The Imperial Russian Artistic Elite and Power: Cooperation or Confrontation

If you cast a mental glance on the path covered by the historical painting before the revolutionary storms of 1917, it is striking how the artistic language, the difference in the understanding of composition, drawing, color, light, shadow, etc.. This way is extremely various and if in the beginning of the 18th century, when in Russia was just beginning to form a variety of genres, historical called an almost universal genre which included battle, religious, mythological and allegorical compositions, and very rarely - proper historical, then the further separation in the historical painting leads to the fact that in the second half of the century there are independent branches of historical and domestic painting, historical landscape and historical portrait. Absolutely clear distinction here, of course, could not be. Influence and mutual penetration was so great that sometimes, especially at the end of the century, it is difficult to attribute a painting to the exact variety of historical painting, but in general it is these areas determined the civic position of artists of the time.