Genre Historique

В статье рассматривается художественный аспект формирования исторического жанра (т.е. новой формулы презентации истории) в русском изобразительном искусстве 1860-х годов. Основное внимание сосредоточено на творчестве В. Г. Шварца, который считается родоначальником этого жанра на русской почве.

The primary goal of this article is to examine the development of the “archaeological” tendency in the Russian history painting of the 1860s and analyse the overlapping between historical works and Schwartz’s paintings. The article considers the emergence of interest in national antiquities and the formation of the image of pre-Petrine everyday life in Russian society in the 1860s.
In the 1860s, the formation of the “genre historique” began in Russia. The new type of history painting emerged in France between the 1820s and 1830s. One of the main characteristics of the “genre historique” was its “archaeological accuracy”. The pioneer of the “genre historique” in Russia was painter and intellectual V. G. Schwartz. The appearance of the “genre historique” in Russia coincided with the formation of Zabelin’s historical and everyday life concept and Kostomarov’s ethnographic approach in Russian historiography.
The primary focus is on Schwartz’s painting Palm Sunday in Moscow under Tsar Alexis Mikhailovich which is a vivid example of visual reconstruction of the ceremony of a procession on a donkey. The author demonstrates how Schwartz accurately reproduces this ceremony following the travelogues and historical works by comparing this painting with A. I. Charlemagne’s drawing on the same subject.
The article refers to archive materials, 19th-century Russian press, and Zabelin’s and Kostomarov’s works. Since the work is based on the analysis of relations between historical works and Schwartz’s paintings and drawings, the author applies interdisciplinary comparative approach and follows the perspectives of S. Bann’s and B. S. Wright’s works.

The articles deals with two questions: (1) how, during
the 1860s, the transformation of the hierarchy of genres developed
in parallel with the formation of the “genre historique” in Russia,
and (2) how Russian critics, basing themselves on the concept of the
“sister arts”, reconsidered the status of history and genre painting.
Over the centuries, “history painting” was at the apex of the hierarchy
of genres. According to Horace’s concept of ut pictura poesis and Aristotle’s “Poetics”, history painting was associated with the high genres
of poetry and tragedy. By contrast, genre painting occupied a low rank
in the system of genres and was associated with comedy.
The sister arts concept began to be revised during the 1830s,
due to the emergence of the “genre historique” — a new formula for
presentation of history. According to the concept of unity of literature and painting, works belonging to the new genre had to follow
the principles of historical fiction and of the works of historians. In
addition, the “historical genre” combined features of genre and history painting since it was formed as a consequence of the transformation of the academic hierarchy of genres.
In Russian culture, literature had a higher status than the visual arts. For this reason, during this period critics advised painters
to follow the example of contemporary literature and to to depict
scenes from everyday life.
At the end of the 1860s, journalists concluded that both
“historical” and genre painting have the same objective — to depict
the different sides of life — and that they are equally capable of
capturing the interest of the public