Perpetuation of the memory of an outstanding countryman as a social practice: the name of M.A. Vrubel in the urban space of Omsk in 1923

Tishkina Kseniya Alekseevna ORCID: 0000-0002-2342-0548 PhD in History Research Fellow, Siberian Federal University 79 Svobodny Ave., Krasnoyarsk Territory, 660049, Russia ksetishkina@mail.ru Other publications by this author     Valkova Kseniya Viktorovna ORCID: 0000-0003-0301-294X PhD in History Associate Professor, Department of Russian History, Altai State University 61 Lenin Ave., Barnaul, Altai Territory, 656049, Russia Valkovakv@vk.com

Tishkina Tatyana Vladimirovna ORCID: 0000-0002-1353-3442 PhD in History Associate Professor, Department of Archaeology, Ethnography and Museology, Altai State University 656049, Russia, Altai Territory, Barnaul, Lenin Ave., 61 tvtishkina@mail.ru

The problem of preserving the historical memory of famous personalities of the past in the public consciousness is very relevant in modern historical science, since it largely determines the image and historical and cultural potential of the region ^{[1, 2, 6, 24]}. At the beginning of the XX century, the desire of the intelligentsia of large cities to transform them into cultural and artistic centers of the region was recorded on the territory of Siberia. In this situation, the continuity of provincial and metropolitan culture, carried out primarily through famous countrymen, played an important role. For Omsk, a notable figure was M.A. Vrubel, who left a significant mark on the national artistic culture.

The methodology of this study was based on a socio-cultural approach aimed, among other things, at analyzing various forms of intercultural interaction, studying the problems of individual and collective identity, the relationship of time, history and memory ^{[21, p. 84]}. In the 1910s, the appeal to the personality of M.A. Vrubel was of great importance in determining the identity of the Omsk artistic intelligentsia, ensuring the high status of Omsk as a cultural center of Siberia, as well as the continuity of the creative traditions of the famous countryman. The subject field of the study correlates with the "history of memory", in which the treatment and attitude to the name of M.A. Vrubel in Omsk directly depended on historical time, the emergence of new needs, practices and meanings ^{[22, p. 208]}.

Among the methods, the historical and genetic one is important, which allowed us to consider the main stages of the creation of the Omsk Art and Industrial College, as well as naming it after M.A. Vrubel, to identify the historical reasons why the organizational structure of the college went beyond the training of artistic personnel. The prosopographic method made it possible to carry out a historical correlation of the multifaceted activities of the Omsk Art and Industrial College with the personality of M.A. Vrubel on the basis of his biography data, to reveal the essence of intercultural communication in the society of the studied period.

The subject of the study is a set of events held in Omsk in the 1910s-1923 in order to include the name of M.A. Vrubel in the historical and cultural heritage of the region.

The topic of perpetuating the memory of M.A. Vrubel in the space of Omsk has been raised in a number of works by modern researchers. A significant contribution to the consideration of the issue was made by researcher I.G. Devyatyarova ^{[4, 5, 6]}. N.A. Levochkina's publication highlights the idea of "cultural brands-personalities of Omsk", where the name of M.A. Vrubel occupies one of the key places ^[13].

For the first time, the idea of perpetuating the memory of a famous countryman was put forward by members of the Society of Artists and Lovers of Fine Arts of the Steppe Region. Founded on the initiative of Omsk drawing teachers in 1907, the Society set goals: "... to promote the development of the arts, organize exhibitions and drawing classes, and provide financial assistance to artists" ^{[16, p. 197]}. In the early years of its activity, the members of the organization conducted joint classes in drawing and painting, organized exhibitions in Omsk, Tomsk, Krasnoyarsk and Irkutsk.

In the early 1910s, when the activity of the Society was suspended, engineer and artist V.N. Butuzova took the initiative to create a Circle named after M.A. Vrubel in order to "... develop painting, sculpture and architecture, study artisanal crafts and ethnography"^{[16, p. 198]}. In 1915, thanks to the efforts of V.N. Butuzov, an art exhibition was opened in Omsk, which showed paintings by artists from different parts of Russia. Of particular value was the section of the exposition, which included paintings by domestic and foreign artists from private collections of Omsk collectors ^{[5, p. 193]}.

In 1916, members of the Society of Artists and Lovers of Fine Arts of the Steppe Region, inspired by the success of this exhibition, held a general meeting at which they decided to organize an Art Industrial School named after M.A. Vrubel in Omsk. An evening of artists was held in the premises of the Public Meeting on February 9, 1917 in favor of the "Vrubel Art School in Omsk and free Sunday courses at it" ^{[4, p. 492]}. The revolutionary events of 1917 and the Russian Civil War delayed the development of the school's opening project. The artist and poet D.D. Burlyuk, who performed in the building of the Omsk Polytechnic Institute on March 1, 1919, transferred part of the fee to the construction of the "... M. Vrubel school" ^{[4, p. 492]}. In July 1919, members of the Society of Artists and Lovers of Fine Arts of the Steppe Region, together with representatives of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, decided to open an Art and Industrial School ^{[17, p. 58]}. In a short time, a special commission, organized by members of the Society of Artists and Lovers of Fine Arts of the Steppe Region, carried out significant work on developing the situation and preparing the material base of the future school. However, the departure of the government from Omsk by A.V. Kolchak led to the closure of the Society, and, consequently, the idea of perpetuating the memory of M.A. Vrubel remained unrealized ^{[16, P. 198]}.

A significant group of painters was associated with the activities of the Society of Artists and Lovers of Fine Arts of the Steppe region. They participated in traditional "Mondays" evenings organized by the Society, supported the ideas of developing art education in Omsk and perpetuating the memory of M.A. Vrubel ^{[8, pp. 284-285]}. Thanks to their initiative, the First Siberian Art and Industrial School was opened in October 1920, with the aim of "... providing some industries with artistic personnel." In August 1921, the institution was transformed into the Siberian Art and Industrial Practical Institute (Sibkhudozhprominstitut), and the following year - into the Omsk Art and Industrial College ^{[20, pp. 273-274]}.

On April 25, 1923, an evening in memory of M.A. Vrubel was held in the premises of the college. In the first department, Ivan Ananyin, a student of the II architectural group, presented a report on the artist's life path. The teacher V.V. Baryshevtsev made a presentation "M.A. Vrubel and his work". In his report, he pointed to the "revolutionary revolution in art" carried out by the artist; highlighted the cooperation of M.A. Vrubel with industrialist and philanthropist S.I. Mamontov; noted the participation of the master in exhibitions of the World of Art association, etc. At the end of the speech, V.V. Baryshevtsev recited a poem by V.Ya. Bryusov "To Vrubel" (1906). In the second part of the evening, divertimento and melodic recitation were presented by the students. The event ended with games and entertainment ^{[11, l. 207]}.

In early May 1923, the head of the college, M.I. Strelnikov, sent a number of documents to gubprofobr for approval. The cover letter contained a request to assign the name of M.A. Vrubel to the educational institution. In mid-May 1923, the relevant regulations were approved. According to the second paragraph of the document, the college was assigned "... the name of the artist M.A. Vrubel, a native of Omsk, where, first of all, the memory of this great artist should be honored in the most worthy way, as a carrier of new artistic ideas that formed the basis of modern trends in Russian art" ^{[10, L. 1]}.

It should be noted that M.A. Vrubel achieved success not only in easel painting. The founder of the Kiev Drawing School, N.I. Murashko, noted that Mikhail Alexandrovich, who spent several years in Ukraine, engaged in the restoration of temple murals and mosaics, took an active part in the development of the educational institution. The artist donated his sketches, sketches and drawings, which were actively used as teaching aids and museum exhibits, and also conducted classes with school students, "passing on a piece of his experience and knowledge" ^{[9, p. 50]}.

Since 1884, after returning from trips abroad, the artist promoted a type of monumental art – decorative panels. Contemporaries noted that M.A. Vrubel was engaged in photography ^{[16, p. 215]}. M.A. Vrubel decorated the mansions of A.V. Morozov, S.T. Morozov, the Dunker family, etc. He also designed sketches for theatrical costumes and sets. Researcher V. Nevsky noted that "... M.V. Vrubel was able to do surprisingly much in art both in terms of artistic significance and in terms of the volume of what was accomplished" ^{[17, p. 8]}.

In the 1890s, an artistic pottery workshop was opened in the estate of S.I. Mamontov Abramtsevo under the direction of M.A. Vrubel, in which interested persons engaged in ceramics and sculpture ^{[21, p. 53]}. In Abramtsevo, M.A. Vrubel collaborated with F.I. Chaliapin for a short time. Mikhail Alexandrovich staged the play "The Tale of Tsar Saltan", in which his wife, singer N.I. Zabela–Vrubel, played the role of Princess Swan. With the participation of M.A. Vrubel, the operas Sadko, Tannhauser, and Asya were staged. However, problems in the family, the death of his only child, and the first attacks of mental illness did not allow the master to fully develop in these areas ^{[23, p. 237]}.

In 1901, M.A. Vrubel was diagnosed with progressive paralysis, as a result of which he completely lost his eyesight in 1906. ^{[19, P. 53]}. In recent years, the artist has been in specialized hospitals. M.A. Vrubel died on April 1, 1910 at the age of 54. The next day, V.A. Serov, one of Mikhail Alexandrovich's closest friends, wrote: "Yesterday Vrubel died of pneumonia. They moved him to the academy and to the church. The funeral service is being held today, and the funeral is tomorrow. His face in the coffin now looks very much like the former young Vrubel – there is no puffiness and spots. I do not know whether to regret or rejoice at his death." [cit. according to: 23, p. 323].

Despite his difficult life path, M.A. Vrubel left behind a significant artistic legacy. The versatile universal activity of the master fit perfectly into the concept of the art college in Omsk. For this reason, the Omsk Art and Industrial College named after Vrubel was approved as the official name of the institution (abbreviated name - Vrubelevsky Art and Industrial College), on the seal of the educational institution of the institution it was designated – Omsk Art and Industrial College named after Vrubel.

The structure of the college included six departments: architectural, artistic and pedagogical, pictorial and decorative, textile and woodworking. A factory school was organized at the college, where training in the following specialties was carried out: textile, printing, woodworking ^{[20, p. 274]}.

People's Commissar of Education of the RSFSR A.V. Lunacharsky left his impression of the college's work, who visited Omsk from May 26 to May 29, 1923: "The Art and Industrial Institute made a somewhat strange, but generally favorable impression on me. Its organizational side does not seem rational to me; I was, for example, surprised by the dozen textile machines that I saw there. I don't understand why these machines are here, when they can be used much more expediently elsewhere. But everything else that I saw at the art institute does not cause any reproaches on my part, and even pleases me. The existence of an artist.- I find the industrial college in Omsk, as the only school of its kind in the whole of Siberia, not only desirable, but also necessary, and the dispute could only be about the organizational side, about the form that this educational institution should take for a more rational application of its work to the needs of life and time" ^{[3, p. 2]}.

It should be noted that this structure was necessary to provide students of the college with artistic materials. For example, specialized furniture and drawing supplies were made in their own woodworking workshop, and charcoal and watercolor paints necessary for drawing were made in a colorful workshop. In addition, Omsk artists believed that it was important to correlate the activities of the college with the concept of "unified art", combining "pure" and applied" art, where the practical goals of unification occupy a leading place ^{[24, p. 108]}.

At the end of May 1923, a petition was sent to the head of the Omsk State Agricultural Committee from the administration of the college to rename Baronskaya Street, where the college building was located, to "Vrubel Street". This decision was connected not only with the initiative to perpetuate the memory of the artist, but also with an attempt to update the name of the street taking into account the modern realities of that time. However, the petition was not granted. In November 1923, according to the order of the Omsk provincial Executive Committee, in "... commemoration of the celebration of the 6th anniversary of the October Revolution ..." a number of streets in Omsk were renamed. Thus, the name of Baronskaya Street was transformed into Oktyabrskaya ^{[18, p. 2]}.

Turning to the results, we note that despite the fact that M.A. Vrubel lived in Omsk for only a few years (from 1856 to 1859), his personality is significant for the city. Interest in the master's work was formed in the 1910s, which is largely explained by the rise of artistic life in Siberia. The intelligentsia of Omsk repeatedly took the initiative to perpetuate the memory of the outstanding artist, but due to a number of circumstances it was possible to achieve this only in 1923, when the Omsk Art and Industrial College was named after M.A. Vrubel. At the same time, an attempt was made to rename one of the streets of the city in honor of M.A. Vrubel, however, this idea could not be implemented. It should be noted that the information related to the process of perpetuating the memory of the artist in his small homeland is very fragmentary. In particular, there is no exact information about when the memorial plaque was installed in the Cathedral of the Resurrection Church in Omsk, where M.A. Vrubel was baptized on March 18, 1856; in what year the square on the left bank of the Omi River, named after the artist, was opened. It is assumed that it appeared before 1960 ^{[12, p. 107]}. Perhaps by the centenary of the painter's birth. In the future, an increase in interest in the artist's personality was also associated with anniversaries. So, in 1996, the name of M.A. Vrubel was assigned to the Omsk Regional Museum of Fine Arts. In 2006, in honor of the 150th anniversary of the artist, a monument by sculptor M.A. Nogin was erected next to the building of the Omsk Regional Museum of Fine Arts. Currently, the personality of M.A. Vrubel occupies one of the key places in the formation of Omsk as an artistic center of Siberia.

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