The artistic production embraces in the first place a cultural nucleus developed in the central part of the European area of the Russia, whose formation is made up of the traditions of the nomadic cultures of the steppes, the influences of the civilizations of Anterior Asia and Hellenic and, later, the contributions of Byzantium, very important for the entire history of Russian art up to the 17th century.
Middle Ages
In its formation and development, the Russian artistic culture was deeply linked to that of Ukraine and Belarus, having the same cultural roots. With the Christianization of the Russia in 988 began the fundamental process of penetration of Byzantine influence. It was Greek artists and architects who built the first stone churches and decorated them with mosaics and frescoes.
Architecture
With the consolidation of the first states and principalities on the territory of the Eastern Slavs, fortified centers with residences of princes and boyars surrounded by vast villages arose. Wooden constructions predominated for houses and palaces, as well as for the first churches (first cathedral of St. Sophia in Novgorod, 10th century; Kiev churches, 11th-12th century).
● The first stone church was the Desyatinnaja in Kiev (989-996, destroyed 13th century). Imposing 11th century construction. it is the Cathedral of the Transfiguration in Černigov (c. 1017, three naves and five domes, with a cylindrical tower at the corner). St. Sophia in Kiev (1018-37, five naves surrounded by galleries, 13 domes, flanked by two scalar towers) set a model for Russian architecture of the 11th and 12th centuries. In the monastic architecture of Kiev, a type of cross-in-square church with a single dome was developed (Cathedral of the Dormition, 1073-78, Pečersky Monastery, destroyed; Cathedral of the Monastery of St. Michael, mid-11th century, destroyed; cathedral of the Vydubitsky monastery, 1070-88; church of the Savior in Berestovo, late 11th century). Among the monuments of the 12th century, SS. Boris and Gleb and especially S. Parasceve, of complex structure, with rich external brick decoration.
● At this time, other centers of artistic activity arose in the regions of Vladimir and Suzdal´ and, in the north, of Pskov and Novgorod, each of which retained its specific local characteristics. In the principality of Vladimir-Suzdal´ a type of church was formed, later very widespread, with a cubic shape and a single dome. Very elaborate decorations characterize the Cathedral of the Dormition of the Virgin (1158-61) and St. Demetrius (1139-97), in Vladimir. The Church of the Intercession on the Nerl near Vladimir (1165) is one of the most harmonious and elegant buildings in all Russian architecture. In S. Giorgio in Jur´ev-Pol´skoj (1229-34) remarkable reliefs decorate the walls. The white-stone princely castle of Bogolyubovo near Vladimir is still a demonstration of the penetration of Romanesque forms in the 12th century. Novgorod architecture of the 11th-12th century. it shows an austere monumentality (S. Sofia, 1045-50, with five naves and five domes); the churches of the 12th century. they are characterized by six austere pillars in the vast interior, a tower near the western facade and three or five domes (S. Nicola Taumaturgo, 1113 ca.; church of the Nativity of the Virgin in the monastery of S. Antonio, 1117 ca.; monastery church of St. George, 1119-30). The smaller church of the Savior in Neredica near Novgorod (1198; rebuilt) is distinguished by the simplicity of its facades. The Cathedral of the Mirožskij Monastery in Pskov (before 1156), with a cruciform plan, it is characterized by a heavy monumentality and extreme simplicity, specific to the northern Russia
● In the 14th century. in Novgorod the most picturesque churches were built, with facades decorated with geometric motifs (St. Theodore Stratelate, Church of the Savior); the fortress-kremlin was built with the archbishop’s palace and the gothic vaults which reveal the presence of German artists. The churches of Pskov, very simple in plan and structure, are characterized by numerous annexes (galleries, chapels, bell towers) which give them a characteristic appearance (Trinity Cathedral; St. Basil the Great, early 15th century). with facades decorated with geometric motifs (S. Teodoro Stratelate, church of the Savior); the fortress-kremlin was built with the archbishop’s palace and the gothic vaults which reveal the presence of German artists. The churches of Pskov, very simple in plan and structure, are characterized by numerous annexes (galleries, chapels, bell towers) which give them a characteristic appearance (Trinity Cathedral; St. Basil the Great, early 15th century). with facades decorated with geometric motifs (S. Teodoro Stratelate, church of the Savior); the fortress-kremlin was built with the archbishop’s palace and the gothic vaults which reveal the presence of German artists. The churches of Pskov, very simple in plan and structure, are characterized by numerous annexes (galleries, chapels, bell towers) which give them a characteristic appearance (Trinity Cathedral; St. Basil the Great, early 15th century).
Painting
Even the beginnings of painting in the medieval Russia were closely linked to the Byzantine tradition (important cycle of mosaics and frescoes of St. Sophia in Kiev, 11th century; 11th century mosaics. From the church of the monastery of St. Michael in Kiev), while the frescoes in the church of the monastery of St. Cyril in Kiev (12th century), reveal affinities with Balkan painting. In the monastery of Pečersky in the 11th century. there was a school of icon painting in which the painter Alipij achieved great fame. As evidenced by the first surviving works of Kiev (late 12th century), in 11th-12th century icon painting. there is a process of assimilation and re-elaboration of the Byzantine tradition similar to that of monumental painting. Noteworthy is the 11th century miniature, marked by the interpenetration of Byzantine, Slavic and Romanesque elements. In the 11th-12th century goldsmithery, decorated with niello and enamels, phytomorphic and zoomorphic motifs are characteristic.
● Of monumental painting in the 12th century Vladimir-Suzdal´ principality. fragments of frescoes from the Cathedral of the Dormition and the frescoes of the Cathedral of St. Demetrius in Vladimir and the church of SS. Boris and Gleb in the village of Kidekša near Suzdal´. The tradition of icon painting in this area began with the Greek icon of Boris and Gleb in the village of Kidekša near Suzdal´. The tradition of icon painting in this area began with the Greek icon of Boris and Gleb in the village of Kidekša near Suzdal´. The tradition of icon painting in this area began with the Greek icon of Our Lady of Vladimir (Moscow, Tretyakov Gallery) from the 12th century, imported from Constantinople, an example of Byzantine painting of great influence. Fine examples are the icons of the Vladimir and Yaroslavl schools from the 12th and 13th centuries. The depictions of the doors of Suzdal´ cathedral from the 13th century, engraved in gold on bronze, are still a testimony of the reworking of Byzantine iconography and art. The school of Novgorod and Pskov painting, formed in the 12th century, reached its maximum expansion in the 14th century. It stands out for the solemnity and austerity of the setting, the sober colors, the spirituality and the asceticism of the faces (frescoes of the cathedrals of S. Sofia, S. Nicola Taumaturgo, S. Antonio, S. Giorgio, of the churches of the Salvatore in Neredica and of the Annunciation in the village of Arkažy, of St. George in Staraja Ladoga and of the cathedral of the Mirožskij monastery in Pskov). The first icon painting in Novgorod also followed Byzantine models.
● Among the Novgorod fresco cycles of the 14th century. noteworthy are those in the church of the Transfiguration of Theophanes the Greek, which brought to the north of the Russia the drama of late Byzantine art, also sensitive in a group of icons inspired by his school. Novgorod icons of the 13th and 14th centuries. they stand out for the presence of folkloric elements, for the purity of light and lively colors, for the simplicity of the composition, and in the 15th century. for a more meticulous style; local saints were often depicted (icon of SS. Floro and Lauro, protectors of horses, Moscow, Tretyakov Gallery). The icons coming from the north of the Russia (from Vologda, from Kargopol´) surprise for the vivacity of the colors and the extreme laconicity of the composition.
