon-painting” villages - Palekh, Mstera and Kholuy.

But, fortunately, this oblivion of the ancient national roots was not final in Russia. A hundred years after the reforms of Peter the Great, a new one, created precisely as a result of the reforms, turned to him. Russian culture, Russian intelligentsia.

Interest in ancient Russian culture caused an appeal to its painting. Already in the "History of the Russian State" Karamzin mentions ancient Russian artists, provides information about their works. They become the subject of study for historians, but the true discovery of icon-painting treasures occurred later. The fact is that the people of the 19th century simply did not really see the ancient Russian icon painting. Darkened, covered with dust and soot, frescoes and mosaics that survived in ancient temples, and icons literally became invisible - the main, most numerous part of the ancient Russian heritage. After all, not every church was decorated with frescoes and especially mosaics in antiquity, and icons were necessarily not only in every temple, but also in every house. The reason for this invisibility of the icons is in the special pictorial technique in which they were created. The board on which the icon was to be written was covered with gesso or primed fabric - canvas, and the image itself was applied with tempera primer, i.e. mineral paints. And on top of the image was covered with a layer of drying oil. Drying oil shows color well and, more importantly, perfectly protects the icon from damage. But drying oil has the ability to darken over time, and over 70-100 years it darkened so much that it almost completely hid the painting underneath. In ancient times, in Russia, they knew and used methods for removing darkened drying oil, i.e. ways of "clearing" ancient painting. But these methods were laborious, and over time, the icons began not to be cleared, but “renewed”, i.e. a new image was written over the darkened drying oil. Often, several such renovations were made on ancient icons over the centuries - in this case, the original painting was covered with several layers of inscriptions, each of which was covered with drying oil. Thus in early XIX century, by the time when interest arose in pre-Petrine culture, the icons of the 17th century were already darkening. On all the ancient icon boards, only silhouettes appeared, the contours of the images appearing through the darkened, smoked drying oil.

Among educated people there were a few people who were especially sensitive to art, who managed to feel the artistic power lurking in this blackened painting. Thus, in 1840, the historian Ivanchin-Pisarev, who sowed the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, was able to see the most valuable monument of art in the greatly darkened "Trinity" by Andrei Rublev stored there.

Until the middle of the 19th century, the general idea remained that "arts were established in our fatherland by Peter I." It was not until the second half of the century that such an idea was destroyed. Russian historical science played an important role in this. Particularly significant were the successes she made in the study of ancient literature and ancient literature. It was largely due to this that scientists of that time paid attention to ancient icon painting, which was closely connected with the word, with literature, and were able to assess the exact and deep correspondence of the icons to the literary source. The recognition of artistic significance for ancient painting, the growth of interest in it caused the appeal of wide circles of educated people to the folk environment where this painting, like all pre-Petrine antiquity, still continued to live. For iconography, first of all, such an environment was the environment of the Old Believers, the environment of schismatics, i.e. peasants and merchants, whose ancestors in mid-seventeenth centuries deviated from the Orthodox Church, not accepting some of the innovations undertaken at that time. The Old Believers cherished the ancient icon as free from these innovations, not spoiled by them, highly revered it and retained a peculiar understanding of its beauty. Communication with the Old Believers gave therefore the opportunity to get acquainted with a large number belonging to them, the icons they collected, which in itself was important, as it expanded the understanding of ancient icon painting. But what is even more important - the Old Believers learned to appreciate that “subtlety of ancient writing”, which they themselves appreciated in the icons they collected. They learned from them to see through the darkened drying oil the virtuosic accuracy of the drawing, the harmonious clarity of the composition.

At the end of the 19th century, numerous collections were formed in Russia. The most famous of them are the collections of A.V. Morozov a, I.S. Ostroukhov, in which the icons were no longer collected as ancient monuments, but as works of art. At the end of his life, the famous Tretyakov also began to collect icons, and, realizing the artistic significance of the collection of icons he had collected, he bequeathed it with his painting to the (Tretyakov) gallery.

Naturally, both the owners of icon collections and people close to them had a desire to see what was under the blackened drying oil, to see the ancient painting they had collected in its present form. At the beginning of the 20th century, cleaning of the icons was undertaken. The initiator of these clearings was I.S. Ostroukhov, who by that time was not only the owner of his own icon collection, but also a trustee of the Tretyakov Gallery. Thanks to his knowledge and experience, the performers of this work were also found. Masters-icon painters, natives of ancient icon-painting villages, were involved in it. Knowing well the technology of the icon, remembering the old-fashioned methods, they coped with the task, removed the darkened drying oil from the surface of the icons and later records - they opened the original ancient painting. From that moment began the real discovery of ancient Russian icon painting. As a result of the clearing, or restoration, as we now say, the icons appeared so new and unexpected that even experts were surprised. The myth of the "black icons" has shattered to dust.

Following the first clearings, many others followed: in private collections, museums, and temples, where, in addition, ancient frescoes began to be cleared and uncovered.

The discovery of ancient Russian painting at the beginning of the 20th century, the recognition of its artistic significance, revived the understanding of its true spiritual meaning. But on further destinies both ancient Russian art itself and its comprehension were affected by the great and formidable historical events of the beginning of the 20th century that took place in the country, the transformations as a result of the October events of 1917. The recognition of atheism as a state worldview led to the persecution of the Christian word, to its almost complete withdrawal from popular use, and for a long time made it impossible to study the spiritual meaning of ancient icon painting. It threatened the destruction of the very works of ancient Russian art. Thousands of temples were closed, many of them, including ancient icons, were destroyed.

However, the recognition of icon painting as art, integral part culture played a positive role: museums opened their doors for icons, where ancient icons collected by collectors and icons from closed temples were received. Since the post-war years, when interest in national culture began to revive, the icon as a phenomenon of this culture began to return to museum exhibitions: at first very timidly, but in the 60-80s already quite widely and openly. The processes taking place now in our society have already led to the return of the ancient icon to churches.