Peredvizhniki
Fourteen students walked out of the Imperial Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg during the year 1863. They found the rules of that institution to be deeply constraining for their creative ambitions. Conservative teachers maintained a strict separation between high art and low art within the school walls. These young artists decided to form an independent society called The Petersburg Cooperative of Artists or Artel. Their goal was to bring art directly to the people rather than waiting for official approval. This bold move marked the beginning of a new era for Russian painting.
From 1871 until 1923, the society arranged forty-eight mobile exhibitions across the empire. These shows first appeared in St. Petersburg and Moscow before traveling to Kiev and Kharkov. Cities like Kazan, Oryol, Riga, and Odessa also hosted these events. The Association of Travelling Art Exhibits gave people from the provinces a chance to see Russian art. It taught ordinary citizens how to appreciate works created by their own countrymen. The movement maintained independence from state support while bringing contemporary life illustrations to remote regions.
Vissarion Belinsky believed literature and art should carry social and moral responsibility. Nikolai Chernyshevsky ardently supported the emancipation of serfs which occurred during the reform of 1861. He viewed press censorship and capital punishment as Western influences that needed rejection. Officials prohibited publication of his writing including his dissertation yet it eventually reached the art world. Almost immediately after the emancipation of serfs, Chernyskov's goals were realized with help from Peredvizhniki artists. They displayed the pervasive Slavophile-populist idea that Russia had its own modest inner beauty on canvas.
Ilya Yefimovich Repin painted The Arrest of a Propagandist and Refusal of Confession to show empathy for the emancipation movement. Vasily Surikov depicted common people in historic scenes like The Morning of the Streltsy Execution. These artists condemned the Russian aristocratic orders and autocratic government through humanistic art. Their work showed not only poverty but also fortitude and strength of character among the folk. A lighter palette replaced the traditional dark colors used by previous generations. They worked for naturalness in their images while depicting relationships between people and their surroundings.
Two painters named Ivan Shishkin and Isaak Levitan painted only landscapes of Russia throughout their careers. Shishkin is still considered to be the Russian Singer of forest while Levitan's works are famous for intense moods. Levitan once said he imagined such gracefulness in our Russian land overflowing rivers bringing everything back to life. He declared there was no country more beautiful than Russia where a true landscapist could exist. Peredvizhniki gave a national character to landscapes so people from other nations could recognize Russian scenery. These paintings became symbolic embodiments of Russian nationality after gaining importance during the 1870s and 1880s.
Local photographers created the first reproductions of Peredvizhniki paintings which helped popularize the works at exhibitions. Niva magazine published illustrated articles about these traveling shows for readers across the empire. Since 1898, the landscapes of the society have been used in the postcard industry. Various books of poems were published with illustrations of landscapes included within their pages. Ordinary Russian people at that time could not afford to travel to Moscow or Saint Petersburg for art. Popularization of Russian art made them familiar with masterpieces they would never see otherwise. Publishers continue using these reproductions today as visual icons of national identity in textbooks.
As authority and public influence grew steadily government officials stopped efforts to repress members of the group. Attempts were made to subordinate their activity and raise the falling value of Academy sanctioned works. By the 1890s the Academy structure was including Peredvizhniki art in its classes and history. The influence of these artists showed clearly in national art schools throughout Russia. Their independent spirit faded as the state absorbed their methods into official training programs. The Society for Travelling Art Exhibits had evolved from a protest movement into an established institution.
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Common questions
When did fourteen students walk out of the Imperial Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg?
Fourteen students walked out of the Imperial Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg during the year 1863. They found the rules of that institution to be deeply constraining for their creative ambitions.
What years did the Association of Travelling Art Exhibits arrange mobile exhibitions across the empire?
From 1871 until 1923, the society arranged forty-eight mobile exhibitions across the empire. These shows first appeared in St. Petersburg and Moscow before traveling to Kiev and Kharkov.
Who believed literature and art should carry social and moral responsibility according to Peredvizhniki history?
Vissarion Belinsky believed literature and art should carry social and moral responsibility. Nikolai Chernyshevsky ardently supported the emancipation of serfs which occurred during the reform of 1861.
Which painters named Ivan Shishkin and Isaak Levitan painted only landscapes of Russia throughout their careers?
Two painters named Ivan Shishkin and Isaak Levitan painted only landscapes of Russia throughout their careers. Shishkin is still considered to be the Russian Singer of forest while Levitan's works are famous for intense moods.
Since what year have the landscapes of the Peredvizhniki society been used in the postcard industry?
Since 1898, the landscapes of the society have been used in the postcard industry. Various books of poems were published with illustrations of landscapes included within their pages.