The World of Art of the Centenary of the Exhibition: Russian and Finnish Artists 1898 (Ateneum publications) [Hardcover]

Solli Sinisalo (Author), Vladimir Lenyashin (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, Finnish, German, Russian

Product Details

• Hardcover: 333 pages
• Publisher: Gosudarstvennyj Russkij Muzej (January 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 5900872815
• ISBN-13: 978-5900872810
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,972,346 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "The World of Art" revisited, October 29, 2001

By 

Mihcael E. Donnelly (Savannah, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The World of Art of the Centenary of the Exhibition: Russian and Finnish Artists 1898 (Ateneum publications) (Hardcover)

The World of Art (Mir Iskusstva) is the stuff of legends. The World of Art refers to both an artistic journal and an art movement that held sway in Russia at almost the same time. The movement was a break from the traditions of the fabulous "Wandering Artists (Peredvizniki). That group of artists was absolutely the most dominant in Russian art for more than thirty years. In order to understand the impact of the artistic movement "World of Art" we must go back some thirty years before to divulge some information about the existing order that was the Wandering Artistic Group.

The Wanderers were the first Russian artists to move out from under the umbrella of the Russian Imperial Academy of Arts so that they could paint what they saw as opposed to classical art that forced them to paint subject matters in the style of ancient Greek and Roman art. These painters became a part of the movement by the Russian intelligentsia that wanted to expose the injustices of the prevailing social order. They insisted on painting Russian life as it was. They became marvelous plein air painters depicting for the first time Russian nature in all of aspects. They took portraiture art to new heights and incorporated drawings as a pure art form for the first time in Russian art history. Before this drawings were used only as preparation for the main painting which was to follow.

The Wanderers boasted some of the most famous artists in all of Russian art history. Names such as Repin, Savitski, Savrasov, Surikov, Levitan, Makovsky, Yaroshenko, Shishken, Kunji, Ghe, and Kramskoi among many others. They painted the paintings that most Russian art critics would consider to be the very best of what Russian oil painting has to offer. For over thirty years and numerous exhibitions the work of these artists were all that mattered to the people of Russia. After some years of open conflict with the government and the Imperial Academy, it was the government that submitted to the artists. You must understand this before you can realize how important the World of Art was. It was incredibly important, if only for the reason that it supplemented the Peredvizniki. In reality it was far more that. Whereas names such as the art critic Stasov, and the great collect Tretyakov are indelibly linked to the Wanderers, equally important names such as Sergei Diaghilev and Leon Bakst are just as cemented to the movement known as the World of Art.

The World of Art appealed to a new and younger group of artists. They wanted even more freedom of expression and to paint something new and fresh. The icons of their movement were Serov, Kustodiev, Vrubel, Benois, Somov, Ryabushkin, Korovin, and Petrov Vodkin, and again many others. The World of Art brought a new focus on art that ranged from the sublime to the fantastic. In addition the World of Art incorporated the Russes Ballet and a new emphasis on Russian theater art. The world of art went to Paris and London and demonstrated to Europe that Russian artists ranked among the best in the world. It is safe to speculate that the reign of dominance of the members of the World of Art would have had a grater life span if it had not been for the Russian revolution and the subsequent turn to social painting that followed.

This book is rich in its art and its information. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in either art or Russia. The plates of the paintings are spectacular and should make anyone hungry for a trip to Russia and the Russian State Museum of Art.

5.0 out of 5 stars "The World of Art" revisited, October 29, 2001

By 

Mihcael E. Donnelly (Savannah, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The World of Art of the Centenary of the Exhibition: Russian and Finnish Artists 1898 (Ateneum publications) (Hardcover)

The World of Art (Mir Iskusstva) is the stuff of legends. The World of Art refers to both an artistic journal and an art movement that held sway in Russia at almost the same time. The movement was a break from the traditions of the fabulous "Wandering Artists (Peredvizniki). That group of artists was absolutely the most dominant in Russian art for more than thirty years. In order to understand the impact of the artistic movement "World of Art" we must go back some thirty years before to divulge some information about the existing order that was the Wandering Artistic Group.

The Wanderers were the first Russian artists to move out from under the umbrella of the Russian Imperial Academy of Arts so that they could paint what they saw as opposed to classical art that forced them to paint subject matters in the style of ancient Greek and Roman art. These painters became a part of the movement by the Russian intelligentsia that wanted to expose the injustices of the prevailing social order. They insisted on painting Russian life as it was. They became marvelous plein air painters depicting for the first time Russian nature in all of aspects. They took portraiture art to new heights and incorporated drawings as a pure art form for the first time in Russian art history. Before this drawings were used only as preparation for the main painting which was to follow.

The Wanderers boasted some of the most famous artists in all of Russian art history. Names such as Repin, Savitski, Savrasov, Surikov, Levitan, Makovsky, Yaroshenko, Shishken, Kunji, Ghe, and Kramskoi among many others. They painted the paintings that most Russian art critics would consider to be the very best of what Russian oil painting has to offer. For over thirty years and numerous exhibitions the work of these artists were all that mattered to the people of Russia. After some years of open conflict with the government and the Imperial Academy, it was the government that submitted to the artists. You must understand this before you can realize how important the World of Art was. It was incredibly important, if only for the reason that it supplemented the Peredvizniki. In reality it was far more that. Whereas names such as the art critic Stasov, and the great collect Tretyakov are indelibly linked to the Wanderers, equally important names such as Sergei Diaghilev and Leon Bakst are just as cemented to the movement known as the World of Art.

The World of Art appealed to a new and younger group of artists. They wanted even more freedom of expression and to paint something new and fresh. The icons of their movement were Serov, Kustodiev, Vrubel, Benois, Somov, Ryabushkin, Korovin, and Petrov Vodkin, and again many others. The World of Art brought a new focus on art that ranged from the sublime to the fantastic. In addition the World of Art incorporated the Russes Ballet and a new emphasis on Russian theater art. The world of art went to Paris and London and demonstrated to Europe that Russian artists ranked among the best in the world. It is safe to speculate that the reign of dominance of the members of the World of Art would have had a grater life span if it had not been for the Russian revolution and the subsequent turn to social painting that followed.

This book is rich in its art and its information. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in either art or Russia. The plates of the paintings are spectacular and should make anyone hungry for a trip to Russia and the Russian State Museum of Art.