Artists (Classic)

For the purposes of this site, we have defined “classic” artists as those that spent most of their careers before 1953. We have chosen this date as, first, a generational marker. Many late-tsarist artists continued working after the revolution, while many late-Soviet artists are still working today. Those whose careers date before 1953 are more likely to be known abroad (the anti-communist movement in the US happed about this time which made all things from the USSR essentially toxic) and less likely to be working today (due simply to the process of aging). In preparing material for this section, we have tried to concentrate mostly on specific aspects of their works that may not be as well covered in English.

The Wanderers: An Early Revolution in Russian Art

The Peredvizhniki, or the Wanderers, were a movement of Russian Realism born from the Imperial Academy of Arts in 1863. Under the rule of Alexander II, Russia was struggling through a series of liberal reforms that were part of a greater humanitarian movement. The emancipation of the serfs in 1861 deconstructed much of the social […]

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