The art of Europe: academicism in painting

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Many museums in Europe, among which one of the first places is occupied by the St. Petersburg Hermitage, as well as the focus of masterpieces of Russian art - the Russian Museum, keep in their collections a huge number of paintings written in the style of "academism" by recognized masters of their time. The academic trend in art is the base without which further painting and sculpture would hardly have been able to develop so fruitfully. What are the main features of academicism in painting? Understanding this is our task.

What is academicism?

In painting and sculpture, academism or academic direction is considered to be an emerging style, the main component of which is intellectual. Undoubtedly, within the framework of this stylistic direction, the aesthetic principles defined by the canons must also be observed.

The academic trend in France, represented by the works of such representatives of academicism as Nicolas Poussin, Jacques Louis David, Antoine Gros, Jean Ingres, Alexandre Cabanel, William Bouguereau and others, originated in the 16th century. It did not last long in the legislator state, and already in the 17th century. It wasstrongly pressed by the Impressionists.

However, academism firmly established its position in European countries, and then in Russia, and, despite the newly emerging styles, it became a solid classical base for fine arts in teaching young masters of painting and sculpture.

Prerequisites for the formation of academicism in Europe and Russia

Changes in the life of European society that arose back in the Renaissance, the main principles of whose art were humanism, anthropocentrism, as well as the ability to widely disseminate new advanced thoughts and ideas through various types of art, led to changes in art itself, in including in European painting.

1. Changing attitudes towards artists: not artisans, but creators.
2. Opening of the French Academy of Arts.
3. Opening art academies by patrons of European countries to improve the social status of artists and teach them on the principles of Renaissance painting.
4. Promotion and support of young talents by patrons.

Characteristic features of the academic style in art

Academic art involved careful planning, thinking through and working out the details of a future work. Mythological, biblical and historical plots were most often taken as a substantive basis. Before writing the canvas, the artist previously performed a huge number of preparatory drawings - sketches. All the characters were idealized, but at the same time, theperiod-appropriate furnishings, objects, clothes, etc.

Particular attention was paid to the use of color: the whole range had to correspond to the real one in life, the use of bright colors, which were not recommended for use (only as an exception), required special care. The technique and features of the painting were also subject to the strictest adherence to the rules for superimposing chiaroscuro, depicting perspective and angles. These rules were defined back in the Renaissance. In addition, the surface of the canvas should not consist of smears and roughness.

The Academy of the Three Most Noble Arts is the cradle of academic painting

This educational institution was the first institution in Russia to perform the same function as the French Academy in its time. The founder of the Academy of the Three Most Noble Arts, as it was then called, was Count Ivan Ivanovich Shuvalov, a man close to the throne of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna and who fell into disgrace under Catherine II.

The three noblest arts were painting, sculpture and architecture. This fact was reflected in the appearance of the building erected for the academy on the University Embankment of the Neva according to the project of J. B. symbolizing the noblest arts. The first of these, of course, was painting.

At the academythe most famous masters of Europe taught and worked together with students. In addition to basic theoretical knowledge, students of the academy had the opportunity to observe the work of famous European masters and learn from them in practice.

In the process of training, young artists learned to write and draw from nature, studied plastic anatomy, architectural graphics, etc. Upon graduation, all graduates performed a competitive work on a specified topic, usually a mythological plot, in an academic manner. As a result of the competition, the most talented works were determined, their authors were awarded medals of various denominations, the highest of which gave the right to continue their education in Europe free of charge.

Russian Academicians

It is customary to single out two stages in the academic direction of Western European painting: academism of the late 18th - early 19th centuries. and second half of the 19th century. Among the artists of the first period, F. Bruni, A. Ivanov and K. P. Bryullov are distinguished. Among the masters of the second period are the Wanderers, especially Konstantin Makovsky.

The main features of academicism of the late XVIII - early XIX centuries. are considered:

• sublime themes (mythological, ceremonial portrait, salon landscape);
• high role of metaphor;
• versatility and multi-figure;
• high technical skill;
• scale and pomposity.

In the second half of the 19th century, in the academy of painting, the list of these characteristics expanded due to:

• incorporating elements of romanticism and realism;
• using historical themes and local traditions.

Karl Pavlovich Bryullov - master of academic painting

Karl Bryullov, the master who created the canvas that glorified the author's name for centuries - "The Last Day of Pompeii" stands out in particular in the list of academic artists.

The fate of Karl Pavlovich Brullo (va) from St. Petersburg is connected with the peculiarities of upbringing and life in the family. The fact that Karl's father and his brothers were artists and connected their lives with the Academy of Arts determined the further creative path of a talented young man. He graduated from the academy with a gold medal. He became a member of the Society for the Encouragement of Artists and thanks to this he was able to continue his education in Europe - in Italy. There he lived and worked for twelve whole years. After the execution of a private order by Demidov for a large-scale canvas about the death of the city of Pompeii, he was able to terminate his relationship with society and become an independent artist.

Karl Bryullov lived only 51 years. At the insistence of Nicholas I, he returned to Russia, unhappily married and divorced a few months after his marriage. Initially accepted by the whole society of St. Petersburg as a genius and national hero, after a scandalous marriage, he was also rejected by the whole society, he was seriously ill and was forced to leave. He died in Rome, and remained, in fact, the genius of one picture. And this is despite the fact that he created enough canvases that are of great importance to the academic painting of the 19th century to this day.