RU 
EN Natalia Grigorieva
The Union of Moscow Architects, Russia
Focusing interdisciplinary research on the history of a Moscow city mansion of the 17th–20th centuries, the author undertakes a study of the progressive accretion of cultural potential in local material objects of urban space. In fact, it is this accumulation process that converts an architectural site into a ‘cultural nest’, a bearer of historical and civilisation heritage. The author traces the formation of sustainable and developing in time socio-cultural complexes that are directly related to or associated with such sites and, above all, with the destiny of their inhabitants, guests, observers and chroniclers of everyday life.
One of the pivotal moments which had a decisive impact on architectural appearance and on the fate of the mansion at No 9, Povarskaya, in general, relates to the late 19th — early 20th century. This period is associated with the ambitious restructuring of the old-Moscow estate of the early 19th century, as well as with the change of its function into a representative mansion of the new cultural and business elite of Russia. The transformation of the mansion in “il palazzo delle arti” in imitation of the Renaissance artifacts is connected with the last owners of the estate, among which there were the Botkin, the Shchukin, the Zetlin and the Wissotzky families, as well as with architects Ivan Kuznetsov and Adolf Zeligson, painters Mikhail Vrubel, Ilya Repin, Valentin Serov, poet Afanasy Fet, composer-academist Alexander Gretchaninov, and later many artists of the Silver Age of Russian art.
Alexandra Radushevskaya
Saint Petersburg State University, Russia
Russian icon painting of the modern era has not been researched for a long time because of historical and economic reasons, but today it becomes interesting for scholars. Nevertheless, interaction between icon painting and the Art Nouveau style is still unexplored. This impedes attribution of many icons, a substantial number of works of art remain in the shadows. This work delves into the history of searching for the way of icon painting renewal through introducing the Art Nouveau style into it. This required:
• to define the role of the Art Nouveau style in Russian icon painting, its criteria and possibility of adoption by icon painting; measure of interaction;
• to describe the role of painters and scientists in this process and evaluate the changes;
• to apply the developed criteria to individual works of art.
Publications on this theme are limited. We can only point out the growing interest at the turn of the 20th century to the situation in icon painting and the problems of national and religious expectations. Among contemporary works of special notice are those by O. Tarasov, V. Putsko, V. Gusakova. Close to the topic are works by D. Sarabianov, V. Turchin, G. Sternin, T. Borisova.
This paper defines criteria of the Art Nouveau style in Russian icon painting, introduces an attempt to separate “icon” and “religious painting”, describes the circle of painters and icon painters who created “icon of the modern style”. Alongside with this, the article offers an attribution of icons from the private collection.
So far as this work is just the beginning of systematic research of the theme it proposes further development of specified directions.
Materials of this research can be used while writing research works, reading the course on Russian culture and art and in arranging museum expositions. Besides, provisions made in the work could be useful in attribution of icons of the Art Nouveau style.
Liudmila Titova
Moscow Architectural Institute (State Academy), Russia
Powerful red brick housing manufactories — a memorable integral part of the historic part of almost any city of Russia. In the second half of the 19th century a number of preconditions for active development of the industry was established. This period, marking the country’s transition from an agrarian to an industrial economy, was given the name — “industrial revolution”. Indeed, textile, food and metallurgical industries began to evolve rapidly across the country. Every factory developed thanks to the work of generations of dynasties of local businessmen — industrialists, such as the Morozovs, Demidovs, Alekseevs, Ryabushinskys, Prokhorovs, Strogonovs and many others.
At the beginning of the 21st century these factories did not meet industrial demands for technological equipment and the volume of production any more. After the withdrawal of the remaining industries large areas in the city center became appealing for developers. As a result former factories underwent a conversion.
The industrial heritage of the end of the 19th — beginning of the 20th centuries has a lot of particular features. One of them lies in the fact that manufactures were multifunctional complexes. Buildings of industrial and social functions were built in accordance with the relief, technical process and the life of workers, creating a unique architectural ensemble. As a rule, courtyards on the territory of factory, which were used for different purposes, including working and social life, were formed. Unfortunately, many of the objects that have undergone conversion of destructive or commercial character are now deprived of such spaces. In modern practice, undeveloped area of industrial heritage is often given to a overground parking, although there are some very good examples of public use of such spaces in the world.
In this report, the author carries out analysis of configuration and potential of internal areas of manufactories as well as of foreign and domestic projects of their use in order to systematize ways of transformation of former industrial areas in public and residential spaces.
Leila Khasianova
The Russian Academy of Arts, Russia
In Russia, the monumental painting of the 60–80s of the 19th century is experiencing a crisis, this was due to the interest of the creative intelligentsia to the people’s life and manifested in an unprecedented flowering of easel painting. Since the beginning of the 1890s the situation changed: there began the works in Vladimir Cathedral and St. Cyril’s Church in Kiev, the building of churches in Talashkino, Abramtsevo, the decoration of which was made by outstanding artists V. M. Vasnetsov, M. A. Vrubel, M. V. Nesterov, N. K. Rerih et al.
In Russia, vivid examples of monumental painting were considered Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow and St. Vladimir’s Cathedral in Kiev. The paintings in the Moscow church were carried out in 1860–1870s, those in Kiev — in 1885. Almost at the same time, the work on St Mary’s Cathedral polychrome in Krakow began.
The report examines the monumental painting of representatives of the era of “historicism” Jan Matejko and V. M. Vasnetsov, which become a sort of link between the 19th century and time of Secession — Symbolism and early modernism. As the critic S. K. Makovsky wrote: “Vasnetsov created a style. Even fragile and impracticable. [...] It is infinitely closer to people’s beauty, sweeter, more intimate, more truthful than „cock“ style, sung by Stasov”. Unfortunately, in the studies on creativity of Jan Matejko I have never met a phrase “mateykovsky style”, but he created it.
Anastasia Dolgova
National A. S. Pushkin Museum, Russia
The report focuses on the biography, buildings and artistic method of architect Pavel Fedotovich Alyoshin (1881–1961). His heritage has been studied unevenly and insufficiently: the most researches deal only with his most famous works (F. G. Bazhanov and A. P. Chuvaldina Trade-Industrial partnership house in Saint Petersburg, N. V. Kovalevsky mansion and the building of the Pedagogical Museum in Kiev), certain aspects are covered in articles and books in the Ukrainian language while Russian-language publications about his projects and activity are quite rare.
Research, dedicated to the personality of the architect and his heritage, seems important because more than forty years of Alyoshin’s professional activity reflected the changes that took place in architecture and art at that time. The range of genres in which he worked is very broad, he built residential and public buildings, designed streets and residential areas. In his projects Alyoshin dealt with different styles: Art Nouveau, historicism, neo-classicism and Constructivism.
A unique, holistic view of the Alyoshin’s method of work can be obtained because his extensive archive has been preserved. Drawings, descriptions of buildings, sketches, correspondence, photographs show the breadth of the architect’s interests, his proximity to the type of all-round craftsman, typical to the Renaissance and then to Art Nouveau epoch, his attention to details, engineering and technical innovations, his custom to thoroughly study the issue before the implementation of the project.