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Africa in the Works of Russian Artists
Russian Museum's virtual exhibition brings together more than 100 works from the collection of the Russian Museum, created by Russian artists on the African continent or dedicated to Africa, its history, inhabitants and cultural heritage of Ancient Egypt.
Africa has excited the imagination of travellers, explorers and, of course, artists, for centuries. This remote and mysterious continent has not lost its magical appeal for creative souls. It was visited many times in the 19th and 20th centuries by Russian painters, graphic artists and sculptors. For some, their experience of Africa was limited to a single voyage, while others returned repeatedly to their favourite places, sometime broadening the scope of their journeys in search of new impressions, motifs and themes for their art. There were also those who, for a variety of reasons, made journeys only in their imagination, paying tribute, for example, to the passion for African art that spread through Europe at the beginning of the 20th century.
The Russian Museum maintains a small but interesting and impressive collection of works related to or dedicated to Africa. Some of them, primarily drawings, sketches and studies, were made during trips to the continent and later served as a source for large easel works created by the artists upon their return.
Egypt and the Maghreb countries were the African territories most explored by Russian artists in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Indeed, the Russian “iconography” of the “black continent” began with the depiction of ancient Egyptian monuments and landscapes. A series of watercolours by the brothers Nikanor (1805–1879) and Grigory (1802–1865) Chernetsov that accurately document what they saw on their travels are the earliest works on display at the exhibition. In 1842, the artists spent one and a half autumn months in Egypt travelling along the Nile and in the desert, exploring the sights and the country’s unusual natural features. The brothers mainly focused on ancient Egyptian monuments and cities – Alexandria, Cairo, Luxor… The graphic works by Prince Grigory Gagarin (1810–1893) also display the same aspiration for precision and documentary approach. The motifs and themes in the Chernetsovs’ watercolours are somewhat similar to Gagarin’s, as is their fascination with ancient monuments. Gagarin’s work, however, focuses more on the everyday life of the Arabs and their nomadic way of life.
The genre-based approach – an interest in local people and their traditions, unusual individuals – was increasingly evident in the works of artists of the subsequent generation, such as Konstantin (1839–1915) and Nikolai (1841–1886) Makovsky and Valery Jacobi (1834–1902), who frequently visited North Africa in the 1870s and 1880s. The most famous and significant Russian artist of the second half of the 19th century who visited Egypt and its neighbouring countries was Konstantin Makovsky. His picturesque canvases, such as Handing over of the Sacred Carpet in Cairo (1876, State Russian Museum), as well as his watercolours, which he painted in a broad and free manner, filled with the sun and heat, became the most vivid reflection of Orientalism in Russian fine art of the 1870s.
It was not always necessary to travel to a remote country to meet African people. The Russian Museum possesses a unique collection of watercolour portraits of the members of the first Moroccan Embassy to Russia, which paid an official visit to St Petersburg and Moscow in the summer of 1901. The museum inventory from that time mentions 20 watercolours that were painted by Stepan Alexandrovsky (1842–1906) from life during this visit.
Artists’ trips to North Africa became more frequent in the late 19th century, and especially in the first decades of the 20th century. In the late 1890s – 1910s, Jan Ciągliński (1858–1912) and Hugo Backmansson (1860–1953) travelled repeatedly to Tunisia and Morocco. Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin (1878–1939) spent several months in Morocco and Algeria in 1907. Zinaida Serebryakova (1884–1967) visited Morocco in the mid-1920s – early 1930s. This flow of new impressions also revealed their artistic talents in painting, inspired by colour.
Later, in the 1920s and 1930s, the interest in Black African art and the desire to understand its special language were reflected in the works of Soviet sculptors and graphic artists, such as the sculptural works by Vera Isayeva (1898–1960), as well as her illustrations for the children’s book Negry (Black People).
African themes have been a permanent feature in Russian art throughout the 20th century, continually offering new readings and interpretations of this mysterious continent’s past and present.
CHERNETSOV
Nikanor (1805—1879)
Grigory (1802—1865)
In September 1842, the Chernetsov brothers — Nikanor, Gregory and Polycarp (1822–1842), avid travelers, left Italy and headed to the African continent. The trip to Egypt lasted a month and a half. The artists managed to visit the main cities of the country — Alexandria, Cairo, sail along the Nile, get acquainted with the most important monuments of ancient Egyptian history: the pyramids in Giza, the column of Pompey, the obelisk of Cleopatra and the tomb of Cheops, which, despite the danger, they decided to climb in search of the best vantage point, which they did not fail to note in the notes. The Chernetsovs did not limit themselves exclusively to the study of ancient monuments, but combined «the news of the present and memories of the past».
They constantly visited the Russian consul Kremer, the Egyptian Pasha Mohammed Ali, the Patriarch of Alexandria; learned the features of the everyday realities of Eastern life. The brothers recorded their impressions from the trip, vivid and varied, with their inherent habit of carefully recording everything that happened, in a handwritten journal, where descriptions of the events were accompanied by drawings. And this was only part of the materials dedicated to the trip. Nikanor and Grigory Chernetsov executed dozens of easel drawings and watercolors that reflected everything they saw in Egypt, a large corpus of which is kept in the collection of the Russian Museum.
GAGARIN Grigory
1810 — 1893
In the last years of his life, in 1890–1892, Prince Grigory Grigorievich Gagarin made a long journey through the countries of Europe, Turkey and North Africa. His thirst for travel and tirelessness were amazing. The artist did not limit himself to visiting Alexandria and Cairo, he took a cruise on the Nile and visited Luxor and Aswan. The drawings and watercolors made in Egypt, as always by Gagarin, were documentarily accurate, either a genre scene with aborigines or monuments of past times.
Such careful recording of architectural monuments revealed the artist’s research approach to studying the past and his passion for ancient Egyptian civilization. The artist was interested in everything — both the greatness of the country in the era of the pharaohs and today\'s life.
MAKOVSKY
Konstantin 1839 — 1915
Nikolai 1841 — 1886
Konstantin Makovsky visited North Africa several times. The artist\'s first trip to Cairo took place in 1872 on the advice of doctors due to his wife\'s illness. However, despite this sad circumstance, the artist worked hard, immersed in the unusual atmosphere of Eastern life. In October of the following year in St. Petersburg, he received an order for the painting «Handing over of the Sacred Carpet from Mecca in Cairo» from the heir to Grand Duke Alexander Alexandrovich, the future Emperor Alexander III. And again in 1874 Makovsky went to the capital of Egypt with his younger brother Nikolai.
The result of this trip was more than two hundred sketches, among which was a sketch of a large commissioned painting. In 1876, in Paris, where the artist lived for a long time, the second version of the painting «Transferring the Sacred Carpet in Cairo» (Russian Museum) was executed. In the same year, the canvas was exhibited at the Paris Salon. At the end of 1876, the artist made a trip to Africa for the third time, significantly expanding the route of his journey. He visited Morocco, Algeria, Egypt, Sudan and Abyssinia. Along with portrait sketches and landscape studies, Makovsky paid a lot of attention to genre compositions dedicated to the urban life of Cairo, which delighted the artist with its colorful and spicy atmosphere. This passion of Konstantin Makovsky for Egypt was shared by his brother Nikolai.
KARAZIN Nikolai
1842 — 1908
In 1890–1891, a long, more than 300 days, trip of Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich, the future Emperor Nicholas II, to the East took place. The direction and choice of route for this grand tour were dictated primarily by the political realities of the time. One of the first countries that the heir visited was Egypt. On November 10–27, 1890, he and his companions traveled along the Nile to Aswan and back, getting acquainted with ancient monuments. One of the strongest impressions on travelers was made by the capital of the country, where the antiquity of millennia and the present day were combined.
«The Cairo of Arab fairy tales», E. Ukhtomsky wrote about it, «and the last word of European civilization, transplanted onto African soil — Cairo, which one admires from the almost unattainable height of the nearest pyramids». Soon after the end of the trip, a richly illustrated publication in three volumes by Prince E. Ukhtomsky «Journey to the East of His Imperial Highness the Sovereign Heir Tsesarevich, 1890–1891» was published (St. Petersburg; Leipzig, 1893–1897). Despite the fact that among those accompanying the heir was the artist Nikolai Gritsenko, who performed about 300 sketches on the trip, the illustrations for the book were ordered from Nikolai Karazin. By this time, he had established himself as a professional illustrator, working extensively and successfully in this genre for Russian periodicals and books. Karazin\'s monochrome illustrations captured the most important sights, often representing a combination of images of several monuments on one sheet. A number of illustrations were dedicated to Egyptian landscapes, in particular views of the Nile.
CIĄGLIŃSKI Jan
1858 — 1912
The main part of Ciągliński’s creative heritage is a large number of landscape sketches. Not a year passed without him making another trip: he visited Central Europe several times, as well as Turkey, Morocco, Palestine, Egypt, Greece, India, Tunisia and other countries. From there he brought a lot of bright, artistically written sketches. Widely and boldly painted «alla prima», they attracted attention with their «decadent» manner of open, dynamic brushwork.
A recognized impressionist in Russian painting, Ciągliński loved to paint the sun and artistic landmarks, without worrying about creating a holistic emotional natural image. From the memoirs of Arkady Rylov: «Almost every year he went on a trip to the south, to tropical countries: Palestine, Egypt, Algeria, India. <…> After the trip, he usually gathered friends at his place and showed his tropical sketches. <…> The studies, written in an impressionistic manner, with explanations by a temperamental author, illuminated by a strong lamp, made an impression».
ALEXANDROVSKY Stepan
1842 — 1906
On July 20, 1901, the First Moroccan Embassy, headed by the country\'s Foreign Minister Si Abdelkrim Benslimane, arrived in St. Petersburg. The event was extraordinary. Tensions in the interests of the European powers were acutely felt in relation to the territories of North Africa and, above all, Morocco. The young Sultan Moulay Abdelaziz sought to modernize the country while simultaneously trying to establish dialogue with the leading European powers. On July 23, 1901, the embassy was received by Emperor Nicholas II at the Great Peterhof Palace. The capital\'s press wrote about this, not forgetting to note the unusual appearance and national clothes of the embassy members, which aroused great interest. «They are dressed in white tunics and colorful Asian boots. Some people have original checkers hanging above their chiton, and a white cloak protrudes over the chiton. Everyone has a white turban on their heads, which is hidden in the folds of the cloak.» Soon Stepan Fedorovich Aleksandrovsky, a famous watercolor painter at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, painted a series of portrait images of members of the Moroccan Embassy. In total, the artist created 20 watercolor portraits, which were deposited in the Imperial Hermitage.
PETROV–VODKIN Kuzma
1878 — 1939
In April–July 1907, Petrov-Vodkin traveled to North Africa, visiting Algeria and Tunisia. He turned his gaze towards Africa and the East in search of something unexpected, primitive, genuine. During the trip, the artist created a large number of drawings, watercolors and oil studies. The African series opens a new period in the artist’s work, filled with harmony and pure colors. After returning to Paris, Petrov-Vodkin wrote to his mother: «... two and a half months in Africa passed for me like a fabulous dream, and this impression will not be forgotten, and I feel that it was necessary, useful for me in terms of painting — I almost forgot my gray colors».
SEREBRYAKOVA Zinaida
1884 — 1967
Morocco, as one of the most exotic countries of the Maghreb, has long been popular in the artistic community. In 1912–1956, Morocco was under the protectorate of France, so it was French artists who visited there the most. Serebryakova, who lived in France since 1924, visited Morocco twice: from December 1928 to January 1929 and from February to March 1932. These were some of the brightest events in her emigrant life.
The multinational flavor of Marrakech, the unusual way of life, with colorful dances, magic tricks, and animal tamers became objects of interest for the artist, who mastered all this in a short six weeks. Africa amazed Serebryakova: «I’ve been here for two weeks already, but I’m so stupefied by the newness of the sensations that I can’t figure out what or how to draw». Serebryakova\'s Moroccan collection, presented at several exhibitions in Paris, impressed the public with its liveliness and bright light.
1920–1970s
In the Soviet Union, in connection with the opposition to colonialism and American imperialism, Africans and African Americans were constantly supported in the struggle for their rights. Representatives of the black population often visited the USSR. In the 1920s, leadership training for members of the Comintern and Profintern was carried out. During the years of industrialization, among the specialists who came from the United States and Western Europe were Africans, some of whom preferred to remain in the Union. In 1922, the IV Congress of the Communist International was held in Moscow, among the participants there were many black delegates. And of course, interest in black culture arose in artistic circles. The Associated Press of August 1932 said: «The Russians are taking the broadest interest in everything that concerns the Negroes» and are «eager to read and hear everything that concerns Negro life».
Images of Africans were reflected in Soviet literature and cinema, and artists also did not ignore them. The first works devoted to black themes appeared in the 1920s. The works of the late 1950s are associated primarily with the VI International Festival of Youth and Students, held in Moscow in August 1957, when many delegates from African countries arrived. In 1961, the Patrice Lumumba People\'s Friendship Institute was opened in Moscow, intended for foreign students. Mostly students from African and Asian countries studied there. In the 1970s, Africans met mostly in Moscow — these were representatives of diplomatic missions, trade missions, etc. Students coming to the Soviet Union were predominantly black. They studied not only in Moscow, but also at institutes in other large cities, in the capitals of the union republics. All these meetings and connections between Soviet people and representatives of the African population could not help but be reflected in the fine arts of those years.
ISAYEVA Vera
1898 — 1960
In the 1920s, Isaeva combined studying with work: she taught modeling, drawing and drawing at the Literacy School on Bolshoy Prospekt and at the Central Quarantine and Distribution Center for Children on Krasnye Zori Street in Leningrad. It was then, in the wake of a general fascination with the people and art of Africa, that figurines of blacks and graphic sheets with African subjects, rare in the artist’s subsequent work, appeared, intended for a children’s book that was never published.
