17th century was the beginning of the transitional path from the Middle Ages to modern times. The beginning of a new period in Russian history was also a new stage in the history of Russian culture. In the 17th century Russian culture has retained all the characteristic features of the feudal culture of the Middle Ages, but new elements are also emerging.

The formation of the Russian nation begins. Generalized folk traditions the interconnection of local customs is strengthened. Gradually, the interpenetration of various dialects takes place, a single Russian language is being formed.

Eastern in its structure, the state begins to strive for rapprochement with the West. Art becomes more secular, optimistic, picturesque. The new architectural style is called "Wonderful Pattern"; Russian and Italian craftsmen are expanding the construction of palaces, tent churches, state and secular monumental buildings, township stone structures. The most famous architectural structures of this time were: the Terem Palace of the Moscow Kremlin, the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin in Putanki, the Church of the Trinity in Nikitinki, the twenty-two-domed church in Kizhi.

Secular and ecclesiastical architecture mutually enrich each other. A major factor in the beginning of the crisis of the Middle Ages was the split of the church. The need to revise all church rites and bring them in line with Greek liturgical practice was caused by the desire to streamline the ritual practice of the Russian Church in the face of the growth of religious freethinking and the decline of the authority of the clergy. Rapprochement with the Greek Church was supposed to raise the prestige of the Russian state in the Orthodox East.

18th century characterized in Rus' by late feudalism. Attempts are being made to overcome the gap between Russia and the countries Western Europe significant changes are taking place in all areas of life. Their beginning is associated with the reforms of Peter I. In Russia, autocratic power is being established - an absolute monarchy.

In the XVIII century. Russia's external economic and cultural ties with Western countries are developing. In the second half of the XVIII century. in the depths of the feudal economy, a capitalist structure is being formed. By the end of the 18th century. the process of folding the Russian nation on the basis of the already established Russian people with a high level of culture and a sense of national unity is being completed

New spheres of culture appear - science, fiction, secular painting, public theater. Interest in the human person has increased, the desire for realism has increased in all forms of art.

18th century was a time of wide and comprehensive flourishing of Russian artistic culture. This was due to the radical socio-economic transformations of Peter l. Secular forms begin to develop rapidly, many types of art, in particular painting, architecture, sculpture, applied art, and engraving. The richest experience of European cultural traditions began to be intensively attracted to Russia. The new Russian art soon reached professional maturity. This manifested itself in the process of building the capital of Russia - St. Petersburg and a number of other cities with their numerous palaces, public buildings and structures. Construction entailed the development of decorative plastics, painting, round sculpture and relief, which, in combination with each other, gave unique beauty to many architectural ensembles. In the first half of the 18th century. the role of a person as an individual in society is increasing. Preference was given to a person's talent, and not to his title or generosity. The new state needed energetic, enterprising and skillful people. It was in the time of Peter the Great that the idea of ​​creating the Academy of Arts arose. Russia could no longer do without experienced painters and engravers. Inviting foreigners, Peter also took care of the nutrition of Russian artists. To this end, pensioners were widely practiced - sending people abroad to improve their profession in creative specialties. Talented artists and architects sent abroad for retirement include I.N. Nikitin A.M. Matveev, I.K. Korobov and others.

After the installation of a printing press by Ivan Fedorov, the number of published books increased. In 1703, newspapers and magazines began to appear. The Academy of Sciences was established in 1725 to solve research, educational and ideological problems. The activities of the Academy extended to all areas of scientific knowledge.

Russian scientists make discoveries in botany, biologists in geography, mineralogy, and ethnography. The pinnacle of Russian science of this era was the activity of the scientist-encyclopedist, thinker and poet M.V. Lomonosov. He was the initiator of the creation of a new center of culture and science - Moscow University.

In the era of Peter begins to be celebrated New Year with a decorated Christmas tree, a public theater opens. There has been a change of views in the moral field. Not only Christian virtues, the antiquity of the family and wealth, but also secular ones, such as intelligence, courage, and activity, began to be valued. The construction of secular, industrial, scientific buildings is underway.

Art is increasingly moving away from the church. The subjects for the plots are portraits, battle scenes, relationships between people. Painting, engraving, arts and crafts, sculpture, architecture, and jewelry art are being developed. Defining trends: baroque, rococo, classicism, often a mixture of styles within a single work (especially in architecture and arts and crafts) - eclecticism. The transformations of Peter I also destroyed the old patriarchal way of life, establishing a secular way of life. There are new forms of furniture, glass and crystal dishes, porcelain items.

In the Petrine era, special importance was attached to education and science. For the nobles, education becomes mandatory. In 1699, the Pushkar school was opened. In 1701, training began at the medical-surgical and mathematical-navigational school. In 1717, a school of translators, engineering and navigation schools appeared. At the Ural factories, mining schools are being opened.

Everything progressive and new was often accepted with enthusiasm and interest. Culture has acquired many new features that have been continued in subsequent times. The development of Russian national traditions in all types of art continued. At the same time, the strengthening of ties with foreign countries contributed to the penetration of Western influence on Russian culture. The strengthening of the power of the Russian state, which became one of the largest states in the world, contributed to the formation of the Russian nation and the single Russian language, which became the greatest cultural wealth of the Russian people. All areas of culture were developed - education, printing, literature, architecture, fine arts. There was a secularization of culture, the penetration of the ideas of the Enlightenment into Russia. This contributed to the emergence of new types of culture - the first literary magazines, fiction, public theater of secular music. There is a formation of Russian classicism. The sphere of spiritual activity of people has significantly expanded.

The development of Russian culture in the 18th century. prepared the brilliant flourishing of Russian culture in the 19th century, which became an integral integral part world culture.

The 17th century is one of the most difficult and controversial periods in medieval Russian history. No wonder it was called "rebellious" - it exploded with "Copper" and "Salt" riots. Popular discontent resulted in uprisings led by Ivan Bolotnikov and Stepan Razin. It is also a time of great change in the Russian church. The reforms of Patriarch Nikon led first to a theological controversy, and then to a schism in the church, which shook the spiritual life of late ancient Russian society.

At the same time, in connection with changes in the economic sphere, with the publication of manufactories, a certain rapprochement with Western Europe, a decisive breakdown of the traditional social worldview is taking place. Craving for science, interest in literature for real subjects, the growth of secular journalism, the violation of iconographic canons in painting, the convergence of cult and civil architecture, love for decoration, for polychromy in architecture, and in all fine arts - all this indicates a rapid process secularization of culture of the 17th century. In the struggle between the old and the new, in contradictions, the art of the new time is born. The 17th century ends the history of ancient Russian art, and it also opens the way for a new secular culture.

Active construction begins immediately after the expulsion of the interventionists, from the 1920s. Three stages can be traced in the architecture of this century: in the first quarter of the 17th century. or even in the first 30 years it still has a strong connection with the traditions of the sixteenth century; middle of the century - 40-80s - the search for a new style that corresponded to the spirit of the times, and its heyday; the end of the century - a departure from the old techniques and the approval of new ones, indicating the birth of the architecture of the so-called new time.

Church buildings of the beginning of the century differ little from the temples of the XVI century. Thus, the Church of the Intercession in the royal village of Rubtsovo (1619-1625), erected in honor of the liberation of Moscow from the Poles, the end of the "troubles", is a pillarless church covered with a closed vault, in its internal and external appearance close to the churches of Godunov's time. The building stands on the basement, surrounded by a two-tier gallery, has two aisles, three tiers of kokoshniks go from the main volume to the small dome. The tent construction continues. A church is being built in Medvedkovo (the estate of Prince D. Pozharsky, 1623, now Moscow), the "Wonderful" church in Uglich. The tent also rose above the Kremlin's Spassky Tower when, in 1628, its walls and towers, which had been damaged during the intervention, began to be restored (other towers were completed only 60 years later). In the 1930s, the largest secular building on the territory of the Moscow Kremlin, the Terem Palace, was built (1635–1636, architects Bazhen Ogurtsov, Antip Konstantinov, Trefil Sharutin and Larion Ushakov; later it was remodeled several times). The palace was built on the basement of the 16th century, it has an upper ambush, an “attic”-teremok and a gilded hipped roof. The Terem Palace, created for the royal children, with all its “multi-volume” residential and service premises, the multi-colored decor (the “grass” ornament of the exterior carved on white stone and the richest painting by Simon Ushakov inside) resembled wooden mansions.

In the 40s, a typical for the 17th century took shape. style - with a picturesque, asymmetric grouping of masses. Architectural forms become more complex, the structure of the building is difficult to read through the decor covering the entire wall, most often polychrome. The tent-roof architecture, the verticalism of its integral volume, gradually loses its meaning, because churches appear in which there are two, three, sometimes five tents of the same height, as in the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin in Putinki in Moscow (1649–1652): three tents of the main volume, one above the aisle and one above the bell tower. In addition, the tents are now deaf, purely decorative. From now on, in the patriarchal letters for the construction of the church, the phrase appears more and more often: "And so that the top on that church was not tented." However, as already mentioned, tents remained one of the favorite forms and in cities they were preserved mainly on bell towers, porches, gates, and in rural areas tent churches were built in the 17th and even 18th centuries. We also note that in the Resurrection Cathedral of the New Jerusalem Monastery in Istra near Moscow, built in the 50s–60s by Patriarch Nikon, which seems to repeat the temple in Jerusalem, the western volume of the building (rotunda) ends with a tent. A certain type of temple spreads - pillarless, usually five-domed, with decorative side drums (only the central one is illuminated), with an accentuated asymmetry of the overall composition due to the different-scale side chapels, a refectory, porches, and a hipped bell tower. An example is the Church of the Trinity in Nikitniki (1631-1634, another date 1628-1653), built by the richest Moscow merchant Nikitnikov and reminiscent of mansion construction with its whimsical forms and decorative multicolor (red brick, white stone carving, green tiled cupolas, glazed tiles). The richness of the architectural decor is especially characteristic of Yaroslavl. Founded back in the 11th century. Yaroslav the Wise, this city experienced something like a "golden age" in art in the 17th century. The fire of 1658, which destroyed about three dozen churches, three monasteries and more than a thousand houses, caused intensive construction in the second half of the century. Large five-domed churches are being built here, surrounded by porches, aisles, aisles and porches, with an obligatory hipped bell tower, sometimes tents and aisles (for example, the Church of Elijah the Prophet, built at the expense of the merchants Skripin, 1647–1650), always in perfect harmony with the landscape (the church St. John Chrysostom in Korovniki, 1649–1654, some additions were made in the 80s, its hipped bell tower is 38 m high, with multi-colored decorative decoration from glazed tiles; Church of John the Baptist in Tolchkovo, 1671–1687, the five-domed main volume of which is supplemented with 10 chapters two aisles, all this together forms a 15-domed spectacular silhouette). Church hierarchs do not remain indifferent to the decorative richness of the then architecture. Metropolitan Iona Sysoevich is building his residence in Rostov the Great on the shores of Lake Nero (metropolitan's chambers and the House Church), usually called the Rostov Kremlin (70-80s of the 17th century), on a large scale. The splendor of the towers, galleries, porches, gates is not inferior to the splendor of the actual church buildings, and religious and civil architecture, as it were, compete in the festivity of the image. And how else, if not the victory of the secular beginning, can one call the architecture of the Gate Tower of the Krutitsy Metropolitan Compound in Moscow (1681–1693, another date is 1694), the entire facade of which is decorated with multi-colored tiles?! It was built by O. Startsev and L. Kovalev.

In recent decades, or rather even in the 90s of the 17th century, a new style appeared in Russian architecture, a new direction, which is conditionally called "Moscow" or "Naryshkin Baroque", apparently because most of the temples of this style were built in Moscow by order of the noble boyars Naryshkin, mostly the brother of the queen, Lev Kirillovich. Centricity and tieredness, symmetry and balance of masses, known separately and earlier, developed in this style into a certain system - quite original, but, given the applied order details, close (in external design) to the European Baroque style. In any case, this is the name that was assigned to the architecture of this direction (although it is not Moscow, because it spread outside Moscow, and not Naryshkin - this is even more narrowed). Some researchers, such as B. R. Vipper, consider it unlawful to use the term “baroque” in general, because this is “not a turning point in the worldview, but a change in tastes, not the emergence of new principles, but the enrichment of techniques.” The architecture of the “Naryshkin baroque” is only “an intermediary between old and new artistic ideas”, a kind of “herald of the romantic beginning in the new Russian art. But at the same time, it is quite obvious that she lacked courage, radicalism, genuine innovation "to be called a style (see about this: Vipper B.R. Russian Baroque Architecture. M., 1978. S. 17-18, 38–39). Typical examples of the "Naryshkin baroque" are churches in the estates of the nobility near Moscow. These are tiered buildings (octages or octagonal quadrangles, known for a long time) on the basement, with galleries. The last octagon in front of the head drum is used as a bell tower, hence the name of this kind of churches “churches under the bells”. Here, in a modified form, Russian wooden architecture made itself felt in full measure with its pronounced centricity and pyramidality, with a calm balance of masses and an organic fit into the surrounding landscape. The most striking example of the “Moscow baroque” is the Church of the Intercession in Fili (1693–1695), the estate church of L.K. Naryshkin (“a light lace fairy tale”, according to I.E. Grabar), the verticalism of the elegant, openwork silhouette of which finds analogies in hipped and pillar-shaped temples. White-stone profiled columns on the edges of the edges, framing of windows and doors emphasize this aspiration of the entire architectural volume upwards. No less beautiful are the churches in Trinity-Lykovo (1698–1704) and in Ubory (1693–1697), both creations of the architect Yakov Bukhvostov. The regularity of construction, the use of a floor-by-floor order, the concentration of decorative elements in the frame of openings and in the cornices make these structures related. In the Church of the Sign in the patrimony of B. Golitsyn Dubrovitsy (1690–1704), according to the plan, it seems to be close to the Church of the Intercession in Fili, a departure from the principles of Old Russian architecture and rapprochement with baroque European buildings is planned.

The architecture of the 17th century is characterized by its geographical scale: active construction is being carried out in Moscow and its environs, in Yaroslavl, Tver, Pskov, Ryazan, Kostroma, Vologda, Kargopol, etc.

The process of secularization of Russian culture is especially clearly manifested at this time in civil architecture. Features of regularity and symmetry can be traced in the chambers of V.V. Golitsyn in Moscow in Okhotny Ryad, in the house of the boyar Troyekurov with its magnificent outdoor decoration. Many public buildings were being built: the Printing (1679) and Mint (1696) yards, the building of Orders (pharmacy on Red Square, 90s). The Sretensky Gate of the Earthen City, used as a building for the garrison, and under Peter became a "navigational" and mathematical school and better known as the Sukharev Tower (1692–1701, architect Mikhail Choglokov). Thus, in the pronounced national architecture of the 17th century, with its picturesque asymmetry, polychromy of rich decor, cheerfulness and inexhaustibility of folk fantasy, features of regularity are strengthened, some techniques of Western European architecture, the use of order details - elements that will be developed in subsequent centuries.

Perhaps, in no other form of art, as in painting, all the contradictions of the turbulent 17th century were reflected with such clarity. It was in painting that the process of secularization of art was especially active.

Turn of the XVI-XVII centuries. marked in the visual arts by the presence of two different artistic directions. The first is the so-called Godunov school, so named because most of the works were commissioned by Boris Godunov. The artists of this trend strove to follow the monumental images of Rublev and Dionysius, but, in fact, it was archaic and eclectic. The second is the “Stroganov school”, conditionally named so because some icons were commissioned by eminent people of the Stroganovs. Not only Stroganov's Solvychegoda icon painters belonged to it, but also Moscow, tsarist and patriarchal masters. The best of them are Procopius Chirin, Nikita, Nazariy, Fyodor and Istoma Savina, etc. The Stroganov icon is small in size, it is not so much a prayer image as a precious miniature, designed for an art connoisseur (it is not for nothing that it is already signed, not anonymous). It is characterized by careful, very small writing, the sophistication of the drawing, the richness of ornamentation, the abundance of gold and silver. A typical work of the "Stroganov school" is the icon of Prokopy Chirin "Nikita the Warrior" (1593, State Tretyakov Gallery). His figure is fragile, devoid of the masculinity of the holy warriors of the pre-Mongol era or the time of early Moscow art (remember Boris and Gleb from the State Tretyakov Gallery), his posture is mannered, his legs and arms are deliberately weak, the outfit is emphatically refined. It is necessary to recognize the fact that the masters of the “Stroganov school” were undoubtedly new in the fact that they managed to convey the deeply lyrical mood of a poetic, fabulous landscape with golden foliage of trees and silvery, finely traced rivers (“John the Baptist in the Desert” from the State Tretyakov Gallery). Created rather for collectors, connoisseurs, amateurs, the icon of the "Stroganov school" remained in Russian icon painting as an example of high professionalism, artistry, sophistication of the language, but at the same time it testified to the gradual dying of the monumental prayer image.

Schism in the 17th century church more and more acquired a social character, and influenced cultural life. Disputes between the schismatics and the official religion resulted in a struggle between two different aesthetic views. Simon Ushakov (1626–1686), the tsarist painter and art theorist, was at the head of the new movement, proclaiming the tasks of painting that led, in fact, to a break with the ancient Russian icon-painting tradition. He outlined his views in a treatise dedicated to his friend Joseph Vladimirov, "Word to the inquisitive icon painting" (1667). Ushakov introduced his own understanding of the purpose of the icon into the traditional idea of ​​icon painting, highlighting, first of all, its artistic, aesthetic side. Ushakov was most interested in the relationship of painting with real life, we would say, "the relationship of art to reality." For the defenders of the old tradition, led by Archpriest Avvakum, religious art had no connection with reality. The icon, they believed, is an object of worship, everything in it, even the board itself, is sacred, and the faces of saints cannot be a copy of the faces of mere mortals.

An excellent teacher, a skilled organizer, one of the main painters of the Armory, Simon Ushakov was true to his theoretical conclusions in his own practice. His favorite themes - "The Savior Not Made by Hands" (State Russian Museum, State Tretyakov Gallery, State Historical Museum), "Trinity" (State Russian Museum) - show how the artist sought to get rid of the conventional canons of icon painting that had developed in centuries-old traditions. He achieves a bodily tone of faces, almost classical regularity of features, volumetric construction, emphasized perspective (sometimes directly using the architectural backgrounds of Italian Renaissance painting). Despite the compositional similarity with Rublev's Trinity, Ushakov's Trinity (1671, Russian Museum) has nothing in common with it in the main thing - it lacks the spirituality of Rublev's images. Angels look like quite earthly creatures, which in itself is meaningless, a table with a bowl - a symbol of the sacrament of sacrifice, redemption - has turned into a real still life.

In the middle of the XVII century. the Armory became the artistic center of the whole country, headed by one of the most educated people of his time, the boyar B.M. Khitrovo. The masters of the Armory decorated churches and chambers, updated old paintings, painted icons and miniatures, “signners” (i.e. draftsmen) created drawings for icons, banners, church embroidery, and jewelry. All the outstanding artistic forces of Rus' gathered here, foreign masters also worked here, orders came from here for the execution of numerous murals, easel and monumental works in a variety of techniques.

Fresco painting of the 17th century. with a big reservation can be called monumental. They painted a lot, but differently than before. The images are shredded and hard to read from a distance. There is no tectonics in the fresco cycles of the 17th century. The frescoes cover the walls, pillars, architraves with one continuous pattern, in which genre scenes are intertwined with intricate ornaments. The ornament covers the architecture, figures of people, their costumes, landscape backgrounds grow out of ornamental rhythms. Decorativism is one of the distinguishing features of fresco painting of the 17th century. The second feature is festivity and constant interest in a person in his Everyday life, the emphasis in the plots of Holy Scripture on the beauty of nature, human labor, that is, life in all its diversity. We do not call this quality of painting in the 17th century. bytovism, as it often sounds in works on art of the 17th century. Not a dull record of the little things of everyday life, but the true element of the holiday, the constant victory over the ordinary - that's what murals of the 17th century are like. The Yaroslavl frescoes of Gury Nikitin's artel and Sila Savin or Dmitry Grigoriev (Plekhanov) are the most striking example of this. In the 17th century Yaroslavl, a rich city on the Volga, is becoming, as already mentioned, one of the most interesting centers of not only a stormy social, but also artistic life. Merchants and wealthy townspeople build and paint churches. The master from the Armory, the already mentioned Gury Nikitin, in 1679 nominated by Simon Ushakov for the title of "complained" master, painted the Yaroslavl Church of Elijah the Prophet in 1681 with a large artel, Dmitry Grigoriev-Plekhanov with his artel - the Church of John the Baptist in Tolchkovo . The themes of the Holy Scriptures turn into fascinating short stories, their religious content remains, but acquires a different, sharp shade, is painted in the optimistic colors of the people's worldview. The engravings of the famous Piscator (Fischer) Bible, published in Holland and serving as a model for Russian masters, form the basis of many frescoes of Yaroslavl churches, but they are rendered in a strong revision, both semantic and stylistic. A well-known example of the image of the harvest in the scene of the healing of the youth by the saint: with undisguised delight, the mural painter depicts how reapers in bright shirts reap and knit rye into sheaves on a golden grain field. The master does not forget to depict even cornflowers among the rye. As one of the researchers (V.A. Plugin) correctly noted, a person in the murals of the 17th century. rarely appears as a contemplative, philosopher, people in the painting of this time are very active, they build, fight, trade, plow, ride in a carriage and on horseback; all scenes are quite "crowded" and "noisy". This is typical both for Moscow churches (the Church of the Trinity in Nikitniki, painted back in the 50s), and for Rostov and especially for Yaroslavl, which left wonderful monuments of murals of the 17th century.

Secular paintings are better known to us only from the testimony of contemporaries, for example, the painting of the Kolomna Palace, fabulous, like its appearance, this is the painting of the Faceted Chamber, which has come down to us, performed by Simon Ushakov together with the deacon Klementyev.

Finally, the portrait genre becomes a harbinger of the art of the future era. The portrait - parsuna (from the distorted word "persona", Latin "persona", personality) - was born at the turn of the 16th-17th centuries. Images of Ivan IV from the Copenhagen National Museum, Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich (GIM), Prince M.V. Skopin-Shuisky (TG) are still close to the icon in terms of the method of implementation, but they already have a certain portrait resemblance. There are also changes in the language of the image. With all the naivety of form, linearity, static, locality, there is already, albeit timid, an attempt at black and white modeling.

In the middle of the XVII century. some parsunas were performed by foreign artists. It is believed that the portrait of Patriarch Nikon with the clergy belongs to the Dutchman Wuchters. Parsuns of the steward V. Lyutkin, L. Naryshkin of the end of the 17th century. can already be called portraits.

In the ancient Russian graphics of this time, there are many everyday scenes and portraits. For example, the famous Gospel of Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich of 1678 contains 1200 miniatures. These are figures of fishermen, peasants, rural landscapes. In the handwritten “Titular Book” (“Big State Book”, or “The Root of Russian Sovereigns”) we find images of Russian and foreign rulers (1672–1673; TsGADA, RE, RNB). The development of book printing contributed to the flourishing of engraving, first on wood and then on metal. Simon Ushakov himself participated in the engraving of The Tale of Barlaam and Joasaph, together with the engraver of the Armory A. Trukhmensky.

The desire to convey real earthly beauty and, at the same time, fabulous fantasy are characteristic of all types of artistic creativity of the 17th century. In the Terem Palace, walls, vaults, floors, tiled stoves, dishes, fabrics, costumes of people - everything was covered with a dense grass ornament. Facades, window trims, and porches of the wooden Kolomna Palace were decorated with carved ornaments. Iconostases and royal gates in churches were decorated with the same abundant carving (more and more high relief) with gilding. Love for ornamental patterns was also reflected in stone carving. The gilding of the carving, the polychromy of the tiles, and the red color of the bricks created a festive and decorative architectural image. Perfection reaches the art of glazed tiles, architectural and decorative ceramics. Different in shape, color and pattern, tiles either completely covered the walls with a patterned carpet, as in the already mentioned Krutitsky Teremka, or played the role of inserts or decorated windows around the perimeter, as in Yaroslavl churches John Chrysostom or Nikola Wet. The manufacture of the tile was reminiscent of the folk wooden carving of gingerbread boards, which has long been familiar to Russian people, and its color scheme is embroidery, prints, and popular prints.

Increasingly asserts itself in the XVII century and round sculpture, almost completely unfamiliar to previous eras. The desire for emphasized plasticity, three-dimensionality also affected metal products: chased gold and silver chasubles of icons, various forms of utensils, both church and secular. The love for multi-colored patterns caused a new flourishing of the art of enamels, in which Solvychegodsk and Ustyug craftsmen became especially famous. In the Solvychegodsk workshops of the “eminent people of the Stroganovs”, the “Usolsk enamel business” is developing: Usolsk enamel is distinguished by the painting of floral ornaments on a light background. In the Volga cities, the art of printing was developed: a colorful pattern is printed on canvas from carved wooden boards.

In the pattern that adorns the sewing, there is an obvious shift from painting to jewelry art: the main emphasis is on the brilliance of gold and silver, the sparkle of precious stones and pearls. Gold embroidery reaches a special subtlety and perfection in the Stroganov school of sewing in the middle of the century. The gold seamstresses of the "Tsarina's Workshop Chamber" were famous for decorative sewing. But even in the applied arts, where the canons were kept the longest, an interest in life is manifested; here, as in painting, there is clearly a tendency towards increased decorativeness, lush ornamentation. Everything testifies to the victory of new artistic tastes, a new worldview, to the impending turning point at the turn of the two centuries.

The great ancient Russian art was formed in the closest connection with religion. The Christian Orthodox worldview gave rise to special forms of churches and monastic buildings, developed a certain system and technique of monumental painting and icon painting. Medieval thinking gave rise to certain canons in art, which is why in Ancient Rus' samples played a huge role both in architecture and in painting.

Old Russian art, of course, developed and changed over more than 800 years of existence, but its forms and traditions did not die and disappear without a trace with the advent of the new time, they still had a long life, albeit in a modified form, in the art of subsequent centuries.

Despite the developed specialization, the 17th century of Russian painting became the century of art, not handicraft forgery. Outstanding icon painters lived in Moscow. They were registered in the department of the Icon Chamber of the Icon Order.

Simvon Ushakov. Savior Not Made by Hands.

At the end of the 17th century, they began to work as masters of the Icon Shop of the Armory. At the beginning of the 17th century, Procopius Chirin achieved great success. Chirin was a native of Novgorod. His icons are made in soft colors, the figures are outlined along the contour with a golden border, whitewashed with the finest assist.

Another remarkable Russian painter of the 17th century was Nazariy Savin. Savin preferred figures of elongated proportions, narrow shoulders and long beards. In the 30s of the 17th century, Savin led a group of icon painters who wrote the deesis feast and prophetic rites for the iconostasis of the Church of the Deposition of the Robe of the Virgin and in the Moscow Kremlin.

Ivan 4 Vasilyevich the Terrible.

In the middle of the 17th century, great work was carried out to restore the ancient murals. The new wall painting of the Assumption Cathedral in Moscow, retained the scheme of the previous one, was completed in the shortest possible time. Ivan Panssein supervised the work. Artists under his leadership wrote 249 complex compositions, and 2066 faces.

In the 17th century of Russian painting, a special desire of artists stood out, the desire for a realistic depiction of a person. In Russia, such a phenomenon as secular painting begins to spread. Secular painters of the 17th century depicted kings, generals, and boyars. In the 17th century, in the culture of Russia, including in painting, a process of “secularization” took place. More and more secular motives penetrate the life of Russian society. Russia has embarked on a new path, on the threshold of a new era in its history.

In painting, the established traditions of writing have been preserved to a greater extent. The church council of 1667 strictly regulated the themes and images, the charter of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich demanded the same. Parsings were written from him:

Zealously condemned any deviations from the canons in the depiction of the holy ideologues of the Old Believers Avvakum.

The activities of the painters were led by the Armory of the Kremlin, which became in the 17th century. the artistic center of the country, where the best masters were attracted.

For 30 years, the painting business was headed by Simon Ushakov (1626-1686). A characteristic feature of his work was a close interest in the image of the human face. Under his hand, ascetic faces acquired living features. This is the icon "Savior not made by hands".

His other work is widely known - "Planting the Tree of the All-Russian State". Against the backdrop of the Cathedral of the Dormition, the figures of Ivan Kalita and Metropolitan Peter are placed, watering a large tree, on the branches of which medallions with portraits of princes and kings are fixed. On the left side of the picture is Alexei Mikhailovich, on the right - his wife with children. All images are portraits. Ushakov's brush also belongs to the "Trinity" icon, on which realistic details appear. Simon Ushakov had a great influence on the development of Russian painting.

A remarkable phenomenon in Russian art of the XVII century. became the school of Yaroslavl masters. Traditional church and biblical scenes on their frescoes are beginning to be depicted in the images of familiar Russian life. The miracles of the saints fade into the background before ordinary phenomena. Particularly characteristic is the composition "Harvest" in the church of Elijah the Prophet, as well as frescoes in the church of John the Baptist. Yaroslavl painters were also among the "pioneers" in the development of the landscape.

Another example of a secular genre that reflected an interest in the human personality was the spread of "parsun" writing - portrait images. If in the first half of the century "parsuns" were still performed in a purely icon-painting tradition (images of Ivan IV, M. Skopin-Shuisky),

then in the second they began to take on a more realistic character ("parsins" of the tsars Alexei Mikhailovich, Fyodor Alekseevich, the steward G.P. Godunov).

Mikhail Fedorovich, Tsar, the first of the Romanov dynasty.

Parsun of the last Rurikovich in the male line - the son of Ivan the Terrible.

Patriarch Nikon

Patriarch Nikon under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich.

Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina, the second wife of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and another of her parsuna

Naryshkin.

Patriarch Nikon with the brethren of the Resurrection Monastery

Portrait of the steward I.I. Chemodanov. 1690s.

BG

Evdokia Lopukhina - the bride of Peter Alekseevich

Portrait of the steward F.I. Verigin. 1690s.

Group portrait of the participants of the Russian embassy to England. 1662.

Marfa Vasilievna Sobakina

Wedekind Johann. Portrait of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich.

In the 17th century the formation of the all-Russian market begins. With the development of crafts and trade, the growth of cities, the penetration into Russian culture and the widespread dissemination of secular elements in it are connected. This process was called in the literature "secularization" of culture (from the word "worldly" - secular).

The main trends in culture of the 17th century.

The secularization of Russian culture was opposed by the church, which saw in it a Western, "Latin" influence. The Moscow rulers of the 17th century, seeking to limit the influence of the West in the person of foreigners arriving in Moscow, forced them to settle away from Muscovites - in the German settlement specially designated for them (now the area of ​​​​Baumanskaya street). However, new ideas and customs penetrated into the established life of Muscovite Rus'. The country needed knowledgeable, educated people who could engage in diplomacy, understand the innovations of military affairs, technology, manufacturing, etc. The reunification of Ukraine with Russia contributed to the expansion of political and cultural ties with the countries of Western Europe.

In the second half of the XVII century. several public schools were established. There was a school for the training of employees for central institutions, for the Printing House, the Pharmaceutical Order, etc. The printing press made it possible to publish uniform textbooks for teaching literacy and arithmetic in mass circulation. The interest of the Russian people in literacy is evidenced by the sale in Moscow (1651) during one day of VF Burtsev's Primer, published in 2,400 copies. Meletius Smotrytsky's "Grammar" (1648) and the multiplication table (1682) were published.

In 1687, the first higher educational institution was founded in Moscow - the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy, where they taught "from grammar, rhetoric, piitika, dialectics, philosophy ... to theology." The Academy was headed by the brothers Sofrony and Ioanniky Likhud, Greek scientists who graduated from the University of Padua (Italy). Priests and officials were trained here. MV Lomonosov also studied at this academy.

In the 17th century, as before, there was a process of accumulation of knowledge. Great successes were achieved in the field of medicine, in solving practical problems in mathematics (many were able to measure areas, distances, loose bodies, etc. with great accuracy), in observing nature.

Russian explorers made a significant contribution to the development of geographical knowledge. In 1648, the expedition of Semyon Dezhnev (80 years before Vitus Bering) reached the strait between Asia and North America. The easternmost point of our country now bears the name of Dezhnev. E. P. Khabarov in 1649 compiled a map and studied the lands along the Amur, where Russian settlements were founded. The city of Khabarovsk and the village of Erofey Pavlovich bear his name. At the very end of the XVII century. Siberian Cossack VV Atlasov explored Kamchatka and the Kuril Islands.

Literature

In the 17th century the last official annalistic compositions were created. The New Chronicler (30s) recounted the events from the death of Ivan the Terrible to the end of the Time of Troubles. It proved the rights of the new Romanov dynasty to the royal throne.

The central place in historical literature was occupied by historical novels, which had a journalistic character. For example, a group of such stories (“The Time of the Deacon Ivan Timofeev”, “The Tale of Avraamy Palitsyn”, “Another Tale”, etc.) was a response to the events of the Time of Troubles at the beginning of the 17th century.

The penetration of secular principles into literature is associated with the appearance in the 17th century. a genre of satirical story, where already fictional characters act. The “Service to the Tavern”, “The Tale of the Chicken and the Fox”, “Kalyazinsky Petition” contained a parody of church service, gluttony and drunkenness of monks were ridiculed, in the "Tale of Ersh Ershovich" - judicial red tape and bribery. The new genres were memoirs (“The Life of Archpriest Avvakum”) and love lyrics (Simeon of Polotsk).

The reunification of Ukraine with Russia gave impetus to the creation of the first Russian printed work on history. The Kiev monk Innocent Gizel compiled a "Synopsis" (review), which in a popular form contained a story about the joint history of Ukraine and Russia, which began from the moment of formation Kievan Rus. In the XVII - the first half of the XVIII century. "Synopsis" was used as a textbook of Russian history.

Theater

A court theater was created in Moscow (1672), which lasted only four years. It featured German actors. Male and female roles were played by men. The repertoire of the theater included plays based on biblical and legendary-historical subjects. The court theater did not leave any noticeable trace in Russian culture.

In Russian cities and villages, since the time of Kievan Rus, a wandering theater has become widespread - the theater of buffoons and Petrushka (the main character of folk puppet shows). The government and church authorities persecuted buffoonery for their cheerful and bold humor, exposing the vices of those in power.

Architecture

Architectural buildings of the 17th century. are of great beauty. They are asymmetrical both within a single building and in an ensemble. However, in this apparent disorder of architectural volumes there is both integrity and unity. Buildings of the 17th century multicolored, decorative. Architects were especially fond of decorating the windows of buildings with intricate, unlike each other platbands. Widespread in the 17th century. received multi-colored "solar tiles" - tiles and decorations made of carved stone and brick. Such an abundance of decorations located on the walls of one building was called a stone pattern, marvelous pattern.

These features are well traced in the Terem Palace of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich in the Kremlin, in the stone chambers of the Moscow, Pskov, Kostroma boyars of the 17th century that have come down to us, in the New Jerusalem Monastery, built near Moscow by Patriarch Nikon. The famous temples of Yaroslavl are close to them in style - the church of Elijah the Prophet and ensembles in Korovniki and Tolchkovo. As an example of the most famous buildings in Moscow of the 17th century. you can name the Church of St. Nicholas in Khamovniki (near the Park Kultury metro station), the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin in Putinki (not far from Pushkinskaya Square), the Trinity Church in Nikitniki (near the Kitai-Gorod metro station).

The decorative beginning, which marked the secularization of art, was also reflected in the construction or reconstruction of fortifications. By the middle of the century, the fortresses had lost their military significance, and the hipped roofs, first on Spasskaya and then on other towers of the Moscow Kremlin, gave way to magnificent tents that emphasized the calm grandeur and solemn power of the heart of the Russian capital.

In Rostov the Great, in the form of a Kremlin, the residence of the disgraced but powerful Metropolitan Jonah was built. This Kremlin was not a fortress, and its walls were purely decorative. The walls of large Russian monasteries erected after the Polish-Lithuanian-Swedish intervention (Trinity-Sergius Monastery, Spaso-Efimiev Monastery in Suzdal, Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery near Vologda, Moscow monasteries), following the general fashion, were also decorated with decorative details.

The development of ancient Russian stone architecture ended with the folding of the style, which was called Naryshkin (after the names of the main customers) or Moscow Baroque. Gate churches, the refectory and the bell tower of the Novodevichy Convent, the Church of the Intercession in Fili, churches and palaces in Sergiev Posad, Nizhny Novgorod, Zvenigorod and others were built in this style.

The Moscow baroque is characterized by a combination of red and white colors in the decoration of buildings. The number of storeys of buildings, the use of columns, capitals, etc. as decorative ornaments are clearly traced. by Italian masters when decorating the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. The appearance of the Moscow baroque, which had common features with the architecture of the West, testified that Russian architecture, despite its originality, developed within the framework of a common European culture.

In the 17th century, wooden architecture flourished. "The eighth wonder of the world" was called by contemporaries the famous palace of Alexei Mikhailovich in the village of Kolomenskoye near Moscow. This palace had 270 rooms and about 3 thousand windows and windows. It was built by Russian craftsmen Semyon Petrov and Ivan Mikhailov and existed until the middle of the 18th century, when it was dismantled under Catherine II due to dilapidation.

Painting

The secularization of art manifested itself with particular force in Russian painting. The greatest artist of the 17th century was Simon Ushakov. In his well-known icon "The Savior Not Made by Hands", new realistic features of painting are clearly visible: three-dimensionality in the depiction of the face, elements of direct perspective.

The trend towards a realistic depiction of a person and the secularization of icon painting, characteristic of the school of S. Ushakov, is closely connected with the spread in Russia of portraiture - a parsuna (person), depicting real characters, for example, Tsar Fyodor Ivanovich, M. V. Skopin-Shuisky and others. However, the technique of the artists was still similar to icon painting, that is, they wrote on boards with egg paints. At the end of the XVII century. the first parsunas appeared, painted in oil on canvas, anticipating the heyday of Russian portrait art in the 18th century.

Conclusions on the culture of the 17th century.

In the history of Russian art, the 17th century was a period of struggle between two painting schools and the formation of new genres. Orthodox Church still had a huge impact on human cultural life. Artists also experienced some restrictions in their activities.

iconography

During the late Middle Ages, the center of concentration in Russia of artists and artisans was the Kremlin, or rather the Armory. The best masters of architecture, painting and other types of creativity worked there.

Despite the rapid development of art throughout Europe, painting in Russia in the 17th century had only one genre - icon painting. Artists were forced to create under the vigilant supervision of the church, which strongly opposed any innovations. Russian icon painting was formed under the influence of the painting traditions of Byzantium and by that time had clearly formed canons.

Painting, like culture in Russia in the 17th century, was rather self-contained and developed very slowly. However, one event led to a complete reformation of the icon-painting genre. In a fire in 1547 in Moscow, many ancient icons burned down. It was necessary to restore the lost. And in the process, the main stumbling block was the dispute over the nature of the faces of the saints. Opinions were divided, adherents of the old traditions believed that the images should remain symbolic. While the artists of more modern views were in favor of giving the saints and martyrs more realism.

Split into two schools

As a result, painting in Russia in the 17th century was divided into two camps. The first included representatives of the "Godunov" school (on behalf of Boris Godunov). They sought to revive the icon-painting traditions of Andrei Rublev and other medieval masters.

These masters worked on orders for the royal court and represented the official side of art. Characteristic features for this school were the canonical faces of saints, simplified images of a crowd of people in the form of many heads, golden, red and blue-green tones. At the same time, one can notice the attempts of artists to convey the materiality of some objects. The Godunov school is best known for its wall paintings in the chambers of the Kremlin, in the Smolensky Cathedral, the Trinity Cathedral.

The opposing school was "Stroganov". The name is associated with the merchants Stroganovs, for whom most of the orders were made and who acted as "sponsors" in the development of painting in Russia in the 17th century. It was thanks to the masters from this school that the rapid development of art began. They were the first to make miniature icons for home prayers. This contributed to their spread among ordinary citizens.

The Stroganov masters more and more went beyond the church canons and began to pay attention to the details of the environment, appearance saints. And so the landscape slowly began to develop. Their icons were colorful and decorative, and the interpretation of biblical characters was closer to the images of real people. The most famous of the surviving works are the icons "Nikita the Warrior", "John the Baptist".

Yaroslavl frescoes

A unique monument in the history of painting of the 17th century in Russia are the frescoes in the Church of the Prophet Elijah in Yaroslavl, on which artists from the Armory worked. A feature of these frescoes are scenes from real life that prevail over biblical stories. For example, in the scene with healing, the main part of the composition is occupied by the image of peasants during the harvest. It was the first monumental image in the domestic genre.

Among these frescoes one can find fabulous and mythological scenes. They amaze with their bright colors and complex architecture.

Simon Ushakov

Significant persons appear at each stage of the country's cultural development. The person who promoted painting in Russia in the 17th century in a new direction and contributed to its partial liberation from religious ideology was Simon Ushakov.

He was not only a court painter, but also a scientist, teacher, theologian, a man of broad views. Simon was fascinated by Western art. In particular, he was interested in the realistic depiction of the human face. This is clearly seen in his work "The Savior Not Made by Hands".

Ushakov was an innovator. He was the first Russian artist to use oil paint. Thanks to him, the art of engraving on copper began to develop. Being the chief artist of the Armory for thirty years, he wrote many icons, engravings, as well as several treatises. Among them is "A Word to the Lover of Icon Painting", in which he expressed his thoughts that the artist should, like a mirror, truthfully reflect the world around him. He followed this in his writings and taught it to his students. In his notes there are references to an anatomical atlas, which he wanted to write and illustrate with engravings. But, apparently, it was not published or was not preserved. The main merit of the master is that he laid the foundations for portraiture of the 17th century in Russia.

Parsuna

After significant transformations in icon painting, the portrait genre began to take shape. At first, it was performed in the icon-painting style and was called "parsuna" (from the Latin - person, personality). Artists are working more and more with living nature, and parsoons are becoming more realistic, the faces on them are gaining volume.

Portraits of Boris Godunov, tsars Alexei Mikhailovich, Fyodor Alekseevich, tsarinas Evdokia Lopukhina, Praskovya Saltykova were painted in this style.

It is known that foreign artists also worked at the court. They also greatly contributed to the evolution of Russian painting.

book graphics

Printing also came to Russian lands rather late. However, in parallel with its development, engravings, which were used as illustrations, also gained popularity. The images were both religious and domestic in nature. The book miniature of that period is distinguished by complex ornamentation, decorative letters, and portrait images are also found. Masters of the Stroganov school made a great contribution to the development of book miniatures.

Painting in Russia in the 17th century turned from a highly spiritual into a more secular and close to the people. Despite the opposition of church leaders, the artists defended their right to create in the genre of realism.