Lines are forming around the block for RUSSIA!, now showing at New York’s Guggenheim Museum. Paintings, jewelry, implements of war and children’s toys provide an impressive collection of Russian art from rarely-seen 13th century icons to later socialist-inspired works. Drawn from Russia’s major museums including The Hermitage, the 275-piece exhibit presents an amazing insight into Russian life and aspirations. Besides a comprehensive display of paintings and iconography, the event features clothing, housewares, jewelry and adornment of the Tsars, patriarchs and their families.
Early Russian artists depicted the divine beings of Eastern Orthodox Christianity in icons, flat panel tempera paintings that graced monasteries and churches. The magnificent panels of the Deesis tier from the Cathedral of the Dormition are a highlight not to be missed. The two outside panels show Archangels Michael and Gabriel in gilded glory holding the symbols of sovereignty and intercessors during the Last Judgment. The Virgin Mary and John the Baptist flank the central panel of Christ in Glory. The central icon’s red diamond shapes point out from the dark nimbus enclosing Christ as he holds the scriptures.
The four gospel writers are represented by an eagle, angel, lion and ox in each corner. “The Tsar’s Gates” is a striking example of screens in Russian orthodox churches that separate the faithful from the rituals within the sanctuary. Russia’s most holy icon, the “Virgin of Vladimir,” is surrounded by gold filigree and exemplifies the icon’s stylistic elongated shapes and brilliant color.
Through every creative era in Russian history it is the portraiture that really shines. Under the patronage of Peter the Great and his granddaughter-in-law, Catherine, Russian artists depicted figures of royalty in greater naturalism. Known as “parsunas,” secular portraits utilized iconography’s dark, flat backgrounds and inscriptions with more individualized faces. Preparing for a full-length coronation portrait of the future Tsarina, Fedor Bokotov’s “Study for Portrait of Catherine II” foreshadows Catherine’s self-confidence and power. Western masters including Peter Paul Reubens are also represented. Reubens’ “Head of a Franciscan Monk” masterfully uses light to depict virtue from within the anonymous friar.
Portraits of Russian royalty during the 18th century present both formal and informal likenesses that delight and inform. Through pose and attire, Vladimir Borovikovsky’s “Portrait of Prince Alexander Kurakin” underscores Kurakin’s high status in the court of Emperor Paul I. Once described as a portrait of a Cossack commander, Ivan Nikitin’s amazing “Portrait of a Field Hetman” is now thought to be a portrait of the artist himself. The face, painted with Rembrandt-inspired use of light, presents a Russian man of the period unlike the Western subjects of the same time. The architectural arch around the head hint at the circles that enveloped the subjects of icons, yet the realism almost convinces us that we might have met this man during the 1730s.
Landscapes are well represented. Claude Lorrain’s “Morning in the Harbor” landscape portrays a dynamic illustration of perspective and light where the dawn illuminates a harbor’s early workers. Another must see is Ivan Aivazovsky’s oil painting, “The Ninth Wave,” which recalls Gericault’s “Raft of the Medusa.” Aivazovsky’s travels in Western Europe informed his work where he mastered the use of light to tell a story. The burst of light in the clouds gives hope to sailors preparing for an incoming storm.
Post-modernism and the Soviet Union’s socialist politics defined Russian art during the greater part of the 20th century. Victor Popkov’s “Builders of the Bratsk Hydroelectric Power Station” is painted in a realistic style with bold strokes and muted blues, greens and grays. The workers stand against the darkened landscape where either dawn is breaking or dusk is falling. Their faces speak of a certain defiant strength that carried the working class—from peasants and serfs to modern professionals—through their hard lives.
There is more to the exhibit than images on canvas. For the first time, the Kremlin Museum opens its cupboards and jewel boxes to the world. Rings and earrings show how the skilled craftsmen imbedded jewels into ovals, hearts and circles of metal. Children’s war toys and playthings, such as the miniature musket, saddle and suit of armor, were made for the Tsar’s sons and tell us what was important in the training of a future royal. They were not so different from the war toys we have today. Warfare was also an occasion to display an artisan’s skill. The Russian city of St. Petersburg, for example, has had a most amazing armor on display at The Hermitage. Small enough for a child yet made for a soldier, the interlocking golden pieces tell us that going to war demanded the highest craftsmanship and care. The exhibit reflects this in a bridle of gold, silver, jewels, leather and fabric. The saddle of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich uses rubies, velvet and leather in a gently-sloping design.
Tableware of the Tsars was crafted with care and skill. Uniquely Russian, silver beakers provide the background for flora and fauna in intricate design. The visitor should view the standing cups, flagons, tankards and goblets that graced the Tsar’s table at royal feasts.
Don’t miss this once-in-a-generation window into Russian cultural history. The exhibit unfolds in chronological eras from the 13th century to the present. Activities include: James Billington’s lecture on Russian art on Nov 2; Hermitage Curator Albert Kostenevich’s discussion of the modern Russian period on Nov 29; a panel of artists shares with the audience how Russian art influenced their work; and family-centered programs. There is also a complementary exhibit of socialist realism at the museum’s Sackler Center. Russia! is on exhibit at the Guggenheim from September 16, 2005 to January 11, 2006, Saturday to Wednesday 10am-5:45pm, Friday 10am-8pm. 212-423-3500.
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