Jack of Diamonds

A Many-sided Genre: The Nude in Russian Graphic Art in the 20th Century

Irina Leytes

Article: 
CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
Magazine issue: 
#1 2015 (46)

THE CURRENT EXHIBITION IN THE LAVRUSHINSKY GRAPHIC ARTS HALL REPRESENTS THE SECOND PART OF THE MAJOR PROJECT TITLED "MAGIC OF THE HUMAN BODY". IT TELLS THE STORY OF A MOST POETIC CHAPTER IN THE HISTORY OF RUSSIAN GRAPHIC ARTS AT THE END OF THE 19TH AND BEGINNING OF THE 20TH CENTURIES, THAT OF DRAWING THE NUDE HUMAN FORM. GENERALLY SPEAKING, THE ART OF DRAWING, COMPARED TO PAINTING AND SCULPTURE, IS BY NATURE MORE CAPABLE OF QUICKLY AND FORCEFULLY TRANSFORMING AN INHERENTLY NEUTRAL MOTIF INTO AN ARTISTIC IMAGE THAT EXPRESSES CERTAIN IMPORTANT NOTIONS AND CONCEPTS. THE NUDE GENRE IS NO EXCEPTION, SO IT IS NO SURPRISE THAT EVERY WELL-KNOWN RUSSIAN ARTIST OF THE 20TH CENTURY TRIED HIS OR HER HAND AT IT. THIS EXHIBITION BRINGS TOGETHER THOSE FIGURES WHO MADE THE NUDE DRAWING INTO A SEPARATE GENRE OF THE VISUAL ARTS, AND AN IMPORTANT THEME IN THEIR WORK.

A Many-sided Genre: The Nude in Russian Graphic Art in the 20th Century

THE CURRENT EXHIBITION IN THE LAVRUSHINSKY GRAPHIC ARTS HALL REPRESENTS THE SECOND PART OF THE MAJOR PROJECT TITLED "MAGIC OF THE HUMAN BODY". IT TELLS THE STORY OF A MOST POETIC CHAPTER IN THE HISTORY OF RUSSIAN GRAPHIC ARTS AT THE END OF THE 19TH AND BEGINNING OF THE 20TH CENTURIES, THAT OF DRAWING THE NUDE HUMAN FORM. GENERALLY SPEAKING, THE ART OF DRAWING, COMPARED TO PAINTING AND SCULPTURE, IS BY NATURE MORE CAPABLE OF QUICKLY AND FORCEFULLY TRANSFORMING AN INHERENTLY NEUTRAL MOTIF INTO AN ARTISTIC IMAGE THAT EXPRESSES CERTAIN IMPORTANT NOTIONS AND CONCEPTS.

The Nude in Russian Art in the 20th Century

Nadezhda Yurasovskaya

Article: 
CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
Magazine issue: 
#1 2015 (46)

RUSSIAN ART HAS OFTEN BEEN CONTRADICTORY IN ITS DEPICTION OF NUDES - AND CHANGING TIMES HAVE THEMSELVES CHANGED ETHICAL AND AESTHETIC VALUE SYSTEMS, AND OFFERED (AND/OR ORDERED) NEW PRIORITIES. THE 20TH-CENTURY INDUSTRIAL ERA WITH ITS REVOLUTIONARY TURMOIL TRIGGERED AN OVERTURNING OF TRADITIONAL MORAL STANDARDS IN SOCIETY, ESTABLISHING NEW AESTHETIC NOTIONS AND ALTERING ARTISTIC LANGUAGE ACCORDINGLY. THEMES OF NUDITY WERE NO LONGER CONFINED TO ART CLASSES. NUDE BODIES THAT HAD ONCE MADE THE RUSSIAN AUDIENCE NERVOUSLY BLUSH WITH EMBARRASSMENT APPEARED AS SUBJECTS OF PROPAGANDA IN A SOCIETY WHICH WAS AIMING AT DRASTIC CHANGE. THE YOUNG GENERATION OF BIG-CITY DWELLERS, RADICAL NUDISTS, CONSIDERED STROLLING THE STREETS WITHOUT CLOTHES TO BE A REVOLUTIONARY ACT. AS VLADIMIR MAYAKOVSKY STROVE TO CONVINCE HIS READERS: "THERE'S NO BETTER ATTIRE IN THE WORLD / THAN THE BRONZE OF MUSCLES AND FRESHNESS OF SKIN".

The Nude in Russian Art in the 20th Century

RUSSIAN ART HAS OFTEN BEEN CONTRADICTORY IN ITS DEPICTION OF NUDES - AND CHANGING TIMES HAVE THEMSELVES CHANGED ETHICAL AND AESTHETIC VALUE SYSTEMS, AND OFFERED (AND/OR ORDERED) NEW PRIORITIES. THE 20TH-CENTURY INDUSTRIAL ERA WITH ITS REVOLUTIONARY TURMOIL TRIGGERED AN OVERTURNING OF TRADITIONAL MORAL STANDARDS IN SOCIETY, ESTABLISHING NEW AESTHETIC NOTIONS AND ALTERING ARTISTIC LANGUAGE ACCORDINGLY.

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