The Russian Academy of Arts, informally known as the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts, was an art academy in Saint Petersburg, founded in 1757 by the founder of the Imperial Moscow UniversityIvan Shuvalov under the name Academy of the Three Noblest Arts. Elizabeth of Russia renamed it the Imperial Academy of Arts and commissioned a new building, completed 25 years later in 1789 by the Neva River. The academy promoted the neoclassical style and technique, and sent its promising students to European capitals for further study. Training at the academy was virtually required for artists to make successful careers.
Formally abolished in 1918 after the Russian Revolution, the academy was renamed several times. It established free tuition; students from across the country competed fiercely for its few places annually. In 1947 the national institution was moved to Moscow, and much of its art collection was moved to the Hermitage. The building in Leningrad was devoted to the Ilya Repin Leningrad Institute for Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, named in honor of the Ukrainian-born Repin, one of the foremost realist artists in the Russian Empire and Soviet Union. Since 1991 it has been called the St. Petersburg Institute for Painting, Sculpture and Architecture.
In Imperial Russia
The academy was initially located in the Shuvalov Mansion on Sadovaya Street. In 1764, Catherine the Great renamed it the Imperial Academy of Arts and commissioned its first rector, Alexander Kokorinov, to design a new building. It took 25 years to complete the Neoclassical edifice, which opened in 1789. Konstantin Thon was responsible for the sumptuous decoration of the interiors. He also designed a quayside in front of the building, with stairs down to the Neva River, and adorned it with two 3000-year-old sphinxes, which were transported from Egypt.
Ivan Betskoy reorganized the academy into a de facto government department; it supervised matters concerning art throughout the country, distributing orders and awarding ranks to artists. The academy vigorously promoted the principles of Neoclassicism by sending the most notable Russian painters abroad, in order to learn the ancient and Renaissance styles of Italy and France. It also had its own sizable collection of choice artworks intended for study and copying.
In the mid-19th century, the Academism of training staff, much influenced by the doctrines of Dominique Ingres, was challenged by a younger generation of Russian artists who asserted their freedom to paint in a Realistic style. The adherents of this movement became known as peredvizhniki (Itinerants, related to their desire to bring art to the people). Led by Ivan Kramskoi, they publicly broke with the Academy and organized their own exhibitions, which traveled from town to town across Russia. Ilya Repin, Mikhail Vrubel and some other painters still regarded the academy's training as indispensable for the development of basic professional and technical skills.
Higher Art School of the Academy of Arts
In 1893, Imperial Academy of Arts was divided into the Academy of Arts itself, which was responsible for all the artistic work in the Russian Empire, and the Higher Art School of the Academy of Arts, which dealt only with academic affairs. The initiator of the reform was the vice-president of the Academy, Count Ivan Ivanovich Tolstoy.
The Charter, approved at the end of 1893, divided the former Academy into two institutions:
Academy itself (Academic «Assembly» consisting of the President, Vice-president, Conference secretary, 60 Full members and 20 Honorary members of the Academy), a state institution «for the maintenance, development and dissemination of art in Russia».
Educational institution — Higher Art School at the Academy, managed by the «Council of Professors» with the Rector at the head.
Both institutions were located in St. Petersburg in the historic building of the Academy of Arts.
The Big Gold Medal, which granted the right to a foreign pensioner (from three to six years), was awarded in a competition to which the most talented graduates of the Academy were allowed to complete their studies, awarded to the beginning of the competition with the small gold medal of the Academy «For Success in Drawing». Graduates who received a large gold medal remained at the Academy of Arts for another year; they were provided with a separate workshop, materials for work and a generous cash allowance. Those admitted to the competition were obliged to execute the «program», to draw a picture according to the program (creative task), one for all, approved by the Council of the Academy of Arts. The task, most often on a historical theme, was made in such a way that the participant showed all the professional skills and knowledge he mastered during his studies.
After the Russian Revolution of 1917, the Imperial Academy passed through a series of transformations. It was formally abolished in 1918 and the Petrograd Free Art Educational Studios (Pegoskhuma) created in its place; this was renamed the Petrograd Svomas (Free Art Studios) in 1919, the Petrograd State Art-Educational Studios of the Reconstructed Academy of Arts in 1921, Vkhutein in 1928, the Institute of Proletarian Fine Arts in 1930, the Russian Academy of Arts in 1933, and the Academy of Arts of the USSR in 1947. After the Academy's move to Moscow that year, the building in what was then called Leningrad was renamed Ilya Repin Leningrad Institute for Painting, Sculpture and Architecture.
The national academy has stayed in Moscow. In 1991 it was renamed the Russian Academy of Arts. The old academy's art collection, which included major works by Poussin, David and Ingres, was removed to the Hermitage Museum across the river.
During the Soviet era, academies were free of tuition fees as they were financed by the government, but admission was intensely competitive. Many would-be students would apply to the Academy for as many as six or seven years in a row without success. With just twenty places available and thousands of applicants, the competition was brutal.
Graduates of Ilya Repin Leningrad Institute (1930–1950)
Well-known graduates of Ilya Repin Leningrad Institute for Painting, Sculpture and Architecture in 1930–1950s include:
The historic building on the Neva River in St. Petersburg is used for the Repin Institute of Arts (in Russian: «Институт имени Репина»), full name: Ilya Repin St. Petersburg State Academic Institute for Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, in honor of one of its well-known alumni. It is also called the St. Petersburg State Academic Institute of Fine Arts, Sculpture and Architecture (as on its website).
Sergei V. Ivanov. Unknown Socialist Realism. The Leningrad School. – Saint Petersburg: NP-Print Edition, 2007. – p.447. ISBN5-901724-21-6, ISBN978-5-901724-21-7.
С. Н. Кондаков (1915). Юбилейный справочник Императорской Академии художеств. 1764–1914 (in Russian). Vol.1. p.__.
С. Н. Кондаков (1915). Юбилейный справочник Императорской Академии художеств. 1764–1914 (in Russian). Vol.2. p.__.
Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin was a Russian landscape painter closely associated with the Peredvizhniki movement.
Alexander Sergeevich Stolbov is a Soviet Russian painter and art teacher, living and working in Saint Petersburg. He is a member of the Saint Petersburg Union of Artists, regarded as one of representatives of the Leningrad school of painting, most known for his portraits.
Elena Konstantinovna Gorokhova was a Russian painter, living and working in Saint Petersburg, regarded as one of representatives of the Leningrad School of Painting.
Vitaly Ivanovich Tulenev was a Soviet Russian painter, watercolorist, graphic artist, art teacher, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, lived and worked in Saint Petersburg, regarded as one of the leading representatives of the "left" wing of the Leningrad school of painting.
Alexander Tikhonovich Pushnin was a Soviet, Russian painter, Doctor of Art-criticism, professor of the Repin Institute of Arts, lived and worked in Leningrad, member of the Leningrad Union of Artists, regarded as one of the representatives of the Leningrad school of painting, most famous for his portrait and historical painting.
Yuri Mikhailovich Neprintsev was a Soviet and Russian painter, graphic artist, art teacher, professor of the Repin Institute of Arts, and a member of the Academy of Arts of the USSR. He is regarded by art historian Sergei V. Ivanov as one of the brightest representatives of the Leningrad School of Painting, most famous for his genre and battle paintings.
Lev Nikolaevich Orekhov was a Russian Soviet painter, who lived and worked in Leningrad. He was regarded as one of the representatives of the Leningrad school of painting.
Maria Leonidovna Rudnitskaya was a Russian Soviet realist painter, graphic artist, and art teacher, who lived and worked in Leningrad. She was a member of the Leningrad Union of Artists, regarded as one of representatives of the Leningrad school of painting.
Piotr Petrovich Belousov was a Ukrainian and Russian graphic artist, painter, art teacher, professor of the Ilya Repin Leningrad Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, People's Artist of the USSR, corresponding member of the Academy of Arts of the USSR, who lived and worked in Leningrad. He was regarded as one of the brightest representatives of the Leningrad school of painting, being most famous for his portraits and historical paintings.
Yuri Vladimirovich Belov was a Russian Soviet realist painter, who lived and worked in Saint Petersburg. He was a member of the Saint Petersburg Union of Artists, and regarded by art historian Sergei V. Ivanov as one of the representatives of the Leningrad school of painting, most famous for his historical and genre paintings.
Ruben Agasievich Zakharian was a Russian painter, who lived and worked in Leningrad. He was a member of the Leningrad Union of Artists, and regarded as one of the representatives of the Leningrad School of Painting.
Natalia Nikolaevna Dik is a contemporary Russian painter, art teacher, and member of Saint Petersburg Union of Artists.
The year 1954 was marked by many events that left an imprint on the history of Soviet and Russian Fine Arts.
The year 1953 was marked by many events that left an imprint on the history of Soviet and Russian Fine Arts.
The year 1950 was marked by many events that left an imprint on the history of Soviet and Russian Fine Arts.
The year 1948 was marked by many events that left an imprint on the history of Soviet and Russian fine arts.
The year 1922 was marked by many events that left an imprint on the history of Soviet and Russian Fine Arts.
The year 1923 was marked by many events that left an imprint on the history of Soviet and Russian Fine Arts.
The year 1924 was marked by many events that left an imprint on the history of Soviet and Russian Fine Arts.
The year 1928 was marked by many events that left an imprint on the history of Soviet and Russian Fine Arts.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
