At a time when modern art dominates, it is exciting to observe how more and more artists and art lovers rediscover the legacy of Slavic painting .
In this article we illuminate this rediscovery of the significant folk art from the Eurasian part of the earth. After an excursus to the Slavs ethnic group, we take a quick look back into the history of Slavic folk art and then turn to contemporary art in Slavic space.
The Slavs - an excursus to the large ethnic group
What is Slavs?
Slavs are an ethnic group that is mainly native to East and Central Europe . The Slavs represent one of the largest and oldest ethnolinguistic groups in Europe. They share a common Slavic language and have a common cultural identity .
The Slavic ethnic group includes various subgroups, which include, for example, the poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Sorben, Russians, Ukrainians, Croats, Serbs and Bulgarians. There are a total of over 300 million Slavs worldwide.
Historically, the Slavs were a significant part of European history. They have founded and influenced various rich and states over the centuries. Slavic culture has also had a strong impact on regional traditions, folklore, art and literature.
The Slavs have a rich cultural diversity that is reflected in the different customs, festivals and culinary traditions.
Despite regional differences, there are also many similarities, such as the Slavic folk dances and traditional music. Nowadays, Slavs live in different countries in Europe and also in other parts of the world. They have their own languages and contribute to enriching the diversity and cultural dynamics in the societies in which they live. The Slavs are therefore an important and multifaceted ethnic group of Europe.
Who is one of the Slavs?
The Slavs include various ethnic groups that are mainly native to Eastern Europe. They form one of the largest language families in Europe. The Slavic peoples include the Russians, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Slovenes, Croatians, Serbs, Bosnians, Montenegriners, Bulgarians, Macedonians, Ukrainians and Belanders.
These ethnic groups have different cultures, dialects and traditions, but they also share many similarities. The Slavic peoples have a long and complex history.
Their roots go back to the 5th century when the Slavs began to settle in various regions of Eastern Europe. Over time, various dialects and language variants developed from the Slavic languages, which are now classified as Eastern Lavic, West Slavic and South Slavic.
The Slavs have played an important role in European history and their culture has had a strong influence on the region. They have produced significant literary works, music, art and traditional festivals.
In addition, the Slavs also contributed to the cultural wealth of other nations, such as Russian literature or Slavic influences in German cuisine.
Who were the first Slavs?
The first Slavs were an Indo -European group that appeared in Eastern Europe in the 5th and 6th centuries AD. They probably came from the area between the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea. However, the exact origin of the Slavs is not clearly clarified.
It is believed that the Slavic tribes developed from a previous Indo -European culture and finally developed their own Slavic language and culture. The Slavs were first mentioned in historical records in the 6th century when they were in contact with the Byzantine Empire and the Franconian Empire.
The first Slavic tribes were mainly known as farmers and hunters who lived in small communities and operated agriculture. They were also known for their manual skills, especially in metal and pottery.
Over time, the Slavs spread to different regions and formed various Slavic tribes and peoples. They had close cultural, linguistic and ethnic connections among themselves and developed into an important ethnic group in Europe. The arrival of the Slavs also had an impact on the political and social landscape of Europe.
They interacted with neighboring peoples, such as the Germanic tribes, and influenced the development of kingdoms, such as the Grand Moravian Empire and the Principality of Poland.
Where does the term slawe come from?
The term "slawe" comes from ancient Greek and means "fame" . However, it was only used as a name for the Slavic peoples in Europe in the 6th century AD.
The term "Slave" is still used today to designate the Slavic peoples in Europe, which include various nations such as the poles, Czechs, Russians, Serbs, Croats, Bulgarians and many others. The term symbolizes its common ethnic and linguistic connection and its cultural traditions. whether people of this ethnic group can be recognized on the basis of Slavic facial features , even if sometimes characteristic characteristics can be determined in appearance.
Introduction to Slavic painting
Origins and early stylistic influences
Slavic painting has a long and fascinating story that goes back to the Middle Ages . In the past centuries, however, she has become increasingly into the background and has almost been forgotten.
Slavic painting is characterized by its distinctive style elements, which are often inspired by nature and folklore . Traditional Slavic painters used earthy colors and a skilful combination of light and shadow to emphasize the beauty of their motifs.
In the Slavic area in Eastern Europe and Russia, the influences from the ancient Middle East and Greece penetrated less in early days, but were passed on (and converted) through the Byzantine Empire and the Eastern Church . Much of the folk art in the region was strongly influenced by the Byzantine style. Painting did not take off here either.
Christianization and icon painting
With the Christianization of Russia in the 10th century , the need to create religious art that represents figures from the Bible. Russian artists painted biblical scenes on wood, using egg yolks to mix the colors and protein as preservatives.
The Novgorod school for icon painting produced the best examples of icons because it escaped Mongolian rule. It is considered the most productive and most important icon school in the world. The best known painters of this school were Andrey Rublev, Theophanes of the Greek and Dionysius.
Two centuries of Mongol rule also introduced other traditions from the east, which were characterized by the so -called animal style .
The characteristic elements of the topics and styles associated with icons were finally banned in Russia in the mid -18th century and therefore decreased.
Petrinian art reforms
Peter the Great was very interested in imaging art, especially architecture, but also in visual art . He attracted many artists to Russia, including Francesco Rastrelli . Peter the Great also paid a scholarship to Russian artists and sent them to the best art academies to study abroad.
One of them was Ivan Nikitin , who became one of the first Russian painters who painted in perspective, as was common in the West. In his early works, traces of the Parsunas style be seen.
Nikitin is considered the founder of the Russian art tradition . Despite his success with the takeover of a western approach to painting, Nikitin was concerned about the increasing westernization of Russian art and hesitated to give up the tradition of icon painting. Other remarkable painters of that time are Andrei Matveyev, Alexei Antropov, Vladimir Borovikovsky and Ivan Vishhnyakov .
In 1757, during the rule of Elisabeth, the daughter of Peter of the Great, the Russian imperial academy of the arts founded, which was initially called academy of the three noble arts. It was renamed Katharina of the Great in Imperial Academy.
The western influences continued and the romance left a lasting impression among the Russian artists of the 19th century. Ivan Aivazovsky, Orest Kiprensky, Vasili Tropinin, Alexei Venetsianov and Carl Bryulov were among the best painters of that time.
The Peredwischniki
In 1863, a revolt of some of the most talented students in the academy led to the conservatism taught to found the Society of the Itinerant Art Exhibitions . Members of the company began to travel through the country, preach social and political reforms and to organize ad hoc exhibitions of the works of art that they had created during their travels. The wandering artists included Ivan Kramskoi , Ilja Repin and the "Tsar of the Forest" Iwan Schischkin .
Finally, due to internal disagreements and Russian art experienced a time of turmoil due to internal disagreement and Russian art, which lasted until the revolution. The emerging abstract art caused turmoil, and various abstract and half -abstract currents were created. This included Russian futurism , rayonism, constructivism and suprematism , the latter was justified by Kasimir Malewitsch . Marc Chagall , known as one of the greatest Russian-Jewish artists of all time, researched various styles such as fauvism , surrealism and expressionism .
realism very pronounced at this point Walentin Serow, Mikhail Wrubel, Alexander Golowin and Zinaaida Serebriakowa all created great works.
Polish painting of the 19th and 20th centuries - artistic traditions halfway between Europe and Russia
Polish art has retained its own peculiarities in genre and style, but often reflects the figurative tendencies, which were expressed in the movements of neighboring countries and continents such as Russia and Europe.
This is due to the fact that Poland did not yet exist as a state at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, since it was divided between Austria, Russia and Prussia, from which it was obvious artistic influences.
Nevertheless, the Polish forming arts and literature have always been an important means of expressing and reaffirming the national spirit.
Especially through the avant-garde movements of the 20th century, Polish art was able to form its own identity and tradition, especially from 1917, when the first exhibition of Polish Expressionists was opened in Krakow.
This flowering artistic environment, which established itself between the two world wars, was characterized by many movements, such as: the group of Polish Expressionists , the colorful group ; The art formists; The futurists; the cubists; the suprematists; The constructivists (Praesans) and the AR group. ("Revolutionary artists").
In addition to these currents, there were also prominent personalities who left their traces in the history of Polish art, such as Witkacy , the creator of the artistic approach "pure form" , which is characterized by the creation of paintings that aim to convey mystery of existence. The latter was also one of the few avant-garde painters who painted portraits on behalf of the influence of drugs, which were characterized by deformed images.
Slavic folk art in modern times
In modern times there were mostly communist governments , the politics of which the promotion of folk art , the organization of artists in cooperatives and even the introduction of handicrafts from one area belonged to another.
Although this was an incentive for studying folk art, it tends to blur the distinction between purely folk art and the revived or commercialized product.
In the past, Russian folk art was exposed to foreign influences in a way that was not typical elsewhere: in the 17th century, many parts of Russia's craftsmen were requested to deliver products for the economy or work on palaces, and they were also gathered around them monasteries for prescribed edition.
The best known Russian products are toys elsewhere - complicated wooden designs or colorful miniatures made of earthenware. It is believed that some of the Wjatka toys are remnants of Götzen, which were manufactured for private households and represent the countless local deities from the time before Christianity.
Other remarkable arts are ceramic tiles, wood and ceramic figures as well as bone carving in the Siberian tradition.
In Eastern Europe , where the national borders were particularly unclear and the population consisted of various minorities, studies on art can follow ethnic lines. Geography offers a number of different regions that are as different as coastal dalmatics, transdanubies and the isolated Tatra mountains.
In view of the heavily forested landscape, the woodwork excellent. It appeared in church architecture, in architectural sculptures , vessels and devices as well as in special forms such as the sculptural grave post; Even a corn container could be covered with rosettes.
The area was rich in solid skills and had a strong connection to pre -Christian traditions and magical rites. In the former Czechoslovakia (today the Czech Republic and Slovakia ) there were special wedding pictures and candlesticks. In addition to many ancient motifs such as the vase and tree, sun and heart, the rooster appeared as a protective symbol that could be attached to roof edges or carved in cheese shapes. Some of the works of art are strikingly primitive.
One of the complications that arise when studying the Eastern European Arts is the fact that the countries involved are culturally boundary countries and have an affinity for the Roman Catholic Europe in the west (as an example of the ex-votes in the brilliant Czech glass painting) and with the Byzantine Empire in the east. The arts described as Polish , including some of the most beautiful decorative works of art on paper, once extended to the east and are yet Northern European.
The Slavic epic of the Czech painter Alfons Mucha
The Slavic epic , in the original title Slovanská Epopej plays a special role in Slavic painting as a painting cycle and main work by the Czech painter Alfons Mucha
It shows the history of the Slavic peoples and consists of 20 large-format tempera-on canvas images that were created from 1911 to 1928.
Alfons (also written alphonse) Mucha (1860–1939) spent many years with his artistic masterpiece.
The illustration and decoration artist, who is known for his striking style, created numerous paintings , postcards, designs, advertisements and illustrations. Alphonse Mucha was born in the city of Ivancice in Moravia, which is now known as the area of the Czech Republic. He mainly began to paint theater landscapes in Moravia.
Mucha later moved to Paris and continued his studies, while producing advertising demonstrations and designs for theater scenery, which were originally referred to as a Mucha style. Later it became known as Art Nouveau (new art).
His work showed elegant young women in neoclassical robes, surrounded by lush flowers that formed a light ring behind the heads of the women. Compared to modern postermakers, he used faded pastel colors. The pictures of Alphonse Mucha came out from the inside. It was his way of transmitting a spiritual message.
The largest of Mucha's Slavic epic paintings with a size of more than six times eight meters represents the history of the Slavic people. The idea arose in 1899 when they worked on the interior design of the Pavilion of Bosnia-Herzegovina. In order to prepare for this order, he traveled through the Balkans, examined their history and customs and carefully studied the life of the southern Slavs in the regions associated with Austria-Hungary in the two decades earlier.
This knowledge resulted in inspiration for a new design, the creation of a legend for all Slavic peoples, which should illustrate the "joys and suffering" of his own community and all other Slavs.
In 1909 he received sponsorship from a wealthy philanthropist from Chicago, Charles Richard Crane. Mucha Mucha Mucha Mucha Mucha supported a great interest in the expansion of political matters in Eastern Europe and Slavic civilization for almost twenty years.
From 1911 to 1926, Alphonse Mucha dedicated most of his energy to the creation of the Slavic epic and was able to play twenty -sized episodes from the Slavic past, from old to new, ten episodes from Czech history and ten more about historical episodes from rather Slavic areas.
Mucha's first painting in the series was "the Slavs in their original homeland" , which he completed in 1912. In 1924 he visited the mountain of Athos and was deeply fascinated by the ancient spiritual atmosphere. In his painting "The Holy Athos" he used the combination of real and symbolic image levels, which he already used in his first three paintings in the series.
He designed a form of light to create a strong image of the church, with a circle of Russian pilgrims who circled the inner wall and bent the relics that the IGUMEs had given them before the iconostas.
The conversion of the earthly into the heavenly sphere is only achieved by the magnificent athletic figures of the Cherubim, the replicas of the four Slavic monasteries on the mountain of Athos. The shapes of the two angel girls hang above the iconostas and indicate faith and purity.
The spiritual scene ends with a mosaic of theotocos in the apse. Until 1926, the entire series was completed with its last painting "The Apotheosis of the Slavs" , which celebrates the successful victory of all Slavs, whose home countries finally became their own.
The artist died in Prague on July 14, 1939 after he was suffering from pneumonia. He will never forget for his unique and special paintings of this series of pictures.
Post revolution and ( unofficial) art of the Soviet Union
The Bolsheviks considered art as a purely political instrument . After the 1917 revolution, artists were no longer allowed to create their usual art, and they were now expected to make work in industrial design.
This resulted in many artists left Russia, including Chagall, Kandinsky and many others. Stalin declared social realism as an acceptable art form. Religious, erotic , political and "formalist" art, including abstract, expressionist and conceptual art , were completely prohibited.
The art, which was created during the period from Stalin's death to the emergence of perestroika and glass noste in the Soviet Union, is referred to as unofficial art . This art is also considered non-conformist art , second avant-garde or underground art .
It was created as a counter -movement to socialist realism in literature, visual art and music. The underground artists were closely associated with illegal movements such as the Moscow conceptualism , the Leningrad Association for Experimental Art and the MitKi group in Leningrad. In addition, they maintained contacts with the "hippies" and the "rockers".
After Stalin's death, there was also a short time of the "Tauwetter". Now artists such as Aleksandr Gerasimov , who had painted idealized portraits of Stalin, have been violated and perceived as embarrassing, and the government's views on art became liberal.
However, this quickly ended after the ring affair when Khrushchev publicly argued with the sculptor Ernst Neisvestny on the function of art . The discussion and the resulting end of the "thaw" led to a further development of the underground art of non -conformism. The artists knew that they would not find public acceptance, but the effects were no longer as serious as before.
From the mid -1970s, more and more artists emigrated, encouraged by the more open borders and not ready to stay in the restrictive atmosphere of the Soviet Union. Ernst Neizvestny moved to the USA in 1977.
Important works of Slavic painting in the 19th and 20th centuries
(To display the Pinterest Board you must have approved the cookies)
The return of Slavic painting in the 21st century
The 1990s brought Russian artists a freedom that had never been experienced before. Performance art appeared in Russia for the first time and it was a time of experimentation and fun. This enormous freedom was restricted in the new millennium, although Russian art is still in its heyday.
Many artists have found a customer base both within and outside of Russia, but there are concerns that increasing censorship makes it difficult to create authentic art.
The best -known contemporary Russian artists include conceptual installation artists Ilya and Emilia Kabakov , the co -founder of Moscow conceptualism Viktor Pivovarov , the installation artist Irina Nakhova, Alexei Cherigin and many more.
In the 21st century we experienced a fascinating rediscovery of Slavic painting and its style elements. After years of shadow, this unique art form is enjoying a remarkable return. This Renaissance presents both artists and art lovers with new opportunities and perspectives.
The combination of tradition and modernity plays an important role in contemporary Slavic painting, with artists using new techniques and materials to create their works of art.
Artists around the world find inspiration in the works of the great Slavic painters of past centuries and are inspired by their techniques and motifs. The popularity of Slavic paintings, art prints and posters is growing steadily.
Slavic painting has undoubtedly found its place in the modern art world and offers both artists and art lovers a rich source of inspiration. The English -language online portal Russianart+Culture provides a regular basis about the most important art exhibitions in Russia .
Slavic painting also has an impact on modern art itself. Many contemporary artists can be guided by the works of the past and create works of art that combine traditional Slavic motifs and techniques with modern elements.
A lively example of this return of Slavic painting is the flowering art scene in Prague . This city has a rich history in terms of Slavic art and is now a center for modern artists who are inspired by the old masters.
In the city's galleries and museums, visitors can admire a diverse selection of Slavic art, from traditional paintings to contemporary works of art. The combination of traditional Slavic motifs with modern techniques create unique and fascinating works of art that celebrate the cultural diversity and beauty of the Slavic world.
Modern interpretations - contemporary art inspired by Slavic painting
(To display the Pinterest Board you must have approved the cookies)
Important museums for Slavic art and painting
- The State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg
- The Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow
- The State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
- The State Historical Museum, Moscow
- The Vladimir and Suzdal Historical, Architectural and Art Museum, Vladimir
- National Gallery in the Prague Messepalast, Prague
- National Museum of the city of Wroclaw
- National Museum Krakow
The authoritarian turn: On the crisis of the Polish institutions of contemporary art
We would have loved to end this article in a positive way. Unfortunately, however, we were committed to not giving our recent right -wing populist developments in the art scene in Eastern Europe.
The art world in Poland is traditionally heavily controlled by the state. Specifically, state subsidies push the art sector into certain directions. right -wing populist PIS party is currently Art Director throughout the country , which share its strictly conservative, right -wing extremist program.
The most visible effect of right -wing politics in contemporary art was the takeover of large museums and centers for contemporary art by directors that were loyal to the government party.
The best known and most controversial cases include institutions that play a key role in the artistic ecosystem: the National Art Gallery Zacheta and the CCA Ujazdowski Castle in Warsaw as well as the art museum in Łódź.
Since February 2022, artistic life in Poland has also been overshadowed by brutal Russian invasion in Ukraine and the impending energy crisis. The despair, which cause the politically motivated occupations of important leadership positions with party loyalty, fades compared to the open, brutal war, in which rockets go down on civilians only 400 kilometers from Warsaw.
Kuba Szreder - researcher, lecturer, independent curator and professor in the field of art theory of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw - reported in detail Cimam News .
Sources and further information
- Thoughtco. -https://www.thoughtco.com/russian-art-4628138
- Britannica-https://www.britannica.com/art/folk-art-visual-arts/slavic-area
- Thehistoryofart.org-https://www.thehhistoryofart.org/alphonse-mucha/slav-epic/
- Artmajeur Magazin-https://www.artmajeur.com/en/magazine/5-art-history/the-history-of-Polish-art-Artway-between-europe-andrussia/331477
Owner and managing director of Kunstplaza. Publicist, editor and passionate blogger in the field of art, design and creativity since 2011. Successful conclusion in web design as part of a university degree (2008). Further development of creativity techniques through courses in free drawing, expression painting and theatre/acting. Profound knowledge of the art market through many years of journalistic research and numerous collaborations with actors/institutions from art and culture.
