Anna Evgenievna Petrakova The Art of Ancient Greece and Rome The educational and methodological manual is published by decision of the Editorial and Publishing Council of the St. Petersburg Cultural Society Scientific editor A. V. Kornilova, Doctor of Art History,

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Old Russian culture.doc

Message on the topic “Old Russian Literature”.

Kolchugin Bogdan Alekseevich

The literary art of Ancient Rus' originates in the Middle Ages and dates back to the end of the 10th and the first years of the 11th century. This time is so far from us that it is difficult for a person living now to understand the unique book and cultural world that has gone into the depths of centuries and has now become mysterious. In order to penetrate into it, you need to know the history, religion, and peculiarities of the aesthetic ideas of the people of that time.

With the adoption of Christianity and Orthodoxy as the state religion, which came to us from Byzantium through the lands of the southern Slavs, mainly through Bulgaria, books appeared in Ancient Rus' - church-service and narrative-historical. They were written in Church Slavonic. This is how Ancient Rus' became familiar with Greek and Pan-Slavic Orthodox writing and culture.

Old Russian literature described various historical events - campaigns of princes, battles against the Pechenegs and Polovtsians, battles of princes for the Kiev throne. The medieval writer knew well the reason for the events that took place: for him they were all manifestations of God's will. Old Russian literature is distinguished by its high spirituality. Her main interest is focused on life human soul, on education and improvement moral principle in a person, while the external, objective, recedes into the background.

Each genre was directly related to practical life and served its own area of ​​activity. Chronicle writing was caused by the state's need to have its own written history. The genres of liturgical literature (Prologue, Apostle, Book of Hours, etc.) were intended for the performance of church services (requirements) and rituals. Feats of arms were depicted in military stories. Traveling for different purposes is about walking. Descriptions of the lives of saints or princes are in the lives, which also had their own differences. Each genre had its own canon1. Written literature developed epic genres (story, legend), lyrical (word, teaching), lyric-epic (life). There was a strict hierarchy among the genres: the main genre was considered to be Holy Scripture, followed by hymnography and “words” interpreting Scripture and explaining the meaning of Christian

holidays, then - the lives of saints. In the 17th century, Old Russian literature was enriched with poetic forms, the genres of satire and drama, and the life of the saint developed into a story of an everyday or memoir-autobiographical nature.

Old Russian literature, spanning seven centuries, has gone through a long and impressive path of development.

Short description

Old Russian literature described various historical events - campaigns of princes, battles against the Pechenegs and Polovtsians, battles of princes for the Kiev throne. The medieval writer knew well the reason for the events that took place: for him they were all manifestations of God's will. Old Russian literature is distinguished by its high spirituality. Its main interest is focused on the life of the human soul, on the education and improvement of the moral principle in man, while the external, objective things recede into the background.

The monograph by V.V. Bychkov is the first systematic study in domestic and foreign science of the formation and development of spiritual and aesthetic culture in Rus'. Rare and rich illustrative material on the history of artistic culture of the Middle Ages was involved in the publication of the book.

The book is intended for a wide range of readers.

Viktor Vasilyevich Bychkov (born in 1942), Doctor of Philosophy, head of the research group "Non-classical aesthetics" of the Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Sciences, member of the Union of Artists of Russia, author of more than 140 scientific works– 60 of which were published abroad - on early Christian, Byzantine, Old Russian cultural studies, aesthetics, and art history.

Main works:

Byzantine aesthetics. Theoretical problems. M., 1977 (Italian edition - 1983; Bolt. - 1984; Hung. - 1988; Serbian, full - 1991);

Aesthetics of Late Antiquity. II – III centuries (Early Christian aesthetics). M., 1981 (Romanian edition - 1984); Aesthetics . M., 1984;

Aesthetic consciousness of Ancient Rus'. M., 1988;

Aesthetics in Russia of the 17th century. M., 1989;

The aesthetic face of existence (Speculations of Pavel Florensky). M., 1990; The meaning of art in Byzantine culture. M., 1991 (with bibliography of the author’s works);

A short history of Byzantine aesthetics. Kyiv. 1991 (with bibliography of the author's works).

Currently, V.V. Bychkov continues to work on the “History of Orthodox Aesthetics.”

Harmony's mysterious power

Ancient Rus' - this symbol immediately brings to mind the image of Andrei Rublev’s “Trinity” - the brilliant embodiment of the spiritual ideal of the Russian Middle Ages, the amazing harmony of light and color, spirit and matter, heavenly and earthly, divine and human, - the incomprehensible unity of Truth, Goodness and Beauty .

If only this unique icon had survived from medieval Rus', we could already feel the extraordinary depth and richness of the spiritual world of a man of that time, the significance of his ideals, the wise insight of his mind and a heightened craving for beauty. Fortunately, fate has generously endowed us with many first-class works ancient Russian painting, architecture, hymnography, literature, decorative and applied arts. She has preserved to this day, despite huge losses, an impressive fund cultural values, spiritual potential which can significantly enrich both modern culture and the noosphere of the distant future of humanity. First of all, this applies to the artistic and aesthetic heritage of Ancient Rus', in which the universal human values ​​accumulated over many centuries of cultural development in the Byzantine-Slavic-Russian region were most fully expressed.

An appeal to the Russian aesthetic heritage today, during a period of intensive development of complex processes in culture, the breaking of many traditional ideas, a revision of the fund of spiritual values ​​that have evolved over centuries and a painful search for new ideals adequate to our time, is especially important because the ancient Russian artistic culture was “open” to of its time. She did not isolate herself within the narrow framework of elitism and “aestheticism,” but was closely connected with the most pressing spiritual, cultural, and social movements of her time, and acted in many ways as their spokesman. The best examples of this culture today can serve as an excellent educator of feelings of humanism, patriotism, internationalism, peacefulness, high morality and spirituality. Academician B. A. Rybakov rightly notes the “high patriotism of Russian literature” medieval period and points to the absence in it of “a trace of preaching aggressive actions.”

Concluding one of his books with an answer to the question “why study the poetics of ancient Russian literature,” Academician D. S. Likhachev set another urgent task for modern researchers - the study of the aesthetics of Ancient Rus'.

“The aesthetic study of monuments of ancient art (including literature), writes D. S. Likhachev, seems to me extremely important and relevant. We must put the cultural monuments of the past at the service of the future. The values ​​of the past must become active participants in the life of the present, our comrades-in-arms... One of the most important evidence of cultural progress is the development of understanding of the cultural values ​​of the past and the cultures of other nationalities, the ability to preserve, accumulate, and perceive their aesthetic value. The entire history of the development of human culture is a history not only of the creation of new ones, but of the discovery of old cultural values. And this development of understanding of other cultures to a certain extent merges with the history of humanism." From these fragments it is clear what great importance attached by our largest specialist in the field ancient Russian culture studying its aesthetic side. Today, we regret to say that the aesthetics of medieval Rus' has not been fully studied, and the scientific level of existing works does not meet the requirements for modern philosophical research.

Therefore, historians of aesthetics today face, as one of the most urgent tasks, a comprehensive analysis of the main forms of manifestation of aesthetic consciousness in ancient Russian culture in the process of its historical development.

Upon closer examination, this problem turns out to be by no means simple, but nevertheless, in principle, solvable. I’ll start with the subject of research, about which there is still no consensus in science. Research in the field of the history of culture and aesthetics, as well as modern philosophical, aesthetic and art history research convinces us that all components of the system of non-utilitarian relationships between a person and the surrounding world (natural, objective, social, spiritual) can be included in the sphere of aesthetics in medieval culture. , as a result of which he experiences spiritual pleasure. The essence of these relationships lies either in the expression of some meaning in sensory forms, or in the self-sufficient contemplation of a certain object (material or spiritual). Spiritual pleasure testifies to the subject’s super-intelligent vision in an aesthetic object of the essential foundations of being, the hidden truths of the spirit, the elusive laws of life in all its fullness and deep harmony, the eventual implementation of spiritual contact with the Universe, a breakthrough in the connection of times and at least an instantaneous exit into eternity , or, more precisely, about the feeling of being involved in eternity. The aesthetic thus acts as a kind of universal characteristic of the entire complex of non-utilitarian relationships between man and the world, based on his sense of his original involvement in being and in the eternity of harmonious inscription in the Universe.

In Old Russian, as in any other medieval culture, many components of this system did not have complete autonomy. They were organically woven into the flow of utilitarian-practical activity (industrial, everyday, religious - to the extent that it is appropriate to include religion in it) and can only be isolated from it during analysis with a certain measure of convention. This is one of the main difficulties in studying medieval aesthetics.

So, if we turn to ancient Russian folklore, we will see that almost all of its various forms are permeated with the aesthetic worldview of our ancient ancestors. It would, however, be an unjustified modernization to consider that the creators of folklore were guided only or primarily by aesthetic needs. They were faced with (unrealized by them, of course) a more difficult task: to express on an emotional-rational level, merging didactics with the imagery of folk thinking, the entire complex of social experience that was relevant for that time. Folklore formed the basis of pre-Christian Slavic rituals that accompanied ancient man throughout his life. The aesthetic component was not the end in itself of folk rituals, but unconsciously it was the important attractive force of any ritual performance, folk games and festivities. The sacred and didactic content of wedding, birth, funeral and other rites of the ancient Slavs was expressed in rich artistic and aesthetic forms that brought spiritual pleasure to all participants in these actions.

Naturally, today it is impossible to correctly understand ancient Russian aesthetics in its entirety without identifying the aesthetic specificity of folklore. The above is relevant to all types of spiritual, practical and artistic activities that existed in Rus'. Moreover, it is also valid in relation to ancient Russian book literature, on the basis of which the study of Russian medieval aesthetics in this work is primarily based.

A researcher of ancient Russian aesthetics has to keep in mind at least two main (although not the only) cultural and historical sources: 1) the folk culture (material, spiritual and, above all, artistic) of the Eastern Slavs, which formed even before they adopted Christianity and existed in Rus' in as an active antithesis to the official Christian culture throughout the Middle Ages, and 2) Byzantine aesthetics and artistic culture, from the 10th century. actively imported into Rus', often in a South Slavic version. In turn, Byzantine aesthetics itself represented a kind of integral unity of religious aesthetics, which developed during the period of patristics, and pagan Hellenistic aesthetics.

The culture imported from Byzantium acquired, as D.S. Likhachev notes, a new coloring in the Slavic world, significantly different from the Greek original. Similarly, the aesthetics of medieval Rus', especially during the heyday of ancient Russian artistic culture, was a complex synthesis of folk East Slavic and Russian aesthetic elements with South Slavic, Hellenistic and Byzantine-Christian motifs. In certain lands of Ancient Rus' at certain stages of history, among these main motifs there were often motifs of the Tatar-Muslim, Scandinavian or Western European artistic cultures, but they were never decisive.

The main route for introducing Rus' to the values ​​of world culture passed through Byzantium at that time. With the adoption of Christianity by Russia, this process became regular and consistent, but even before that, the Slavs, according to the observations of B. A. Rybakov, “touched the centers of world culture…” three times. The third time this happened in the 6th century, during the period of the victorious wars of the Slavs with Byzantium, when “the Slavs saw and felt a new world for them of an incomparably higher culture.” These periodic communications of the Slavs with Byzantine culture prepared a more consistent process of its perception, which began in the 10th century. “Kievan Rus,” writes B. A. Rybakov, “was already, to a certain extent, prepared not only for contemplation, but also for the perception of the culture of the advanced countries of the world.” The first among them in this period was Byzantium, so it is quite natural for Kievan Rus to strive to emulate it in everything, including artistic culture.

Constant cultural contacts between Rus' and Byzantium contributed to the accelerated, almost spasmodic development of Russian national culture in the XI-XII centuries. The very process of active assimilation by Russia of the richest Byzantine traditions must be correctly understood and comprehended from the standpoint of historicism, that is, it must be considered in the broad context of the cultural and historical development of the entire early medieval Europe, when Byzantium, which adopted the cultural traditions of the ancient world ( ancient Greece, Rome, the Middle East), acted as a teacher in relation to the younger cultures of Western and Eastern Europe.

Among important features Old Russian aesthetics and, more broadly, the entire culture, it is worth noting its ability to subtly feel and accept, almost as one’s own, many of the most important achievements of Byzantine, and in its composition, Hellenistic artistic culture. As N.K. Gudziy noted at one time, analyzing ancient Russian literature, the very ability of newly converted Rus' to broadly and very quickly master Byzantine books, as well as a keen interest in it, is indisputable evidence of the height of the cultural level of Ancient Rus'. It should be emphasized that the deepest response in the souls of our ancestors was found not by the philosophical and religious ideas of the Byzantines, but by their artistic and aesthetic culture; it captivated the Russians, was organically assimilated by them, and in a very short time received the most active development, in fact, as one of the most important parts ancient Russian culture. In the field of religious architecture and painting, Ancient Rus', relying on Hellenistic and Byzantine traditions, went further along the path of creating original spatial-plastic and color-rhythmic images of great artistic significance. Many monuments of ancient Russian architecture and painting in terms of depth and richness of artistic design are new step after Byzantium in the development of artistic and aesthetic thinking.

If we trace the line of development of artistic culture from Hellenism and early Christianity through Byzantium to Ancient Rus', we can see that the main tendency of this line—the desire to express spiritual values ​​in sensually perceived forms—in Rus' was realized (at least in architecture and painting) in extremely perfect form for a given line of development. The artistic culture of Ancient Rus' was in many ways the pinnacle (and completion) of the entire Eastern Christian culture, originating in late antiquity.

In this regard, one cannot agree with the statement of one of the largest modern art historians, O. Demus, that the ancient Russian masters, unlike their Western colleagues, being students of Byzantium, did not turn to the ancient sources of Byzantine art and their path was “lost in the decorative labyrinths folk art» .

Indeed, Old Russian masters, as a rule, did not directly turn to the Greco-Roman originals or their reminiscences in Byzantine art and, apparently, were little familiar with them, but they actively and creatively continued the path of artistic and aesthetic expression of spirituality that was begun by Hellenism and developed by Byzantium, and walked along it through the highest peaks to its logical end. Painting by a Russian isographer of the 17th century. Simona Ushakova completed the process of annihilation of the medieval artistic thinking and was at the same time the ideal embodiment of the art that late antiquity and the Christian world dreamed of from the first centuries of its existence. We will find a similar process in aesthetic thought.

In a bright, figurative form, the idea of ​​​​the spiritual succession of the Byzantine heritage by Ancient Russia and its deep assimilation was perfectly expressed by the greatest Orthodox thinker of our century, Pavel Florensky: “Ancient Rus' kindles the flame of its culture directly from the sacred fire of Byzantium, accepting from hand to hand as its most precious heritage, Promethean fire of Hellas." Florensky speaks here about the beginning of the heyday of ancient Russian culture, the symbol and focus of which for him was the figure of Sergius of Radonezh. "IN St. Sergius, as in the perceiving eye, the achievements of the Greek Middle Ages and culture are gathered into one focus. Having dispersed in Byzantium and fragmented there, which led to the death of culture, here, in the full-life heart of the young people, they are again creatively and vitally reunited by the dazzling appearance of a single personality, and from it, from St. Sergius, diverse streams of cultural moisture flow as if from a new center of unification, feeding the Russian people and receiving a unique embodiment in them.”

The essential foundations of ancient Russian aesthetics include its emergence and development in line with Christian ideology.

The dominance of this ideology explains many of the features of the aesthetics of Ancient Rus', which distinguish it from both ancient and modern European aesthetics, but bring it closer to the aesthetics of other medieval regions. When starting to analyze such a complex and distant phenomenon as medieval aesthetics, the author sought to be guided by the principle of historicism, the essence of which, in relation to this study, can be expressed as follows. When studying Russian medieval aesthetics, it is necessary to remember the specific historical situation in Ancient Rus', the vicissitudes of socio-cultural reality, the constant and complex relationship between the East Slavic pagan tradition, rooted in the folk environment, and the new Christian religion, which was actively being introduced into Slavic culture; it is also necessary to remember that, for all its national originality, Russian medieval culture and aesthetics had a number of typological characteristics common to all medieval cultures, and they cannot be considered outside the pan-European cultural (and aesthetic) tradition. Further, Rus' itself must be considered not abstractly, but concretely historically, that is, taking into account its spiritual, creative and educational function during the early Russian Middle Ages, when it contributed to the formation and strengthening of more progressive relations in feudal Rus', contributed to the formation of a single ancient Russian nation and was the main source of the spread of book and artistic culture and education, the bearer of Christian spirituality.

The main method of analysis of Old Russian aesthetics in this work is a problem-historical one, that is, an analysis of the formation and development, if any, of the main aesthetic concepts and ideas throughout the history of medieval Rus', from the 19th century to the 15th century.

Due to the fact that in Rus' there were no actual aesthetic theories, and high artistic and aesthetic culture covered almost all aspects of the life of ancient Russian people, the most complete idea of ​​ancient Russian aesthetics as a whole can be given by analyzing this aesthetics at two levels - verbalized and non-verbalized expression of aesthetic consciousness.

The analysis of the first level is focused on identifying aesthetic concepts, ideas, views within the general worldview system of medieval Rus', and for the 17th century. and certain theoretical concepts. The main source at this level is verbal texts of various contents, the authors of which from time to time “speak out” on aesthetic topics. Here something close to the aesthetic “theory” of our ancestors is reconstructed. It is clear that this path is fraught with the modernization of medieval ideas and places great responsibility on the researcher, not to forget about which is the sacred duty of anyone who has embarked on this difficult but fascinating path.

The subject of the second level of research is the aesthetic specificity of the entire ancient Russian culture, for it was in the real forms of culture (in the style of all its phenomena) that the aesthetic ideas of the people of ancient Rus' were perhaps most adequately embodied. Naturally, the first place here comes to the analysis of the aesthetic specificity of artistic culture (architecture, painting, plastic arts, music, applied art and literature), that is, the analysis of the artistic languages ​​of all types of art in their historical development.

In this work, I limit myself mainly to the first level of research, that is, the study of the verbalized layer of ancient Russian aesthetic consciousness, although in some cases I also turn to the analysis of aesthetically significant moments of ancient Russian art. However, the systematic development of this level, or the identification, in the words of the famous Polish scientist V. Tatarkiewicz, of “implicit” aesthetics, is the subject of special painstaking research, and it is still waiting for its enthusiasts.

The book uses ancient Russian literature of various genres as the main source, including chronicles, military stories, hagiography, travel notes, theological treatises, decrees of church councils, words and teachings, epistles, poetry and special works on art for the 17th century, as well as some monuments of translated literature that were especially popular in Rus'. It is clear that in this sea of ​​bookishness we will find not only Russian original aesthetic ideas, but also borrowed ones. It should be noted that many formulas of Byzantine aesthetics, almost literally translated from Greek, often acquired something new in the structure of Russian texts, actually Russian sound. However, for a general analysis of Russian medieval aesthetics, the main importance is not a meticulous analysis of what Ancient Rus' borrowed and from whom (although this is also important for the history of culture), but first of all an understanding of the general picture of aesthetic ideas that existed in Rus' at one time or another. another period of its history and was organically inherent spiritual world our ancestors, regardless of what elements (Slavic, Greek, Latin, Tatar or any other) it was formed from. The level of aesthetic consciousness of ancient Russian man was ultimately determined by what he himself felt and realized in the sphere of aesthetics as his own, close to his soul. It’s a different matter when the task is to identify national identity ancient Russian aesthetics. Here you cannot do without a good knowledge of all its sources.

Further, in this study, with the exception of the first chapter, I practically do not consider folklore and, accordingly, the layer of aesthetic consciousness expressed in it as requiring special analysis. This does not mean, naturally, that the chthetic ideas of the mass consciousness of medieval society completely fall out of my field of vision. They are analyzed here, however, only to the extent that they are reflected on the pages of ancient Russian literature. In the first place in this work is the level of aesthetic consciousness of the ancient Russians, which found the most complete expression in the masterpieces of ancient Russian painting, architecture, music, literature, which also brings to the people of the 20th century. high aesthetic pleasure.

A careful study of ancient Russian texts shows that in Rus' in the Middle Ages, aesthetic ideas were, perhaps more closely than in other regions, intertwined with worldview, ethical, religious, ritual, everyday and socio-political ideas. This is one of the features of Old Russian aesthetics, and therefore separating (or “purifying”) aesthetic views in Rus' from their extra-aesthetic cultural context is a risky task and fraught with negative consequences, namely the loss of the actual national specificity of this aesthetics. Thus, the aesthetic ideas of ancient Russian people of the 11th–14th centuries. are a special projection of his general worldview position, his understanding of nature, society and man in their interrelation. Aesthetics of the second half of the XIV-first half of the XV centuries. cannot be separated from the complex of diverse manifestations of patriotic feelings and the growth of national self-awareness, from extremely developed ethical ideas, from the sharply increased desire for high spirituality in culture. Aesthetic ideas of the late 15th and early 16th centuries. it is impossible to single out from a whole series of socio-religious problems that were at the center of attention of the entire Russian culture of that time. The 16th century is a period of conscious normalization and canonization of culture in Rus', and without the general grandiose cultural and protective measures of this time, its aesthetics cannot be correctly understood. For the 17th century. Characteristic is the connection of aesthetic ideas and emerging theoretical concepts with the socio-political struggle of the Time of Troubles, and with the tragic events of the schism, and with the powerful movement of enlightenment that swept Russia in the last third of the century. Therefore, in the book, aesthetic ideas themselves are analyzed in close connection with the cultural and historical context that stimulated their appearance.

The book is structured chronologically. However, this chronology for the aesthetics of Ancient Rus', as well as other regions of the Middle Ages, is quite conventional. It concerns the sources, the texts on the basis of which aesthetic ideas are reconstructed, rather than them themselves. And although the aesthetic consciousness of medieval Rus' as a whole changed quite noticeably under the influence of changes in the socio-political, cultural-historical, religious situations, as evidenced by constant stylistic changes in artistic culture, at the level of verbal fixation the main aesthetic ideas almost until the end of the 16th century. remained virtually unchanged. Here it is appropriate to recall, using the terminology of D. S. Likhachev, “the aesthetic inflexibility” of medieval Russian culture, about traditionalism as the most important and fully recognized principle of medieval life and thinking in Rus', as we will see; finally, about a certain stereotyping of the aesthetic consciousness of that time.

The history of ancient Russian “theoretical” aesthetics consisted mainly not of the development of ideas and concepts, but of a kind of “highlighting” (and in different light) of certain ideas and problems in a certain historical period by certain authors. From the general system of aesthetic ideas, quite stable for the entire Middle Ages (with the exception of the second half of the 17th century), a ray of attention ancient Russian scribes picked out in one period the concept of beauty in nature or the ethical-aesthetic principle of “non-acquisitiveness”, in another - the problem of light or the beauty of architecture, in a third - the theory of symbols in art, etc. All these ideas and problems were inherent in the ancient Russian aesthetic consciousness throughout the entire Middle Ages. Ultimately, the entire artistic practice of Ancient Rus' was built on their basis, but they surfaced to the level of verbalized comprehension in different historical periods, and on this basis a unique “history” of Ancient Russian aesthetic “theory” can be built. However, another way of analyzing this level of Old Russian aesthetics is possible—problematic-typological, but it presupposes a higher level of abstraction, a greater separation from the socio-cultural context, which for Old Russian aesthetics is fraught with the loss of a certain part of its specific features. Therefore, in this study, a problem-historical method of analysis was chosen.

As for the very concept of “aesthetic theory,” for Rus' it also has its own characteristics. Well, for example, feeling many manifestations of beauty, people of Ancient Rus', as a rule, did not think about what beauty is, and if they did, they did not try to express it verbally. He only stated that beauty exists, and knew how to rejoice and be surprised by it, to admire it with childish spontaneity. Aesthetic theory almost until the middle of the 17th century. was not written in Rus', it can only be reconstructed with a greater or lesser degree of probability on the basis of what the Russians themselves considered beautiful or providing spiritual pleasure. Only in the 17th century, during the period of active penetration of Western European culture and art into Russia, more or less developed aesthetic concepts and theories began to form here. The second part of the book, that is, approximately half of its volume, is devoted to this complex transitional period from the Middle Ages to the Modern Age in the history of Russian aesthetics. It was then that many ideas of the already outgoing medieval aesthetics were clearly formulated, which guided artistic practice throughout the entire Middle Ages, and new, non-medieval theories began to take shape, for which there was a future.

By presenting his work to the strict judgment of the reader, the author considers it possible to ask him for some leniency. The fact is that this research is to some extent innovative, and, like any new step in science, it is not without discussion sharpness, an element of provocation that encourages the reader to independent reflection and polemics with the author. The volume of ancient Russian material to be studied turned out to be so large, and there were so many aesthetic problems arising in connection with this, that it was not possible to develop them to the end and in its entirety in one book. However, it would be wrong not to point out them, not to designate them in a work that claims, although it is a preliminary, but still a generalized outline of all Russian medieval aesthetics. Therefore, some problems and characteristics of ancient Russian aesthetics are only outlined here and require further development, confirmation or refutation. The author does not at all believe that everything in his book is indisputable, and is far from claiming any absolutization of his judgments. With this work, I would first of all like to attract the attention of both readers and researchers to this extremely important, but still little explored area of ​​history national culture. The material still to be studied here is so large, and the breadth and depth of the emerging scientific problems and prospects are so tempting, that the life of a scientist who decides to devote himself to this research will not be considered useless by history.

Despite the ever-increasing interest in ancient Russian culture in our century, the systematic study of its aesthetics is just beginning. This does not mean, of course, that the modern historian of aesthetics has absolutely nothing to rely on, but this help is still indirect, although quite fundamental.

First of all, it is necessary to point out the numerous works of philologists and literary scholars, which also touch upon individual aesthetic issues. Among them, it is enough to name at least the names of A. S. Orlov, A. N. Veselovsky, V. P. Adrianova-Peretz, I. P. Eremin, D. S. Likhachev, A. N. Robinson, V. V. Kuskov , S. Mathauzerova, B. A. Uspensky, A. S. Demin, A. M. Panchenko, G. M. Prokhorov, N. I. Prokofiev, and this series can be continued. Special mention should be made of “The Poetics of Old Russian Literature” by D. S. Likhachev, from which one step remains to aesthetics, his article “The Word” and the aesthetic ideas of his time”; the article by Yu. N. Dmitriev “The Theory of Art and Views on Art in Writing ancient Rus'"; the book by S. Mathauzerova "Ancient Russian theories of the art of words"; articles by V.V. Kuskov "The idea of ​​beauty in ancient Russian literature" and "Aesthetic ideas in Ancient Rus'".

Much attention was paid to the aesthetic aspects of ancient Russian art in the works of P. Muratov, E. Trubetskoy, S. Bulgakov, P. Florensky, L. Uspensky, P. Evdokimov, I. Grabar, N. Demina, M. Alpatov, V. Lazarev, K Onash, I. Danilova, G. Wagner, V. Ivanov, O. Popova, A. Saltykov, A. Komech and other theologians and art historians.

The number of names of scientists who dealt specifically with ancient Russian aesthetics is much poorer, although it dates back to the middle of the last century.

Already in 1856, P. Bezsonov, publishing Alexei Mikhailovich’s “The Falconer’s Way Officer,” emphasized in extensive notes that before us is “a kind of speculation of beauty (theory of beauty, aesthetics),” and tried to highlight the “purely Russian” contained in the treatise. representations of beauty" and aesthetic categories such as honor, rank, example, row, system, measure, etc.

These ideas were developed in the same years by I. E. Zabelin, noting the synonymy in ancient Russian aesthetics of the concepts of beauty and surprise, which, in his opinion, related to brilliance precious stones and metals, to the brightness and variegation of colors, “cunning patterns”, etc.

An important step towards the study of ancient Russian aesthetics was the three-volume fundamental study by A. N. Afanasyev “Poetic views of the Slavs on nature” (M., 1865–1869).

At the end of the last century, F. I. Buslaev, the greatest scientist of that time, drew attention to ancient Russian aesthetics. In the article “Russian Aesthetics of the 15th Century,” he analyzed the now widely known treatise by Joseph Vladimirov and concluded that the sense of beauty awoke in the soul of the Russian artist no earlier than the 17th century. influenced Western European art, that is, in aesthetics F.I. Buslaev stood on a Western-centric position, ignoring the specifics of the Russian medieval aesthetic consciousness itself.

The first and so far the only generalizing study on Russian medieval aesthetics was published by K. V. Shokhin in 1963. In fact, the stage of systematic scientific study of ancient Russian aesthetics begins with this small book. K.V. Shokhin, quite thoroughly for his time, analyzed the ideas of the ancient Russians about the beautiful (“beautiful is the Motherland,” the beauty of nature, man, “mental,” “heavenly beauty”) and about art, relying on the texts of scribes of the 11th–17th centuries . He paid his main attention to isolating “folk” ideas, contrasting them with “religious” aesthetics as introduced from the outside and opposing “true nationality,” as well as finding “materialistic and realistic foundations” of Russian aesthetics. With all the ahistoricism and artificiality of the author’s initial attitude, characteristic of the period of stagnation and vulgarization in our humanities and actually imposed on a scientist from the extra-scientific sphere, K. V. Shokhin managed to notice some characteristic features of ancient Russian aesthetics, and most importantly, to show that this aesthetics existed and deserves the closest attention to itself.

Shokhin’s work, with many of its conclusions and assessments, also indirectly convinces us that today it is futile to study ancient Russian aesthetics without a good knowledge of the spiritual culture and aesthetics of Byzantium and Greco-Roman antiquity, that is, its most important sources. This shortcoming is also inherent in some articles that appeared in the next quarter century. The most interesting among them is the chapter “Ancient Rus'” in the volume “History of Aesthetic Thought”, written by A. A. Bazhenova and N. B. Pilyugina. However, the limited volume of the chapter and the type of publication allowed the authors to mainly only summarize the previous stage of research into ancient Russian aesthetics.

In the work brought to the attention of readers, an attempt is made to take another step in the direction of studying Russian medieval aesthetics. How successful it turned out to be is not for the author to judge.

A significant role in the book is played by the visual-illustrative series, which not so much illustrates the text as complements it. The aesthetic consciousness of man in medieval Rus', as has already been pointed out, was far from fully reflected in the verbal statements of the ancient Russians, but was more adequately and vividly expressed in artistic culture. Therefore, accompanying the analysis of verbalized aesthetics with a display of a number of highly artistic or characteristic works of art for a particular historical period is intended to significantly complement readers’ ideas about the general picture of Russian medieval aesthetics.

The author's position on this issue is set out in the articles: On the subject of the history of aesthetics//Ancient culture and modern science. M., 1985. pp. 295–303; On the issue of Old Russian aesthetics II Old Bulgarian literature. Book 16. Sofia, 1984. pp. 18–25; for an abbreviated version of this article, see: Problems in the study of cultural heritage. M., 1985. pp. 303–311.

See: Zabelin Ya. E. Features of Russian life in the 17th century // Otechestvennye zapiski. 1857. January. P. 339.

See: Shokhin K.V. Essay on the history of the development of aesthetic thought in Russia (Old Russian aesthetics of the 11th-17th centuries). M., 1963.

IN in a broad sense ancient Russian art is understood as medieval Russian art, developing from the 9th to the end of the 17th centuries.

Although the history of Ancient Rus' is considered to be the history of the Old Russian state from 862 (or 882) to the Tatar-Mongol invasion (invasion of the troops of the Mongol Empire on the territory of the Russian principalities in 1237-1240), and the history of the Russian state is the period of Russian history from 1478 or 1485 (annexation of Novgorod or Tver) and before the proclamation of the Russian Empire by Peter I in 1721. Old Russian art is considered in the aggregate of these two periods.

Art of the Old Russian State

Urban planning

Large cities in Ancient Rus' had complex defensive systems. Detinets (city center) defended itself separately. The fortifications covered a significant area; in case of danger, even the population of the city’s environs could take refuge behind them. Each such city was at the same time a princely residence with its own princely court. In some cities (Novgorod, Kyiv, Ryazan, Smolensk) there were also courtyards of ordinary citizens. Usually one or two streets ran along rivers and were intersected by small streets and alleys. A characteristic feature of the Russian city of the 11th-13th centuries. the presence of a church or temple was mandatory. In ancient Russian cities there were from 2-3 to several dozen churches. Monasteries could be located outside the city.

Archaeological Museum "Berestye", remains of buildings
The unique archaeological museum “Berestye” in the city of Brest, opened in 1982, houses about 43 thousand exhibits. The museum is based on the uncovered remains of the ancient Brest settlement, the construction of a craft settlement of the 13th century. On the territory of Berestya, at a depth of 4 m, archaeologists excavated streets paved with wood, the remains of buildings for various purposes on an area of ​​1118 m². The exhibition includes 28 residential and commercial log buildings - one-story log buildings made from coniferous logs. Wooden buildings and pavement parts were preserved with specially developed synthetic substances.

Household items (reconstruction)
Around the ancient settlement there is an exhibition dedicated to the way of life of the Slavs who inhabited these places in ancient times: products made of metals, glass, wood, clay, bones, fabrics, including numerous jewelry, dishes, and parts of looms. Weaving looms were called “krosny”.

Belarusian Krosny

Fortresses and fortifications in Ancient Rus'

Fortifications played a big role in Ancient Rus'. They were constantly improved depending on the historical situation and the nature of enemy attacks. Most of the fortifications and fortresses in the Old Russian state were wooden. This was enough, because... firearms did not yet exist. Russian fortifications of that time were characterized by a ditch, city walls, a visor and an embankment.

Ramparts of the Pereslavl Kremlin in Pereslavl-Zalessky
Typically, fortresses were built on a natural hill, which is why in many Slavic lands city fortifications and fortresses were called “vyshgorods.” Sometimes defensive structures were built near steep ravines, making them inaccessible from different sides. In the wooded and swampy areas of Northern Rus', fortresses were located on low hills. Muddy lowlands and swamps were used as cover.
The city walls were installed on ramparts and consisted of gorodnitsa - wooden frames filled with earth. Sometimes the log houses were left empty for residential use. On the top of the walls there were wide platforms, the outer side of which was covered with a “visor”. Slots were arranged in them for firing at the enemy - “holes”. The walls were strengthened with vezhas (towers), often on a stone foundation. Gates were made in the walls. The term “open the gates” meant the surrender of the city. In threatened places, the fortress walls were supplemented with a moat, bridges across which were built on pillars.

Pskovsky Krom (Kremlin)
Pskov Krom (Kremlin) is the historical and architectural center of Pskov and the Pskov Fortress. It occupies an area of ​​3 hectares.
The initial settlement in this part of the site dates back to the middle of the 1st millennium. In the X-XII centuries. there were earthen (possibly stone) fortifications and a wooden Trinity Cathedral. During the period of the Pskov Republic (XIV-early 16th centuries), the Kremlin with its cathedral, veche square and Krom cells was the spiritual, legal and administrative center of the Pskov land.

Pskov Trinity Cathedral (the first mention of it dates back to the 10th century)

Vlasyevskaya Tower of the Pskov Kremlin
This is one of defensive towers Pskov. It was erected in the 15th century. It has a high tent and an observation attic. Defended the line of fortress walls at the descent to the Velikaya River.

Old Russian architecture

Old Russian architecture absorbed the traditions of East Slavic culture and art of Byzantium and the Balkan countries. On this basis, outstanding monuments of church and secular architecture were created.

Hagia Sophia (St. Sophia Cathedral) is a temple built in the first half of the 11th century. in the center of Kyiv. According to the chronicle, on the orders of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, the temple was erected on the site of the victory over the Pechenegs in 1037. At the turn of the XVII-XVIII centuries. The temple was externally rebuilt in the Ukrainian Baroque style. Inside the cathedral, the world's most complete ensemble of original mosaics and frescoes from the first half of the 11th century has been preserved. and significant fragments of murals from the 17th-18th centuries.

Our Lady of Oranta (Unbreakable Wall). Mosaic in the altar of the cathedral (XI century)
In 1990, the St. Sophia Cathedral, like the Kiev Pechersk Lavra, became the first architectural monument on the territory of Ukraine to be included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Hagia Sophia in Kyiv is the first stone architectural monument in Rus'. The mosaics in Hagia Sophia were made by Byzantine craftsmen.

John Chrysostom. Mosaic (XI century)
Hagia Sophia Cathedral is the main Orthodox church of Veliky Novgorod, created in 1045-1050. This is the oldest church in Russia, built by the Slavs.

The cathedral is a five-nave cross-domed church. Temples of this type were built in Rus' only in the 11th century. In addition to the Novgorod Sofia, these are the St. Sophia Cathedrals in Kyiv and Polotsk, as well as the Kiev Church of Irina and George.
The temple has three apses (lowered protrusion of the building) - the central one is pentagonal, and the side ones are round. The central building is surrounded on three sides by wide two-story galleries.
The cathedral has five chapters, the sixth crowns the staircase tower, located in the western gallery south of the entrance. The heads of the chapters are made in the shape of ancient Russian helmets.
The cathedral was first painted in 1109, but from this painting only fragments of the frescoes of the central dome with figures of prophets and archangels remained, in the center between which, before the Great Patriotic War, was the image of Christ Pantocrator, which was killed by a shell. An ancient wall image of Equal-to-the-Apostles Constantine and Helen has been preserved in the Martiryevskaya porch. It is assumed that this image was supposed to become the basis for a mosaic, since it was made with highly diluted paints. The main surviving painting of the temple dates back to the end of the 19th century.

The most famous icons of the cathedral

Icon Mother of God“The Sign” (XII century)

Tikhvin Icon of the Mother of God (known since the 14th century)
In total, more than 50 ancient Russian architectural structures of the pre-Mongol period have survived. Let's talk about one more of them - the Church of the Intercession on the Nerl.

Church of the Intercession on the Nerl - a white stone temple in Vladimir region Russia, outstanding monument architecture of the Vladimir-Suzdal school. It was founded in the 12th century. The church was consecrated in honor of the Feast of the Intercession of the Virgin Mary, established in Rus' in the middle of the 12th century. on the initiative of Andrei Bogolyubsky.
The old masters knew how to choose the only right place for temples. The location of this temple is unique: the church was built in a lowland, on a small hill located on a water meadow. Previously, near the church there was a place where the Nerl flows into the Klyazma (now the river beds have changed their position). The church was located practically on the river “spit”, forming the crossroads of the most important water trade routes.
The temple is of a cross-domed type, four-pillared, three-apsed, single-domed, with arched-columnar belts and perspective portals. The walls of the church are strictly vertical, but, thanks to the exceptionally well-found proportions, they look inclined inward, thereby achieving the illusion of greater height. In the interior, the cross-shaped pillars taper towards the top, which creates an additional feeling of height.

Old Russian painting

Ancient Rus', having adopted Christianity in 988, adopted from Byzantium not only religion, but also artistic techniques. With the beginning of the construction of temples, the production of wall paintings and mosaics began.
Pre-Mongol painting of Ancient Rus' has been preserved very fragmentarily. The most striking example is the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God.

This is one of the most revered relics of the Russian Church; the icon is considered miraculous.
According to church tradition, the icon was painted by the Evangelist Luke. The icon came to Constantinople from Jerusalem in the 5th century. under Emperor Theodosius. It came to Rus' from Byzantium at the beginning of the 12th century. (about 1131) as a gift to the holy prince Mstislav from the Patriarch of Constantinople Luke Chrysoverg. The icon was delivered by the Greek Metropolitan Michael, who arrived in Kyiv from Constantinople in 1130. At first, the Vladimir Icon was in the women's Mother of God Monastery of Vyshgorod, not far from Kyiv. The son of Yuri Dolgoruky, Saint Andrei Bogolyubsky, brought the icon to Vladimir in 1155 (after which it received its current name, where it was kept in the Assumption Cathedral.) By order of Andrei, the icon was decorated with an expensive frame. After the murder of Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky in 1176, Prince Yaropolk Rostislavich removed the expensive decoration from the icon, and it ended up with Gleb of Ryazan. Only after the victory of Prince Mikhail, younger brother Andrew, over Yaropolk, Gleb returned the icon and decoration to Vladimir. When Vladimir was captured by the Tatars in 1237, the Assumption Cathedral was plundered, and the frame was torn off the icon of the Mother of God. The Assumption Cathedral was restored by Prince Yaroslav Vsevolodovich. He also restored the icon
Our Lady of Vladimir. During the invasion of Tamerlane under Vasily I in 1395, the revered icon was moved to Moscow to protect the city from the conqueror. At the site of the “meeting” (meeting) of the Vladimir Icon by Muscovites, the Sretensky Monastery was founded, which gave the name to Sretenka Street. The fact that Tamerlane’s troops turned back from Yelets without reaching Moscow was regarded as the intercession of the Mother of God.
Since September 1999, the icon has been in the Church-Museum of St. Nicholas in Tolmachi at the Tretyakov Gallery.

Among the oldest Novgorod icons, the “Golden Haired Angel” icon, dating back to the 12th century, is known. The icon is kept in the State Russian Museum (St. Petersburg).

“Ustyug Annunciation” (XII century) is also one of the few pre-Mongol icons created in Veliky Novgorod. Stored in the State Tretyakov Gallery (Moscow).

The art of crafts in Ancient Rus'

By the 12th century. there were over 60 craft specialties. Some crafts were based on metallurgical production of a fairly high level, as evidenced by the use of welding, casting, forging metal, welding and hardening of steel by artisans.
Old Russian artisans produced more than 150 types of iron and steel products. Old Russian jewelers mastered the art of minting non-ferrous metals. In the craft workshops, plowshares, axes, chisels, pliers, weapons (shields, chain mail armor, spears, helmets, swords, etc.), household items (keys, etc.), jewelry (gold, silver, bronze, copper) were made. .

Replica of Yaroslav Vsevolodovich's helmet
Pottery, leatherworking, woodworking, stone cutting and other crafts were developed. With its products, Rus' gained fame in Europe at that time.

The main material for production in Rus' was wood. Dwellings, city fortifications, workshops, outbuildings, ships, sleighs, pavements, water pipelines, machines and machines, tools and tools, dishes, furniture, household utensils, children's toys, etc. were built from it. Old Russian craftsmen knew the technical properties well. and other qualities of wood of all species growing in Russian forests and widely used it. The most common were pine and spruce. Oak wood was scarce; they tried to use it to make products of special strength (sleigh runners, barrels, shovels, etc.). Maple and ash were widely used. Carved dishes, ladles, spoons, etc. were made from maple. Ash was used for the production of turned dishes (made on lathes).

N. Roerich “The City is being Built” (1902)
Double-sided combs were made from boxwood brought from the Caucasus.
Products made of non-ferrous metals (women's jewelry, religious objects and church utensils, decorative and tableware, horse harness, decorations for weapons, etc.) were in wide demand. Foundry reached high artistic development in Ancient Rus'.
Ancient Rus' did not have its own non-ferrous metals; they were brought from Western Europe and the East. Gold mainly came in the form of coins. It was obtained as a result of trade or wars with Byzantium and the Cumans. Silver also came to Rus' in the form of coins and bars from Bohemia, the Urals, the Caucasus and Byzantium.

Hryvnia, bracelets, rings and temple rings of the Vyatichi. Silver. Casting, engraving (XII-XIII centuries)
In Ancient Rus', fabrics were made from wool, flax and hemp. Plain linen fabric, suitable for men's and Women's shirts, towels, was called canvas and uscinka. Coarse fabric made from plant fiber for making outerwear was called votola. Of the woolen fabrics, the most common were ponya and hair shirt; coarse fabrics included yariga and sermyaga. Cloth was made for outerwear.

Hair shirt of Ivan the Terrible (XVI century)
Hair shirt (also sackcloth) is a long, coarse shirt made of hair or goat hair; ascetics wore it on their naked bodies to mortify the flesh.
The range of bone products was also wide in the 9th-13th centuries. Combs, knife handles, buttons, mirror handles, chess and checkers, bow and saddle trims, and icons were cut from bone. The most common materials used in bone carving production were the bones of large domestic animals, as well as the antlers of elk and deer. Sometimes they used the horns of bulls, aurochs and walrus ivory. Among the bone products, artistic crafts occupied a significant place: the tops of staffs, plates on caskets and leather bags, various deliveries. The pommels were made in the form of the heads of birds and animals and in the form of various geometric shapes. Fantastic animals, sun signs, geometric, floral patterns, all kinds of braids and other motifs were depicted on flat overlay plates.

Kholmogory bone carving
Pottery in Ancient Rus' was also highly developed due to the presence of clay. It was widespread everywhere, but especially in cities. The dishes were produced in various capacities and shapes. They made children's toys, bricks, facing tiles, etc., as well as lamps, washstands, pots and other products. On the bottoms of vessels, ancient Russian craftsmen left special marks in the form of triangles, crosses, squares, circles and other geometric shapes. On some pottery there were images of keys and flowers.

Old Russian pattern (tiles)

Skopino ceramics
At the turn of the 9th-10th centuries. there was a transition from molded ceramics to pottery, i.e. circular. Pottery wheels were made of wood, so the remains of pottery wheels and their parts have not been preserved.

Glassmaking in Ancient Rus' originated in the 11th century. and reached development by the 12th-13th centuries. At the beginning of the 11th century. Glass beads were popular. From the middle of the 11th century. tableware appears. In the first half of the 12th century. Glass bracelets became widespread.
The first Russian glass-making workshops appeared in Kyiv in the first half of the 11th century. in the Kiev Pechersk Lavra. Perhaps the reason for this was the need to make mosaics for the decoration of St. Sophia of Kyiv.

Fragments of glass bracelets

Architecture of the Moscow Principality (XIV-XVI centuries)

The transformation of Moscow into a strong political center led to a new development of architecture in the city and principality.

Assumption Cathedral on Gorodok
A white-stone, four-pillar, single-domed temple, a monument of early Moscow architecture. Built at the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries. Inside the cathedral, paintings from the early 15th century, attributed to Andrei Rublev and Daniil Cherny, have been preserved.

Saved. Icon of Andrei Rublev

The Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin is an Orthodox church located on Cathedral Square of the Moscow Kremlin, Patriarchal Cathedral Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' (since 1991).

Built in 1475-1479. under the leadership of the Italian architect Aristotle Fioravanti. The main temple of the Russian state. The temple has six pillars, five domes, and five apses. Built of white stone combined with brick. The famous icon painter Dionysius took part in the painting.

Annunciation Cathedral (Moscow Kremlin)
The Annunciation Cathedral is an Orthodox church in honor of the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary, located on Cathedral Square of the Moscow Kremlin. It was built in 1489 by Pskov craftsmen on a white stone basement at the end of the 14th and beginning of the 15th centuries. (remaining from the old cathedral) and was originally three-domed. The cathedral was badly damaged in a fire in 1547 and restored in 1564.

Saints Constantine and Helen. Fresco (1547-1551). Painting of the south-eastern pillar of the Annunciation Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin

The Faceted Chamber is an architectural monument in the Moscow Kremlin, one of the oldest civil buildings in Moscow. Built in 1487-1491. by order of Ivan III by architects Marco Ruffo and Pietro Antonio Solari. It got its name from the eastern facade, decorated with faceted “diamond” rustication, characteristic of Italian architecture Renaissance.

Architecture of the Russian Kingdom (XVI century)

The adoption by Ivan the Terrible of the title of “Tsar” and the transformation of Russia into a kingdom was the next stage in the development of the Russian state and Russian architecture. In the architecture of this period, past traditions continue, but the “tent” form penetrates into stone architecture from wood, which is a noticeable difference in the architecture of the new period.

The most famous monument architecture of this period is St. Basil's Cathedral. Its construction continued in 1554-1560. The cathedral is included in the List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Russia. St. Basil's Cathedral (or Intercession Cathedral) was built by order of Ivan the Terrible in memory of the capture of Kazan. The monument is one of the most recognizable symbols of Moscow and Russia.

Another famous monument of this period is the Church of the Ascension in Kolomenskoye - the first stone tented church in Russia. Erected in Kolomenskoye in 1528-1532. presumably Italian architect Peter the Great Hannibal (according to Russian chronicles, Peter Fryazin or Petrok the Small) on the right bank of the Moscow River.
Despite the development of stone hipped architecture, temples of the old type continue to be built. The Smolensk Cathedral of the Novodevichy Monastery (1524-1598) and the Assumption Cathedral of the Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius (1559-1585) were built according to the type of the Moscow Assumption Cathedral with five domes.

Smolensk Cathedral of the Novodevichy Convent (1524-1598)

Russian architecture of the 17th century.

Beginning of the 17th century in Russia there was a difficult Time of Troubles, this led to a temporary decline in construction. Monumental buildings gave way to small buildings.

An example of such construction is the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary in Putinki, made in the Russian patterned style characteristic of that period. This is one of the last tent churches.

During this period, the type of pillarless temple developed. The Small Cathedral of the Donskoy Monastery (1593) is considered to be one of the first churches of this type.

Theophanes the Greek. Don icon Mother of God. State Tretyakov Gallery (Moscow)
A large number of original architectural monuments of the 17th century. preserved in Rostov the Great. The most famous are the Rostov Kremlin (1660-1683), as well as the churches of the Rostov Boris and Gleb Monastery.

Rostov Kremlin

Church of John the Evangelist of the Rostov Kremlin (1683). The temple inside has no pillars, the walls are covered with excellent frescoes. This architecture anticipates the Moscow Baroque style.
Almost all of Moscow's civil architecture perished, as wooden Moscow burned out. The ancient walls of fortified cities with towers and gates and the fences of monasteries, which were, in essence, also fortresses, have been preserved.
Among civil buildings, the Kremlin Terem Palace occupies a special place, testifying to the great technical knowledge and extraordinary taste of its architects. Built in 1635-1636. by order of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich. These are the first stone chambers in the royal palace.

Terem Palace (view from Mokhovaya Street)
The architecture of the Terem Palace reflected not only the traditional features of Russian wooden architecture, but also the enfilade structure of the interior, which was new for that time.
The painting of the rooms of the Terem Palace was carried out under the direction of S. F. Ushakov. The interiors, built according to the enfilade principle and richly decorated, have not survived. They were damaged by the fire of 1812.
Currently, the Terem Palace as part of the Grand Kremlin Palace is the Residence of the President of the Russian Federation.

Cross (Cathedral) room in the Terem Palace

Armouries

Architects, painters, and masters of other types of art concentrated in the Order of Stone Affairs and in the Armory Chamber in the Kremlin. The Armory became a kind of school where the best artistic forces united. For all Russian lands, Moscow was an indisputable authority in the field of art.
It was from the Armory Chamber that all innovations came. Ukrainian, Belarusian, Lithuanian, Armenian masters and foreign artists educated in Europe worked here. Here began the activity of Simon Ushakov, a major Russian painter who sought to break with the traditions of ancient art.
From the end of the 15th century. Moscow is turning into a center of artistic crafts, where Russian craftsmen create many art monuments.
The Kremlin treasury was replenished by numerous foreign embassies, delivering luxurious gifts to Moscow. Already during the reign of Ivan III, the treasury had grown so much that in 1485 a two-story stone building with deep basements for jewelry was specially erected in the Kremlin for its storage.
The Kremlin treasury was plundered by Polish interventionists during the Time of Troubles, but was quickly replenished during the times of rapid economic growth and the flourishing of crafts under the first tsars of the Romanov dynasty, and under Peter the Great - due to military trophies. A significant part of the valuables were made by craftsmen from the leading Kremlin workshop - the Armory Chamber, to which the museum, located today in a building erected by the architect K.A., owes its name. Tone in 1844

Armory building
The Armory Chamber stores ancient state regalia, ceremonial royal clothes and coronation dress, vestments of Russian hierarchs Orthodox Church, the largest collection of gold and silver items by Russian craftsmen, Western European artistic silver, monuments of weaponry, a collection of crews, items of ceremonial horse harness.

Voloshina Lyudmila Alexandrovna

graduate School folk arts (institute), St. Petersburg

Candidate of Philosophy, Head of Library

Voloshina Ludmila

High school of folk arts (institute), St. Petersburg

Candidate of philosophical sciences.

ON THE INTERACTION OF THE ARTISTIC WORD AND ARTISTIC IMAGE IN THE CREATIVITY OF ANCIENT Rus'

In the article by Voloshina L.A. “On the interaction of the artistic word and artistic image in the creativity of Ancient Rus'” examines the problem of interaction between two types of creativity: literature and fine arts. Special attention focused on the interaction of folklore and traditional art Ancient Rus', how an artistic image and an artistic word help mutual disclosure of each other.

Keywords: artistic depiction, folk art, folklore, traditional Russian culture, symbol, fairy tale

About the interaction of artistic expression and artistic images in the works of Ancient Russia.

Abstract. The article Voloshinoy LA “About the interaction of artistic expression and artistic images in the works of Ancient Russia” addresses the problem of interaction between two types of creativity: literature and fine arts. Special attention is paid to the interaction of folklore and traditional arts of Ancient Russia, as an artistic image and artistic expression help mutual opening to each other.

Key words: artistic image, folk art, folklore, traditional Russian culture, symbol, tale.

“The art of words is in an organic connection with the fine arts, with architecture, with music, and there cannot be a true understanding of one area without an understanding of all other areas of artistic creativity of Ancient Rus'.” This is a statement by D.S. Likhacheva talks about the organic connection of all types of art. Usually, in this case, the conversation is about the dominant style, which sets some general rules for other types of art. However, this statement needs to be supplemented, especially if we're talking about about traditional applied art, which has always existed according to the initially established tradition. The dominant style could only add new pictorial elements to the artistic image. And yet, traditional arts, just like other types, were an organic component of the culture of Ancient Rus'.

What could unite different arts so much that they filled the entire ancient Russian culture with such a harmonious unity that is inaccessible to our modern culture? We know how fruitfully fiction and fine arts coexisted through the example of icon painting, when the canonical image was accompanied by inscriptions. Religious texts were supplemented with miniatures that reproduced the contents of what was written in such detail that even the illiterate could understand it. Such a beautiful religious and literary creation as an akathist united word and image. The texts of the akathists conveyed the hagiographic scenes depicted on the icons. But unlike the icon, which was not supposed to convey emotions, the akathists were filled with the strongest feelings of delight and reverence for the one to whom they were dedicated. In the Middle Ages, all literature, one way or another, was connected with Christ, his Church. Literary and artistic ideas were inseparable in the minds of the people. Iconographic works like literary sources They were always instructive and edifying in content. It often happened that the author of a literary original was also its illustrator.

In Ancient Rus', until the 17th century, literature also felt the influence of the dominant style; it was related to the fine arts by common symbols with which works were saturated, common expressive elements. Artists, subject to style, knew basic symbols and allegories just as well as writers. These were basically the generally accepted ancient symbols contained in Byzantine manuscripts. They are most widespread in religious art. In the Baroque era, for example, pomp and pretentiousness captured not only architecture and painting. D.S. Likhachev wrote that the poems in their construction resembled a bizarre baroque ornament. “The poems are reminiscent of Stroganov or royal letters in icon painting - the same ornamentation, the same “fineness,” the same “preciousness” and decoration. The content is largely obscured by the precious salary of the form."

However, it was not the form that set the tone; each style was based on an idea. The main style-forming element of ancient Russian literature was the feeling of the significance of everything that happened. Any event described in the chronicle was considered not only as a historical fact, but was included by the writer in world history, which originated from the creation of the world. Everything that happened was addressed simultaneously to both the temporary and the eternal, since these events were considered from the point of view of the eternal confrontation between good and evil, from the position of a moral rule. “In ancient Russian literature, an idea was formed about the unity of the world, about the unity of all humanity and its history, combined with deep patriotism, devoid of a sense of national exclusivity, stupid and narrow chauvinism.”

The word was inseparable from the image, and this can be seen not only in their proximity to each other, as complementary parts of one work. For the people of Ancient Rus', the word was the bearer of the most important meaning, the same one that was contained in the corresponding artistic image. The symbol and the object itself were not separated. The symbol stored its own meaning of the word. “The closeness of the main features, which is visible in constant identical expressions, was also between the names of the symbol and the designated object.” This primitive symbolism lived for a long time in signs and prejudices. All traditional applied art is associated with these ancient pagan beliefs, which were later mixed with Christian ones. Therefore, many symbols can no longer be correctly interpreted, but can sound in us like the voice of blood. A living worldview left its mark on the language itself. For the common people, the word was not only a dry sign, it was precisely a symbol that contained all the shades of the subject.

Folklore collector A.N. Afanasyev wrote that most of the names from oral folk literature are based on bold metaphors. Subsequently, these metaphors lost their figurative meaning and began to be taken for simple expressions. And for modern man the words “creeper” and “leaf eater” no longer have their original meaning. This, of course, greatly contributed to the emergence of a number of heterogeneous, but not true, interpretations. The artistic image and artistic word were based on a real, very vivid perception of reality. F.I. Buslaev compared folk art with a child’s worldview, when the mind and gaze were open to the world and a person could see and imagine something more than what everyone knows. It was a direct, fantastic, mythical worldview.

In understanding these images of ancient Russian art, the help of folklore is indispensable. “Through epics, fairy tales, songs, proverbs, which are the guardians of this world, behind ancient images of animals and ornaments... vivid views on the nature of the people of those centuries, filled with great poetry and beauty, are revealed.” That is why the plots of folk art are based on oral folk art - fairy tales, myths, epics. How could the incompatible be united - the fabulousness, the fantastic and at the same time the realism of ancient Russian folk art? This became possible thanks to the artist’s special worldview. An important place was given to the fairy tale, this poeticized spiritual experience of the people. Russian folk tale preserves historical knowledge, according to I.A. Ilyina. “And the one who swore allegiance to strict historical science, but broke with the science of spiritual experience, who worships only proven fact, rejecting the artistry of images and the spirituality of circumstances, who wants to see, and not contemplate, who, from excessive abstruseness, has killed simple wisdom and symbolism in his soul depths...let him consider the fairy tale dead or stupid.”

Many researchers of Russian folklore found in it what a historian is looking for in historical documents, so an everyday fairy tale provided information about the typical situation and typical characters of that time, and a fairy tale gave an idea of ​​​​the people's soul, reported on the events that worried a person of past eras through the prism of his emotions . It is about this deep knowledge that I.A. writes. Ilyin in the above quote. The source of the tale is deeply national; it is extremely important for an artist who turns to traditional art. Folklore is close to traditional art precisely because of its common source - collective creativity. Each outstanding storyteller was an exponent of the wisdom that the people had accumulated. Collective activity is possible in folklore due to loyalty to tradition. Individuality in folklore, as in traditional art, has its own destiny, different from individuality in secular art. A.M. Gorky wrote in the article “Destruction of the Personality” that language is the main figure of the era, in which collective creativity is reflected, that “for hundreds of centuries, individual creativity has not created anything equal to the Iliad or the Kalevala, the individual genius has not given a single generalization.” at the root of which folk art would not lie...” Even when pushing an individual out of its midst, the collective understood it not as something chosen, separated from the collective, but as a person raised in the collective, endowed with all experience. This is how the heroes of the epic and epics were born as personifications of the people’s soul expressed in an individual.

The closeness of folklore to traditional art also lies in the fact that both types of reflection of reality understand it as a mysterious two-dimensional world. So in a fairy tale, each character is endowed with a special magical meaning. A fairy tale gives a fantastic idea of ​​the real world, as a world in which any object can harbor a hidden essence. Favorite symbols - the horse and the bird - also undergo metamorphoses in verbal art, as well as in visual art. The horse is the most common symbol that has been preserved in decorative art since pagan times, when it was associated with the sun, the image of Perun. The beauty of this animal, natural grace, and swiftness raised it to such heights. This image was widespread not only in art, but also in folklore - this is a bright positive character who helps the hero in the fight against the Serpent-Gorynych, or in the form of Sivka-Burka rises under the clouds to save the princess imprisoned in the tower.

With the advent of Christianity, the image of the horse, the assistant of the Russian hero, was embodied in the image of St. George the Victorious, and the snake, which he defeats, became the personification of universal evil. The same thing happens with the symbol - the Sirin bird, which gradually mythical creature turns into a bird of paradise. These are new symbols that I created new era. Previously unknown fantastic fairy tale characters appear, and a new type of fairy tale appears - a fairy tale. This tale also tells us about the religious and mythical ideas of its time, like any symbol depicted on objects of peasant life. F.I. Buslaev was the first to define the fairy tale as genuine folk poetry.

The religious and mythological ideas given to us in fairy tales are connected with reality. But this is not reality pure form. The world into which the characters find themselves, although it has similarities with the real one, is unreal, which the ancient storyteller associated with ideas about the other world. This may be a reminder of paradise, or, conversely, of the kingdom of the dead. Associated with these worlds is a legend about how a person gets there most often in the form of a bird, which subsequently leads to a parallel between the bird and the soul. Fairy-tale images, freed from their original pagan meanings, are gradually filled with Christian meanings. They touch eternal themes good and evil, revealing true values ​​in their stories.

The closeness to folklore in traditional art is most noticeable in miniature painting, where artistic images are also full of poetry and fantasy. Very often, the subjects of images become fairy tales and epics. The artistic word provides not only themes for TPI artists, but sometimes construction features literary texts suggest the artistic decision itself. Poetic rhythm of A.S. Pushkin served as a feature for masters of lacquer painting that helped them find the desired compositional solution. The mood of the verse was conveyed by the artist using visual arts: rhythm, lines, color. And the poet himself often turned to oral folk art. Thus, “The Tale of the Priest and His Worker Balda” and partly “The Tale of the Dead Princess” were created on the basis of oral tales he had previously heard. Pushkin's activities in this direction were continued by N. Gogol, V. Zhukovsky, V. Dal, A. Afanasyev.

By turning to oral folk art or traditional folk art, a modern researcher can obtain important historical and ethnographic information. For example, poetic descriptions of clothing and home decoration can be found in ancient epics and legends. In the chronicles you can read descriptions of decorative decoration, the so-called “patterned”. It also contains detailed information about ritual life. Similar scenes can be found on jewelry (bracelets). Artistic images on objects of peasant life help to reveal the ritual character. The artistic word and artistic image are inexhaustible sources of poetic inspiration.

A modern researcher, turning to such ancient sources, may be faced with the problem of correctly reading texts that are gradually becoming more and more distant from us in time and language availability. In this regard, today we often do not have a common opinion about this or that monument of ancient Russian culture. A similar conclusion can be drawn by turning to modern scientific, and more often pseudo-scientific, research devoted to the symbolism of folk art. Of course, our contemporary, who turned to traditional art, has a worldview different from the worldview ancient artist. Having lost such a sense of the world, a contemporary lost the opportunity to see the world as it seemed to a person of the Middle Ages - a world full of secrets, inexplicable danger and at the same time pristine beauty. Such a worldview can be called childish, open. Modern man of the era of scientific and technological progress has deprived himself of the enormous joy of belonging to the world. The value of Russian antiquity is that it gives a person of the 21st century the opportunity to enter this rich, aesthetically filled, but already forgotten world. The immediate fantastic, mythical worldview that is given to a child is especially valuable for an artist. This aesthetic perception objects of traditional art fills a person on a spiritual level, awakening in him feelings of beauty and harmony. If for the ancient author, each symbol was identical to the subject, then for a modern researcher, in order to comprehend the full depth of a work of folk art, it is required necessary knowledge, and this knowledge is obtained in the same painstaking way as knowledge in the field of any exact science. The loss of the original meanings of the symbols led to a number of fabulous sayings. Each symbol is associated with a myth, A.N. Afanasiev proposed tracing the life of a myth back to its original meaning, while paying attention to the following circumstances:

a) fragmentation of mythical tales among different peoples and at different times;

b) bringing myths down to earth and attaching them to a specific area and historical events, which is why ancient myths began to be understood literally;

c) moral motivation of myths, when the instructions of myths are taken as evidence of the real life of the gods and for edifying purposes one reaction is used that is most suitable to the requirements of modern morality. Selected legends are transformed into a system, a teaching, new ideas spiritualize the myth, elevating it to the spiritual. It is impossible to understand old images without studying folklore and other ethnographic material. The symbols gradually acquired epithets, which in turn took on the meaning of the symbol. The former original meanings of many symbols, their connections have now completely lost their original meaning. The study of the symbolism of oral folk art is a complex and painstaking work of philologists.

The language of traditional Russian culture affects us precisely with that part that unites modern man with our ancestors, and which is associated with our ability to experience aesthetic emotions. And here, looking at any image on a piece of folk art can evoke in us the same aesthetic feelings as reading a folk tale. This opportunity is provided to us by the multifunctionality of any art, which continues its impact, even having lost its original purpose and even meaning. Interaction different types art in this regard provides us additional features to research and understand the culture of a particular period.

Pavel Florensky, who deeply studied the ancient icon, with his works “Iconostasis” and “Reverse Perspective”, proved the need for the relationship between oral and artistic creativity for any researcher in the field of art. In 1925, he wrote the work “Names,” which reveals the spiritual meaning of the name, in which the essence of the person and the object is hidden. We see the inseparability of the artistic word and the artistic image in the heritage of many artists of the early 20th century: K. Malevich, K. Petrov-Vodkin, M. Larionov, P. Kandinsky and others, who expressed their ideas in the language of painting and literature.

The mutual influence of the artistic word and artistic image today is no longer just a topic for an article, but an urgent problem modern culture. Understanding the importance of this problem is the first step towards reviving the spirituality of Russian art.

List of used literature:

1. Buslaev F.I. Healing the tongue. Experience of national identity. Works different years/ composed by A.A. Czech. - St. Petersburg: Bibliopolis Publishing House, 2005.- 520 p.

2.Vasilenko V.M. Russian applied art. Origins and formation / V.M. Vasilenko - M.: Art, 1977. - 463 p.

3. Likhacheva V.D., Likhachev D.S. The artistic heritage of Ancient Rus' and modernity / V.D. Likhacheva, D.S. Likhachev. - L.: Nauka, 1971.- 120 pp., ill.

1. Potebnya A.A. Symbol and myth in folk culture / comp. A.L. Toporkov. - M.: Labyrinth, 2007. - 480 p.

5.Russian oral folk art. Reader on folklore: textbook. allowance / comp. SOUTH. Kruglov, O.Yu. Kruglov, T.V. Smirnova. - M.: Higher School, 2003. - 710 p.