Who coined the term "Silver Age"? Golden and Silver Ages of Russian Poetry Connection between the Golden and Silver Ages

About the Silver Age

Poets and writers of the 19th century gave Russian literature a great impetus in the development: they brought it to the world level and created works that are still considered the most fundamental in the history of Russian literature. This age was called the Golden Age; it ended by the beginning of the 20th century. However, literature itself continued to strive forward and took on more and more new forms, and the Golden Age was followed by the Silver Age.

Definition 1

The Silver Age is the conventional name for a period in the development of Russian poetry, characterized by the emergence of a large number of poets and poetic movements who were looking for new poetic forms and proposing new aesthetic ideals.

The Silver Age can be safely called the heir to the Golden Age. Poets of the late 19th and early 20th centuries relied on the works of A.S. Pushkin and the poets of Pushkin’s circle, as well as the work of F.I., who wrote somewhat later. Tyutcheva, A.A. Fet and N.A. Nekrasova.

If practically no questions arise with defining the chronological framework of the Golden Age, then the boundaries of the Silver Age still remain blurred. Most literary scholars agree that this milestone in the history of Russian poetry begins at the turn of the 80-90s of the 19th century, however, when it ends is a controversial issue. There are several points of view:

Some researchers believe that the Silver Age ended with the outbreak of the Civil War (1918);
Others believe that the Silver Age ended in 1921, when Alexander Blok and Nikolai Gumilev died;
Still others are of the opinion that the Silver Age was interrupted approximately after the death of Vladimir Mayakovsky, that is, at the turn of the 1920-1930s.

Note 1

It is important to understand that if the concept of the Golden Age applies to both poetry and prose, then when we talk about the Silver Age, we are talking exclusively about poetry. This era received the name “Silver Age” by analogy with the name of its predecessor.

Poets of this era boldly experimented with literary forms and genres, creating absolutely unique works that have no analogues in the history of Russian literature. The work of these authors formed such directions of poetry as symbolism, futurism, acmeism, imagism and new peasant poetry. Many researchers say that the poetry of the Silver Age, in view of the historical events unfolding in Russia at that time, was characterized by an acute crisis of faith and a lack of internal harmony.

The most famous poets of the Silver Age are Anna Akhmatova, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Sergei Yesenin, Alexander Blok, Marina Tsvetaeva, Ivan Bunin.

Symbolism

The first direction born in the Silver Age was symbolism. He was the very product of the crisis that engulfed the Russian Empire. However, its formation was greatly influenced by another crisis - the crisis of European culture. The leading minds of the late 19th century reconsidered all existing moral values in their works, criticized the direction of social development, and were greatly carried away by the philosophy of idealism.

Definition 2

Symbolism is a movement in art that was characterized by a desire for experimentation, a desire for innovation, and the use of symbolism.

Russian symbolists, horrified at the sight of the collapse of populism in their country, abandoned the tendency of the poets of Pushkin’s circle to raise acute social issues in their works. The symbolists turned to philosophical problems. At first, Russian symbolism imitated French symbolism, but very soon acquired its own unique features.

Russian symbolism was distinguished by the absence of any single poetic school. Even in French symbolism one cannot find such a huge variety of styles and concepts as Symbolism differed in Russia.

All subsequent directions were in one way or another influenced by symbolism. Some directly inherited his postulates, while others, criticizing and denying symbolism, in any case began their development by turning to him.

At the origins of Russian symbolism were the so-called “senior symbolists”: Dmitry Merezhkovsky, Zinaida Gippius, Valery Bryusov, Alexander Dobrolyubov, Konstantin Balmont. Their followers, the “junior symbolists,” were Alexander Blok, Andrei Bely and others.

Acmeism

Acmeism as a movement became the direct heir of symbolism, it stood out from it and became a separate movement opposing its progenitor.

Definition 3

Acmeism is a literary movement that proclaimed the cult of concreteness and “materiality” of the image.

The formation of acmeism is associated with the activities of the poetic organization “Workshop of Poets”, and Nikolai Gumilyov is considered the founder of this direction.

Acmeists were Anna Akhmatova, Sergei Gorodetsky, Osip Mandelstam, Mikhail Zenkevich and others.

The Acmeists believed that the purpose of art was to ennoble man. In their opinion, poetry had to artistically process the imperfect phenomena of the surrounding reality and transform them into something better.

Note 2

For the Acmeists, art was valuable in itself (art for art's sake).

Futurism

Despite all the eccentricity and brightness of the poetry of symbolism and acmeism, it is futurism that is considered a kind of quintessence of novelty and originality of the Silver Age.

Definition 4

Futurism (from Latin futurum - “future”) is the name of avant-garde movements that developed in the 1910s-20s in Russia and Italy. In other words, futurism is “the art of the future”

Futurists were interested not so much in the content of poems as in their form. Futurist poets proposed not to preserve established literary traditions and cultural stereotypes, but to destroy them. Russian futurism was distinguished by rebellion, anarchism, expression of the mood of the crowd, and experiments with rhyme and rhythm.

The creators of Russian futurism are considered to be members of the literary and artistic association "Gilea", which included Velimir Khlebnikov, Elena Guro, Vasily Kamensky, Vladimir Mayakovsky and others. It was “Gilea” that in 1912 released the manifesto “A Slap in the Face of Public Taste,” in which it called for abandoning attachment to the creations of the past.

Within itself, futurism was divided into several groups, developing this direction in parallel with each other:

Egofuturism, led by Igor Severyanin. It existed for a relatively short time;
Cubo-futurism, to which the members of “Gilea” belonged;
Poetry association "Mezzanine of Poetry", created by egofuturists;
Futuristic group "Centrifuge".

New Peasant Poetry

The genre of peasant poetry was formed in the middle of the 19th century. Some poets of the Silver Age developed and transformed this direction, creating “new peasant poetry.”

Definition 5

New Peasant Poetry is a conventional direction of Russian poetry that united poets of the Silver Age with peasant origins.

The most famous representative of this trend is Sergei Yesenin.

Poets belonging to this movement did not form any kind of literary association; only later they were identified in this category by literary scholars, since all these poets in their work addressed the theme of rural Russia and connections with nature.

Imaginism

Imaginist poets believed that the purpose of artistic creativity was to create an image. The Imaginists, like almost all poets of the Silver Age, were distinguished by rebellion and shockingness.

Futurism had a great influence on the formation of imagism. The starting point of Imaginism is considered to be 1918, in which the organization “Order of Imaginists” was created.

Anatoly Mariengov and Vadim Shershenevich are considered the founders of imagism.

On April 23, the “House of Antique Books in Nikitsky” held the first part of a grand sale of a private collection of rare books, manuscripts, autographs, documents and photographs

On April 23, the “House of Antiquarian Books in Nikitsky” held the first part of the auction “Golden and Silver Ages of Russian Literature. Rare books, manuscripts, autographs, documents and photographs from a private collection." The catalog, containing 473 lots, covered publications of Russian classical literature from the beginning of the 19th to the first half of the 20th century. Particularly noteworthy are the numerous lifetime editions and autographs of A. Akhmatova, A. Bely, S. Yesenin and others. In general, this time the auction organizers seem to have managed to collect for this auction rare editions of almost all authors whose names we know from school and their works which is a calling card and proof of the greatness of Russian culture. Just think about the string of books by A. S. Pushkin from 18 lots, which includes rare lifetime editions. Or 6 lots related to the life and work of V. A. Zhukovsky, including a check for ten thousand francs with Zhukovsky’s autograph dated February 28, 1848 from the Rothschild bank, issued to receive funds for the publication of the collected works of A. S. Pushkin (lot 9).

Among the top lots of the auction, the organizers also named the first illustrated edition of I. A. Krylov’s fables from 1815, in convolution with the book “New Fables of I. Krylov” from 1816 (lot 4).

And also - 30 lots of Yesenian, 24 - editions and autographs of Akhmatova, 29 lots of Blok, 23 - A. Bely, Bunin, Balmont, Bulgakov and further down the list (the catalog ends with publications of authors whose last name begins with the letter “K”).

Standing out from this series are lots related to the life and work of not only writers, but also artists - D. Burliuk, M. Voloshin, N. Goncharova.

Naturally, such a selection could not go unnoticed, and people began to gather in the auction hall of the auction house building on Nikitsky Lane half an hour before the start of the auction. And by the start, at seven o’clock in the evening, the hall was sold out - more than four dozen people. More than 20 potential buyers have registered to participate in the online auction. There were also an unusually high number of phone bidders and a large number (183) of absentee bids. As a result, 291 (61.65%) of the 472 catalog lots were sold for more than 9 million rubles (60.59% of the average estimate). Great result for this spring! The hall showed the greatest activity, taking 137 lots, in second place were absentee bids, which were successful 119 times, 27 lots were sold by phone, 8 went to online buyers.

The first serious purchase (also a record purchase for the evening) took place at the very beginning of trading. Three participants traded for a convolute of two editions of I. A. Krylov’s fables (lot 4) - from the audience, by telephone and in absentia. The auction started at 100,000 rubles; It took the applicants more than ten steps to decide who would get the fables and at what price. The most stubborn participant in the hall turned out to be the one who received the coveted convolute for 440,000 rubles.

After Krylov's fables and a string of documents and publications by V. A. Zhukovsky, in which 3 out of 6 lots were sold, it was the turn to bargain for the books of A. S. Pushkin. Of the 18 lots in the Pushkin section, 15 books found new owners. The most expensive were lots 21 - the first and only edition of Pushkin's poem "Poltava" from 1829 and 24 - the third and last lifetime miniature edition of "Eugene Onegin" from 1837. Both books started at 350,000 rubles each at an absentee rate.

The real battle unfolded over “Poems of Baron Delvig” of 1829 (lot 36) - the first and only book published during the poet’s lifetime, compiled and prepared for printing by the author personally. The buyer in the hall began bidding with an absentee bid of 80,000 rubles. It became clear quite quickly that the participant in the hall would not give up so easily, but the absentee bet, as it turned out, was also designed not for chance, but for a serious fight. The bids briskly followed one after another, and yet the owner of the absentee bid had to give in when a participant in the hall offered 420,000 rubles for the book, more than five times more than the starting price. I wonder how this “showdown” would have ended if the losing participant had not relied on an absentee bid, but had bargained in person?

One of the most successful, when the sale price exceeded the starting price exactly ten times, was the auction for the book by A. M. Poltoratsky “Provincial nonsense and notes of Dormedont Vasilyevich Prutikov” published in 1836 (lot 46). An absentee bid, a telephone and three participants in the hall competed for the lot. The book went to the winner in the hall for 300,000 rubles from an absentee start of 30,000.

Small (5 lots each) selections of publications by N. A. Nekrasov and S. Nadson went under the hammer in full. (Back in 1912, 25 years after Nadson’s death, Igor Severyanin wrote about him rather offensively: “ I’m afraid to admit to myself, / That I live in such a country, / Where Nadson has been centered for a quarter of a century...“It means that he still has fans today!) Almost all of these lots were sold with a multi-stage auction and most of them went to the hall.

“The greatest rarity - published “not for sale” in an edition of 50 copies” - a book of poems by Apollo Maykov “April 30”, 1888 edition (lot 62). From a starting price of 120,000 rubles at an absentee bid, the lot went to the winner in the hall for 360,000 rubles.

The sections of publications and autographs of Anna Akhmatova were met with interest and even enthusiasm, in which 16 out of 24 lots were sold, Sergei Yesenin - 18 out of 30 lots, Valery Bryusov - 7 out of 9. In full - 15 out of 15 lots (from 265- th to 278th) - the publications of I. A. Bunin sold out.

All seven lots (279–285) related to the life and work of David Burliuk went under the hammer with 3–5 times higher starting prices.

For 160,000 rubles from a starting price of 100,000 at an absentee bid, M. Tsetlin’s 1920 book “Transparent Shadows” with illustrations by N. Goncharova and her autograph on the cover was sold to the hall.

They actively bargained for the publications of Kruchenykh, Zoshchenko, Kuprin and others.

The auction took place at a clear, vigorous pace: the presenter took only 2 hours and 20 minutes for almost 500 (!) lots. The house “In Nikitskoye” managed to carry out everything without organizational complications and communication channel failures (except for a couple of small pauses when the online bidding system froze).

People left smiling, feeling quite satisfied. It seems that the organizers, who organized a real literary festival for themselves and all those present, should feel no less pleased.

Yesterday, on April 24, in the auction hall of the House of Antique Books in Nikitsky, lovers of Russian literature and unique publications were treated to a “continuation of the banquet” - more than 400 lots of bibliographic rarities associated with the names of Mayakovsky, Tsvetaeva, Pasternak and many other leading names in Russian literature. The auction has already taken place and, looking ahead, I can sympathize with those who spent yesterday evening not in Nikitsky Lane. We've lost a lot, gentlemen!

Maria Kuznetsova,A.I.

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26.12.2019 Within a few hours of each other, the authorities of Great Britain and France announced a ban on the export from the country of works of art sold at auction to foreign buyers this year.
25.12.2019 What the artist himself is inclined to call the art of appropriation, the French court called the illegal use of an image created by another author
23.12.2019 Works dating back to the early period of the artist’s work were found during the analysis of archives. They were simply forgotten
23.12.2019 Belgian collectors of Russian origin are accused of possession of stolen items, fraud and money laundering
23.12.2019 On December 24, more than 800 lots will be put up for auction with low starts and no reserves. Auction starts at 13:00

20.12.2019 The catalog of the final auctions for the outgoing year includes 389 lots.
20.12.2019 The catalog contains 661 lots: paintings and graphics, antique porcelain and glass, silver and bronze objects, jewelry, etc.
20.12.2019 Buyers - Moscow, St. Petersburg and Minsk. The results for individual lots were published on an unofficial private Instagram account.
17.12.2019 The AI auction catalog contains twenty-six lots: seven paintings, eleven sheets of original and four printed graphics, three works in mixed media and one porcelain plate
11.12.2019 At the auction on December 14, more than 700 lots of Russian, Soviet and Western European art will be presented; one of the sections of the auction will be devoted to second-hand books and photography. Auction starts at 15:00

28.11.2019 A visit to an artist’s studio is an event that can potentially change the lives of both the studio owner and his guest. Not quite a business meeting, but certainly not an ordinary friendly visit. Following a few simple rules will help you avoid getting into trouble in this situation.
19.11.2019 AI publishes opinions and forecasts on the outcome of the struggle for lots at the “Russian auction” on November 25–27, 2019. Specialized auctions of Russian art these days will be held by Christie’s, Sotheby’s and Bonhams
28.10.2019 Art, art market, economics of culture in quotes from interviews with famous people and fragments of resonant publications
21.10.2019 The three-meter painting “Parc des Princes Stadium” (“Big Football Players”) was sold at Christie’s on October 17, 2019 for $22,248,000. With this result, Nikolai de Staël moved to 6th place in the top Russian artists - between Soutine and Jawlensky
18.10.2019 On the occasion of the opening of the long-awaited exhibition “Vasily Polenov” at the New Tretyakov Gallery, AI repeats the article from the “Artist of the Week” section, published on June 27, 2019 11.12.2019 The exhibition dedicated to the artist’s 100th anniversary will be held from December 11, 2019 to March 9, 2020. Besides Soulages, only two artists have received such an honor - a retrospective at the Louvre dedicated to the anniversary - over the past hundred years: Pablo Picasso and Marc Chagall
29.11.2019 Next Tuesday, December 3, an exhibition of one of the best English artists of the 18th century will open at the Pushkin Museum
29.11.2019 December 5, 2019, Vellum Gallery, with the participation of the Foundation. K. A. Korovin “Let’s Save Together” and the “Daev 33” galleries open a traditional exhibition dedicated to the birthday of the wonderful Russian artist Konstantin Korovin

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Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation

St. Petersburg State Educational Institution NPT

Department of Philosophy and History of Culture

Abstract on the topic:

“Golden” and “Silver” centuries in the development of Russian Culture

Introduction

"Modern" in Russian architecture

Sculpture

Artists of the Silver Age

Contributions to the literature of the "Golden Age"

Literary movements of the “Silver Age”

Theater and music

Bibliography

INconducting

The period of the 19th century - the beginning of the 20th centuries absorbed, rethought and developed many trends that had developed in Russian culture in the Petrine and post-Petrine eras, but the main problems of the last century still remained unresolved - the state reorganization of society, the choice between Western and Slavic paths of further development , the situation of the peasantry.

This is probably why not a single century of Russian history has known so many theories, teachings, options for the renewal and “salvation” of Russia; the state has never been shaken by so many social movements: revolutionaries, raznochintsy, nihilists, anarchists, populists, Marxists... This is a complex and controversial period in the development of Russian society. The culture of the turn of the century always contains elements of a transitional era, including the traditions of the culture of the past and the innovative trends of the new emerging culture. There is a transfer of traditions and not just a transfer, but the emergence of new ones, all this is connected with the rapid process of searching for new ways of developing culture, and is adjusted by the social development of a given time.

The focus of Russian culture of this period was a person who became a kind of connecting link in the motley variety of schools and trends in science and art, on the one hand, and a kind of starting point for the analysis of all the most diverse cultural artifacts, on the other. Hence the powerful philosophical foundation that underlies Russian culture at the turn of the century. That is, in art and public life they sought to affirm the individual, or spiritual principle; each person must reveal himself.

I think this aspiration and desire stemmed from such a contradiction in Russian life as the isolation and inaccessibility of high cultural achievements to the bulk of the people. Therefore, art in all its diversity was presented to people as an innovative development of traditional Christian aesthetic values in the aspect of bringing them closer to the realities of modern life and with a focus on the spiritual, scientific, artistic searches and aspirations of people of the 20th century. In order to evaluate the role of creativity of people of art of different directions, their contribution to the formation of a new aesthetics, I would like to at least understand how their views differed, and what role was assigned to a person, what was the subject of their creative research.

The turn of the century is a relative boundary. But they allow people to more acutely feel the passage of time, the movement of life. During such periods, contemporaries sometimes have an intensified sense of the catastrophic nature of existence. The old noble Russia was hopelessly dilapidated. The ancient building was about to collapse. Those who are unlucky will die under the rubble, those who are lucky will remain homeless. Many people felt this. And this feeling penetrated into all aspects of the spiritual life of Russia at that time - from science to religion.

People who retained a simple and clear worldview (primarily socialists, as well as extreme conservatives) did not understand this mood of catastrophism and branded it as “decadent” (decadent). But, oddly enough, it was precisely this mood that pushed a new rise in Russian culture at the beginning of the century. And one more paradox: in achieving the culture of the early 20th century. The least contribution was made by those “optimists” who cheerfully exposed the “decadents.”

In the sphere of culture, the Silver and Golden Ages became a time of unprecedented rise and prosperity for Russia. In terms of the richness of literature, fine arts, and music, this century is incomparable with any other period in the history of not only Russian, but also world culture. If in the 18th century Russia loudly declared its existence to the whole world, then in the 19th century. she literally burst into world culture, occupying one of the most honorable places there. This happened due to the fact that Russia gave the world geniuses in literature, painting, music, architecture, philosophy and thereby made a huge contribution to the treasury of universal human culture. It was during this period that Russian culture, having become classical, created perfect images and works that many generations of people and artists were guided by in their lives and works.

"Modern"VRussianarchitecture

architecture culture acmeism science

At the turn of the 19th century, a new movement emerged in the art of a number of European countries. In Russia it was called “modern”. The “crisis of science” at the beginning of the century, the rejection of mechanistic ideas about the world gave rise to artists’ attraction to nature, the desire to be imbued with its spirit, to reflect its changeable elements in art. Following the “natural principle,” the architects rejected the “fanaticism of symmetry,” opposing it to the principle of “balance of masses.” The architecture of the “modern” era was distinguished by asymmetry and mobility of forms, the free flow of a “continuous surface”, and the flow of internal spaces. The ornament was dominated by floral motifs and flowing lines. The desire to convey growth, development, and movement was characteristic of all types of art in the “modern” style - in architecture, painting, graphics, in house painting, lattice casting, on book covers.

"Modern" was very heterogeneous and contradictory. On the one hand, he sought to assimilate and creatively rework folk principles, to create an architecture that was not ostentatious to the people, as in the eclectic period, but genuine. Setting the task even more broadly, the masters of the Art Nouveau era ensured that everyday objects bore the imprint of folk traditions. In this regard, a lot was done by the circle of artists working in Abramtsevo, the estate of the philanthropist S.I. Mamontov. V. M. Vasnetsov, M. A. Vrubel, V. D. Polenov worked here. The business begun in Abramtsevo was continued in Talashkino near Smolensk, the estate of Princess M. A. Tenisheva. Among the Talashin masters were M. A. Vrubel and N. K. Roerich. Both in Abramtsevo and Talashkino there were workshops that produced furniture and household utensils based on samples made by artists. The theorists of “modernity” contrasted living folk crafts with faceless industrial production.

But, on the other hand, “modern” architecture made extensive use of the achievements of modern construction technology. A careful study of the capabilities of materials such as reinforced concrete, glass, and steel led to unexpected discoveries. Convex glass, curved window sashes, fluid forms of metal gratings - all this came into architecture from Art Nouveau.

From the very beginning, two directions stood out in domestic “modernity” - pan-European and national-Russian. The latter was, perhaps, predominant. At its origins stands the church in Abramtsevo - an original and poetic creation of two artists who acted as architects - Vasnetsov and Polenov. Taking the ancient Novgorod-Pskov architecture, with its picturesque asymmetry, as a model, they did not copy individual details, but embodied the very spirit of Russian architecture in its modern material.

The fairytale-poetic motifs of the Abramtsevo church were repeated and developed by Alexey Viktorovich Shchusev (1873 - 1941) in the Cathedral of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent in Moscow. He also owns the grandiose project of the Moscow Kazan railway station. Built somewhat chaotically in appearance, like a series of stone “chambers” adjoining each other, it is clearly organized and easy to use. The main tower closely reproduces the Syuyumbeki tower in the Kazan Kremlin. Thus, the motifs of ancient Russian and oriental culture are intertwined in the station building.

Yaroslavsky Station, located opposite Kazansky, was built according to the design of Fyodor Osipovich Shekhtel (1859-1926), an outstanding Russian architect of the Art Nouveau era. Following the path of Vasnetsov and Polenov, Shekhtel created a fabulously epic image of the Russian North.

A very versatile artist, Shekhtel left works not only in the national Russian style. Numerous mansions built according to his designs, scattered along Moscow alleys, exquisitely elegant and unlike each other, have become an integral part of the capital's architecture.

Early “modern” was characterized by a “Dionysian” beginning, i.e. the desire for spontaneity, immersion in the flow of formation and development. In late “modernity” (on the eve of the World War), a calm and clear “Apollonistic” beginning began to predominate. Elements of classicism returned to architecture. In Moscow, the Museum of Fine Arts and the Borodino Bridge were built according to the design of the architect R. I. Klein. At the same time, the buildings of the Azov-Don and Russian Commercial and Industrial Banks appeared in St. Petersburg. The St. Petersburg banks were built in a monumental style, using granite cladding and “ragged” masonry surfaces. This seemed to personify their conservatism, reliability, and stability.

The century of “modern” was very short - from the end of the 19th century. before the start of the world war. But it was a very bright period in the history of architecture. At the beginning of the century, its appearance was met with a storm of criticism. Some considered it a “decadent” style, others considered it bourgeois. But “modern” proved its vitality and democracy. It had folk roots, relied on an advanced industrial base and absorbed the achievements of world architecture. "Modern" did not have the rigor of classicism. It was divided into many directions and schools, which formed a multicolored palette of the last flowering of architecture on the eve of the great upheavals of the 20th century.

Over the course of a decade and a half, coinciding with the construction boom, “modernism” spread throughout Russia. It can still be found today in any old city. One has only to look closely at the rounded windows, exquisite stucco molding and curved balcony grilles of any mansion, hotel or store.

An architectural masterpiece is Z. Morozova’s mansion in Moscow (1893-1896), in which the “Gothic hall” amazes with the feeling of authenticity of the Middle Ages. The panels in the “Gothic hall” were created according to the drawings of M. A. Vrubel. Other interiors are decorated in the Empire and “fourth Rococo” styles. In the name of love for an unusual woman, Zinaida Morozova, Savva Morozov built a castle in 1893, the likes of which had never been seen in Moscow. Gothic turrets, lancet windows, battlements on the walls - the house exuded mystery, the spirit of the Middle Ages. No one could have imagined then that this mansion was the first herald of the emerging architectural style in Russia. The customer of the mansion was the famous industrialist and philanthropist Savva Morozov. However, the mansion was built solely at the whim of his wife Zinaida, who did not count her husband’s money, and rumors about the luxury of the mansion quickly spread throughout Moscow (all the interiors were carefully designed by Shekhtel, with the participation of Vrubel). Later, after the death of her husband, Zinaida sold the mansion to the Ryabushinskys, saying that Savva’s spirit would not allow her to live in this house and that supposedly at night in Morozov’s office, objects on the table were moving, his coughing and shuffling gait could be heard.

Sculpture

Like architecture, sculpture at the turn of the century was liberated from eclecticism. The renewal of the artistic and figurative system is associated with the influence impressionism. The first consistent representative of this trend was P.P. Trubetskoy (1866-1938), who developed as a master in Italy, where he spent his childhood and youth. Already in the first Russian works of the sculptor (portrait of I. I. Levitan and bust of L. N. Tolstoy, both 1899, bronze) the features of the new method appeared - “looseness,” lumpy texture, dynamic forms, permeated with air and light.

Trubetskoy's most remarkable work is the monument to Alexander III in St. Petersburg (1909, bronze). The grotesque, almost satirical image of the reactionary emperor is made as an antithesis to the famous monument to Falconet (The Bronze Horseman): instead of a proud rider easily bridling a rearing horse, there is a “fat-assed martinet” (Repin) on a heavy, backing horse. By abandoning the impressionistic modeling of the surface, Trubetskoy strengthened the overall impression of oppressive brute force.

The wonderful monument to Gogol in Moscow (1909) by sculptor N.A. is also alien to monumental pathos. Andreeva (1873-- 1932), subtly conveying the tragedy of the great writer, “fatigue of the heart,” so in tune with the era. Gogol is captured in a moment of concentration, deep thought with a touch of melancholic gloominess.

An original interpretation of impressionism is inherent in the work of A.S. Golubkina (1864-1927), who reworked the principle of depicting phenomena in motion into the idea of awakening the human spirit (“Walking,” 1903; “Sitting Man,” 1912, Russian Russian Museum). The female images created by the sculptor are marked by a feeling of compassion for people who are tired, but not broken by life’s trials (“Izergil”, 1904; “Old”, 1911, etc.).

Impressionism had little effect on the work of S. T. Konenkov (1874-1971), which was distinguished by its stylistic and genre diversity (allegorical “Samson Breaking Ties,” 1902; psychological portrait “Militant Worker 1905 Ivan Churkin,” 1906, marble; general gallery -symbolic images on the themes of Greek mythology and Russian folklore - “Nike”, 1906, marble; “Stribog”, 1910; fantastic and at the same time frighteningly real figures of wretched wanderers - “Beggar Brethren”, 1917, wood, Tretyakov Gallery).

Artists"silvercentury"

At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, significant changes took place in Russian painting. Genre scenes faded into the background. The landscape lost its photographic quality and linear perspective and became more democratic, based on the combination and play of color spots. Portraits often combined the ornamental conventionality of the background and the sculptural clarity of the face.

The beginning of a new stage in Russian painting is associated with the creative association “World of Art”. At the end of the 80s of the XIX century. In St. Petersburg, a circle of high school students and art lovers arose. They gathered at the apartment of one of the participants, Alexander Benois. Charming and able to create a creative atmosphere around himself, he became the soul of the circle from the very beginning. Its permanent members were Konstantin Somov and Lev Bakst. Later they were joined by Eugene Lanceray, Benoit’s nephew, and Sergei Diaghilev, who came from the provinces.

The meetings of the circle were a bit clownish in nature. But the reports presented by its members were prepared carefully and seriously. The friends were fascinated by the idea of uniting all types of art and bringing together the cultures of different peoples. They spoke with alarm and bitterness that Russian art was little known in the West and that domestic artists were not sufficiently familiar with the achievements of modern European artists.

The friends grew up, went into creativity, and created their first serious works. And they didn’t notice how Diaghilev ended up at the head of the circle. The former provincial turned into a highly educated young man with a refined artistic taste and business acumen. He himself did not engage professionally in any type of art, but became the main organizer of a new creative association. In Diaghilev’s character, efficiency and sober calculation coexisted with some adventurism, and his bold undertakings most often brought success.

In 1898, Diaghilev organized an exhibition of Russian and Finnish artists in St. Petersburg. Essentially, this was the first exhibition of artists of a new direction. This was followed by other vernissages and, finally, in 1906, an exhibition in Paris “Two Centuries of Russian Painting and Sculpture”. Russia's "cultural breakthrough" into Western Europe occurred thanks to the efforts and enthusiasm of Diaghilev and his friends.

In 1898, the Benois-Diaghilev circle began publishing the magazine “World of Art”. Diaghilev's programmatic article stated that the purpose of art is the self-expression of the creator. Art, Diaghilev wrote, should not be used to illustrate any social doctrines. If it is genuine, it in itself is a truth of life, an artistic generalization, and sometimes a revelation.

The name “World of Art” was transferred from the magazine to a creative association of artists, the backbone of which was made up of the same circle. Such masters as V. A. Serov, M. A. Vrubel, M. V. Nesterov, I. I. Levitan, N. K. Roerich joined the association. They all bore little resemblance to each other and worked in different creative styles. And yet there was much in common in their creativity, moods and views.

“The World of Artisans” was alarmed by the onset of the industrial era, when huge cities grew, built up with faceless factory buildings and inhabited by lonely people. They were worried that art, designed to bring harmony and peace into life, was increasingly being squeezed out of it and becoming the property of a small circle of “chosen ones.” They hoped that art, having returned to life, would gradually soften, spiritualize and unite people.

The World of Artisans believed that in pre-industrial times people came into closer contact with art and nature. The 18th century seemed especially attractive to them. But they still understood that the age of Voltaire and Catherine was not as harmonious as it seems to them, and therefore the few Versailles and Tsarskoe Selo landscapes with kings, empresses, gentlemen and ladies are shrouded in a slight haze of sadness and self-irony. Each such landscape by A. N. Benois, K. A. Somov or E. E. Lanceray is finished as if with a sigh: it’s a pity that it’s gone forever! Too bad it wasn't actually that pretty!

Oil painting, which seemed somewhat heavy to the artists of the World of Art, faded into the background in their work. Watercolor, pastel, and gouache were used much more often, which made it possible to create works in light, airy colors. Drawing played a special role in the work of the new generation of artists. The art of engraving was revived. Much credit for this belongs to A.P. Ostroumova-Lebedeva. A master of the urban landscape, she captured many European cities (Rome, Paris, Amsterdam, Bruges) in her engravings. But at the center of her work were St. Petersburg and its palace suburbs - Tsarskoe Selo, Pavlovsk, Gatchina. The stern and restrained appearance of the northern capital in her engravings was reflected in the intense rhythm of silhouettes and lines, in the contrasts of white, black and gray colors.

The revival of book graphics and the art of books is associated with the creativity of the “world of artists”. Not limiting themselves to illustrations, artists introduced splash pages, intricate vignettes and endings in the Art Nouveau style into books. It became clear that the design of a book should be closely related to its content. The graphic designer began to pay attention to details such as book format, paper color, font, and trim. Many outstanding masters of that time were involved in the design of books. Pushkin’s “The Bronze Horseman” was firmly connected with Benois’s drawings, and Tolstoy’s “Hadji Murad” with Lanceray’s illustrations. Beginning of the 20th century deposited on library shelves with many high-quality examples of book art.

The artists of the World of Art paid a generous tribute to art, especially music. The decorations of the artists of that time - sometimes exquisitely refined, sometimes blazing like a fire - combined with music, dance, and singing, created a dazzlingly luxurious spectacle. L. S. Bakst made a significant contribution to the success of the ballet “Scheherazade” (to the music of Rimsky-Korsakov). A. Ya. Golovin designed the ballet “The Firebird” (to the music of I. F. Stravinsky) in an equally bright and festive way. N.K. Roerich’s scenery for the opera “Prince Igor,” on the contrary, is very restrained and severe.

In the field of theatrical painting, the “artists of the world” came closest to fulfilling their cherished dream - to combine different types of art into one work.

The fate of the World of Art association turned out to be difficult. The magazine ceased publication after 1904. By this time, many artists had left the association, and it had shrunk to the size of the original circle. The creative and personal connections of its members continued for many years. “The World of Art” has become an artistic symbol of the border of two centuries. A whole stage in the development of Russian painting is associated with it. A special place in the association was occupied by M. A. Vrubel, M. V. Nesterov and N. K. Roerich.

Mikhail Alexandrovich Vrubel (1856 - 1910) was a versatile master. He successfully worked on monumental murals, paintings, decorations, book illustrations, and drawings for stained glass. And he always remained himself, passionate, passionate, vulnerable. Three main themes, three motives run through his work.

The first, spiritually sublime, manifested itself, first of all, in the image of the young Mother of God with the Child, painted for the iconostasis of the St. Cyril Church in Kyiv.

Vrubel's demonic motives were inspired by Lermontov's poetry. But Vrubel’s Demon became an independent artistic image. For Vrubel, the Demon, a fallen and sinful angel, turned out to be like a second “I” - a kind of lyrical hero. This theme was heard with particular force in the film “The Seated Demon.” The mighty figure of the Demon covers almost the entire canvas. It looks like he should stand up and straighten up. But your hands are lowered, your fingers are clasped together painfully, and there is deep melancholy in your eyes. This is Vrubel’s Demon: unlike Lermontov’s, he is not so much a merciless destroyer as a suffering personality.

In 1896, for the All-Russian Exhibition in Nizhny Novgorod, Vrubel painted the panel “Mikula Selyaninovich”, in which he endowed the folk hero-plowman with such power, as if he contained the primitive power of the earth itself. This is how the third direction appeared in Vrubel’s work - the epic-folk direction. His exaggeratedly powerful “Bogatyr”, seated on a huge horse, was written in this spirit. The painting “Pan” is adjacent to this series. The forest deity is depicted as a wrinkled old man with blue eyes and strong hands.

The last years of Vrubel’s life were doomed by severe mental illness. In moments of enlightenment, new ideas were born to him - “The Vision of the Prophet Ezekiel”, “The Six-Winged Seraphim”. Perhaps he wanted to combine, merge together the three main directions of his creativity. But such a synthesis was beyond the power of even Vrubel. On the day of his funeral, Benoit said that future generations “will look back at the last decades of the 19th century. as in the “era of Vrubel”... It was in him that our time expressed itself in the most beautiful and saddest way that it was capable of.”

Mikhail Vasilyevich Nesterov (1862-1942) wrote his early works in the spirit of the Wanderers. But then religious motifs began to appear in his work. Nesterov wrote a series of paintings dedicated to Sergei of Radonezh. The earliest of them was the painting “Vision to the Youth Bartholomew” (1889-1890). The white-headed boy, who was destined to become the spiritual mentor of Ancient Rus', reverently listens to the prophetic words, and all of nature, the simple Russian landscape of the end of summer, seemed to be filled with this feeling of reverence.

Nature plays a special role in Nesterov’s painting. In his paintings she acts as a “character”, enhancing the overall mood. The artist was especially successful in subtle and transparent landscapes of northern summer. He loved to paint Central Russian nature on the threshold of autumn, when the quiet fields and forests were preparing to await it. Nesterov has almost no “deserted” landscapes and paintings without landscapes are rare.

Religious motives in Nesterov’s work were most fully expressed in his church painting. Based on his sketches, some mosaic works were executed on the facades of the Church of the Resurrection of Christ, erected in St. Petersburg on the site of the assassination of Alexander II.

The artist created a whole gallery of portraits of prominent people of Russia. Most often, he depicted his heroes in the open air, continuing his favorite theme of “dialogue” between man and nature. L. N. Tolstoy was captured in a remote corner of the Yasnaya Polyana park, religious philosophers S. N. Bulgakov and P. A. Florensky - during a walk (the painting “Philosophers”).

Portraiture became the main direction of Nesterov’s creativity during the years of Soviet power. He wrote mainly to people close to him in spirit, Russian intellectuals. His special achievement was the expressive portrait of Academician I. P. Pavlov.

Nicholas Konstantinovich Roerich (1874 - 1947) created more than seven thousand paintings during his life. They decorated the museums of many cities in our country and abroad. The artist became a public figure on a global scale. But the early stage of his work belongs to Russia.

Roerich came to painting through archeology. Even in his high school years, he participated in the excavations of ancient burial mounds. The young man’s imagination painted vivid pictures of distant eras. After high school, Roerich simultaneously entered the university and the Academy of Arts. The young artist began to implement his first big plan - a series of paintings “The Beginning of Rus'. Slavs".

The first picture in this series, “Messenger. Generation after generation rose up,” was written in the manner of the Wanderers. Subsequently, color began to play an increasingly active role in Roerich’s painting - pure, intense, unusually expressive. This is how the painting “Overseas Guests” was painted. With intense blue-green color, the artist managed to convey the purity and coldness of river water. The yellow-crimson sail of an overseas boat splashes in the wind. His reflection is crushed in the waves. The play of these colors is surrounded by a white dotted line of flying seagulls.

For all his interest in antiquity, Roerich did not leave modern life, listened to its voices, and was able to catch what others did not hear. He was deeply concerned about the situation in Russia and in the world. Beginning in 1912, Roerich created a series of strange paintings in which, it would seem, there is no specific place of action, eras are mixed. These are a kind of “prophetic dreams”. One of these paintings is called “The Last Angel”. An angel ascends in swirling red clouds, leaving the land engulfed in fire.

In paintings painted during the war, Roerich tries to recreate the values of religion and peaceful labor. He turns to the motives of folk Orthodoxy. On his canvases, saints descend to earth, take away trouble from people, and protect them from danger. Roerich completed the last paintings of this series in a foreign land. In one of them (“Zvenigorod”), saints in white robes and with golden halos come out of an ancient temple and bless the earth. In Soviet Russia at this time, persecution of the church was unfolding, churches were destroyed and desecrated. The saints went to the people.

ContributionVLiterature"Goldencentury"

The 19th century is called the “Golden Age” of Russian poetry and the century of Russian literature on a global scale. At the beginning of the century, art was finally separated from court poetry and “album” poems; in the history of Russian literature, for the first time, the features of a professional poet appeared, lyricism became more natural, simpler, and more humane. This century has given us such masters. We should not forget that the literary leap that took place in the 19th century was prepared by the entire course of the literary process of the 17th and 18th centuries. The 19th century is the time of formation of the Russian literary language.

The 19th century began with the heyday of sentimentalism and the emergence of romanticism. These literary trends found expression primarily in poetry.

Sentimentalism: Sentimentalism declared feeling, not reason, to be the dominant of “human nature,” which distinguished it from classicism. Sentimentalism believed that the ideal of human activity was not the “reasonable” reorganization of the world, but the release and improvement of “natural” feelings. His hero is more individualized, his inner world is enriched by the ability to empathize and sensitively respond to what is happening around him. By origin and by conviction, the sentimentalist hero is a democrat; the rich spiritual world of the common people is one of the main discoveries and conquests of sentimentalism.

Karamzin: The era of sentimentalism in Russia was opened by Karamzin’s publication of “Letters of a Russian Traveler” and the story “Poor Liza.” (back at the end of the 18th century)

Karamzin's poetry, which developed in the mainstream of European sentimentalism, was radically different from the traditional poetry of his time, brought up on the odes of Lomonosov and Derzhavin. The most significant differences were the following: 1) Karamzin is not interested in the external, physical world, but in the internal, spiritual world of man. His poems speak “the language of the heart,” not the mind. 2) The object of Karamzin’s poetry is “simple life”, and to describe it he uses simple poetic forms -- poor rhymes, avoids the abundance of metaphors and other tropes popular in the poems of his predecessors. 3) Another difference between Karamzin’s poetics is that the world is fundamentally unknowable for him; the poet recognizes the existence of different points of view on the same subject.

Reform Karamzin's language: Karamzin's prose and poetry had a decisive influence on the development of the Russian literary language. 1) Karamzin purposefully abandoned the use of Church Slavonic vocabulary and grammar, bringing the language of his works to the everyday language of his era and using the grammar and syntax of the French language as a model. 2) Karamzin introduced many new words into the Russian language -- both neologisms (“charity”, “falling in love”, “freethinking”, “attraction”, “first-class”, “humane”), and barbarisms (“sidewalk”, “coachman”). 3). He was also one of the first to use the letter E. The literary victory of “Arzamas” over “Beseda” strengthened the victory of the linguistic changes that Karamzin introduced.

Sentimentalism Karamzin had a great influence on the development of Russian literature: the romanticism of Zhukovsky and the work of Pushkin were based on him, among other things.

Romanticism: ideological and artistic direction in culture of the late 18th century - the first half of the 19th century. It is characterized by an affirmation of the intrinsic value of the spiritual and creative life of the individual, the depiction of strong (often rebellious) passions and characters, spiritualized and healing nature. In the 18th century, everything strange, fantastic, picturesque and existing in books and not in reality was called romantic. At the beginning of the 19th century, romanticism became the designation of a new direction, opposite to classicism and the Enlightenment. Romanticism affirms the cult of nature, feelings and the natural in man. The image of a “noble savage”, armed with “folk wisdom” and not spoiled by civilization, is in demand.

In Russian romanticism, freedom from classical conventions appears, a ballad and romantic drama are created. A new idea is being established about the essence and meaning of poetry, which is recognized as an independent sphere of life, an expression of the highest, ideal aspirations of man; the old view, according to which poetry seemed to be empty fun, something completely serviceable, turns out to be no longer possible.

The founder of Russian romanticism is Zhukovsky: Russian poet, translator, critic. At first he wrote sentimentalism because of his close acquaintance with Karamzin, but in 1808, together with the ballad “Lyudmila” (an adaptation of “Lenora” by G. A. Burger), which came from his pen, Russian literature entered a new, completely special content - romanticism. Participated in the militia. In 1816 he became a reader under the Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna. In 1817, he became the Russian language teacher of Princess Charlotte, the future Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, and in the fall of 1826 he was appointed to the position of “mentor” of the heir to the throne, the future Emperor Alexander II.

The poetry of Mikhail Yuryevich can be considered the pinnacle of Russian romanticism Lermontov. In the views of the progressive part of Russian society in the 30s. XIX century features of a romantic worldview appeared, caused by dissatisfaction with modern reality. This worldview was characterized by deep disappointment, rejection of reality, and disbelief in the possibility of progress. On the other hand, the romantics were characterized by a desire for lofty ideals, a desire for a complete resolution of the contradictions of existence and an understanding of the impossibility of this (the gap between ideal and reality).

Lermontov's work most fully reflects the romantic worldview that was formed in the Nicholas era. In his poetry, the main conflict of romanticism - the contradiction between ideal and reality - reaches extreme tension, which significantly distinguishes him from the romantic poets of the early 19th century. The main object of Lermontov’s lyrics is the inner world of man - deep and contradictory, of our time.” The key theme in Lermontov's work is the theme of the tragic loneliness of the individual in a hostile and unjust world. The entire wealth of poetic images, motifs, artistic means, all the diversity of thoughts, experiences, and feelings of the lyrical hero are subordinated to the disclosure of this theme.

An important motif in Lermontov’s works is, on the one hand, the feeling of the “immense powers” of the human soul, and on the other, the uselessness, futility of vigorous activity and dedication.

In his various works, themes of homeland, love, poet and poetry are visible, reflecting the features of the poet’s bright individuality and worldview.

Tyutchev: The philosophical lyrics of F. I. Tyutchev are both the completion and overcoming of romanticism in Russia. Starting with odic works, he gradually found his own style. It was something of a fusion of Russian odic poetry of the 18th century and the tradition of European romanticism. In addition, he never wanted to see himself in the role of a professional writer and even neglected the results of his own creativity.

Along with poetry, began to develop prose. Prose writers at the beginning of the century were influenced by the English historical novels of W. Scott, the translations of which were extremely popular. The development of Russian prose of the 19th century began with the prose works of A.S. Pushkin and N.V. Gogol.

Early poetry of A.S. Pushkin also developed within the framework of romanticism. His southern exile coincided with a number of historical events and in Pushkin there was a ripening hope for the achievability of the ideals of freedom and liberty (the heroics of modern history of the 1820s were reflected in Pushkin’s lyrics), but after several years of cold reception of his works, he soon realized that the world was ruled not opinions, but powers. In the works of Pushkin of the romantic period, the conviction matured that there are objective laws in the world that a person cannot shake, no matter how brave and beautiful his thoughts are. This determined the tragic tone of Pushkin’s muse.

Gradually, in the 30s, the first “signs” of realism appeared in Pushkin.

Since the mid-19th century, the formation of Russian realistic literature has been taking place, which was created against the backdrop of the tense socio-political situation that developed in Russia during the reign of Nicholas I. A crisis of the serfdom system is brewing, and there are strong contradictions between the authorities and the common people. There is an urgent need to create realistic literature that is acutely responsive to the socio-political situation in the country. Writers turn to socio-political problems of Russian reality. Socio-political and philosophical issues predominate. Literature is distinguished by a special psychologism.

Realism in art, 1) the truth of life, embodied by specific means of art. 2) A historically specific form of artistic consciousness of modern times, the beginning of which dates back either to the Renaissance ("Renaissance realism"), or from the Enlightenment ("Enlightenment realism"), or from the 30s. 19th century (“actually realism”). The leading principles of realism of the 19th - 20th centuries: objective reflection of the essential aspects of life in combination with the height of the author's ideal; reproduction of typical characters, conflicts, situations with the completeness of their artistic individualization (i.e., concretization of both national, historical, social signs, and physical, intellectual and spiritual characteristics); preference in methods of depicting “forms of life itself,” but along with the use, especially in the 20th century, of conventional forms (myth, symbol, parable, grotesque); predominant interest in the problem of “personality and society”

Gogol was not a thinker, but he was a great artist. He himself said about the properties of his talent: “I only did well what I took from reality, from the data known to me.” It could not have been simpler or stronger to indicate the deep basis of realism that lay in his talent.

Critical realism- an artistic method and literary movement that developed in the 19th century. Its main feature is the depiction of human character in organic connection with social circumstances, along with a deep social analysis of the inner world of man.

A.S. Pushkin and N.V. Gogol outlined the main artistic types that would be developed by writers throughout the 19th century. This is the artistic type of “superfluous man”, an example of which is Eugene Onegin in the novel by A.S. Pushkin, and the so-called “little man” type, which is shown by N.V. Gogol in his story “The Overcoat”, as well as A.S. Pushkin in the story “The Station Agent”.

Literature inherited its journalistic and satirical character from the 18th century. In the prose poem by N.V. Gogol's "Dead Souls" the writer in a sharp satirical manner shows a swindler who buys up dead souls, various types of landowners who are the embodiment of various human vices. The comedy “The Inspector General” is based on the same plan. The works of A. S. Pushkin are also full of satirical images. Literature continues to satirically depict Russian reality. TrendImagesvicesAndshortcomingsRussiansociety-characteristictraitallRussianclassicalliterature. It can be traced in the works of almost all writers of the 19th century. At the same time, many writers implement the satirical tendency in a grotesque (bizarre, comic, tragicomic) form.

The genre of the realistic novel is developing. His works are created by I.S. Turgenev, F.M. Dostoevsky, L.N. Tolstoy, I.A. Goncharov. The development of poetry subsides somewhat.

It is worth noting the poetic works of Nekrasov, who was the first to introduce social issues into poetry. His poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'?” is known, as well as many poems that reflect on the difficult and hopeless life of the people.

The literary process of the late 19th century revealed the names of N.S. Leskov, A.N. Ostrovsky A.P. Chekhov. The latter proved himself to be a master of the small literary genre - the story, as well as an excellent playwright. Competitor A.P. Chekhov was Maxim Gorky.

The end of the 19th century was marked by the emergence of pre-revolutionary sentiments. The realistic tradition began to fade away. It was replaced by the so-called decadent literature, the distinctive features of which were mysticism, religiosity, as well as a premonition of changes in the socio-political life of the country. Subsequently, decadence developed into symbolism. This opens a new page in the history of Russian literature.

Literary movements of the Silver Age

Russian symbolism

Symbolism was the first movement of modernism to emerge on Russian soil. The symbolists contrasted the traditional knowledge of the world with the idea of constructing the world in the process of creativity. Creativity in the understanding of the symbolists is a subconscious-intuitive contemplation of secret meanings accessible only to the artist - the creator. “Understatement”, “secrecy of meaning” - a symbol is the main means of conveying the contemplated secret meaning. The symbol is the central aesthetic category of the new movement. “A symbol is only a true symbol when it is inexhaustible in its meaning,” considered the theorist of symbolism Vyacheslav Ivanov. “The symbol is a window to infinity,” echoed Fyodor Sologub.

One of the foundations of Russian poetry of the 20th century was Innokenty Annensky. Little known during his lifetime, exalted among a relatively small circle of poets, he was then consigned to oblivion. Even the widely used lines “Among the worlds, in the twinkling of the stars...” were publicly declared anonymous. But his poetry, his sound symbolism turned out to be an inexhaustible treasure.

The world of poetry by Innokenty Annensky gave literature to Nikolai Gumilyov, Anna Akhmatova, Osip Mandelstam, Boris Pasternak, Velimir Khlebnikov, Vladimir Mayakovsky. Not because Annensky was imitated, but because they were contained in him. His word was immediate - sharp, but premeditated and weighed; it revealed not the process of thinking, but the figurative result of thought. His thought sounded like good music. Innokenty Annensky, who in his spiritual appearance belongs to the nineties, opens the 20th century, where the stars of poetry flare up, shift, disappear, and again illuminate the sky...

Among the most widely read poets are Konstantin Balmont - “the genius of a melodious dream”; Ivan Bunin, whose talent was compared to matte silver - his brilliant skill seemed cold, but during his lifetime he was called “the last classic of Russian literature”; Valery Bryusov, who had a reputation as a master; Dmitry Merezhkovsky - the first European writer in Russia; the most philosophical of the poets of the Silver Age - Vyacheslav Ivanov...

The poets of the Silver Age, even not of the first rank, were major personalities. To answer the fashionable-bohemian question: genius or crazy? - as a rule, the answer was given: both a genius and a madman.

Andrei Bely impressed those around him as a prophet... All of them, carried away by symbolism, became prominent representatives of this most influential school. At the turn of the century, national thinking especially intensified. Interest in history, mythology, folklore captured philosophers (V. Solovyov, N. Berdyaev, P. Florensky, etc.), musicians (S. Rachmaninov, V. Kalinnikov, A. Scriabin), painters (M. Nesterov, V.M. . Vasnetsov, A.M. Vasnetsov, N.K. Roerich), writers and poets. “Back to national origins!” - was the cry of these years.

Since ancient times, the native land, its troubles and victories, anxieties and joys have been the main theme of national culture. People of art dedicated their creativity to Rus' and Russia. The first duty for us is the duty of self-knowledge - hard work to study and comprehend our past. The past, the history of Russia, its morals and customs - these are the pure keys to quench the thirst for creativity. Reflections on the past, present and future of the country become the main motive in the activities of poets, writers, musicians and artists. “My topic is standing before me, the topic of Russia. I consciously and irrevocably devote my life to this topic,” wrote Alexander Blok.

“Art outside of symbolism does not exist these days. Symbolism is synonymous with the artist,” said Alexander Blok in those years, who during his lifetime was already more than a poet for many in Russia.

LiteraryflowAcmeism(aroseVRussiaVbeginning1910syears)

A group of young poets, opposed to the symbolists, sought to overcome the utopianism of symbolic theory. The leader of this group was Sergei Gorodetsky, he was joined by Nikolai Gumilyov and Alexander Tolstoy. Literary classes were conducted by Vyacheslav Ivanov, Innokenty Annensky, Maximilian Voloshin. Poets studying versification began to call themselves the “Poetry Academy”. In October 1911, the “Poetry Academy” was transformed into the “Workshop of Poets”, modeled on the medieval names of craft associations. The leaders of the “workshop” were poets of the next generation - Nikolai Gumilyov and Sergei Gorodetsky. The question was raised and resolved about the creation of a new poetic movement - Acmeism (from Greek - the highest degree of something, blooming power). Anna Akhmatova, Osip Mandelstam, Mikhail Kuzmin and others became Acmeists.

The first sign of Acmeism, its aesthetic basis, was M. Kuzmin’s article “On Beautiful Clarity.” The article dictated the principles of “excellent clarity”: logical design, harmonious composition; “Clarism” essentially became a call for the rehabilitation of the aesthetics of reason and harmony, and opposed the globalism of the Symbolists.

The most authoritative teachers for Acmeists were poets who once played a significant role in symbolism - M. Kuzmin, I. Annensky, A. Blok. With the name of Gumilyov, we now remember that he was the founder of Acmeism. And he was, first of all, a rare example of the unity of poetry and life. All his years were embodied in his poems. His life - the life of a romantic Russian poet - is reproduced from his works. Gumilyov left us a courageous prediction:

The earth will forget the grievances

All warriors, all merchants,

And there will be, as of old, druids

Teach from the green hills.

And there will be, as of old, poets

Lead hearts to heights.

How an angel guides comets

To a dream unknown to them.

His rhythms have weight. His lines glow and smell fragrant. His intonation led the army of poets, which turned out to be an invincible army. Talent, pure inspiration must, in his opinion, be perfect, and he persistently and sternly taught young poets the craft. The results exceeded all expectations: five years later in Russia, in large cities, workshops of poets arose, following the example of St. Petersburg - from now on it was no longer possible to write bad poetry, the level of masters increased unusually, and those who had talent could show it in perfect form.

He was strict and unforgiving towards young poets and himself; he was the first to declare versification a science and craft that needs to be learned, just as one learns music and painting. He was courageous and stubborn, he was dreamy and courageous. He combined the boyishness and good manners of a young man who graduated from the Tsarskoye Selo gymnasium with a medal, a wandering spirit and the unyielding fanaticism of a poet. He wrote poems, saturated with tart charm, wafted with the aroma of high mountains, hot deserts, and distant seas. A knight errant, an aristocratic order, he was in love with all times, countries and eras.

When the world war began, Gumilyov went to the front. His adventures were legendary. He received three St. Georges, was seriously wounded, but his soul blossomed in daring heroic beauty.

Like a true Russian genius, he had the gift of foresight, predicting to himself in the stunning poem “Worker”:

He stands over a red-hot forge,

A short old man

A calm look seems submissive

From the blinking of reddish eyelids

All his comrades fell asleep

He's the only one still awake,

He's all busy casting a bullet,

What will separate me from the earth.

I'll fall, I'll be bored to death,

I will see the past in reality,

The blood will flow like a spring onto the dry,

Dusty and crumpled grass.

And the Lord will reward me in full measure

For my short and bitter life...

We do not know the details of his murder (the country killed, shot its hero!), but we know that, standing at the wall, he did not even give the executioner a look of confusion and fear.

A dreamer, a romantic, a patriot, a stern teacher, a poet... His gloomy shadow, indignant, flew away from the disfigured, bloody, passionately beloved Motherland...

He wrote books of poetry: “The Path of the Conquistador”, “Romantic Flowers”, “Pearls”, “Alien Sky”, “Quiver”, “Bonfire”, “Tent”, plays in verse; a book of Chinese poems “Porcelain Pavilion”, books of poems “Pillar of Fire”, “In the Middle of the Earthly Journey”, “Dragon Poem” were being prepared for publication...

Imagism. In the first post-revolutionary years, a new literary and artistic movement, imagism (from the French image) arose in Russia - image), based on the searches of the Russian avant-garde, in particular, futurism.

Poetic The group of imagists was created in 1918 by Sergei Aleksandrovich Yesenin, Vadim Gabrielevich Shershenevich and Anatoly Borisovich Mariengof. The group also included Ivan Gruzinov, Alexander Kusikov (Kusikyan) and Rurik Ivnev (Mikhail Kovalev). Organizationally, they united around the publishing house “Imaginists” and the well-known literary cafe “Stable of Pegasus” at one time. The Imagists published the magazine “Hotel for Travelers in Beauty,” which ceased in 1924 on its fourth issue.

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