 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(December 2017) |
Peredvizhniki (Russian:Передви́жники,IPA: [pʲɪrʲɪˈdvʲiʐnʲɪkʲɪ] ), often called The Wanderers or The Itinerants in English, were a group of Russian realist artists who formed an artists' cooperative in protest of academic restrictions; it evolved into the Society for Travelling Art Exhibitions in 1870. [1]
In 1863 a group of fourteen students decided to leave the Imperial Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg. The students found the rules of the Academy constraining; the teachers were conservative and there was a strict separation between high and low art. In an effort to bring art to the people, the students formed an independent artistic society; The Petersburg Cooperative of Artists (Artel). In 1870, this organization was largely succeeded by the Association of Travelling Art Exhibits (Peredvizhniki) to give people from the provinces a chance to follow the achievements of Russian Art, and to teach people to appreciate art. The society maintained independence from state support and brought the art, which illustrated the contemporary life of the people from Moscow and Saint Petersburg, to the provinces.
From 1871 to 1923, the society arranged 48 mobile exhibitions in St. Petersburg and Moscow, after which they were shown in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Kazan, Oryol, Riga, Odesa and other cities. [2]
Peredvizhniki were influenced by the public views of the literary critics Vissarion Belinsky and Nikolai Chernyshevsky, both of whom espoused liberal ideas. Belinsky thought that literature and art should attribute a social and moral responsibility. Like most Slavophiles, Chernyshevsky ardently supported the emancipation of serfs, which was finally realized in the reform of 1861. He viewed press censorship, serfdom, and capital punishment as Western influences. Because of his political activism, officials prohibited publication of any of his writing, including his dissertation; but it eventually found its way to the art world of nineteenth-century Russia. In 1863, almost immediately after the emancipation of serfs, Chernyshevsky's goals were realized with the help of Peredvizhniki, who took the pervasive Slavophile-populist idea that Russia had a distinguishable, modest, inner beauty of its own and worked out how to display it on canvas. [3]
| External video | |
|---|---|
 Newcomer at School by Emily Shanks | |
 An introduction to Peredvizhniki, 12:20, in Swedish with English subtitles. | |
| Interview with guest curator David Jackson, 3:30, in English with Swedish subtitles. | |
| Interview with Galina Tjurak, 2:30, in Russian with English subtitles. Nationalmuseum (Stockholm), 2011 |
Peredvizhniki portrayed the many-sided aspects of social life, often critical of inequities and injustices. But their art showed not only poverty but also the beauty of the folk way of life; not only suffering but also fortitude and strength of characters. Peredvizhniki condemned the Russian aristocratic orders and autocratic government in their humanistic art. They portrayed the emancipation movement of Russian people with empathy (for example, The Arrest of a Propagandist, Refusal of Confession, and They Did Not Expect Him by Ilya Yefimovich Repin). They portrayed social-urban life, and later used historic art to depict the common people ( The Morning of the Streltsy Execution by Vasily Surikov).
During their blossoming (1870–1890), the Peredvizhniki society developed an increasingly wider scope, with more natural and free images. In contrast to the traditional dark palette of the time, they chose a lighter palette, with a freer manner in their technique. They worked for naturalness in their images, and the depiction of people's relationship with their surroundings. The society united most of the highly talented artists of the country. Among Peredvizhniki there were artists of Ukraine, Latvia, and Armenia. The society also showed the work of Mark Antokolski, Vasili Vereshchagin, and Andrei Ryabushkin. The work of the critic and democrat Vladimir Stasov was important for the development of Peredvizhniki's art. [1] Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov showed the work of these artists in his gallery and gave them important material and moral support. [4]
Landscape painting flourished in the 1870s and 1880s. Peredvizhniki painted mainly landscapes; some, like Polenov, used plein air technique. Two painters, Ivan Shishkin and Isaak Levitan, painted only landscapes of Russia. Shishkin is still considered to be the Russian "Singer of forest", while Levitan's landscapes are famous for their intense moods. The Russian landscape gained importance as a national icon after Peredvizhniki. [5]
Peredvizhniki painted landscapes to explore the beauty of their own country and encourage ordinary people to love and preserve it. Levitan once said, "I imagine such a gracefulness in our Russian land – overflowing rivers bringing everything back to life. There is no country more beautiful than Russia! There can be a true landscapist only in Russia". Peredvizhniki gave a national character to landscapes, so people of other nations could recognize Russian landscape. The landscapes of Peredvizhniki are the symbolic embodiments of Russian nationality. [2]
Even though the number of travelling exhibition visitors from the provinces was increasing during the years, the main audience was the urban elite. Local photographers created the first reproductions of Peredvizhniki's paintings, which helped popularize the works and could be bought at exhibitions. Niva magazine also published illustrated articles about the exhibitions. Since 1898 the landscapes of the society have been used in the postcard industry. Various books of poems were published with the illustrations of landscapes. Ordinary Russian people at that time could not afford to go to Moscow or Saint Petersburg, so popularization of Russian art made them familiar with a number of Russian art masterpieces. Even now publishers use the reproductions in textbooks as a visual icon of national identity. [4]
As the authority and public influence of the society steadily grew, government officials had to stop their efforts to repress the members. Attempts were made to subordinate their activity, and raise the falling value of Academy of Arts-sanctioned works. By the 1890s, the Academy of Arts structure was including Peredvizhniki art in its classes and history, and the influence of the artists showed in national art schools. [6]
![Artel of Artists (1863-1864) (from left to right): Bogdan Wenig, Firs Zhuravlev, Alexander Ivanovich Morozov, Kirill Lemokh, Ivan Kramskoi, Alexander Litovchenko, Konstantin Makovsky, Nikolai Dmitriev-Orenburgsky, Nikolai Petrovich Petrov, Vasily Kreitan, Mikhail Peskov, Nikolay Shustov, Alexei Korzukhin, Alexander Konstantinovich Grigoryev [ru] Artel of Artists.jpg](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c7/Artel_of_Artists.jpg/350px-Artel_of_Artists.jpg)
![The Peredvizhniki (1885) (from left to right): Grigoriy Myasoyedov, Konstantin Savitsky, Vasily Polenov, Sergey Ammosov [ru], Alexander Kiselyov, Yefim Volkov, Nikolai Nevrev, Vasily Surikov, Vladimir Makovsky, Alexander Litovchenko, Ivan Shishkin, Kirill Lemokh, Ivan Kramskoi, Nikolai Yaroshenko, Ilya Repin, Pavel Brullov, Ivanov (manager of Peredvizhniki cooperative), Nikolay Makovsky, Alexander Beggrov Peredvizhniki.jpg](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/37/Peredvizhniki.jpg/350px-Peredvizhniki.jpg)
Peredvizhniki artists included: [6]
Pavel Mikhaylovich Tretyakov was a Russian businessman, patron of art, collector, and philanthropist who gave his name to the Tretyakov Gallery and Tretyakov Drive in Moscow. His brother Sergei Tretyakov was also a famous patron of art and a philanthropist.
Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov was a Russian landscape painter associated with the Peredvizhniki movement of realist artists. His contemporaries would call him the “Knight of Beauty” as he embodied both European and Russian traditions of painting. His vision of life was summarized as following: “Art should promote happiness and joy”. As a painter and a humanist, he would truly believe in the civilizing mission of Art, Culture and Education.
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 University Ivan 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.
Pavel Petrovich Chistyakov was a Russian Imperial painter and art teacher; known for historical and genre scenes as well as portraits.
The State Tretyakov Gallery is an art gallery in Moscow, Russia, which is considered the foremost depository of Russian fine art in the world.
Viktor Mikhaylovich Vasnetsov was a Russian artist who specialized in mythological and historical subjects. He is considered the co-founder of Russian folklorist and romantic nationalistic painting, and a key figure in the Russian revivalist movement.
Fyodor Alexandrovich Vasilyev was a Russian Imperial landscape painter who introduced the lyrical landscape style in Russian art.
Konstantin Apollonovich Savitsky was a Russian realist painter born in the city of Taganrog in the village Frankovka or Baronovka, named after former governor Otto Pfeilizer-Frank. Today this area is occupied by the Taganrog Iron and Steel Factory TAGMET.
Konstantin Alekseyevich Korovin was a leading Russian Impressionist painter.
Emily Shanks, also known as Emiliya Yakovlevna Shanks, was a British painter living in Moscow. She was the first woman to be elected to the Russian Society for Travelling Art Exhibitions or Peredvizhniki.
Taganrog Museum of Art was officially inaugurated in 1968, but the basis of the museum collection was formed by the end of the 19th century, when the art department of the Taganrog's city museum was established.
Rafail Sergeevich Levitsky was a Russian Empire and Soviet genre, romantic, and impressionist artist who was an active participant in the Peredvizhniki (Itinerant) Movement.
Lev Lvovich Kamenev, was a Russian landscape painter.
Piotr Petrovich Litvinsky was a Russian Soviet realist painter and art teacher, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation, who lived and worked in Saint Petersburg and Moscow. He was a member of the Saint Petersburg Union of Artists, and regarded as one of representatives of the Leningrad school of painting, most famous for his cityscapes and historical paintings.
The Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture also known by the acronym MUZHZV, was one of the largest educational institutions in Russia. The school was formed by the 1865 merger of a private art college, established in Moscow in 1832, and the Palace School of Architecture, established in 1749 by Dmitry Ukhtomsky. By the end of the 19th-century, it vied with the state-run St. Petersburg Academy of Arts for the title of the largest art school in the country. In the 20th century, art and architecture separated again, into the Surikov Art Institute in Moscow and the Moscow Architectural Institute ; the latter occupies the historical School buildings in Rozhdestvenka Street.
The year 1954 was marked by many events that left an imprint on the history of Soviet and Russian Fine Arts.
Odesa National Fine Arts Museum or Odesa National Art Museum is one of the principal art galleries of the city of Odesa. Founded in 1899, it occupies the Potocki Palace, itself a monument of early 19th century architecture. The museum now houses more than 10 thousand pieces of art, including paintings by some of the best-known Russian and Ukrainian artists of late 19th and early 20th century. It is the only museum in Odesa that has free entrance day every last Sunday of the month.
Vasily Vasilievich Pereplyotchikov (Russian: Васи́лий Васи́льевич Переплётчиков; was a Russian landscape painter; associated with the Peredvizhniki from 1893 to 1901.
Vladimir Ivanovich Kozlovsky was a Russian Impressionist painter.
 | ||
| General | |
|---|---|
| National libraries | |
| Other | |
