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The Imperial Academy of Arts (abbreviated as IAH; in 1757-1763 - the
Academy of the Three Most Noble Arts; from March 1917 until the
abolition - the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts) - the historical Academy
of Arts in St. Petersburg, the first and only state higher educational
institution in pre-revolutionary Russia, engaged in the training of
personnel in the field of fine arts.
The Imperial Academy of Arts
was established by order of Empress Elizaveta Petrovna by decree of the
Governing Senate dated November 6 (17), 1757, which implemented the
initiative of I. I. Shuvalov and M. V. Lomonosov to create an art school
at Moscow University. Shuvalov ordered the project of the “Academy of
the North” (“Académie du Nord”) for Moscow in Paris to the French
neoclassical architect Jacques-Francois Blondel the Younger, but the
project was not developed and from 1757 the first ten students began to
study painting under the guidance of the Italian painter Pietro Rotari
in St. Petersburg in Shuvalov's own house on Italianskaya street. In the
reign of Empress Catherine II in 1764, the Academy of Arts was
transformed into an independent institution with its own privileges and
charter, which received a special building on the University Embankment
- an outstanding architectural monument of Russian classicism
(1764-1789; project - J.-B. Vallin-Delamot, construction - A. F.
Kokorinova). Until the building was completed, training sessions in
1764-1778 were held in specially rented houses on the embankment of
Vasilyevsky Island.
During the second half of the 18th - the
first half of the 19th century, the Imperial Academy of Arts occupied a
central place in the artistic life of Russia, playing a significant role
in the training of new artistic personnel; in 1833, its branch was
opened in Moscow - the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and
Architecture. At the same time, conservative tendencies with a focus on
official academism emerged at the Academy of Arts, which became
predominant by the middle of the 19th century, which led in 1863 to the
so-called "rebellion of the fourteen" - a public performance by a group
of academic graduates, who later formed the basis of the association of
the Wanderers. During the reform of 1893, the Imperial Academy of Arts
received a new charter, according to which it was divided into two
institutions: the Imperial Academy (Academic Assembly), which performed
public functions, and an educational institution - the Higher Art School
of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, to which a number of major
masters of the late 19th century were involved. After the revolution of
1917, the Academy of Arts actually stopped working and was abolished by
a decree of the government of the RSFSR of April 13, 1918; after a
series of transformations in the building of the Academy of Arts in
1932, the Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (the modern
St. Petersburg Academy of Arts named after Ilya Repin) was established.
Peter I realized that in order to implement his ideas
about the good of Russia, it was necessary not only to spread education
in the country, but also to saturate people's life with art, as the most
important element of true culture. For this purpose, Peter founded a
drawing school at the St. Petersburg Printing House. The school had art
teachers. The school, run by the director of the printing house MP
Abramov, enjoyed the special attention of Peter I. In official
documents, the school was called the "Academy". “His Majesty was at the
Academy, they copied a man” is recorded in the Journal of November 3,
1715. Peter instructed the school in a special instruction: "... so that
education in it is conducted according to the rules and in all branches
of art."
In 1716, painters Alexander Zakharov, brothers Ivan and
Roman Nikitin, as well as architects Pyotr Eropkin and Fyodor Isakov
were sent to the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence; architects Ivan
Ustinov and Ivan Korobov, artist Andrey Matveev - to Holland; engraver
Stepan Korovin - to Paris, engraver Fyodor Cherkasov - to Italy. The
project on the establishment of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences
(01/28/1724) says: "... now in Russia the building has been made to
cultivate the arts and sciences" and further "enough members have worked
for the perfection of the arts and sciences."
A year before his
death, Peter I signed a decree "On the academy in which languages would
be studied, as well as other sciences and noble arts." The project of
“establishment of the Academy of various arts” was presented to the tsar
by the mechanic-inventor A.K. Nartov. On the plan of the future city of
St. Petersburg, compiled by J.-B. A. Leblon (1717), near the estate of
the Governor-General A. D. Menshikov on Vasilyevsky Island, the building
of the “Academy of All Arts and Crafts” was envisaged. Nartov's project,
along with the training of "civil architects", emphasized the need to
create engraving, icon-painting, turning classes, training "fountain
craftsmen", locksmiths, carpenters, foundry workers, opticians,
tin-makers, and copper workers. This approach corresponded to the
aesthetics of that time: the indivisibility of the arts into “fine” and
“mechanical”. Before leaving in 1716 to study in Italy, the project of
the Academy was proposed by the architect P. M. Eropkin. The French
painter Louis Caravaque, who had been working in Russia since 1716, also
offered his project to the Academy of Arts. However, with the death of
Emperor Peter the Great in 1725, these initiatives were interrupted.
Peter's successors did not inherit his ideas about the significance
of the task of developing the arts. Since 1724, the Engraving Chamber
began to operate as part of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. The
draft charter of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, drawn up under
Anna Ioannovna, says: "... the art of drawing by scientists, although it
brings little benefit, is nevertheless a great decoration." The main
attention at the Academy of Sciences at that time was turned to
engraving and the execution of government orders and instructions from
the Court for the artistic and entertainment part.
The project of
the Academy of Crafts was developed by V. N. Tatishchev. In 1730, during
the reign of Empress Anna Ioannovna, Tatishchev's plan was approved.
Tatishchev was supposed to head the Academy, he was also appointed head
of the “department of mechanics”. The architectural department was to be
headed by P. M. Eropkin, the painting department by Louis Caravaque, and
the sculptural department by Carlo Rastrelli. However, this project,
like many other undertakings of Anna's time, was successfully buried.
At the end of 1738, Jacob Shtelin organized the Drawing Chamber of
the Academy of Sciences, and since 1747, in connection with the
transformation of the Academy of Sciences into the Academy of Sciences
and Arts, he actually directed its “art department”. Shtelin drew up a
detailed draft of the new staff and rules for the Academy of Arts at the
Academy of Sciences. However, this project was not developed due to the
opposition of the President of the Academy of Sciences, Count K. G.
Razumovsky.
Even reduced to the role of an engraving and drawing
school within the Academy of Sciences, the art department weighs on her.
Recognizing that "artists are necessary for drawing anatomical figures,
herbs and other natural objects," the leadership of the Academy
complains about the significant costs that could be dispensed with if
"the academy of arts, for which there was hope, was established" and the
question is "needed whether the Academy of Arts is attached to the
Academy of Sciences or not, and in what way might it be necessary for
the state?” (09/07/1733).
Fifteen years later (09/25/1747) in the
regulations of the Academy of Sciences, this issue was resolved in the
affirmative: “It is superfluous to write at length about the fact that
there is a necessary thing for the well-being of any state of science
and art.” According to this regulation, the Academy of Sciences was
renamed the Academy of Sciences and Arts. The teaching of arts is
expanding: sculpture and architecture classes are founded, and the
drawing chamber is divided into three departments: from drawings, from
plasters and from nature. Beginning to be held (from 06/08/1748)
Meetings of the Academy of Arts, which are attended by members of the
Academy (they are also art teachers).
The initiative to found the
Academy of Arts belonged to the curator of the Imperial Moscow
University I. I. Shuvalov. Preparations for the creation of the Academy
of Arts began at Moscow University from the moment it was founded. In
April 1755, Shuvalov wrote in an instruction to the first director of
the university, A. M. Argamakov, about the need to enroll students at
the university gymnasium in a special class “to study the arts.” The
students of the art class were selected among state-owned high school
students-raznochintsy. In January 1756, the first 9 students of the
gymnasium, who showed the greatest abilities, were sent by order of
Shuvalov to continue their studies in St. Petersburg at the Academy of
Sciences.
In 1757, the curator of the Imperial Moscow
University, I. I. Shuvalov, addressed the Senate with the presentation
of the Academy of Arts, in which he wrote: “... it is necessary to
establish an academy of arts, the fruits of which, when brought into a
state, will not only be the glory of the local Empire, but also great
benefit state-owned and particular works, for which foreign mediocre
knowledge, receiving great money, returns richly, leaving not a single
Russian in any art who knows how to do it. ... This academy will be
established here in St. Petersburg for the reason that the best
craftsmen do not want to go to Moscow, both in the hope of having work
from the court, and for the better satisfaction of foreign local life.
The Senate decided (11/06/1757) "to establish the aforementioned Academy
of Arts here in St. Petersburg" and instructed Shuvalov to submit to the
Senate a project for the organization and staff of the Academy. This is
how the “Academy of the Three Most Noble Arts” arose, which, during the
entire time it was managed by I. I. Shuvalov (1757-1763), was at the
Imperial Moscow University. At the beginning of 1758, the first 16
students were transferred to the Academy from Moscow University and
another 20 students were recruited in St. Petersburg.
After its
creation, the Academy of Arts was under the jurisdiction of the Imperial
Moscow University (1757-1763) and was directly managed by I. I.
Shuvalov. For the founding of the Academy, 6,000 rubles a year were
allocated to the treasury of Moscow University. The expenses for the
Academy of Arts were planned to be included in the budget and the staff
of Moscow University when drafting the University Charter (1761).
The Academy was originally located in Shuvalov's mansion on
Italianskaya Street. Since 1758, classes began here. The first teacher
was the Italian painter Pietro Antonio Rotari. He had many Russian
students, among them outstanding masters: F. S. Rokotov and A. P.
Antropov.
The academy's funds were at first very meager: it was
ordered to release only 6,000 rubles a year to it. But with personal
funds, Shuvalov immediately managed to raise the prestige of the academy
high. Shuvalov invited teachers from abroad - artists from France and
Germany, recruited the first students and donated his art collection to
the Academy, laying the foundation for an academic library and museum.
With the entry into the academy for teaching architecture, A.F.
Kokorinov, the proper organization of the academy became possible.
The training course lasted nine years and included the study of the
art of engraving, portraiture, sculpture, architecture, etc. Since 1760,
the best graduates were sent on an internship abroad for state funds
(following the example of the French Roman Prize).
The first
rector of the Academy was the French painter Louis Le Lorrain, and the
adjunct rector was the French sculptor Nicolas Gillet. The latter a
little later took the post of rector himself, but in 1760 he was
replaced by Louis Lagrene, who remained in office until the disgrace of
I. I. Shuvalov in 1763.
Significant changes in the fate of the
Academy of Arts occurred after its founder I. I. Shuvalov was sent into
exile abroad (from March 1763 to 1777).
On March 3, 1763, General I. I. Betskoy was appointed
director of the Academy of Arts. The Academy was separated from the
Imperial Moscow University.
On December 13, 1764, Betskoy was
appointed president of the Academy of Arts and remained in this post
until 1794.
In 1764, Catherine II approved the Charter and staff
of the Academy of Arts; its budget was increased to 60 thousand rubles.
And in the same year, the construction of a special building for the
academy began on Vasilyevsky Island (Universitetskaya embankment, 17.
For a long time it was believed that the design of the building on
Vasilyevsky Island was carried out jointly by the French architect J. B.
M. Vallin-Delamot and the representative of the Moscow school A. F.
Kokorinov Architectural historian V. K. Shuisky in the 1990s, based on
archival research conducted in France - in Angouleme and Paris,
convincingly proved that Vallin-Delamot alone was involved in the
design, and Kokorinov was entrusted with the construction.
J.-B.
Wallin-Delamote studied at the French Academy in Rome in 1750-1752,
worked in Russia in 1759-1775, and taught architecture at the St.
Petersburg Academy of Arts. Before coming to St. Petersburg, in 1753
Vallin-Delamot participated in the competition for the creation of the
ensemble of the Place de la Concorde in Paris. It is generally accepted
that Vallin-Delamot revised the project of the "Academy of the North"
(Académie du Nord), ordered in 1756 by I. I. Shuvalov for Moscow by
J.-F. Blondel Jr. However, in the facade of the Academy building in St.
Petersburg, there are obvious analogies with the facades of houses on
Concorde Square, built as a result of the Paris competition by
Jacques-Ange Gabriel: “big order”, ground floor arcades with “French
rustication”, side risalits, identical to the porticos on Concorde
Square, elongated in height "French windows". However, in general, the
building of the Academy of Arts is an example of the architecture of
early Russian, or Catherine's, classicism, in which its French sources
manifested themselves. The central part of the main façade and the domed
top have complex baroque outlines, which is also typical of early
Russian classicism.
Since 1780, the part of the Academy building,
facing the Neva River, was completed by the architect Yu. M. Felten. In
1785, according to the idea of Felten, a sculptural group “Minerva,
crowning arts and sciences” was installed on the dome of the building,
based on the model of the sculptor I.P. Prokofiev. The goddess Minerva
symbolizes the wisdom of Empress Catherine II, the patroness of the
arts, the three "paths" at her feet represent the "noble arts" -
painting, sculpture, architecture. The statues on the main facade of the
building - Hercules and Flora - were also created by the sculptor
Prokofiev on the basis of antique models of Hercules and Flora of
Farnese from the Neapolitan Museum. Their plaster casts of these statues
were in the collection of the Academy of Arts.
The plan of the
building of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts forms a rectangle
measuring 140 by 125 m, inside there is a round courtyard with an
annular inner building (“compass”). Inside a huge courtyard with a
diameter of 55 m, one can mentally place the ancient Roman Pantheon - a
round building in plan with a dome with a diameter of 43.2 m. has a
symbolic meaning. It was assumed that through the open doors of the
vestibule, carriages could drive directly into the courtyard of the
academic "pantheon", on the four portals of which there are golden
inscriptions: architecture, sculpture, painting, education. According to
the memoirs of Count A. A. Bezborodko, the round courtyard of the
Academy was invented by the Empress so that it would remind students of
the majestic dome of St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome as a symbolic measure
of their future works.
The construction of the building of the
Academy of Arts proceeded with great difficulties. In 1771, due to lack
of funds, it generally stopped. Unable to withstand numerous accusations
and feeling like a failure, in a fit of melancholy, the architect
Kokorinov cut his throat. In 1775 Vallin-Delamot left Russia.
Construction continued until 1788; interior decoration dragged on until
1817.
The course of study for artists of all specialties was
divided into five categories, or classes. The lowest, fifth stage of
training was drawing ornaments and “original heads” (copying
“originals”), in the fourth category they drew from “original figures”,
in the next two, plaster, from plaster heads and plaster figures, after
which students were admitted to the first , the highest category -
full-scale class. The two lowest ranks constituted the Educational
School, the three highest - the actual Academy of Arts; with the
transition to the Academy itself, specialization began in the classes of
painting, sculpture and engraving. In addition, following in general the
programs adopted in all educational institutions in Europe, the Academy
paid much attention to general education subjects: geography, foreign
languages, history, mythology, astronomy. They studied in each category
for three years, therefore admission to the Academy (more precisely, to
the Educational School) was carried out every three years. In the
lowest, fifth category, boys of five or six years of age were accepted.
Thus, the full course of study was fifteen years (but there were, of
course, deviations from this order, due to the individual
characteristics of the student); later, at the beginning of the 19th
century, students entered the school at the age of eight or nine, and
the period of study was reduced to twelve years.
While Kokorinov
was active (until 1772), the forces of the academy developed, but the
long period of the presidency of I. I. Betsky (1764-1794), who replaced
I. I. Shuvalov in 1763, was a period of very poor administration and the
decline of the first inclinations of academic activity.
In 1765,
the first academicians from the Russian graduates of the Academy (V. I.
Bazhenov, G. I. Kozlov, F. S. Rokotov, K. I. Golovachevskii, I. S.
Sablukov) and the first honorary art lovers (Count G G. Orlov, N. I.
Panin, Prince A. M. Golitsyn, A. V. Olsufiev, Count I. G. Chernyshev and
G. N. Teplov).
In 1767, classes of crafts were opened (casting
and chased, gilding, industrial and carpentry-modeling). There was a
division of art classes into departments of painting, sculpture and
engraving. The graduation of 20 students of the Academy took place.
Seven of them, who received gold medals for the execution of the
program, were sent to Paris for 3 years.
In 1791, a Decree was
issued to leave the most talented students who completed the course at
the expense of the Academy.
After Betsky, AI Musin-Pushkin was
appointed the third president of the Academy (1794-1797).
The
fourth president of the Academy (1797-1800) was the French emigrant
Auguste de Choiseul-Gouffier. The difficulty of the presidency of
Choiseul-Gouffier was that he did not know the Russian language, and
therefore all the papers for him had to be translated into French. The
presidency can be characterized as a time of clear preference for
foreigners over domestic artists and craftsmen. The revival of the
Academy falls on a short period of appointment of V. I. Bazhenov as
vice-president of the Academy from February 26 to March 2, 1799.
In 1798, a drawing school was opened at the Academy for volunteers of
various ranks.
The hierarchy of genres introduced by the French
Academy determined the priorities of teaching in Russia as well — that
is, the historical genre was considered the main one. Students created
pictures for programs, the plots of which were taken from worthy sources
- such works as the Bible, Ovid's Metamorphoses, Homer's Iliad. Old
Russian canvases at an early stage of classicism were based mainly on
three editions - “Synopsis, or a Brief description from various
chroniclers about the beginning of the Slavic people, about the first
Kiev princes and about the life of ... Grand Duke Vladimir ... and his
heirs ... to ... the king ... Feodor Aleksievich…” (5th ed., 1762),
“Ancient Russian History…” by Mikhail Lomonosov (1766), “Russian
History…” by Mikhail Shcherbatov (1770-1771).
Typical program of
1793:
Alexander, feeling great thirst, refuses, however, to drink the
water brought to him in a helmet, saying that there is not enough water
for all his soldiers, who are suffering from an equal thirst with him.
In 1800, the academy was headed by a wealthy
philanthropist A. S. Stroganov, who raised it to a new level. Under him,
medal and restoration classes appeared, and serfs began to be admitted
to the academy as free students. The orders prepared by Stroganov in
1802 provided for a radical reform of the academy, including the
establishment of an art gallery and the establishment of prizes, but
these plans did not materialize, except perhaps for sending young
artists abroad.
After the death of Stroganov, the Academy of Arts
came under the control of the Ministry of Public Education (1812-1817).
On April 21, 1817, A. N. Olenin was appointed
president of the academy. Energetic and persistent Olenin begins to
study the upset financial state of the Academy. To amend the affairs of
the Academy, a Provisional Board is established, the main task of which
is "the speedy arrangement of the educational, economic and construction
parts of the Academy." Soon, "with the most merciful allowance received
from the royal bounty," the Academy paid off its debts. Through the
Minister of Public Education, Prince A. N. Golitsyn, the necessary sums
were requested for repairs and reconstruction of the Academy building.
In the 1830s, Konstantin Ton began to renovate the interiors and
designed new magnificent halls - Raphael and Titian. Under Olenin, the
institution becomes a bastion of academic aesthetics. Olenin managed the
Academy for 26 years, until the end of his days (1843).
The
financial position of the academy was strengthened after its transfer to
the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Imperial Court. The increased
funds made it possible to send boarders abroad more regularly, where (in
Rome) guardianship was arranged for them. The educational school was
closed in 1843.
After the death of Olenin, a new period of her
life begins for the Academy, in which it is controlled by the Persons of
the imperial family.
On April 19, 1843 Duke Maximilian of Leuchtenberg was appointed President of the Academy. In connection with the need for frequent absences of the president for military service, the duties of the president from June 1843 were actually carried out by the vice-president of the Academy, F. P. Tolstoy. A major event of this time was the opening of a mosaic institution at the Academy. During this period, in addition to the Moscow Art School (1843), private drawing schools were opened in Saransk (1847), Kyiv (1850) and Warsaw (1852).
After the death of the Duke of Leuchtenberg (1852),
Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna became president of the Academy.
During the presidency of Maria Nikolaevna, significant transformations
began at the Academy of Arts. Prince Gagarin is appointed vice-president
of the Academy, and F.F. Lvov is appointed conference secretary. The
beliefs and views of Prince Gagarin on academic education were
completely contrary to the existing order at that time. Gagarin wanted
to change the academic charter: he wrote about it, spoke at court: Grand
Duchess Maria Nikolaevna shared his way of thinking. Having met Lvov,
the secretary of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Prince
Gagarin instructed him to draft a new charter for the Academy of Arts.
The new charter was approved by the Highest (1860) and sent to the
Academy for guidance. The conditions under which it was supposed to
renew the Academy were accepted by all the old members of the Academy
very unfriendly. Prince Gagarin was convinced that for the benefit of
art, all former professors should be removed from the Academy and
separate workshops should be set up, following the example of the French
Academy of Fine Arts, where each professor has his own workshop and
accepts students in it. The new charter was read in the meeting of the
Council and was adopted for execution.
The new Charter of August
30 (September 9), 1859, changed the teaching of sciences in accordance
with the two departments of the academy: one for painting and sculpture,
the other for architecture. The general sciences, hitherto neglected,
took a prominent place in both departments. The teaching of mathematics,
physics and chemistry was introduced for architects. It was also
established three degrees of the title of cool artists. Graduates who
received a large gold medal began to acquire, along with the title of
class artist of the 1st degree, the rank of X class and the right to be
sent abroad.
The new charter introduced lectures and compulsory
attendance of classes by students of the Academy. The introduction of
the educational scientific course was accepted by the students with
great pleasure. Some lectures were attended by huge masses of listeners
... lecture notes were printed and distributed free of charge. ... Under
Prince Gagarin, repairs were begun on the huge building of the Academy.
Gagarin saw the need to remake the building not so much as an urgent
need, but as an opportunity to realize his long-standing idea: to make
the Academy something different, something that it had not been before.
... Gagarin organized paid exhibitions of works by young artists and
rare works to provide a source of income for allowances for students of
the Academy. Under Gagarin, the museum of the Academy of Arts was put in
order (a catalog of the museum was compiled, the Russian school was
separated in all branches of art from foreign works, copies were
separated from the originals, antique statues were classified by century
in the sculptural department). Artists and art lovers have the
opportunity to use the museum at any time.
In 1859, the Academy
turned into an open institution, access was allowed to volunteers, and
special attention was paid to the course of science. However, the method
of teaching remained the same, scholastic, pseudo-classical: the same
allegories, the same slavish study of antiques, interpretation of
biblical stories in the style of the Renaissance. In the early 1860s a
galaxy of young talents appeared at the Academy, who began to work in
the spirit of the people's, real direction, which was already revealed
at that time in literature. Ho The Academy still did not recognize works
performed in a modern spirit.
In 1863, the Council of the Academy
discussed the issue of "supervision of the preservation of works of art
in churches, government and public buildings." Among the submitted
materials is a note by Honored Professor Basin, pointing to the
oppression of Russian artists by foreigners "invited in part by our
Russian patriots wandering around Europe", which resulted in the
approval by the Council in October 1863 of "a draft proposal to the
Minister of the Imperial Court that foreign artists who come to Russia,
not to be recognized as professors, academicians, or artists.”
The retreat from the dogmas of academicism began in Russia with the
so-called. "Riot of the Fourteen". On November 9, 1863, 14 of the most
outstanding students of the Imperial Academy of Arts, admitted to the
competition for the first gold medal, applied to the Academy Council
with a request "for permission to freely choose subjects for those who
wish this, in addition to the given topics" (in 1863 - writing a picture
according to a given plot from Scandinavian mythology "The feast of the
god Odin in Valhalla"). On the refusal of the Council, all 14 people
defiantly left the Academy and organized the "Art Artel", which later
(in 1870) was transformed into the "Association of Traveling Art
Exhibitions". The Association organized annual exhibitions, which were a
huge success. These "wanderers" soon gained the sympathy of society,
while the prestige of the Academy began to decline rapidly. The current
situation led to the reformation of the Academy, which took place in
1893.
In the 1870s, Professor P. P. Chistyakov created the
conditions for the education of a new generation of brilliant artists.
Among his students are such big names as V. I. Surikov, V. M. Vasnetsov,
V. A. Serov, V. D. Polenov, M. A. Vrubel.
After the death of Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna
(1876), Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich became the President of the
Academy. The time of his presidency is the most glorious era in the life
and history of the Imperial Academy of Arts. The new President of the
Academy is making a lot of effort to familiarize Europe with Russian
art. At his insistence, the Academy organizes a Russian section at the
Paris International Exhibition, which exhibits not only works of art
from members of the Academy, but also significant items from the private
galleries of Tretyakov and Soldatenkov.
Since 1883, the Academy
began large-scale work on the arrangement of provincial museums and the
transfer of works of art to them. So, in 1884-1885 alone, more than one
and a half hundred paintings, sculptures and drawings from the Academy
Museum were transferred to Riga, Saratov, Vilnius, Odessa, Kharkov and
other cities. According to contemporaries, the presidency of Grand Duke
Vladimir Alexandrovich “will forever remain connected with three major
facts in the history of Russian art:
the introduction of the new
Charter of the Academy of Arts in 1893 and the fundamental reform of the
Academy associated with it;
support for provincial art schools;
Foundation of the Russian Museum named after Emperor Alexander III in
St. Petersburg.
In the last charter of the Imperial Academy of Arts,
approved in 1893, it was written:
The Imperial Academy of Arts is the
highest artistic institution for the maintenance, development and
dissemination of art in Russia.
The Academy of Arts contributes by
all means available to it to the upsurge and development of art and is
obliged to supervise the work of art education and upbringing in Russia.
Thus, the state status of all the activities of the Academy of Arts
was confirmed.
According to the Charter of 1893, the Imperial
Academy of Arts was divided into the Academy of Arts proper, which was
in charge of all art in the Russian Empire, and the Higher Art School,
which was engaged only in educational work.
The Academy of Arts
was governed by a "Meeting" of full members headed by a President and
Vice President, while the Higher Art School was governed by a Council of
Professors headed by a Rector.
In 1897, the Pedagogical Courses
began to operate at the Academy, the main task of which was to train
experienced teaching staff in the field of graphic arts for secondary
schools.
On March 17, 1900, a severe fire broke out in the
building of the Imperial Academy of Arts. The art collection and museum
collections were not damaged, but the premises were severely damaged.
The fire damaged not only the premises in the building, but also the
famous statue of Minerva - the patroness of crafts and arts - on the
dome of the Academy.
After the death of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich
(1909), Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna became the President of the
Academy.
The activities of the Imperial Academy of Arts continued
until the October Revolution of 1917. Art schools were opened, societies
of artists were established, and the teaching of painting became a
subject included in the general education program.
In the early years of the Academy's activity,
graduates of the Architectural Department received the titles of artists
of architecture. Pupils who were awarded a small silver medal (2nd
degree) for their work received the title of an out-of-class or free
artist, which did not give them the right to a class rank upon entering
the civil service.
Cool Artists:
a large silver medal (1st
degree) gave the right to receive the title of class artist of the 3rd
degree,
the owners of a small gold medal (2nd degree) were awarded
the title of class artist of the 2nd degree,
a large gold medal (1st
degree) gave the graduate of the Academy the title of class artist of
the 1st degree.
At the same time, architects who did not study at
the Academy could receive medals, and with them titles. Graduates who
received a large gold medal, as a rule, deserved the right to make a
pensioner's trip abroad, during which they studied architectural
monuments and prepared projects for the title of academician. In the
second quarter of the 19th century, by decision of the Council of the
Academy, an intermediate title was assigned - appointed to the
academicians.
Outstanding Russian artists who received education
outside the academy could be awarded the honorary title of a free
community member.
The highest titles awarded by the Academy of
Arts:
the title of “appointed (to academician)”, which allows the
artist to complete a work on a theme set by the Council of the Academy
of Arts in order to receive the title of academician;
the title of
"academician", which the "appointed" could be awarded by creating a
competition work for the title of academician and receiving approval of
this work from the Council of the Academy;
an academician could apply
for the title of adjunct professor, and, in the future, the title of
professor of the Academy of Arts, having created a work for the title of
professor, on a topic set by the Council of the Academy of Arts.
In 1885, a new title system was introduced: all graduates of the
Department of Architecture were awarded the title of artist-architect.
The status of the title of academician was significantly upgraded: since
then it has been awarded only for outstanding work.
The awards awarded by the Academic Council of the
Imperial Academy of Arts first arose as rewards for academic excellence.
At the Imperial Academy of Arts, the principle of stimulating academic
success was not in fines and punishments (deductions were generally the
rarest exception, and then for “disgraceful behavior”), but in various
forms of encouragement.
On October 4, 1830, the medals of the
Imperial Academy of Arts were established: silver of the first rank
(large incentive) and silver of the second rank (small incentive),
awarded three times a year at the “third” exams (the academic year was
divided into three parts, “Thirds”). Silver medals were awarded mainly
for drawing, which was considered the highest indicator of professional
level.
Large gold medal of the Imperial Academy of Arts
The
highest award for students of the Academy was a large gold medal (gold
medal of the first dignity) for the "program" - the thesis. It was
called the program because the Council of the Academy, in order to test
the professional knowledge gained during their studies, asked graduates
a program (creative task), one for all, approved by the Academic Council
of the Academy: the execution of a picture on a given plot, most often
from Russian history or biblical or mythological themes. Those who
wished to participate in the competition provided sketches for
consideration by the Academy Council. For those whose work was approved,
the Academy provided an increased scholarship for a year and a separate
workshop in its building; they were called "programmers" or
"competitors". Immediately after the topic (program) was announced, the
contestants were locked up in isolated workshops for a day, where they
had to come up with a plot and draw a sketch of the future picture
within 24 hours. The sketch was approved by the Council of the Academy
and was not subject to change.
The award of a large gold medal
entitles those awarded to foreign pensioners - a trip from three to six
years abroad for improvement at the expense of the Academy of Arts, and
the content was quite generous. Competitors who received a large gold
medal remained at the Academy for another year; they were provided with
a separate workshop, materials for work and a generous allowance.
In the number of "competing for a big gold medal" not all graduates
of the training course were allowed. Traditionally, only the most
talented graduates of the Academy were admitted to the competition for
the big gold medal of the Academy of Arts, who were awarded the small
gold medal of the Academy “For Success in Drawing” by the beginning of
the competition.
By the centenary of the approval of the Charter
of the Academy by Catherine II, the Council of the Academy decided to
change the rules for the competition. Under the new rules, applicants
were allowed to participate in the competition only once, students in
the class of genre painting had to participate simultaneously with
students in the class of historical painting, and historical painters
were not given the right to freely choose the plot of the picture.
Instead of a mandatory plot, the contestants were instructed to depict
some feeling (sadness, longing for the homeland, etc.) on a given
general theme. On the part of the academic authorities, this was a
serious step towards the unification of historical and genre painting,
which by that time had more success with the public.
As a rule,
one, rarely two gold medals were awarded per year. However, the
leadership of the Academy by no means approached this issue
bureaucratically. A sensational example was the award (1871) of five
gold medals for the program "Christ Resurrects the Daughter of Jairus"
to all 5 competitors, among whom were I. E. Repin and V. D. Polenov
Along with state awards and pensions, the Academy of
Arts operated a system of private cash prizes, awards, nominal medals
and scholarships (gold medals: named after A. F. Rzhevskaya, named after
Lebrun, named after A. A. Ivanov):
Gold medal named after A. F.
Rzhevskaya, established on January 29, 1771. The medal was awarded for
work on the instructions of the Academic Council: for painters - a
life-size head with paints, for sculptors - a life-size round head.
Vigée-Lebrun Gold Medal, established March 18, 1843. French artist,
honorary free member of the Imperial Academy of Arts, French subject
Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun established, and after her death bequeathed 100
francs annually, for minting a gold premium medal "for expression",
which was awarded to one of the students of the St. Petersburg Imperial
Academy of Arts in class paintings: F. A. Bronnikov (1870), M. V.
Bryansky (1868), I. V. Kosmin (1916), V. E. Makovsky (1869), M. A.
Chizhov (1875).
The gold medal named after the artist A. A. Ivanov,
established in 1906 by collegiate assessor A. S. Raevsky to commemorate
the centenary of the birth of the artist A. A. Ivanov, had on the front
side an image of the attributes of the sufferings of the Savior on the
cross: a cross, on it a crown of thorns , on the sides a spear and a
cane with a sponge put on it; around the inscription "The appearance of
Christ to the people." On the reverse side is the inscription "Ivanov",
palm branches are laid obliquely on it. The medal was awarded not only
to “students of the Higher Art School at the Imperial Academy of Arts,
but also to volunteers for a study of a human figure in the open air,
distinguished by impeccable correctness of drawing and liveliness of
colors (it doesn’t matter - dressed or naked, whole or a bust, of any
size).”
The Imperial Academy of Arts celebrated not only the
successes of students, but also the achievements of its graduates, who
won recognition and fame. In addition to specific cases (such as the
celebration of the arrival in St. Petersburg of Bryullov’s painting “The
Death of Pompeii”), it was customary to celebrate with medals the 50th
anniversary of graduation from the Academy (the 50th anniversary of
creative activity). Such anniversaries were awarded to I. K. Aivazovsky,
A. P. Bogolyubov, A. P. Bryullov, F. I. Jordan, F. G. Solntsev, F. P.
Tolstoy, K. A. Ton, N. I. Utkin , P. M. Shamshin and others. At the
anniversary celebration, all participants were awarded bronze medals
with the image of the hero of the day, and he himself was awarded the
same gold medal with the inscription "In memory of fifty years of
service to the Tsar, the fatherland and the arts." As a rule, a nominal
jubilee scholarship was established for the student who worked most
successfully in the field in which the jubilee himself achieved merits.
On March 14, 1917, the Provisional Government
Commissioner for Institutions of the former Ministry of the Imperial
Court, F. A. Golovin, informed the meeting of members of the Academy and
the Council of Professors of the Higher Art School that he was leading.
Princess Maria Pavlovna, as a person belonging to the dynasty, cannot be
president of the Academy of Arts, but "under the new system, the useful
activities of the Academy will continue." Instead of Imperial, it became
known as Petersburg. At the end of April, the Commissioner of the
Provisional Government, Academician of Architecture A. I. Tamanov,
became the vice-president of the Academy (as president), and by the
summer the commission elected by the Academy prepared a project for its
reform. It was supposed to divide the Academy of Arts into three parts:
the Academy itself (in the status of a scientific and artistic
institution), the Higher Art School and provincial art schools.
According to the project, the classes of the School were liquidated, and
instead of them, the main (profiling) and auxiliary workshops were
introduced. The main workshops were to be led by professors-supervisors
and were designed for a training period of 3 to 5 years. Auxiliary were
supposed to study a number of artistic subjects and the history of art.
However, neither by the beginning of the academic year, nor in the first
months after the October Revolution, did the Academy's reforms take a
practical course.
On April 13, 1918, by a decree of the Council
of People's Commissars, the Academy of Arts was abolished, the funds of
the academic museum were determined for transfer to the Russian Museum,
the Higher Art School at the Academy was subject to reorganization; On
October 10, 1918, the opening of the reformed School took place, which
received the name of the Petrograd State Free Art and Educational
Workshops (PGSHUM).
In 1921, they were renamed the Petrograd
State Art and Educational Workshops under the re-established Academy of
Arts.
In 1922 they were transformed into the Higher Artistic and
Technical Institute (VKHUTEIN, LVHTI).
In 1930 VKhUTEIN was
reorganized into the Institute of Proletarian Fine Arts (INPII). The
Faculty of Architecture was abolished, its students were transferred to
the Leningrad Institute of Municipal Construction Engineers (LIIKS, the
former Institute of Civil Engineers).
In 1932, INPII was transformed
into the Leningrad Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture,
which in 1944 was named after Ilya Efimovich Repin. The name was
retained until the 1990s, when it was transformed into the St.
Petersburg State Academic Institute of Painting, Sculpture and
Architecture named after I. E. Repin.
In 1870, the Niva magazine published an article in which it was said that the first rector of the Academy, Alexander Filippovich Kokorinov, did not die of dropsy (official version), but hanged himself in the attic of the Academy of Arts. Since then, a legend about the ghost of the first rector, who appears from time to time to negligent students of the Academy, has been walking around St. Petersburg.
Presidents of the Academy
1757-1763 - I. I.
Shuvalov (founder and first chief director)
1764-1794 - I. I. Betskoy
1795-1797 - A. I. Musin-Pushkin
1797-1800 - G. A. Choiseul-Goufier
01/23/1800 - 09/27/1811 - A. S. Stroganov
1811-1817 - P. P.
Chekalevsky (vice-president, who actually led the academy)
04/17/1817
- 04/17/1843 - A. N. Olenin
04/19/1843 - 10/20/1852 - Duke Maximilian
of Leuchtenberg, son-in-law of Nicholas I
11/03/1852 - 02/09/1876 -
Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna, widow of the previous
02/14/1876-02/04/1909 - Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich
02/23/1909-1917 - Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna, widow of the previous