FLRU 2510 Russian Culture

Land of the Firebird: Study Guide

1. What was Catherine the Great's aim in establishing the Academy of Fine Arts?
2. How did Nocholas I change the Academy?
3. What is Vasily Perov's "A Village Sermon" a satire of?
4. Wht were the artists outraged at the announcement of the subject for the annual competition?
5. From which social group were the protesting artists?
6. What should their role in society be, according to these artists? What kind of paintings did they want to paint?
7. What did Kramskoy not like about western artists?
8. How did they show the peasants in their paintings? See Kramskoy's "Mina Moiseev" as an example.
9. What aim did the artists have in forming the "The Wanderers" group?
10. List several specific contributions by Pavel Tretyakov.
11. What kind of paintings did Ivan Shishkin paint?
12. What is the story behind Repin's painting "Ivan the Terrible at the Death of his Son"?
13. How did Tsar Alexander III contribute to the art to of the Wannderers?
14. How did the Wanderers re-organize the Academy of Fine Arts?