Russkoe iskusstvo XIX v: Voprosy ponimanii͡a︡ vremeni

by G.G. Pospelov

The subtitle of the book “Problems of the understanding of time” emphasizes a novel approach adopted by the author in his treatment of the subject. He distinguishes three periods in the 19th century art juxtaposing classicism, with its reliance on the standards of the Golden Age, and baroque striving for the oblique and evasive future. According to the book, earlier 19th century artists and writers tried to capture unique though fleeting traits of their characters and to attain a balance between the historical and the natural. Artists of the 1840s-80s perceived the character as an inert mass and established the priority of time and essence. The late 19th century lost interest in the fleeting and became absorbed in distinctive features of large epochs (“Miriskusniki”) the last of which, that of Peter the Great, was perceived as the conclusion of Russian history. Bibliographic references.

287 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1997