Российская история эпохи Просвещения в образах и эмблемах

Abstract

Russian thinkers of the Enlightenment were sure that historical memory may be fixed both in texts and in visual images, therefore they assigned great importance to visualising the events of the past. Historical works formulated the logic of the development of events and depicted the image of the “glorious past” in historical painting, theatrical productions and ideological decor. Historical records were often filled with pictorial descriptions of characters or events, and also contained expressive frontispieces, illustrations, images of genealogical trees, emblems, etc. Such historians as M. V. Lomonosov, or N. M. Karamzin believed that the key events of Russian history should be reflected in painting, and they created original programs for that purpose. In “The ideas for pictural paintings from Russian history” Lomonosov proposes to monumentalise dozens of events in Russian history from the Conversion of Russia to Christianity to the modern times. The “History of the Russian State” by N. M. Karamzin was full of descriptions. It is probable that the graphic descriptions of historical characters made the “History of the Russian State” so popular. In this work Karamzin presented not only the logic of the development of events but also the successive pictures describing them. While reading his record of history, we can “see” the expressions of the characters’ faces, their costumes, the battle scenes. Historical emblems expressed historiosophical archetypes and played an extremely important role in the historical policy of the state, as well as in the construction of cultural memory. Academic historical painting of the 19th century followed as a direct consequence of the visualised “histories” of the Enlightenment and often developed the plots and stereotypes they formed. Historical emblems laid the foundation for various projects of “monumental propaganda” and ideological campaigns in the form of triumphal gates’ decorations, fireworks and other official objects designed to embody the state ideology.