The Arts in Russia throughout History 

This overview course pursues a two-fold goal: to introduce the history of Russian visual arts through a survey of its most prominent achievements and to examine the role of art in the life of Russian society through investigation of the masterpieces of non-Russian art accumulated and admired in Russia. During the semester we will explore the development of Russian art from Scythian gold artifacts of the pre-Slavic period through the establishment of Christianity in Russia in 988 to the present day. We will discuss the art and architecture of Novgorod, one of the oldest Russian centers, on our daylong visit to the city. We will examine Russian icon painting through the 15th century and the art and architecture of Muscovy through the 17th century on a special trip to Moscow (optional). Russia becoming a European state was signaled by the assimilation of the western artistic traditions of the Baroque and Classicism as seen in St. Petersburg architecture, which we will explore on our many tours of the city. The 18th century imperial building programs and Russian secular paintings will be considered within the context of the then prevailing artistic trends in Europe. We will look at the realism of the 19th century art preoccupied with social issues in conjunction with the treatment of the same themes in literature and works of theoretical thought. Emphasis will be placed on the changes that occurred in Russian art at the turn of the 20th century when realism gave way to the modernist trends collectively known as the avant-garde. The course also includes investigation of Russian folk art tradition. These classes will rely on superb collections of folk art in the Russian Museum and in the Museum of Russian Ethnography.