Stroganov school

Stroganov school
School of icon painting named for its original patrons, the Stroganov family, that flourished in Russia in the late 16th and 17th century.

The artists perfected their work in the service of the tsar in Moscow. The paintings, designed for private use, were produced in a muted colour range dominated by golden browns with gold and silver linear highlights. Small and exquisitely detailed and embellished with frames and halos of beaten gold and silver, they represent the last vital stage of Russian medieval painting before the westernization of Russian art at the end of the 17th century.

"SS. Boris and Gleb," icon by a follower of Prokopy Chirin, Stroganov school, 17th ...

Novosti Press Agency, Moscow

* * *

▪ Christian art
      school of icon painting that flourished in Russia in the late 16th and 17th centuries. The original patrons of this group of artists were the wealthy Stroganov family, colonizers in northeastern Russia; but the artists perfected their work in the service of the tsar and his family in Moscow. Representing the last vital stage of Russian medieval painting before the westernization of Russian art at the end of the 17th century, the so-called Stroganov school produced not so much a coherent style as a type of icon. Designed specifically for private use, this type was characterized by its small size, its miniature technique, and its exquisite refinement of detail. The icons of the Stroganov school, while retaining Byzantine-inspired Russian forms, nevertheless represent a radical departure from most of what had been valued in the long tradition of Russian painting; monumentality was replaced by precious virtuosity and deep emotion by decorative elegance. The preoccupation with style and technique over content was, perhaps, typical of the end of a cultural phase.

      In its richness and refinement, the art of the Stroganov school reflected the tastes of royal and noble patrons. Working in a muted colour range dominated by golden brown, the Stroganov masters substituted for the colouristic brilliance of the earlier Russian tradition a lavish use of gold and silver linear highlights whose strongly abstract patterns matched the mannered fragility of the figures. They embellished their icons with frames and halos of beaten gold and silver. The naturalism proscribed by the church for major representations was ingeniously introduced by the Stroganov school in background details of architecture, vegetation, and even atmospheric effects. Finally, the Stroganov masters excelled at composition; though their works are very small and sometimes include many figures, they never appear crowded.

      The Stroganov school remained influential until the end of the 17th century, but after about 1650 it gradually declined and lost its refinement. The foundation of the new capital of St. Petersburg in 1703 by Tsar Peter I the Great marked a turning point in Russian art: although icon painting continued to follow the Russo-Byzantine tradition throughout the 19th century, the major artistic activity shifted to secular art and Europe's Baroque style.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Stroganov School — ( Строгановская школа in Russian) is a conventional name for the last major Russian icon painting school, which thrived under the patronage of the fabulously rich Stroganov family of merchants in the late 16th and 17th century. Stroganov School… …   Wikipedia

  • Stroganov Moscow State University of Arts and Industry — Baron Sergei Grigoriyevich Stroganov, the founder of the school Stroganov Moscow State University of Arts and Industry (Russian: Московский Государственный Художественно Промышленный Университет имени С.Г Стороганова) informally named Stroganovka …   Wikipedia

  • Stroganov Family — ▪ Russian family       wealthy Russian family of merchants, probably of Tatar origin, famous for their colonizing activities in the Urals and in Siberia in the 16th and 17th centuries. The earliest mention of the family occurs in 15th century… …   Universalium

  • school — school1 schoolable, adj. schoolless, adj. schoollike, adj. /skoohl/, n. 1. an institution where instruction is given, esp. to persons under college age: The children are at school. 2. an institution for instruction in a particular skill or field …   Universalium

  • Moscow school — School of late medieval Russian icon and mural painting. It succeeded the Novgorod school as the dominant school of painting when Moscow rose to a leading position in the movement to expel the Mongols. The school flowered first under the… …   Universalium

  • Stroganovs — For the food, see Beef Stroganoff. The Stroganovs or Strogonovs (Russian: Строгановы, Строгоновы), also spelled in French manner as Stroganoffs, were a family of highly successful Russian merchants, industrialists, landowners, and statesmen of… …   Wikipedia

  • Fyodor Schechtel — Infobox Architect caption=Boyarsky Dvor offices, Staraya Square, Moscow name=Fyodor Osipovich (Franz Albert) Schechtel nationality=Russia birth date=birth date|1859|8|7|mf=y birth place=Saint Petersburg death date=death date and… …   Wikipedia

  • painting, Western — ▪ art Introduction       history of Western painting from its beginnings in prehistoric times to the present.       Painting, the execution of forms and shapes on a surface by means of pigment (but see also drawing for discussion of depictions in …   Universalium

  • Russian culture — Saint Basil s Cathedral on the Red Square, Moscow …   Wikipedia

  • Vkhutemas — ( ru. Вхутемас, acronym for ru. Высшие художественно технические мастерские Higher Art and Technical Studios) was the Russian state art and technical school founded in 1920 in Moscow. The workshops were established by a decree from Vladimir Lenin …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”