Fabulously-epic genre of painting: the emergence, artists, paintings

The emergence of the fabulously-epic genre of paintingit is customary to refer to the second half of the 19th century. The emergence of this new trend in art was associated with the increased interest not only of artists, but of the Russian educated public in general, towards the national-distinctive origins of our country.

Cultural situation

At the beginning of the century, between several circlesintellectuals there were sharp disputes concerning the ways of development of our country. Some said that the state belongs to the number of European powers and that it has a common path with development. Others, on the contrary, believed that Russia should follow its own unique and unique path of development, which was sought after in examples of ancient history.

The Background of the Genre

Such discussions were very fruitful notonly for socio-political thought, but also for the state of culture in general. Fantastic-epic genre appeared, if I may say so, on the wave of the above-mentioned philosophical trends and trends. At the same time, it became a natural result of the development of Russian fine arts, in which historical themes traditionally occupied one of the leading places. As early as the 18th and 19th centuries, many artists captured pictures of ancient Russian history on their canvases, which served as an impetus for Russian folk tales, bylinas, and ancient legends. After all, many of the old Russian stories were covered with epic romance, which gave them such an attraction.

Features of compositions

A fabulously epic genre in the second half of the 19th centurytook one of the leading places in the fine arts. This new direction had its own characteristics. First of all, most of the images were colorful and expressive. If you recall the most famous works in this genre, they amaze with the richness of the colors and shades. This is due to the desire of painters to give the images a plasticity and at the same time attract the attention of the public to them.

Secondly, the fairy-tale genre was differentscale and monumentality. This is due to the subjects of the stories. The fact is that artists, as a rule, chose the object for their paintings heroic stories from the past of the country and very often stopped on those plots of epic stories, which especially corresponded to their ideas. For example, the picture "Three heroes" is distinguished by an unusual seriousness and solemnity. It is made in the spirit of ancient Russian legends and bylinas, glorifying the feats of the defenders of the Russian land.

Images

Fantastic-epic genre has another characteristica feature that the authors working in this direction chose the most expressive images and subjects that somehow reflected the most famous pages of the past, and also conveyed the spirit of the ancient epoch. The most frequent image in the painting of this direction is the hero, the warrior, the defender of the Russian land. For example, the painting "The Knight at the Crossroads" is at the same time a reflection of the old traditions and at the same time shows how the author imagined the era of Ancient Rus. However, the picture has references to folk tales: the canvas is depicted on the canvas, which chooses its own way, reading the inscription on the stone. The combination of the fairytale, epic and historical elements was surprisingly harmonious in this picture. This principle is generally characteristic for Vasnetsov's creativity, which provided his paintings with such popularity.

Fantastic-epic genre in the visualart took one of the leading places in Russian painting. Another image typical for him is the female characters. Especially popular were fabulous heroines, for example, Vasilisa the Wise or the Swan Princess. These female images were the most popular in fairy tales, so it is not surprising that the authors have so often appealed to them.

Another image is the narrator. For example, one of Vasnetsov's most famous paintings is the canvas "Bayan", which depicts an ancient Russian singer-guslar, telling the soldiers an ancient tradition. Characteristically, it was this hero who became the subject for the image. Appeal to his image is very revealing in the sense that the artists understood that it was thanks to such storytellers that these epics, tales and legends reached us.

Connection with music

The fabulously-epic genre of painting has in many respects receivedthe impetus for development due to the fact that at the considered time, many composers when writing operas turned to the ancient Russian theme. Of course, the motifs of fairy tales, epics and ancient legends were also present in their works. Very often, artists painted scenery in the appropriate spirit, which contributed to the flowering of the genre in question. As an example of operas of this kind, one can name the musical compositions of Rimsky-Korsakov, who very often turned to historical, epic and fairy-tale subjects. Other composers also attracted these stories in their works (for example, Stravinsky). These works were very popular in the West, which served as an impetus for the development of this direction and in painting.

Known canvases

Pictures of the fairytale-epic genre occupy a prominenta place not only in a number of historical works, but also in fine arts in general. In addition to the above-mentioned works, one should mention the canvases devoted exclusively to subjects from ancient Russian folk tales. For example, the picture "Ivan Tsarevich and the Gray Wolf" is in this respect a masterpiece. Fabulous and historical elements joined in this work of the author in such a harmonious unity that, looking at it, it is difficult to distinguish between the fabulous and the real.

Another example in this series is a picture of the samethe author of "Alyonushka". It is known that he wrote it from a simple peasant girl, which gives the canvas such brightness and expressiveness. The undoubted advantage of the work of this direction is the fact that in them the motifs of fairy tales, epics and legends had such a lively and expressive coloring that the stories received a historical sound and were perceived as part of the cultural past.

Representatives of

The artists of the fairy-tale genre have a worldconfession. Their work is a worthy contribution not only to the domestic, but also to the world culture. In addition to Vasnetsov, Bilibin should also be mentioned in this series. He became famous for writing drawings on fairy-tale subjects. Especially popular are his illustrations to the famous "Tale of Tsar Saltan" by Pushkin. His works differ in brightness and richness of colors, and in appearance look very much like frames from cartoons. In this respect, the author survived his time: his drawings are still used as a standard for creating animations.

Vrubel also turned to fairy-tale subjects. Known for his painting "The Swan Princess", written on the basis of the same tale. The style of this artist is very original and specific and therefore very different from the works of his predecessors. His colors are somewhat blurred and muted, unlike Bilibin's bright drawings.

The meaning of the genre

The fabulously-epic genre (Grade 7) occupies a prominentplace in the educational process in school. Already on the average, students are introduced to the main works in this direction. And they can be shown both in history lessons and in literature. These works help in a visual form to demonstrate both the features of the artist's creativity and the specific character of the ancient Russian society. Very often, on the basis of them, we study the life, clothes, dwellings, the culture of those distant times. In addition, at this age schoolchildren very vividly perceive bright images, and therefore the paintings of the above masters should be analyzed in the context of works of Old Russian literature. This was the most important stage in the development of Russian painting, which should be singled out as a separate period in the fine arts.