XIX century - the heyday of Russian artistic culture

Essay

XIX century - the heyday of Russian artistic culture

1. Artistic culture of the first half of the 19th century

The development of artistic culture in this era was characterized by a rapid change in ideological and artistic trends compared to the previous century and the simultaneous coexistence of different artistic styles. In the artistic consciousness of the first decades of the 19th century, there was a gradual departure from the normativity of the educational ideology that underlay the style of classicism and determined the motives of the hero's actions, primarily civic duty and public service. And as a result, attention to the person increased, and not duty became an important motive for actions.

Romanticism had the deepest influence on Russian artistic culture at the beginning of the century. In Russia, it arose during the turning point of the Patriotic War of 1812. The essence of the romantic style was the desire to oppose the reality of a generalized perfect image a hero whose bright personality and unique appearance did not fit into the framework of generally accepted stereotypes of thinking and behavior. Personality is in contradiction with the reality surrounding it - such is the initial position of romanticism.

Russian romanticism was inseparable from pan-European, but at the same time it had a pronounced specificity, due to the entire course of the previous historical and spiritual development. Attention to national history was characteristic of the entire artistic culture as a whole. Many writers, poets, and composers addressed historical issues. But the Russian artistic intelligentsia, in accordance with its mission as a herald of freedom and liberalism, did not feel any attachment to the abstractions of dreams and illusions, to fantasies far from reality. The surrounding world was perceived by Russian artists of the 19th century as the main subject of creativity. This stimulated the development of realistic education, which was combined with romantic means of artistic expression. Historians of Russian culture rightly believe that romanticism became a link in the general process of development of artistic culture from classicism to realism. It was the simultaneous interweaving of styles in it that gave an excellent artistic result and contributed to the emergence of outstanding works of Russian art.

1.1 Dominance in Golden Age fiction

Literature occupied a dominant position in the artistic culture of the Golden Age. She played the main stabilizing and creative role, since she was, perhaps, the only type of art that could most fully express the needs of her time. The classics of Russian literature have always gravitated toward a voluminous, multidimensional worldview that retains ambiguity and imagery. The classical literature of the 19th century was more than literature. It has become a synthetic artistic phenomenon, it has turned out to be, in fact, a universal form of social consciousness, performing the functions of other types of art.

1.2 The establishment of romanticism

The assertion of romanticism in Russian literature occurred largely as a result of the creative searches and artistic discoveries of Vasily Zhukovsky (1783-1852). Like many young noblemen of the beginning of the century, Zhukovsky began to realize the difference in his views on the world of traditional norms of enlightenment. However, among the existing literary forms, he did not find such figurative and expressive means with the help of which it would be possible to achieve the most complete artistic expression of this new type of vision and feeling of the world. Reflecting the disharmony of the surrounding world, his poetry is imbued with an awareness of the short duration of human existence. The melancholy contemplation of God's world dominates in the writings, with which one has to part without much regret and with the hope of eternal life. Beauty earthly and heavenly, instant and eternity - these are the categories that the poet constantly uses.

Zhukovsky worked in the most different genres. These were friendly messages, romances, elegy, fables, fairy tales. But still, he clearly preferred the ballad. The ballad, which has developed in English and German literature, was an epic work in which fantasy motives are strong. This genre was extremely loved by romantics, not only by poets, but also by musicians. The main features of the genre were preserved in Zhukovsky's work, but they were supplemented by Russian national everyday images(ballad "Lyudmila", "Svetlana", "Cup", "Glove").

Zhukovsky is known not only as a romantic poet, but also as a wonderful translator. Many of his works are free translations of romantic European poetry. He introduced the domestic reader to the best authors England, France, Germany. Thanks to his translations into Russian, Homer and Ferdowsi, Virgil and Schiller were first published in Russian.

Zhukovsky's work captured the world of an extraordinary, internally unique personality of the Decembrist era, recognizing the intrinsic value of each person, regardless of his social status.

1.3 A new way of reproducing reality (critical realism)

The character and content of Russian culture in the first half of the 19th century was significantly influenced by Decembrism, which gave it special features of citizenship and political freedom. This influence of the liberation movement was the reason for the emergence of a new way of reproducing reality, which later received the name of critical realism, one of the main methods in Russian literature of the 19th century. The ideas of struggle and freedom of the individual are reflected in the work of remarkable Russian writers: Pushkin., Gogol, Lermontov.

Alexander Pushkin (1799-1837) became the founder of Russian critical realism. It is with his work that the beginning of the "golden age" in Russian literature is connected, since he, in fact, was the founder of new literature, reflecting Russian activity in unsurpassed artistic images. Thanks to Pushkin, our culture has become an integral part of the pan-European culture and has taken its rightful place in it. Of exceptional importance in this was the creation of the Russian literary language by Pushkin, which contributed not only to the further flourishing of Russian literature, but also to recognition of it throughout the world.

Pushkin created wonderful works of various genres both in verse and in prose: the novel in verse "Eugene Onegin", the prose work "Belkin's Tales", the historical drama "Boris Godunov", the historical story "The Captain's Daughter", the tragedy "Mozart and Salieri" , the brilliant poem "The Bronze Horseman", dedicated to the fate of a small man in a vast empire, lyric poems, etc. However, the role of Pushkin in Russian poetry turned out to be especially important and significant. It was here that he found new artistic ways of embodying human feelings and experiences.

1.4 M.Yu. Lermontov and his boundless maximalism

Pushkin's junior contemporary and successor in Russian literature was Mikhail Lermontov (1814-41), who at the age of 16 announced his mighty talent.

In his early poems, the romantic apotheosis of personality was expressed, a single poetic language was formed, expressive and metaphorical, and the image of a lyrical hero was created. The individual warehouse of Lermontov, the poet, was close to the classical type of romanticism. Therefore, his early works are imbued with a dream of freedom, longing for a rebellious hero.

However, since the second half of the 1930s, realistic elements have noticeably increased in Lermontov's work. The poet's new attitude gave rise to a new type of hero in his works. Therefore, his works were characterized by boundless maximalism, which turned into a thirst for absolute harmony and a complete transformation of the existing world order. This is expressed in his novel A Hero of Our Time.

1.5 N. Gogol. Transition from lyrical romanticism to realism

Pushkin's friend and contemporary Nikolai Gogol (1809-52) gained fame and fame after the publication of a cycle of Little Russian stories "Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka", where he painted a surprisingly romantic picture of folk life. Combining fantasy and mystical grotesque, satire and religious problems, harsh moralism and social utopia, the author poetically conveyed the world of folk beliefs in a combination of fairy-tale and Christian ideas.

In the mid-1930s, Gogol's work took a turn from lyrical romanticism to realism. In this turn, the writer's conviction found expression that the artist cannot remain indifferent to good and evil, he must come to terms with the creative embodiment of his views, help transform life through art. Therefore, on the advice of Pushkin, Gogol begins to write a novel-poem "Dead Souls", the main theme of which was the contemporary life of the writer, which is a blatant contradiction between the spiritual power of the Russian people and their slavish social position. In this work, Gogol demonstrated fluency in a variety of plot layout techniques, using the means of expressiveness of realism and romanticism, turning either to satire, or to lyrics, or to pathos. These techniques helped him convincingly and reliably show the moral character of his contemporary society with such artistic psychological power that many of Gogol's characters acquired a nominal value.

The realistic direction of Russian literature in the first half of the 19th century sought to resolve the irreconcilable conflict between the needs of the country's spiritual life and the reactionary nature of the social structure. Therefore, beginning with Pushkin and Gogol, Russian writers constantly strived to embody in their works a lofty social and humanistic moral ideal.

1.6 New generation of writers 40-50s.

In the 40-50s of the 19th century, a new generation of writers came to Russian literature. This is I.S. Turgenev, I.A. Goncharov, F. I. Tyutchev and others, who also followed this ideal and sought to realize it with various artistic techniques.

2. Artistic culture of the second half of the 19th century

In the first half of the century, social and cultural life proceeded most fully and diversified in the capitals, since all cultural potential was concentrated in the nobility. The nobility was the main carrier of artistic culture until about the middle of the century, when new social and political forces emerged in Russia - raznochintsy, people from new artistic strata, revolutionary-minded intelligentsia, who quickly took a leading position in the cultural and historical development of the country. The new social forces saw their historical mission in solving two main problems - the fate of Russia and the fate of man. The methods of solving these problems have received a varied and spiritual expression. In the work of writers, composers, artists, architects, the solution of these problems and their corresponding expression acquired the features of a new artistic picture of the world, in which there was a reassessment of the social role and significance of all types of art.

In addition, raznochintsy made artistic culture more social in terms of issues and much more democratic in direction and forms. The realistic principle of reflecting life is further developed in it, and the main social conflicts of Russian activity are realized much more actively and critically. Never before has artistic culture participated so directly in major social movements, reflecting in its works all aspects of social life. Hence, its characteristic features have become citizenship, high morality and democratic orientation.

2.1 Critical realism

The style of realism is becoming more and more critical and, as such, becomes the main artistic trend of that time. Critical realism significantly changed the social functions of art, which was supposed not only to reproduce and explain life, but also to pass a "judgment on its phenomena." This function represented a new aspect in the understanding of art.

The literature of critical realism contained a deep and unique content, since it reflected reality and comprehended pictorial phenomena from the point of view of their correspondence to the social process. Huge artistic coverage of life, progressive accusatory spirit, appeal to topical problems - that's what determined the literature of the post-reform period. The ideological completeness, deep penetration into life phenomena, rejection of injustice, the richness of the artistic embodiment of literary works determined the leading role of literature in the development of other types of art.

Russian literature of the post-reform period was a "bright constellation of great names." During these years, the largest Russian writers created their works, whose creative path began in previous decades. The new generation of writers - realists, who came to literature in the 60s - 70s, brought new themes, genres, ideological and artistic principles. Rethinking and reworking the old principles and forms of depicting life led to the development of the genre of the social novel and short story. The greatest achievements in this genre belonged to I.S. Turgenev, F.M. Dostoevsky and L. N. Tolstoy.

2.2 I.S. Turgenev - as a great realist

The work of Ivan Turgenev (1818-83) was largely formed under the influence of the idea of ​​liberal-noble enlightenment, which played an important role in the development of Russian literary realism. The beginning of Turgenev's creative activity dates back to the 40s, when the writer was fond of the philosophy of romanticism. Under her influence, Turgenev's life credo was formed - he was an opponent of violent measures to solve any problems, including social ones. However, the fascination with romanticism is quite fast, and already from the mid-40s, Turgenev's work becomes realistic in style.

At the turn of the 1940s and 1950s, a new generation of intelligentsia, distinguished by sharp radicalism and rejection of serfdom, more and more clearly declared itself in the public life of Russia. Turgenev was the first Russian writer to reflect the views of the "new people" in his novels "On the Eve" and "Fathers and Sons". In them, he showed the inevitability of the historical end of the nobility, reflected the conflict of generations as the antagonism of the worldviews of the noble liberals and raznochintsy revolutionaries. The writer, being himself a nobleman, considered the nobility to be the bearer of the highest spiritual values ​​of Russian culture. In his novels, the writer revealed the best features of the Russian noble intelligentsia, its love for the people, devotion to the interests of the country. However, he understood that the "time" of the nobility was running out, and it was no longer able to actively resist the extremism of the "new people". The writer presented their views as a destructive force that breaks the usual foundations of public life. At the same time, the author himself did not approve of their radicalism, but with sympathy and respect for Ki's moral principles. Not sharing the views of the raznochintsy, Turgenev, as a great realist, shows their courage, selflessness, selflessness.

2.3 F. Dostoevsky and his refusal to romatize the images of the “common people”

A completely different role in Russian artistic culture was played by the brilliant writer Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-81), who enriched world culture with works equal in their artistic power to the works of Shakespeare. Possessing a unique gift of prophecy and the ability to analyze the human soul, the writer professed ideas that went beyond the limits of the conceptions of a specific historical time into the sphere of "eternal" interests of people.

He immediately entered Russian literature as an established master. Already in his first novels (“Poor People”), the writer turned to the problem of the “little man”. However, unlike his predecessors, he does not idealize poverty. The desire to show the realism of life forced Dostoevsky to abandon the romanticization of the images of the "simple house". He portrays them in accordance with the logic of characters and the truth of life, combining good and evil in their characters.

The 60s and 70s of the 19th century became the most important stage in the work of Dostoevsky, since at that time his most outstanding works were created - Crime and Punishment, The Idiot, Demons, The Brothers Karamazov, in which he substantiated and developed a number of deep philosophical ideas. Expressing his disagreement with the existing world order, the writer at the same time denies the violent measures of rebuilding the world. He believes that the special historical path of Russia and the rapprochement of the people with the intelligentsia will help resolve social problems without revolutionary upheavals. Dostoevsky warned that only one social means of combating evil is not enough. He believed that a person necessarily needs a moral support, which he saw in God.

2.4 L. Tolstoy, founder of Russian nihilism

The pinnacle of Russian literature in the second half of the 19th century was the work of Leo Tolstoy (1829-1910), who entered the history of Russian and world culture not only as a realist writer, but also as the founder of Russian nihilism, the creator of a peculiar philosophy and pedagogy. Tolstoy saw his destiny in the criticism of the socio-historical system, as well as contemporary philosophical, religious, and ethical teachings. The writer considered the opinion of the people as the source of his judgments. The theme of the search for a moral ideal, corresponding to the "natural life" of ordinary peasants, runs through all his writings (the novels "War and Peace", "Anna Karenina", "Resurrection", novels and dramas).

Tolstoy's work was devoted to the image of post-reform Russia. In his works, he raised many great questions, conveyed the mood of the masses, their indignation and protest against the existing order. The wide coverage of reality, the deepest penetration into human psychology, the reflection of the history of the people through the private life of an individual, the tireless search for a spiritual ideal - all this makes the phenomenon of Tolstoy a unique phenomenon in Russian and world literature.

3. Artistic culture of the "silver age"

Russian artistic culture at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries is one of the most interesting periods in the cultural development of Russia. This time represents a turning point not only in the socio-political, but also in the spiritual life of the country. The great upheavals that the country experienced in a relatively short historical period had the most significant impact on its cultural development. First of all, this found its expression in the increased interest in the individual, his spiritual world, and, conversely, in the reduction of attention to the problem of sociality in art.

The approximately forty-year period (from 1880 to 1921) in the history of Russia turned out to be an extremely difficult, contradictory, ambiguous and crisis time in many areas of public life.

Russia was then experiencing an incredibly intense cultural upsurge, which was reflected in the concept of the "Silver Age". The expression and name "Silver Age" is poetic and metamorphic, neither strict nor definite. It was invented by the representatives of the "silver age". This name itself suggests a certain opposition to the previous golden age of the Pushkin era, which radiated bright sunlight to the whole world, striking in strength, brilliance and magnificence. On the contrary, the art of the "Silver Age" tends to be only art. The light emitted by him appears lunar, reflected, twilight, mysterious, magical and mystical.

The demarcation of creative forces ensured the "Silver Age" an intense nature of artistic activity. Artists in all areas of art were closely within the established classical rules. An active search for new artistic forms contributed to the emergence of symbolism, acmeism, futurism in literature, and cubism. Their representatives sought to enrich and deepen the artistic possibilities of each art form under the influence of another. The combination of different artistic languages ​​made it possible to perceive the figurative content of a synthetic work from different sides and from different angles of view.

Under these conditions, the artistic culture of the "Silver Age" seems to be a combination of mysteries and contradictions that are difficult to logically analyze. At first glance, it seems that it intertwined numerous artistic movements, creative schools, individual and non-traditional styles - symbolism and futurism, acmeism and abstractionism.

The unity and integrity of the artistic culture of the "Silver Age" consisted in a combination of old and new. The "Silver Age" did not abolish realism in the general palette of artistic creativity. Adherents of the image and study of external circumstances and social root causes in literature. They found the embodiment of their ideas in the later works of L.N. Tolstoy (“Resurrection”, “The Living Rod”), in theatrical dramaturgy of A.P. Chekhov ("The Seagull", "Uncle Vanya", "Three Sisters", "The Cherry Orchard"), in stories and short stories by V.G. Korolenko, V.V. Veresaeva, A.I. Kuprin, I.A. Bunin, young M. Gorky.

3.1 Symbolism

This direction in the development of artistic culture was pan-European, but it was in Russia that symbolism acquired a deep philosophical meaning, expressed in great works of literature.

Russian symbolism was formed in the 90s and received a predominant development in the first decade of the 20th century. By this time, the appearance of symbolist program manifestos, which set out the aesthetic principles of a new direction, dates back: the book by D.S. Merezhkovsky "On the reasons for the decline in the new trends of modern Russian culture" and an article by K.D. Balmont "Elementary words about symbolic poetry." The key word of the aesthetics of symbolism was the philosophical concept of "symbol", which was interpreted as "the connection between the two worlds", as "a sign of that world in this world".

Symbolism included two generations of poets. The first included D.S. Merezhkovsky, V.Ya. Bryusov, K.D. Balmont, in the second - A.A. Blok, A. Bely, V.I. Ivanov.

Dmitry Merezhkovsky (1866-1941) was the first to make the assertion that any artist should proceed in his work from "passionate ideal impulses of the spirit."

Konstantin Balmont (1867-1942) considered art in the same spirit. He defines symbolic poetry as poetry in which two contents "organically", not forcibly merge: hidden abstraction and obvious beauty.

Symbolism as art and poetry received its most vivid and complete embodiment in the work of Alexander Blok (1880-1921). A great poet, he was also a great thinker, a true expressive of the highest insights of national culture, an idol of the intelligentsia. Among his first works, the best were "Poems about the Beautiful Lady", written under the direct manifestation of the ideas of Vl. Solovyov about Sophia, Eternal Femininity. The theme of revolution occupies a significant place in Blok's work. However, in accepting the revolution, he saw that the real revolution was far from his ideal.

3.2 Acmeism

Symbolism in the Russian literature of the “Silver Age” was replaced by acmeism (from the Greek “akme” - the highest degree of flowering). It arose as the opposite of symbolism; supporters of acmeism rejected ambiguity and allusions, ambiguity and immensity, abstractness and abstractness of symbolism. Instead, the acmeists proclaimed the cult of real earthly existence, "a courageous, firm and clear outlook on life." They rehabilitated a simple and clear perception of life, restored the value of harmony, form and composition in poetry. Acmeists brought down poetry from heaven to earth, returned its natural earthly world. At the same time, they retained high spiritual poetry, striving for true artistry, deep meaning and aesthetic perfection.

The founders and theorists of acmeism were N.S. Gumilyov and S.M. Gorodetsky, views and beliefs shared by A.A. Akhmetova, O.E. Mandelstam, M.A. Kuzmin and others.

The greatest contribution to the development of the theory of acmeism was made by Nikolai Gumilyov (1886-1921). He defined this new direction in Russian poetry as its completely new type, replacing symbolism, which does not aim to penetrate into the beyond worlds and comprehend the unknowable.

The beginning of the creative path of Osip Mandelstam (1891-1938) was associated with acmeism, who in his works most consistently pursued a line on the rejection of boundless worlds, cosmic spaces, immeasurable abysses, from everything mysterious, mysterious and incomprehensible. To all this, he contrasts the desire for "beautiful clarity", earthly and human. Mandelstam's poems can be called "poetry within poetry".

3.3 Futurism (cubo-futurism)

Simultaneously with acmeism, another kind of modernism arose - futurism (from the Latin Futurum - the future), which proclaimed a revolution of form independent of content, the absolute freedom of poetic speech. In an effort to create "the art of the future", the futurists declared the denial of not only traditional culture, its moral and artistic values, but even natural language, replacing words with arbitrary sound combinations. This trend was not homogeneous and consisted of several groups, including ego-futurists (I. Severyanin, B. Pasternak) and cubo-futurists (V. Khlebnikov, V. Mayakovsky), each of which claimed the role of the only exponent of the artistic values ​​of genuine futurism. There was another group of absurdist poets (I. Zdanevich), who wrote in an absolutely incomprehensible, absurd language - the Zaumi language.

In terms of its cultural orientation, futurism acted as a kind of rebellion against the respectable bourgeois worldview, against philistinism, although it itself did not go beyond the boundaries of the bourgeois worldview.

One of the founders of Futurism, Velimir Khlebnikov (1885-1922), saw his main task in a radical reform of the poetic language. For this, he considered it necessary to bring science and poetry closer together, since as a result a new mythology and super-language of the future man would be created.

Like no one else, Khlebnikov went beyond poetry. This direction of his work found expression in the book "Time is the measure of the world." He dreamed that in the new world a worldwide brotherhood of people would be established, the harmony of people with nature would be restored (the poem "Ladomir"). Khlebnikov assigned a special role in the reorganization of the world to the poet. He defined this role as missionary, salvific. He saw the poet as finding a psychic who opened the way to mastering the numerical "laws of time."

Among futurist poets, Vladimir Mayakovsky (1893-1930) began his career, who subjected traditional classical art to crushing criticism, as well as modernist trends of modernism - symbolism and acmeism. He acted as one of the most determined reformers of the poetic language.

From the very beginning of his work, Mayakovsky stood out in the poetry of futurism by introducing his own theme into it. He always spoke not only against "all kinds of junk", but also for the creation of a new one in public life. Therefore, the artistic language of his works is distinguished by bright expressiveness, filled with deep drama, originality of graphic construction, thanks to the use of "column" and "ladder". Proclaiming forms to the dictator, Mayakovsky sought to fill his works with relevant life content and meaning (“A Cloud in Pants”, “Flute-Spine”, “Mystery - Buff”).

4. Theater of the 19th century

4.1 Origins of theater

Origins of theater

In winter, sometimes feasts of bachals,

When the maenad is a mad choir

Confusion of funeral cries

The dream of the desert mountains worries, -

On the heights where Melpomene

The terrible voice has long been silent

And between the ruins of the ancient stage

The Bacchic altar has died away, -

In incense and sadness

Calling out to the one whose house this was

A new maenad was crowned

We are the crown of Dionysus:

Weaved fiery roses

With ivy, the joy of impudent bliss,

And on the sheets, like someone's tears,

Trembling, sparkling diamond snow….

Then captivatingly rebellious

You suddenly announced the song

Covered in a veil of snow

Sacred Bacchus semicircle.

Vyacheslav Ivanov

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), a German poet and philosopher of the 19th century, professor of classical (ancient) philology at the University of Basel, called his first scientific work, written by him at the age of 24, "The Origin of the Tragedy of Their Spirit of Music." Indeed, the theater as a synthesis of all musical (and not only plastic) arts, unites many artistic principles, but the origins of the theater are an intoned word.

The roots of the theater go back to ancient times, to the so-called ritual games of primitive man. Reproducing the actions of a hunter, fisherman or warrior, accompanying them with singing, dancing, a person thereby sought to influence the unknown, mysterious forces on which luck in a fight with a wild animal or enemy, a good harvest, offspring, etc. depended. As ancient societies developed, agricultural cults, the cults of dying and resurrecting gods, in whose fate people saw a reflection of the change of seasons, played an increasingly important role in their lives. In ancient Egypt, Osiris was revered as such a dying and resurrecting god, in Syria and Phenicia they honored Adonis, in ancient Greece - Demeter and Dionysus, in ancient India - the givers of the blessings of the rain god Indra, as well as the gods Vishnu and Shiva. As a rule, the ceremonies associated with the veneration of these deities (some of them were called mysteries) lasted several days and some of them were “given” to sorrow and tears (mourning for the dead god), while others were fun and feasts (joy in connection with the return deities). Such ritual games and actions existed among almost all ancient peoples, but their development proceeded in different ways. In some cases, they stopped at the level of purely cult, religious ceremonies. In ancient Greece, theater is born from them. This process was lengthy and complex, not clear to the end in its details until now. But it is characteristic that, even having already formed as an independent phenomenon, the Greek theater retains many features and elements of ancient ritual games, and theatrical performances themselves remain part of a complex and developed cult.

The Greek theater grew out of the rites of veneration of the two most important and very ancient agricultural deities - Dionysus and Demeter. An integral part of such rites were special ceremonies, processions, even whole performances that reproduced certain moments of a particular myth - the mournful wanderings of the goddess Demeter in search of the daughter Persephone abducted by Hades, the joyful return of the daughter to her mother, the solemn and secret marriage of the basilissa queen (chosen from among Athenian citizens) and Dionysus, or the frantic dances of the song of the companions of Dionysus - maenads, silenes, goat-footed satyrs. All this was accompanied by lighting effects (part of the ceremony takes place at night), music, songs, dances, special masks and clothes were used, i.e. all these elements, which then pass into the actual theatrical action.

Such ceremonies and performances were accompanied by almost all holidays, quite numerous, in honor of Dionysus and Demeter. But only for the great Dionysius, the most solemn and magnificent holiday celebrated in March, special theatrical performances became an integral part. (It is believed that this happened for the first time in 534 BC). They took place in the form of agon - competition. Usually, five comedies were shown during the first day of the performance, and three tetralogy, each of which included three tragedies and one satyr drama, were shown on the following days. On the last day, at the end of the performance, the judges named the best performances and awarded prizes.

The close connection of theatrical performances with cult rites in honor of Dionysus has been preserved in many names, terms that have established themselves in that area of ​​art. The very definition of "drama", which unites three ancient theatrical genres - tragedy, comedy and satyr drama, is translated as "action". "Tragedy" is a compound word formed from two: "tragos" - "goat" and "ode" - "song", literally "song of goats". It is believed that this type of drama was named after the chorus, the participants of which, portraying the companions of Dionysus, dressed in goatskins. Accordingly, "comedy" - "komos" and "ode" - "song of komos", i.e. participants in the procession of mummers during the holidays of Dionysus. Satyr (or satyr) drama originates from merry performances, the main participants of which were satyrs, companions of Dionysus, and where the heroes of tragedies fell into comic situations.

During the days of such civil holidays as the Great Dionysius, the daily life of Athens froze. During the week, the inhabitants of the city and numerous guests who came from all regions of Greece participated in solemn processions, sacrifices, noisy feasts, and were present at the competitions of boys' and adults' choirs. On the fourth day of the feast of the Great Dionysius, dramatic competitions began, lasting three days. So that low-income citizens could also get to theatrical performances (and the entrance was paid), during the time of Pericles (he was the strategist of Athens from 444 to 429), they received a special allowance from the state treasury - theorikon (spectacle money).

XIX century - the heyday of Russian artistic culture

1. Artistic culture of the first half of the 19th century

The development of artistic culture in this era was characterized by a rapid change in ideological and artistic directions compared to the previous century and the simultaneous coexistence of different artistic styles. In the artistic consciousness of the first decades of the 19th century, there was a gradual departure from the normativity of the educational ideology that underlay the style of classicism and determined the motives of the hero's actions, primarily civic duty and public service. And as a result, attention to the person increased, and not duty became an important motive for actions.

Romanticism had the deepest influence on Russian artistic culture at the beginning of the century. In Russia, it arose during the turning point of the Patriotic War of 1812. essence romantic style there was a desire to oppose reality with a generalized ideal image of a hero, whose bright personality and unique appearance did not fit into the framework of generally accepted stereotypes of thinking and behavior. Personality is in contradiction with the reality surrounding it - such is the initial position of romanticism.

Russian romanticism was inseparable from pan-European, but at the same time it had a pronounced specificity, due to the entire course of the previous historical and spiritual development. attention to national history was characteristic of the entire artistic culture as a whole. TO historical issues many writers, poets, composers addressed. But the Russian artistic intelligentsia, in accordance with its mission as a herald of freedom and liberalism, did not feel any attachment to the abstractions of dreams and illusions, to fantasies far from reality. The world was perceived by Russian artists of the 19th century as the main subject of creativity. This stimulated the development of realistic education, which was combined with romantic means. artistic expressiveness. Historians of Russian culture rightly believe that romanticism has become a link in common process development of artistic culture from classicism to realism. It was the simultaneous interweaving of styles in it that gave an excellent artistic result and contributed to the emergence outstanding works Russian art.

1.1 Dominant position in fiction"golden age"

Literature occupied a dominant position in the artistic culture of the Golden Age. She played the main stabilizing and creative role, since she was, perhaps, the only type of art that could most fully express the needs of her time. The classics of Russian literature have always gravitated toward a voluminous, multidimensional worldview that retains ambiguity and imagery. The classical literature of the 19th century was more than literature. It became a synthetic artistic phenomenon, turned out to be, in fact, a universal form public consciousness, performing the functions of other art forms.

1.2 The establishment of romanticism

The establishment of romanticism in Russian literature was largely due to creative pursuits and artistic discoveries of Vasily Zhukovsky (1783-1852). Like many young noblemen of the beginning of the century, Zhukovsky began to realize the difference in his views on the world of traditional norms of enlightenment. However, among the established literary forms he did not find such pictorial means of expression, with which it would be possible to achieve the most complete artistic expression this new type of seeing and feeling the world. Reflecting the disharmony of the surrounding world, his poetry is imbued with the awareness of short duration. human being. The melancholy contemplation of God's world dominates in the writings, with which one has to part without much regret and with the hope of eternal life. Beauty earthly and heavenly, instant and eternity - these are the categories that the poet constantly uses.

Zhukovsky worked in a variety of genres. These were friendly messages, romances, elegy, fables, fairy tales. But still, he clearly preferred the ballad. The ballad that has developed in English and German literature, represented epic work, in which motives of fantasy are strong. This genre was extremely loved by romantics, not only by poets, but also by musicians. The main features of the genre were preserved in Zhukovsky's work, but they were supplemented by Russian national household images (ballad "Lyudmila", "Svetlana", "Cup", "Glove").

Zhukovsky is known not only as a romantic poet, but also as a wonderful translator. Many of his works are free translations of romantic European poetry. He introduced the domestic reader to the best authors of England, France and Germany. Thanks to his translations into Russian, Homer and Ferdowsi, Virgil and Schiller were first published in Russian.

Zhukovsky's work captured the world of an extraordinary, internally unique personality of the Decembrist era, recognizing the intrinsic value of each person, regardless of his personality. social status.

Its the best romantic works the second half of the 40-50s are: "Storm on the Black Sea" (1845), "St. George's Monastery" (1846), "Entrance to the Sevastopol Bay" (1851). Chapter 4 Theoretical views of Aivazovsky in modern cultural life In 1930, the first book about I. K. Aivazovsky was published in Feodosia. Its author Nikolay Stepanovich Barsamov (1892-1976) was the first...

years honorary title"Houses of Ostrovsky", Alexandrinsky Theater, etc. In 1898. K. S. Stanislavsky and V. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko founded the famous Moscow Artistic theater who opened new horizons for world culture theatrical art. Russia in the system of modern international relations. The collapse of the USSR had serious geopolitical consequences. Bipolar system...

... "16. These theories are based on the idea that the artistic world created by one nation is incomprehensible to another, that it is inaccessible due to psychological and historical barriers. The history of the development of the musical culture of Khakassia fully proves the inconsistency of these views. Not inventing purely national genres of Khakass opera, Khakass ballet or symphony, but being enriched with well-known experience...

Musicians. In 1908-1913. S. P. Diaghilev organized in Paris, London, Rome and other capitals Western Europe"Russian Seasons", presented by ballet and opera performances, theatrical painting, music, etc. Conclusion Art in the context " Silver Age"is comprehended as the result of God-inspired creativity, and the artist - as a God-chosen conductor of spiritual images expressed ...

DAWN In the first half of the 19th century. in Russia theatrical life is entering a new phase. o were at the wide German kim Formerly the theaters. the Russids that belonged to those in y, various theaters, for example, Apraksin tvoete about the post of Existence (Sheremov was a little Small veins to the kremils of the country and the theater of the far rasp t erburg, Large were resolved, sources of other ). Gosudarstear Petoinsky to the theaters, which were privately owned by the authorities. now ban it

DEVELOPMENT OF DRAMA THEATER Drama Theater developed under the influence of the same trends as literature. In it at the beginning of the 19th century. dominated by classicism and sentimentalism. Romantic plays later appeared. Works by European (F. Schiller, W. Shakespeare) and domestic authors. Especially popular was N. V. Kukolnik, who wrote a number of historical plays. Enjoyed great success satirical comedies D. I. Fonvizin and I. A. Krylov. In the 30s - 40s of the 19th century. influenced domestic literature V theater repertoire realistic traditions began to take hold.

THE AUDITOR'S PREMIERE A big event in theater life In Russia, there was a premiere of Gogol's The Inspector General - first at the Alexandrinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, and then at the Maly Theater in Moscow, where Shchepkin played the role of the Governor. The passage of the "Inspector" through censorship was a hopeless affair. Only the personal intervention of Nicholas 1 made it possible to stage the comedy.

BRIEFLY ABOUT THE CREATIVITY OF M. I. GLINKA v In the same years, on the stage of the Moscow Bolshoi Theater M. I. Glinka’s opera “A Life for the Tsar” was staged (later on the Soviet stage it was called “Ivan Susanin”). v Opera creations of Glinka are distinguished by luxury and brightness musical colors, ingenious lightness of technology and classical simplicity. This also applies to his other opera - Ruslan and Lyudmila. v But if "A Life for the Tsar" was a resounding success, the public greeted Glinka's second opera coldly. Very few people in Russia were aware true value his music. But foreign connoisseurs ( French novelist P. Merimee, composers G. Berlioz and F. Liszt) already at that time highly appreciated the work of Glinka.

AND MORE ABOUT DARGOMYZHSKY Pushkin's plot formed the basis of the opera "Mermaid" by Alexander Sergeevich Dargomyzhsky. This opera also met cold reception with the metropolitan public. Dargomyzhsky's music is not as melodic as Glinka's. But in one respect he surpassed him. Glinka in his operas often limited himself to common characteristic dramatic situation. Dargomyzhsky knew how to convey state of mind each of his characters with an excited musical speech. major representative romantic direction in music was the composer A. N. Verstovsky (opera "Askold's Grave").

v The play of the leading actors was built in the spirit of romanticism, but the influence of realism became more and more noticeable. At the Maly Theater, the master of romanticism was P. S. Mochalov, who played in the plays of Schiller and Shakespeare. The great Russian actor MS Shchepkin became the founder of realism on the Russian stage. He created the image of Famusov in "Woe from Wit" by A. S. Griboyedov and the mayor in "The Government Inspector" by N. V. Gogol. realistic direction on the stage Alexandrinsky Theater developed by A. E. Martynov. v In the repertoire of Russian theaters great place occupied by works on patriotic themes - plays by N. V. Kukolnik, N. A. Polevoy, V. A. Ozerov. Productions based on the works of N. V. Gogol, A. S. Griboyedov, A. S. Pushkin were popular. This period includes the appearance of the first dramas by A. N. Ostrovsky, who opened the world of Russian merchants to society. v Serf theaters remained common. Of the 103 fortress theaters of the first half of XIX V. 53 - operated in Moscow, 27 - in St. Petersburg, the rest in the provinces. The most popular among them was the theater of Count Kamensky in Orel.

The beginning of the 19th century in Russia was marked by a cultural upsurge, called the "golden age". Russian was famous all over the world and was ahead of others in many ways. European countries. Classicism was affirmed in art, which was reflected in architecture, literature, and music.

Under Emperor Alexander I, a policy of "enlightened absolutism" was pursued, aimed at developing education, supporting industry, and patronizing the sciences and arts.

Ascended to the throne in 1825, Nicholas I carried out which relied on the police and the bureaucracy.

Early 19th century architecture

Great influence on different areas art and public life won the Patriotic War of 1812. Therefore, Russian culture of the first half of the 19th century is distinguished by patriotic sentiments. The reflection of those glorious events can be traced in architecture. A talented architect, a native of Andrei Nikiforovich Voronikhin, became the creator of the Kazan Cathedral. It was conceived by Paul I as a semblance of St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome. Voronikhin was able to successfully fit the building into the ensemble of St. Petersburg's central Nevsky Prospekt. The Kazan Cathedral, which became the memorial of the year, became the burial place of Field Marshal M. I. Kutuzov. The decoration of the iconostasis took forty pounds of silver, which was stolen by the French and returned by the Cossacks. Here were kept the standards and banners French troops.

Painting

In painting, the art of portraiture developed. O. A. Kiprensky is recognized as one of the most significant Russian portrait painters of this era. Russian culture of the 19th century developed during the period of political upheavals that reigned in Europe, where Napoleon's aggressive wars were going on. To this period belongs famous portrait hussar colonel of the work of Kiprensky. IN portraits of women Kiprensky conveyed the warmth and lyricism of the images. The artist sought on his canvases to show people who reflected the historical era.

Russia's victory in the Patriotic War of 1812 led to a national upsurge, which was accompanied by a brilliant flowering of Russian culture in the following decades, which really became its "golden age". The science and art of Russia at that time enriched world civilization important discoveries in natural science and masterpieces of literature, music, painting. The works of L.N. Tolstoy, F.M. Dostoevsky, A.P. Chekhov, P.I. Tchaikovsky and other figures of Russian culture made her fame, they are known and popular all over the world.

During this period, the process of formation of the Russian nation with all its inherent characteristics was completed. This served as a basis and at the same time a sign that Russia has taken a worthy place among European states, and Russian culture - among their cultures.

19th century - a time of intensive development of bourgeois relations, especially after the abolition of serfdom in 1861. Changed social structure society, and with it the nature of spiritual production. At the beginning of the century, in all areas of public life, including culture, the nobility dominated, numbering only about 200 thousand people. It formed the upper strata of the intelligentsia. The nobility continued to be the most educated estate, the leading customer and consumer of spiritual values. However, it gradually begins to lose its positions, the role of raznochintsy increases, people from which are increasingly involved in the formation of a stratum of the intelligentsia. The children of poorly educated Russian merchants went to study at gymnasiums and universities. It was from them that they came well-known patrons- P.M. Tretyakov, S.I. Mamontov and others, from merchant families were prominent cultural figures, for example, the writer I.A. Goncharov, artists M.V. Nesterov, I.K. Aivazovsky, poet V.Ya. Bryusov, composer A. G. Rubinshtein, scientist in the field of medicine S. P. Botkin and others.

The bulk of the country's population - the peasants - despite the humiliation of their social status, were also the creators and bearers of the spiritual values ​​that made up the folk culture. It entered as an important element in the national culture and included economic experience, knowledge of nature, traditional medicine; socio-political and legal views, which could seriously diverge from officialdom; traditional moral ideas and norms of behavior; folklore as the most accessible form artistic creativity and satisfaction of the aesthetic needs of the peasantry; holiday and leisure culture; handwritten word. 1 And in the XIX century. storytellers went from village to village, telling fairy tales, legends, epics. Many peasants and townspeople were engaged in woodcarving, sculpting clay toys, painting icons, women embroidered and wove lace.

1 Gromyko M. M. The culture of the Russian peasantry of the XVIII-XIX centuries as a subject historical research// History of the USSR. 1987. No. 3.

The urban "bookish" culture gradually penetrated into the people's environment; among the peasants were literate, some had personal libraries, counting tens or even hundreds of volumes. The peasantry, including the serfs, remained a source of replenishment Russian intelligentsia. Artists O.A. Kiprensky, V.A. Tropinkin, actor M.S. Shchepkin and others.

The masses had a direct and indirect influence on spiritual production. Nationality, democracy - important characteristics Russian culture XIX V. Many nobles, representatives of the intelligentsia were closely connected with the village peasantry, knew its life, aspirations, thoughts and reflected them in their work. They dreamed that someday the people would have access to knowledge and culture.

Critic I. I. Dmitriev in 1863 urged artists to create works that are understandable ordinary people; and if the people do not understand them, then, in his opinion, it is not the people who are to blame, but the authors. There were other views on this issue related to the idea of ​​elitism. genuine culture and art as their natural state. From this point of view, art can only be understood by a narrow layer. true connoisseurs and connoisseurs.

In Russia, as in the West, in the XIX century. there was a parallel development of two lines in culture and art: elitist (aristocratic) and democratic.

Many figures of Russian culture with all their might, although on the whole without great success, tried to bridge the gap between them and convey the "high" professional art to the masses. In 1870, the Association of Travelers was formed. art exhibitions, which included painters I. N. Kramskoy, V.I. Surikov, I.E. Repin, I.I. Shishkin. G.G. Myasoedov and others. Members of the Association exhibited their paintings not only in the capitals, but also in the provinces, arranged exhibitions in factories. Their works were distinguished by consistent realism, and what was depicted on them was understandable to everyone.

The dominant official trend in painting at that time was academism, the traditions of which were supported by the Academy of Arts. F. A. Bruni (1799-1875) was at the head of this direction for many years. Another famous representative of it was G.I. Semiradsky.* They drew the plots of their paintings from the Bible, mythology various peoples, antiquity. The favorite genres of academicians are historical and portrait. Rich collectors paid a lot of money for their paintings. So, the painting of Semiradsky “Bathing Phryne” was acquired by the emperor Alexander III for 35 thousand rubles, and, for example, the widely known painting by A.K. Savrasova "The Rooks Have Arrived" cost P.M. Tretyakov 600 rubles.

He did a lot to spread among the people popular prints and inexpensive books published by the educator ID Sytin. In 1884, he began to publish books by the Posrednik publishing house - popular science literature, works by Russian classics - A.S. Pushkin, N.V. Gogol, L. N. Tolstoy, children's books.

*By the way, talented artist, undeservedly almost forgotten in our days. A small album of reproductions of his works has recently been released.

Russian composers - members of the association " mighty bunch". They tried to convey professional music to the masses. The head of the "Kuchkists" M.A. Balakirev and G.Ya. Lomakin organized in 1862 in St. Petersburg the first in Russia Free music school, and a few years earlier, I. E. Molchanov created the country's first professional choir of peasant singers.

Each national culture is unique in its own way. It is due to the ethnic characteristics of the people - its creator and bearer, its language, traditions, religion. National specifics spiritual production is formed over centuries, being the result of the whole process historical development. It is connected with the geographical and climatic conditions of the life of the population, the mentality and social psychology of people.

National culture includes professional and folk components, classical heritage and newly created values, original and recently borrowed, but also become native.

It should be noted that folk culture in Russia, in the form in which it has reached our time, it was finally formed only in the 18th-19th centuries. This also applies to various manifestations folklore, which may have very ancient roots. It was during this period that the main elements of clothing appeared, which today we call Russian folk. The famous Russian nesting doll is only a hundred years old, and its prototype came from Japan, where the principle of inserting one figurine of the Buddhist sage Fukurumu into another appeared.

The formation of a nation increases the interest of society in its own cultural roots, and therefore it was in the XVIII-XIX centuries. starts scientific study folklore, its recording and publication, ethnographic collections and museums appear. folk art after appropriate processing, it enters the repertoire of professional performers. So, in 1896, V. V. Andreev founded an orchestra of Russian folk instruments, and in 1910 M.E. Pyatnitsky created the Russian Folk Choir.

The 19th century was the century of literature. It is this kind of art that is taking the lead at this time. Great poets and writers worked in Russia at that time, bringing Russian culture world fame: A.S. Pushkin, M.Yu. Lermontov, N.V. Gogol, I.S. Turgenev, L.N. Tolstoy, F.M. Dostoevsky, A.P. Chekhov and others.

“Our century,” A.V. Prakhov wrote in 1875, “is the century of the novel, verbal art and music reigns supreme over all the rest. Entire life modern society centered within, all our interests are centered on mysteries inner life and that is why those artists whose art is most capable of revealing these secrets of our inner life, that is, poets and musicians, come to the fore. In this regard, of the visual arts [fine - V.S.], the most sympathetic is the one that, by its means, comes closest to literature - painting: painting in the form of drawn stories and novels is currently the favorite form of all visual forms ". 1

1 Cited. Quoted from: Russian artistic culture of the second half of the 19th century. Dialogue with the era. - M., 1996. S. 22.

Literature then in its own way social significance went far beyond the realm of artistic culture. The writer in Russia, especially then, was "more than a writer." Lack of political freedom, severe censorship pressure hindered normal development social sciences, philosophy. Therefore, literature became a haven for free thought, which, albeit in a veiled form, could still be expressed in a novel or a poem. Russian classic literature was a special spiritual phenomenon, containing all the Feelings and Thoughts of its time, ideas about the past and prophetic predictions of the future; its spirit and pathos are humanistic, imbued with boundless love and compassion for the “little” person who lives a hard life, experiences blows of fate, but strives for happiness. The enduring value of Russian literature in the harmonious combination of brilliant artistry, high moral sense, deep philosophical generalizations. It puts eternal questions being and giving answers to them. L. N. Tolstoy understood God as Spirit and Love and was convinced that one cannot repay evil for evil. His philosophy of non-violence had a great influence on his contemporaries, found many supporters and followers in the 20th century.

Russian music was close to literature in its realism, nationality and closely related to it in terms of images and plots. In the 19th century it made such a leap forward that it took other countries centuries to achieve. She quickly acquired global importance while retaining vibrant national features.

the founder of the Russian classical music became M. I. Glinka (1804-1857) - the author of the operas "Life for the Tsar" (1836), "Ruslan and Lyudmila" (1842), many symphonic, chamber and vocal works. In the second half of the century, Russian music is going through a special - the most fruitful period of its development. Appear creative associations composers, for example, "The Mighty Handful", which included M.A. Balakirev, A.P. Borodin, M.P. Mussorgsky, N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, Ts.A. Cui.

The greatest Russian composer was P. I. Tchaikovsky (1840-1893), whose work is represented by almost all known then, musical genres. Among his works are the opera Mazeppa, Queen of Spades”,“ Eugene Onegin ”, ballets“ Swan Lake”, “The Nutcracker”, “Sleeping Beauty”, symphonies, concerts, romances, etc.

19th century - the time of completion of the formation of the Russian nation, which acquired all the characteristics inherent in this community. Including the Russian national culture, which played a leading, consolidating role in the multinational Russian Empire. It fully corresponded to the features that were described in Ch. 10. After the abolition of serfdom in 1861, Russia became a bourgeois country with a rapidly growing capitalist industry, a capacious domestic market, and growing inter-provincial ties. This, in particular, was facilitated by the emergence and development of railway transport.