Art and Commerce in Late Imperial Russia : The Peredvizhniki, a Partnership of Artists

"Andrey Shabanov's seminal reinterpretation of the Peredvizhniki is a comprehensive study that examines in-depth for the first time the organizational structure, self-representation, exhibitions, and critical reception of this 19th-century artistic partnership. Shabanov advances a more pragmatic reading of the Peredvizhniki, artists seeking professional and creative freedom in authoritarian Tsarist Russia. He likewise demonstrates and challenges how and why the group eventually came to be defined as a critically-minded Realist art movement. Unprecedentedly rich in new primary visual and textual sources, the book also connects afresh the Russian and Western art worlds of the period. A must-read for anyone interested in Russian art and culture, 19th-century European art, and also the history of art exhibitions, art movements, and the art market."--Bloomsbury Publishing. Contemporaries of Dostoevsky and Tolstoy and predecessors of Diaghilev?s World of Art and the Russian avant-garde, the group of artists known as the Peredvizhniki was no less significant for Russian art and culture of the time. Consisting of virtually every leading painter, among them such key representatives of realism and nationalism as Repin and Shishkin, the group was celebrated for its innovative touring exhibitions around the Russian provinces. This book is a seminal recalibration of major scholarly interpretations of the group, ranging from the most misleading ones made by Soviet researchers to Marxist and contemporary socioeconomic readings. A revisionist, comprehensive study, it examines for the first time the organizational structure, the modes of public self-representations, the visual output in original exhibition settings, and the critical reception of the group. Shabanov advances a more pragmatic story of the Peredvizhniki? one of artists trying to prosper and secure professional freedom in authoritarian Tsarist Russia. Unprecedentedly rich in new primary visual and textual sources, the book also connects afresh the Russian and Western art worlds of the period. A must-read monograph for anyone interested in Russian art and culture, nineteenth-century European art, and also the history of art exhibitions, art movements, and the art market Cover Contents List of Figures Acknowledgements Conventions Introduction Part One The Peredvizhniki Represent Themselves 1 Commercial Institutionalization, 1870–71 2 Selling the Exhibition, 1871–97 3 Self-Fashioning in Group Photographs, 1886–97 4 Revealing the Art Manifesto, 1888 Part Two The Peredvizhniki in the Eyes of the Critics 5 Inaugural Success: The First Show, 1871 6 Split with the Academy: The Fifth Exhibition, 1876 7 Critical Point: The Eleventh, Twelfth and Thirteenth Shows, 1883–85 8 Self-Defence: The Partnership’s Anniversary Reports, 1888, 1897 Conclusion: The Peredvizhniki in a Broader European Context Appendix 1. Charter of the Partnership for Touring Art Exhibitions, 1870 2. The Partnership’s Fifteenth Anniversary Report, 1888 3. The Partnership’s Twenty-fifth Anniversary Report, 1897 4. A List of the Touring Art Exhibitions and Statistics Selected Bibliography Index

Andrey Shabanov's seminal reinterpretation of the Peredvizhniki is a comprehensive study that examines in-depth for the first time the organizational structure, self-representation, exhibitions, and critical reception of this 19th-century artistic partnership. Shabanov advances a more pragmatic reading of the Peredvizhniki, artists seeking professional and creative freedom in authoritarian Tsarist Russia. He likewise demonstrates and challenges how and why the group eventually came to be defined as a critically-minded Realist art movement. Unprecedentedly rich in new primary visual and textual sources, the book also connects afresh the Russian and Western art worlds of the period. A must-read for anyone interested in Russian art and culture, 19th-century European art, and also the history of art exhibitions, art movements, and the art market.