Classicism in Russian literature. Classicism in Russian and Western European literature of the 19th century What is classicism as a movement

11.12.2020

At the forefront of the development of classicism was Napoleonic France, followed by Germany, England and Italy. Later this trend came to Russia. Classicism in architecture became a kind of expression of rationalistic philosophy and, accordingly, was characterized by the desire for a harmonious, reasonable order of life.

The emergence of classicism

Although classicism originated in the Renaissance, it began to actively develop in the 17th century, and by the 18th century it was already quite firmly entrenched in European architecture. The concept of classicism was to form all architectural forms in the likeness of ancient ones. The architecture of the era of classicism is characterized by a return to such ancient standards as monumentality, severity, simplicity and harmony.

Classicism in architecture appeared thanks to the bourgeoisie - it became its art and ideology, since it was antiquity that bourgeois society associated with the correct order of things and the structure of the universe. The bourgeoisie opposed itself to the aristocracy of the Renaissance and, as a result, opposed classicism to “decadent art.” She attributed such styles of architecture as Rococo and Baroque to such art - they were considered too intricate, lax, and nonlinear.

The ancestor and inspirer of the aesthetics of the classicism style is considered to be Johann Winckelmann, a German art critic who is the founder of the history of art as a science, as well as current ideas about the art of antiquity. The theory of classicism is confirmed and strengthened in his work “Laocoon” by the German critic-educator Gotthold Lessing.

Classicism in the architecture of Western Europe

French classicism developed much later than English. The rapid development of this style was hampered by adherence to the architectural forms of the Renaissance, in particular, the late Gothic Baroque, but soon the French architects surrendered to the onset of reforms in architecture, opening the way to classicism.

The development of classicism in Germany occurred rather undulatingly: it was characterized either by strict adherence to the architectural forms of antiquity, or by their mixing with the forms of the Baroque style. With all this, German classicism was very similar to classicism in France, so quite soon the leading role in the spread of this style in Western Europe went to Germany and its architectural school.

Due to the difficult political situation, classicism came to Italy even later, but soon after that it was Rome that became the international center of classicist architecture. Classicism has also reached a high level in England as a design style for country houses.

Features of classicism in architecture

The main features of the classicism style in architecture are:

simple and geometric shapes and volumes;
alternating horizontal and vertical lines;
balanced room layout;
restrained proportions;
symmetrical decoration of the house;
monumental arched and rectangular structures.

Following the order system of antiquity, elements such as colonnades, rotundas, porticos, reliefs on the walls, and statues on the roof are used in the design of houses and plots in the classicist style. The main color scheme for the design of buildings in the classicist style is light, pastel colors.

Windows in the classicist style are usually elongated upward, rectangular in shape, without flashy design. The doors are most often paneled, sometimes decorated with statues in the form of lions, sphinxes, etc. The roof of the house, on the contrary, is of a rather intricate shape, covered with tiles.

The materials most often used to create houses in the classicist style are wood, brick, and natural stone. When decorating, gilding, bronze, carving, mother-of-pearl and inlay are used.

Russian classicism

Classicism in Russian architecture of the 18th century differs quite significantly from European classicism, since it abandoned the models of France and followed its own path of development. Although Russian architects relied on the knowledge of Renaissance architects, they still sought to apply traditional techniques and motifs to the architecture of Russian classicism. Unlike European classicism, Russian classicism of the 19th century, and later the Russian Empire style, used military and patriotic themes in their design (wall decor, stucco molding, choice of statues) against the backdrop of the War of 1812.

The founders of classicism in Russia are considered to be Russian architects Ivan Starov, Matvey Kazakov and Vasily Bazhenov. Russian classicism is conventionally divided into three periods:

early - the period when the features of Baroque and Rococo had not yet been completely supplanted from Russian architecture;
mature - strict imitation of the architecture of antiquity;
late, or high (Russian Empire style) - characterized by the influence of romanticism.

Russian classicism is also distinguished from European classicism by the scale of construction: it was planned to create entire districts and cities in this style, while new classical buildings had to be combined with the old Russian architecture of the city.

A striking example of Russian classicism is the famous Pashkov House, or Pashkov House - now the Russian State Library. The building follows the balanced, U-shaped layout of classicism: it consists of a central building and side wings (outbuildings). The wings are designed as a portico with a pediment. On the roof of the house there is a belvedere in the shape of a cylinder.

Other examples of buildings in the classicist style in Russian architecture are the Main Admiralty, Anichkov Palace, Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg, St. Sophia Cathedral in Pushkin and others.

You can find out all the secrets of the classicism style in architecture and interior in the following video:

Creative work on the topic: “Russian classicism”

Cadet 213 platoon Chirkov Nikolai.

How is Russian classicism so different from European? Mainly because it surprisingly harmoniously combines the ideals of antiquity and its own Russian, even Orthodox culture. Actually, in Russia it is difficult to draw a clear line between pure classical art and the neoclassicism that followed it, so thorough and great was the rethinking of ancient and European cultures. Russia has become a crossroads of all classical trends: from the ascetic German Zopf to the Napoleonic Empire style.

Artists and sculptors, in addition to antiquity, more often than their European colleagues turn to biblical legends and heroes (remember the Samson fountain and the painting The Appearance of Christ to the People). By the end of the classical period, works based on events in Russian history already appeared (monument to Suvorov, Minin and Pozharsky). In these works, the symbolism and pathos of ancient poses are combined with the heroism of Russian historical figures; it is through their example, and not through abstract mythological heroes, that the new generation is educated.

St. Petersburg becomes the capital of Russian classicism. What is characteristic of this city is that it is the classics that are its foundation, laid down in the drawings. Unlike Moscow, which survived many architectural eras, St. Petersburg initially took strict classical forms in the perpendicular intersection of streets, the construction of imperial palaces and theaters, and even in residential buildings.

Of course, the Russian analogue of Versailles was Petrodvorets, created by Schlüter and Rastrelli. This magnificent work of Russian park art harmoniously combines the strict forms of alleys and silhouettes of palaces, sculptures and fountains. Space and rationalism are the two pillars of Russian classicism.

Beginning of the 19th century is a transitional moment in the history of Russian architecture: there is a rethinking of classical elements, giving them new meaning. Architectural compositions become more pathetic, acquiring even clearer silhouettes and lightness. Which is reflected in such buildings as the Kazan Cathedral, the Admiralty, the Exchange, and the Alexandrinsky Theater. The heroism of antiquity turns into the heroism of contemporaries, as can be seen from the numerous monuments and sculptures of Petrodvorets and St. Petersburg in general.

It is interesting that no matter where artistic culture and history turned, St. Petersburg never gave greater preference to any other style other than classicism. And to this day, speaking about Russian classicism, we can consider its phenomenon, to a greater extent, on the example of St. Petersburg, as its founder and custodian.

As in painting, in the sculpture of classicism there was a desire to imitate antiquity. It seems that nothing can disturb the peace and restraint of the sculptural compositions decorating Versailles, Weimar, and St. Petersburg. Everything is subordinated to rationality: frozen movements, the idea of sculpture and even its location in a park or palace.

The sculptures of classicism, like a three-dimensional embodiment of myths, tell us about the mighty power of human thought, about the unity of the people in achieving common goals. It’s simply amazing how the classicists were able to tell an entire era in the life of a particular nation with the help of small-scale compositions!

Striving for a rational use of the space occupied by sculpture, the masters thereby followed another principle of classicism - a departure from the private. In one single character, most often taken from mythology, the spirit of an entire people was embodied. And the heroes of the present were depicted with the same ease in an ancient setting, which only emphasized their historical role.

The interior design was not left without attention. The ceiling of the estates was again supported by majestic columns, the walls were finished with fabric or painted in pastel colors. Even in the design of furniture, ancient simplicity and harmony prevailed, combined with modern rationalism and constructiveness. It was no longer so massive and cohesive, but blended harmoniously into the open space of classical buildings.

Features of Russian and Western European classicism

Russian classicism is based, of course, on the same principles as European classicism. He is also committed to large generalizations, to the universal, strives for harmony, logic, orderliness. The idea of the Fatherland, its greatness, as well as the idea of the “natural man” of Rousseau, are the main ones in his program. A highly civic feeling was primarily reflected in architecture, which, as the compositional and stylistic basis of all arts, most fully reflects the birth of any new style - in the architecture of palaces, government buildings, country ensembles; and besides, in monumental and decorative sculpture, in historical painting, and even in such a genre, seemingly distant from the direct expression of the idea of statehood, as portrait and landscape. Classicism has become a universal phenomenon, since it managed to manifest itself to one degree or another in all types of art.

But Russian classicism of the 18th century. has its own specific features. It lacks the idea of strict subordination of the individual to the absolute state principle. In this sense, Russian classicism is closer to the very origins, to ancient art. But not to Roman antiquity, but to Greek antiquity, with its characteristic embodiment of the ideal concepts of logical and reasonable, naturalness, simplicity and fidelity to nature, put forward by Enlightenment philosophy as the initial criteria of beauty and taken in their Russian understanding. The ancient and Renaissance system of compositional techniques and plastic forms was revised by Russian artists in relation to national traditions and the Russian way of life.

The spread of the ideas of classicism was greatly facilitated by the political situation of the first decade of Catherine's reign, when the nobles had sincere hopes for democratic transformations of society and saw in Catherine II herself the ideal of an enlightened monarch. In accordance with the ideas of the European Enlightenment, a citizen who is involved in the destinies of his homeland is truly happy if he lives in harmony with nature, in union with which he draws his moral strength. Russian classicism, it seems, is shrouded in a warmer and more intimate feeling, less official than its European prototype.

The formation of the classic style, its periodization. Russian sentimentalism

Covering more than half a century in Russian artistic culture, Russian classicism goes through several stages in its development (in this division, art historians rely primarily on architecture as a compositional and stylistic basis in the ensemble of arts): early (1760s - first half of the 1780s) with even more or less pronounced features of Baroque and Rocaille; strict, or mature (second half of the 1780s - 1790s, up to 1800), with its principles of antiquity; And late, lasted until the 1830s. inclusive, sometimes called empire style, although the term could only arise after the creation of the Napoleonic Empire (1804) and does not apply to all three decades.

Due to the absence of strict normativity in it, other stylistic directions are developing in parallel. Fine art becomes a sphere of coexistence with the classicism of sentimentalism and pre-romanticism - a process later than in literature, but no less intense. Pseudo-Gothic, as well as Chinoiserie (“Chinese”), Turquerie (“Tourette”) and Japonese (“Japanese”), which use the art traditions of the Far East and Western Asia, originate from the Rocaille era. Classicism itself originated in Russia in line with the exquisite Rococo and magnificent Elizabethan Baroque. His high pathos did not exclude an interest in the intimate side of human existence. In the depiction of a quickly passing, full of charm, earthly life, features are visible that anticipate the young N. M. Karamzin. The outgoing Rococo had a certain impact on the emerging sentimentalism, which, in turn, influenced the romanticism of the 19th century. The interweaving of different styles, the birth of one in the other, is the charm of Russian classicism. In sculpture in general there is a constant struggle between the outgoing baroque and the emerging classicism (for more information, see Chapter 14).

Born on English soil, sentimentalism in Russia had the closest connections with the previous art of the mid-century - with the art of Rococo: it deepened his interest in the inner world of man, in the whimsical twists of his soul. But at the same time, Russian sentimentalism with its cult of mental balance was very close to classicism itself, with which it developed in parallel, while having its own ideological nature.

For example, the “empire” portraits of V. L. Borovikovsky from the early 1800s. with their cult of nepotism are close to the spirit of sentimentalism and its basic tenets. In turn, “sentimental” portraits of the same master from the 1790s. in many ways express the ideas of “natural man”, so characteristic of the program of classicism. The excitement, the lively appeal to the viewer in the portraits of the late D. G. Levitsky or F. I. Shubin, the feeling of tragic forebodings in Bazhenov’s buildings speak of a crisis in the classicist understanding of a harmonious personality, of significant changes in aesthetics that are coming along with the new 19th century.

Among artistic styles, classicism, which became widespread in the advanced countries of the world in the period from the 17th to the beginning of the 19th century, is of no small importance. He became the heir to the ideas of the Enlightenment and manifested himself in almost all types of European and Russian art. He often came into conflict with the Baroque, especially at the stage of its formation in France.

Each country has its own age of classicism. It first developed in France - back in the 17th century, and a little later - in England and Holland. In Germany and Russia, the direction was established closer to the middle of the 18th century, when the time of neoclassicism had already begun in other countries. But this is not so significant. Another thing is more important: this direction became the first serious system in the field of culture, which laid the foundations for its further development.

What is classicism as a movement?

The name comes from the Latin word classicus, which means “exemplary”. The main principle was manifested in the appeal to the traditions of antiquity. They were perceived as the norm to which one should strive. The authors of the works were attracted by such qualities as simplicity and clarity of form, conciseness, rigor and harmony in everything. This applied to any works created during the period of classicism: literary, musical, pictorial, architectural. Each creator sought to find his place for everything, clear and strictly defined.

Main features of classicism

All types of art were characterized by the following features that help to understand what classicism is:

a rational approach to the image and the exclusion of everything related to sensuality;
the main purpose of a person is to serve the state;
strict canons in everything;
an established hierarchy of genres, the mixing of which is unacceptable.

Concretization of artistic features

Analysis of individual types of art helps to understand how the style of “classicism” was embodied in each of them.

How classicism was realized in literature

In this type of art, classicism was defined as a special direction in which the desire to re-educate with words was clearly expressed. The authors of works of art believed in a happy future where justice, freedom of all citizens, and equality would prevail. It meant, first of all, liberation from all types of oppression, including religious and monarchical. Classicism in literature necessarily required compliance with three unities: action (no more than one storyline), time (all events fit within a day), place (there was no movement in space). More recognition in this style was received by J. Molière, Voltaire (France), L. Gibbon (England), M. Twain, D. Fonvizin, M. Lomonosov (Russia).

Development of classicism in Russia

The new artistic direction established itself in Russian art later than in other countries - closer to the middle of the 18th century - and occupied a leading position until the first third of the 19th century. Russian classicism, unlike Western European classicism, relied more on national traditions. This is where his originality manifested itself.

Initially it came to architecture, where it reached its greatest heights. This was due to the construction of a new capital and the growth of Russian cities. The achievement of the architects was the creation of majestic palaces, comfortable residential buildings, and country estates of the nobility. The creation of architectural ensembles in the city center, which fully make it clear what classicism is, deserves special attention. These are, for example, the buildings of Tsarskoe Selo (A. Rinaldi), the Alexander Nevsky Lavra (I. Starov), the Spit of Vasilievsky Island (J. de Thomon) in St. Petersburg and many others.

The pinnacle of the architects’ activity can be called the construction of the Marble Palace according to the design of A. Rinaldi, in the decoration of which natural stone was used for the first time.

No less famous is Petrodvorets (A. Schlüter, V. Rastrelli), which is an example of landscape art. Numerous buildings, fountains, sculptures, the layout itself - everything amazes with its proportionality and cleanliness of execution.

Literary direction in Russia

The development of classicism in Russian literature deserves special attention. Its founders were V. Trediakovsky, A. Kantemir, A. Sumarokov.

However, the greatest contribution to the development of the concept of what classicism is was made by the poet and scientist M. Lomonosov. He developed a system of three styles, which determined the requirements for writing works of art, and created a model of a solemn message - an ode, which was most popular in the literature of the second half of the 18th century.

The traditions of classicism were fully manifested in the plays of D. Fonvizin, especially in the comedy “The Minor”. In addition to the mandatory observance of the three unities and the cult of reason, the features of Russian comedy include the following points:

a clear division of heroes into negative and positive and the presence of a reasoner expressing the position of the author;
the presence of a love triangle;
the punishment of vice and the triumph of good in the finale.

Works of the era of classicism in general became the most important component in the development of world art.

Classicism style in architecture

The era of classicism came at a very important period in European urban planning. At that time, not only residential units were built en masse, but also non-residential facilities and public places requiring architectural design: hospitals, museums, schools, parks, etc.

The emergence of classicism

Classicism in architecture appeared thanks to the bourgeoisie - it became its art and ideology, since it was antiquity that bourgeois society associated with the correct order of things and the structure of the universe. The bourgeoisie opposed itself to the aristocracy of the Renaissance and, as a result, opposed classicism to “decadent art.” She attributed such styles of architecture as Rococo and Baroque to such art - they were considered too intricate, lax, and nonlinear.

Classicism in the architecture of Western Europe

Due to the difficult political situation, classicism came to Italy even later, but soon after that it was Rome that became the international center of classicist architecture. Classicism also reached a high level in England as a design style for country houses.

Features of classicism in architecture

The main features of the classicism style in architecture are:

simple and geometric shapes and volumes;
alternating horizontal and vertical lines;
balanced room layout;
restrained proportions;
symmetrical decoration of the house;
monumental arched and rectangular structures.

The materials most often used to create houses in the classicist style are wood, brick, and natural stone. When decorating, gilding, bronze, carving, mother-of-pearl and inlay are used.

Russian classicism

Classicism in architecture Russia of the 18th century differs quite significantly from European classicism, since it abandoned the models of France and followed its own path of development. Although Russian architects relied on the knowledge of Renaissance architects, they still sought to apply traditional techniques and motifs to the architecture of Russian classicism. Unlike European classicism, Russian classicism of the 19th century, and later Russian Empire style, used military and patriotic themes in their design (wall decor, stucco molding, choice of statues) against the backdrop of the War of 1812.

The founders of classicism in Russia are considered to be Russian architects Ivan Starov, Matvey Kazakov and Vasily Bazhenov. Russian classicism is conventionally divided into three periods:

early - the period when the features of Baroque and Rococo had not yet been completely supplanted from Russian architecture;
mature - strict imitation of the architecture of antiquity;
late, or high (Russian Empire style) - characterized by the influence of romanticism.

Other examples of buildings in the classicist style in Russian architecture are the Main Admiralty, Anichkov Palace, Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg, St. Sophia Cathedral in Pushkin and others.

You can find out all the secrets of the classicism style in architecture and interior in the following video: