The Making of an Artist as National Hero
The Great Karl Briullov and His Critical Fortunes
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4209059 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Katia Dianina (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2018 |
| Volume | 77 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 122-150 |
| Publication date | 2018-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Slavic Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0037-6779 • E-ISSN: 2325-7784 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/slr.2018.13 |
| OpenAlex | W2799997242 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 13 |
This article examines the uneven reception of the famous Russian artist Karl Briullov and problematizes the canonization of the classics in imperial society. Drawing on contemporary literary and artistic sources, broadly available at the time but largely forgotten in the years since, I argue that Briullov's status as a cultural icon grew out of the wide-ranging controversy that followed the artist throughout the decades. Now feted as the national genius, now dismissed as a fraud, Briullov became part of the popular imagination as a complicated character of sundry written texts, a literary figment more than a historical person. The discursive aspect of this cultural scenario was crucial in fashioning the image of the artist as national hero: Briullov's canonization was propelled by the written word more than pictorial imagery. Moreover, in a peculiar Russian twist, it was Briullov's association with the great poet Aleksandr Pushkin that advanced the artist's reputation decisively
Art · Art history · Character (mathematics · Genius · HERO · Hoax · Icon · Literature · Reputation · Sociology · Central European and Russian historical studies · History · Rousseau and Enlightenment Thought · Soviet and Russian History
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |