Zhidenko Nadezhda; Timofeeva Rimma

European engravings of “spiritual” content in Russia

Abstract

This article studies the presence of West-European engraved sheets with Biblical themes in the territory of Russia of the 17th — 19th centuries. The infl uence of West-European engravings already manifested itself as early as the 16th century and increased considerably in the 17th century. Books and engravings from Europe clearly influenced the masters from both the capital and provinces. The engraving, which is a cheaper and more aff ordable type of visual art, begins to be used to decorate living rooms, as images for prayer, to remind of the events of the Scripture. Despite the generally negative attitude of the church, the European engravings continued to spread in Russia and by the 18th century occupied a stable place in the household of various social groups. Collections of engravings began to be gathered; the sheets were used as “examples”, i.e. study material; were used as relayers of unaccessible painted originals. In the 19th century, the demand became even greater. Alongside original European engravings of “spiritual” content, cheap engravings and lithographies came to be widespread, these were only remotely similar to the primary sources. Illustrated edition based on the cycles of European engravings with Biblical themes were printed. The article pays special attention to the factors that supported or prevented the spread and use of West-European engravings in the teritory of Russia during the historical period in question.

Keywords

Western European engraving, printed graphics, biblical plots, engraving, collecting, “spiritual” engraving

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Information about the author

Zhidenko Nadezhda

Student status: Graduate student;
Place of study: St. Petersburg State University of Industrial Technologies and Design; 18 Bol’shaya Morskaya Str., St. Petersburg, 191186, Russian Federation;
ORCID: 0000-0002-7190-8951;
Email: Nadya.zhidenko@bk.ru.

Timofeeva Rimma

Academic Degree: Candidate of Sciences* in Art Criticism;
Academic Rank: Associate Professor;
Place of work: St. Petersburg State University of Industrial Technologies and Design; 18 Bol’shaya Morskaya Str., St. Petersburg, 191186, Russian Federation;
Post: Assistant Professor;
ORCID: 0000-0002-9051-0391;
Email: Rimma.a.timofeeva@gmail.com.

*According to the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED) 2011, the degree of Candidate of Sciences (Cand.Sc.) belongs to ISCED level 8 — "doctoral or equivalent", together with PhD, DPhil, D.Lit, D.Sc, LL.D, Doctorate or similar.