Russian culture and art

of 9 – 15 centuries
Русская культура и
искусство
9 – 15 веков
 План:
1. Русь и Византия (Byzantine influence on
Russian culture)
2. Расцвет древнего русского искусства
(The Golden Age of ancient Russian art)
 Historical terms (write, please)
Икона (Icon) – in Christian art the images of
persons of sacred history: Christ, the
Virgin Mary, the biblical characters and
stories, lives of the saints.
Фреска (Mural, wall-painting) – painting on
wet plaster, one of the techniques of wall
paintings
Церковь - Church
Собор - Cathedral
Historical names (write)
Андрей Рублев (Andrei Rublev)
– the most famous
iconographer of
medieval Rus.
 Русь и Византия
• The beginning of Russian culture and art dates back to
the adoption of Christianity in 988, when Kievan Rus
came under the sphere of influence of the Byzantine
Empire, one of the most advanced cultures of the time.
Prince Vladimir by his political choice determined the
subsequent development of Russian culture.
• Byzantine masters built their first cathedrals in Rus and
decorated their interiors with mosaics and murals.
Samples of pictorial art, such as icons and miniatures of
illuminated manuscripts, came to Kiev and other cities,
had been formed in Constantinople.
Mosaic
Mural
Byzantine cathedral
Detail of interior of church
 Русь и Византия
• Rus adopted the Byzantine culture during a time
when the apogee of the Eastern Roman Empire
had already been overcome, but its decline was
still far ahead. Byzantium remained the only
direct successor of the Hellenistic world, which
had applied the artistic achievements of antiquity
to the spiritual experience of Christianity.
Byzantine culture differed from the rest of the
world by its refined taste and sophistication.
Byzantine art differed in the depth of religious
substance and virtuosity of formal methods.
 Русь и Византия
• Nevertheless, art of the Rus differed from Byzantine prototypes. The
peculiarities of the first "Russian" works of art, created by the
"visiting" Greeks, included a magnitude and representativeness
which demonstrated the ambitions of the young Russian state and
its princely authority. Bands of builders, fresco-painters, and
churchmen were continually moving from one city to another.
Byzantine influence, however, couldn't spread quickly over the
enormous territory of Rus, and the Christianization took several
centuries.
• It is interesting to note that the Rus had this significant contact with
the Byzantine Empire, and chose to have various parts of the Bible
translated from the Greek into Church Slavonic, it did not seem to be
interested in other cultural resources that contact with
Constantinople would have provided. That is, although the Rus
would have had access to the vast libraries of Greek philosophy,
mathematics, and science housed there; there is no evidence that
they translated any of these into Slavonic.
Церкви
Мозаика
Иконы
 Golden Age of ancient
Russian art
• In 1155, Andrei Bogolyubsky, the prince of the cities of Kiev and
Vladimir, practically transferred the seat of the Grand Prince from
Kiev to Vladimir, together with the famous icon of the Virgin Mary.
From this time on, almost every principality began forming its own
architectural and art schools.
• As a part of the Christian world, Rus principalities gained a wide
range of opportunities for developing their political and cultural ties
not only with Byzantium, but with the European countries, as well.
By the end of the eleventh century, Rus gradually fell under the
influence of Roman architecture. Cathedrals, decorated with
sculptures, appeared in the principality of Vladimir-Suzdal. These
cathedrals, however, are not identical with the Roman edifices of
Catholic Europe and represent a synthesis of the Byzantine
cruciform plan and cupolas with Roman whitestone construction and
decorative technique.
 Golden Age of ancient
Russian art
• This mixture of Greek and Western European traditions
was possible only in Russia. One of its results was a
famous architectural masterpiece of Vladimir, the Church
of Pokrova na Nerli, a true symbol of cultural originality
of Medieval Russia.
• In the early Middle Ages, Rus principalities were similar
to other European countries culturally and in historical
development. Later on, however, Russia and Europe
parted ways. The invasion of Batu Khan and subsequent
domination of Russian lands by the Golden Horde was
also a turning point in history of Russian culture and
statehood.
the Church of Pokrova on Nerl-
river
 Task (on the lecture)
On the desktop (the screen of PC) by right button of the
mouse create, please, a document (Создать / Документ
Microsoft Word). At the top of the document, write the
title of your work: “Masterpieces of Russian art of 9-15
centuries”. Find in the Internet and copy in your
document images of 3 icons and 5 churches (from Kiev,
Novgorod, Suzdal, Vladimir, + Church on the river Nerl)
created in the period of Kievan Rus and in the period of
power of the Mongol-Tatars (9-15 centuries). Under the
pictures write or copy their titles in English (and in
Russian if you can).