DOI: 10.25136/2409-8744.2020.2.31891

Abstract: This article examines the artworks of Zhang Xiaogang as a prominent representative of the modern Chinese painting, peculiarities of his mastery formed in different periods of his creative path under the dual influence of Chinese and Western painting. Transformation and evolution of painting concepts and formal artistic means, claimed in the painter’s “Bloodline-Big Family” series, demonstrate how the “own historical memory” forms new expressive forms of painting. The author compares the interaction of forms and languages in the Western and Chinese painting, as well as analyzes characteristics of the structure of brush strokes of the painter in different periods for showing the formation of the inner spiritual essence. It proves that the clash of concepts of the Western and Chinese painting generated new artistic phenomena, which represent a result of assimilation of painting concepts and “localization” of formal language. The mutual influence of two cultures lead to origination of multiple ideas of plasticity and artistic forms. China has entered the period of “non-modernism”.

DOI: 10.25136/2409-8744.2020.3.32579

Abstract: This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the visualized ego-image of the artist with grinning face as the key character of Yue Minjun’s paintings – one of the prominent representatives of cynical realism trend in Chinese contemporary painting. The image is interpreted through the prism of Chinese socialism, Eastern and Western art traditions.  The author describes in detail the works from different series, determines typical features of individual manners, and compares works for revealing the common to cynical realism set of artistic means. The article elucidates the concept of interaction of the techniques of Western and Chinese paining using the particular examples, including Yue Minjun’s thoughts on the psychology of art overall, their analysis, and conclusions formulated for more profound understanding of his artworks. Yue Minjun opts for the diverse expressive means and game approaches depending on the goal: symbols of mass culture, recognizable classical themes of Western European painting, computer technologies, cartographic representations, as well as subjective mental images – for creating certain visual symbols carrying on a dialogue with the audience. The concept of his works consists in the ironic attitude to life underlying the cynical realism. It is evident that the modern Chinese paining entered the era of bie-modern.

DOI: 10.25136/2409-8744.2020.4.32802

Abstract: This article is dedicated to analysis of the works of a contemporary artist Zeng Fanzhi in the context of dialogue of traditions of Western European and Chinese painting. The author reviews the stages of formation of this original artistic manner that combines different stylistic approaches and techniques; reveals the key artistic peculiarities of his works – from referring to Western expressionism to formation of an individual style. A detailed analysis is conducted on the principles of conceptual art of Zeng Fanzhi realized in the use of meaningful images and symbols, such as “masks”. The author examines the methods of abstract painting in the works of Chinese artist reflected in the technique of “chaotic brush”, which is based on the expressive linear abstractions. In the period after 2018, which marks the period of experimental painting, Zeng Fanzhi combines the artistic methods of Paul Cézanne with the concept of traditional Chinese art, with the “found object” technique, offering a completely new interpretation of the works of Chinese classical painting. The article discusses the specificities of linear constructs and brush strokes in the artist’s works for determining the features common to his works of various periods. A conclusion is made that the paintings of Zeng Fanzhi represents a visual manifestation of harmonious interaction of the Western European and Chinese art tradition. Each stylistic approach used by Zeng Fanzhi demonstrates a profound understanding of painting, reveals his creative interpretation of artistic principles of Western European art that formed as a result of personal experience and high level of education. Chinese painting entered the era of non-modernism, remaining in many ways similar and simultaneously different from the art of Western modernism and postmodernism.

DOI: 10.7256/2409-8744.2017.1.21954

Abstract: The narrative depiction cycles of the Renaissance, similar to the archive documents, manifest as the distinct primary sources and contain the important information, which allows revealing the essence of well-known work more extensively. The subject of this research is the two canvases by Gentile Bellini “Procession in St. Mark's Square” (1496) and “Miracle of the Cross at the Bridge of S. Lorenzo” (1500) painted by the request of Scuola Grande di San Giovanni Evangelista in Venice. Based on the studied archive documents, the author attempts concretizing the maximal amount of historical characters – participants of the portrayed by Bellini events. Mostly using the iconological analysis, the author clarifies the essence and reveal the inner meaning of the oeuvre. For the first time the well-known works of Bellini are examined in parallel with the primary sources texts. The article analyses not just the depictive features of the compositions, but rather their historical information content, considering the Venetian realities and underlining the details that were important to Gentile Bellini as the signs of the era. Among the portrayed on both canvases, were identified the representatives of the Compagnie della Calza – important and intrinsic members of the cultural life of the Republic of Venice of the XV-XVI centuries.

DOI: 10.25136/2409-8744.2023.6.69131

EDN: XEAMBD

Abstract: In modern humanities, it is customary to consider naive art and naive literature as two separate phenomena. Based on this approach, the study of naive fine art is given over to art criticism, and the study of naive literature remains within the framework of philology and linguistics. Culturology explores culture as the historical and social experience of people, which can manifest itself in their work and is interpreted in the "cultural texts" of art. This article actualizes the need to move from narrowly focused research to a comprehensive approach: contextual study of visual and verbal works of naive artists. The objects of this study are paintings and poems by the naive artist Nadezhda Spirina (Ivanovo region, the city of Yuzha). The subject of the research is the aesthetics and poetics of the intertextuality of the works of a naive artist. The aim of the work is to analyze the stylistics and composition of paintings in combination with the poetic texts of the author. Tasks – search for intertextual references and reminiscences in the works of N. Spirina, the disclosure in her works of various practices of the author's self-reflection, testing the hypothesis of expanding the status of the work of a naive artist as a cultural text, taking into account the semantic features of verbal utterance for the perception and reading of the visual text, that is, the intertextuality of works of naive art. Synchronistic, comparative, biographical, psychological, semiotic, cultural and historical analysis are used. The scientific novelty of the research lies in the analysis of the stylistics and composition of the paintings of a naive artist in combination with the poetic texts of the author, which makes it possible to more accurately interpret the artist's mission, which forms his naive utterance.

DOI: 10.25136/2409-8744.2018.1.25427

Abstract:  The subject of this research is the art of Aleksandr Deyneka that manifests as a fundamental ethical and aesthetical idea – the idea of beauty, labor, and peace; the idea meant for reflecting not only ideological and social ideals, but also the contemporary to it creative ideals. It becomes a guide of his ideas in the grasped and luminous as a “daylight” images alike his creative-methodological reasoning or the ordinary daily observations and thoughts. The core of examination of the works of the most remarkable representative of social realism lies in the concept of the “ideal” as a certain dialectical relation of the ideas and reality applicable to the link of art – life. The scientific novelty consists in interpretation of the existing approaches towards visual art of Aleksandr Deyneka from the perspective of a direct impression of the artist-practitioner (the author of this article). Most of the art material is dedicated to analysis of the works of Aleksandr Deyneka from the standpoint of supremacy of the ideological over the creative. A conclusion is made on the distinct, equal interweaving of the truth of art and life in his works that allows speaking of the latter not only in the context of his ideology, but also the perspective of the moral-ethical and aesthetical influence on the audience. Such interweavement greatly contributes into the life-affirming reflection of the establishing new, socialist life.  

DOI: 10.25136/2409-8744.2018.6.28547

Abstract: The subject of this research is the Korean “genuine” landscapes (chingyong sansuhwa) by the painter Kyomjae Jeong Seon (1676-1759). The object of this research is the proposed by the South Korean art historians theories of what became a source of formation of this trend of landscape painting. The author reviews the works dedicated to the establishment of chingyong sansuhwa, and analyzes the processes that could affect the desire of the painter Kyomjae Jeong Seon to depict the Korean nature. This article is first in the national and foreign science to examine the existing in the South Korean art history discussion on the causes of emergence of chingyong sansuhwa by Jeong Seon. For classification of the suggested by the art historians versions, the author applied the comparative method and the method of critical analysis. The conclusion was made that the South Korean experts express versatile opinions what has become the cause of establishment of landscape chingyong sansuhwa; while the representatives of the “theory of internal causes” anchored by Choe Eun-sun insist that chingyong sansuhwa is the phenomenon of local origin, formed as a result of development of the Korean Neo-Confucianism that contributes to formation of the “national” mentality among the elites and gain of confidence in the distinctness of their native culture. The supporters of the “theory of external causes” are willing to believe that the “genuine” landscapes have emerged in the process of reconsideration of the new philosophical and landscaping practices of the Chinese Dynasties Ming and Qing. South Korean researchers differently assess the level of correlation between the Chinese and Korean landscape; however, the representatives of the “theory of internal causes” see the belittling of the Chinese influence.   

DOI: 10.25136/2409-8744.2017.4.23447

Abstract: The subject of this study is the evolution of discourse of the ancient visual and literary heritage in the visual arts of the XIX – first half of the XX centuries. Representatives of the Cimmerian Art School of different generations are united by zest in the artistic image of Crimea, as well as historical heritage of the peninsula. One of the most relevant topics in visual arts of the "Cimmerians" throughout the XIX – early XX centuries lies in the cultural heritage of antiquity. The object of the study is a change in reciting of visual text of ancient culture in the Cimmerian Art School. The article applies a method of semiotic analysis of oeuvres of the artists of Cimmerian Art School; description of visual images; and analysis of the literary and narrative sources. The main results of the research consist in disclosure of the cultural basis of ancient and archaic theme in art; identification of the key directions of reciting the images of antiquity in the legacy of artists of different generations in the Cimmerian Art School. Author’s special contribution into the study is the coverage of creative path of a Crimean artist Stephan Mamchich (1924-1974).The scientific novelty consists in examination of the dynamics of visual text of a historical landscape in the Cimmerian Art School of the beginning and middle of the XX century.

DOI: 10.7256/2409-8744.2016.5.20479

Abstract:  This article is devoted to the insufficiently studied aspect of the creative work of Boris Kustodiev – the portraits of Russian clergy. The examined in complex composition, capture the period from 1901 through 1920: from the female portrait created during the school years in the Imperial Academy of Arts, custom ordered works and sketches, until the two sheets from the late water-color series “The Russian types”. The author suggests the application of the categories of “individual” and “typical” for the analysis of artistic images of priests and monks created by maestro. The paintings are presented in chronological order of their creation. The author carries out the stylistic and compositional assessment, which allows tracing the development and use of the coloristic and decorative principles as the main means of artistic expression within the traditions of the Russian realistic school. The scientific novelty marks the path of formation and perception by the artist of a clerical image from the individual characteristic of the model towards the generalized and important. In conclusion, the author defines the theme of the portrait of clergy in Kustodiev’s creative work as an intrinsic part of his outlook upon the “Russian” and the “national”.

DOI: 10.25136/2409-8744.2022.4.38499

EDN: WQOMFR

Abstract: The article examines the historical process of the development of the features of the embodiment of the Yellow River motif, which is quite relevant in modern Chinese art, made in the technique of oil painting. Chinese artists turned to the classical world heritage of painting only at the end of the nineteenth century. In a relatively short period of time, Chinese masters not only perfectly mastered the realistic principles of oil painting, but also were able to adapt this type of artistic creativity to their culture by searching for a national idea of the work. This article is devoted to the analysis of the image and the symbolic meaning of the Yellow River in Chinese oil painting. The study concluded that the character and worldview of the Chinese people originated in the valley of the Yellow River, so the image of this river is inextricably linked in the minds of every citizen of the country with the origins of the nation. Moreover, the artistic expression of the spiritual values of the Chinese people cannot be conceived without the image of the Yellow River. In the modern era, many oil artists express the image of the Yellow River in different ways, conveying their understanding and perception of the national spirit through pictorial means. In this regard, it is of interest to study the variations of the image of the river in oil painting from the point of view of its symbolic meaning and artistic expressiveness. This study identifies and examines, by the example of outstanding works of oil painting in China of the late XX and early XXI centuries, the features of the pictorial reading of the image in the plot compositions.

DOI: 10.7256/2409-8744.2016.1.18060

Abstract: The subject of this research is the album leafs of Shitao. Album format is one of the ways of mounting the oeuvres of the traditional Chinese painting that established and consolidated quite late, in the era of Song dynasty. On the brink of Ming and Qing dynasties landscape albums with poetic titles-topics gained popularity. Shitao combined in himself not only the talents of painter, but also calligrapher and poet. He left an outstanding creative heritage, the significant portion of which comprise the works of album format. This article conducts the historical-culturological analysis of Shitao’s album leafs that can be referred to as his earliest creative period. The author makes the conclusion that the synthesis of painting, calligraphy, and literature in these oeuvres is carried out on several levels: the techniques of brushing and ink, plasticity of forms, and compositional structure. This article presents a broader and more detailed experience of Shitao’s all-encompassing creative work on the example of album leafs.

DOI: 10.7256/2306-1618.2013.2.576

Abstract: The purpose of the article is to define the role and meaning of images and art of the Russian North in continuing traditions of Russian national culture. The author of the article bases her research on the art work created by Viktor Vasnetsov and other artists of his circle. The author analyzes art work by Viktor Vasnetsov, Apollinary Vasnetsov, Konstantin Korovin, Mikhail Vrubel, Elena Polenova, Milyutin and some other artists. Images of the Russian North are especially important in Vasnetsov's art work. State by stage the author of the article describes how Vasnetsov's world view had been developing through his childhood, youth and maturity. The author also analyzes how the images of the North were expressed in Vasnetsov's painting, graphics, architectural projects and hand crafits (furniture). At the end of the article the author makes the following conclusions: 1. Viktor Vasnetsov and other artists he communicated with tried to understand the essence and nature of people's life. For this purpose they learnt and enriched images of the North. 2. Viktor Vasnetsov's art work presents a typical example of how the Russian North influenced the art work style. 3. The Northern land taught them a new artistic language which proves a peculiar role of the Russian North in revival of Russian national roots in art and culture at the turn of the XIX - XX centuries. 

Abstract: In the post-revolutionary period avant-garde culture in Odessa was supported by Ukrainian artist M. Boychuk, the follower of D.Rivera and Siqueiros. He and his students were invited to teach at Odessa in Polytechnic Institute of Arts. The main goals of the M.Boychuk’s monumental painting were addressed to the general public. Despite ideological pressing in the USSR art life after the Second World War, the followers of the classical avant-garde arts, Theophilus Fraerman, Michael Zuk, Nicholas Shelyutto continue to work and teach art in Odessa. They created a productive creative environment by teaching their students the taste for philosophical and aesthetic discussions about the language of avant-garde. Traditions of the early avant-garde were then reviewed by their followers, the leaders of nonconformism in the 50 - 60's O. Sokolov and E. Egorov who create a new approach to art.