REPRESENTING THE CONCEPT OF “SOCIETY” IN THE RUSSIAN GENRE PAINTING OF THE 1860-1870S

Abstract

The aim of the study is to reveal the ways of representing the concept of “society” in the works of the genre art in the Russian painting of the 1860-1870s. The research is carried out using the method of philosophical and art history analysis of works of fine art. The main object of the study is the painting “Rural procession on Easter” by Vasiliy G. Perov. The study describes the specific features of the genre art in the Russian painting of the 19th century. The research shows how works of the genre art realize their didactive and educating functions. A theoretical analysis of the concepts of “everyday life”, “being”, “society” made it possible to conclude how genre painting of the 19th century models both an ideal person who is in co-existence with the absolute spirit, and a person who is far from the ideal. In the research the authors reveal two worldview models that developed in Russian painting in the 1860-1870s: a model of a perfect human being and a model of a person who is mired in everyday life. The study proves that the latter human model is represented in index signs of characters that worship only material values. The study investigates the versatility of the pictorial model of the Russian society, represented not only as a community absorbed in the routine of the everyday life, but also as a group of people whose life is elevated upwards to the true existence. The research has resulted in the typology of characters of paintings of the genre art, where the type of the character depends on the model of the society represented by the work of art. In its conclusion the study discloses two models of representing the society in Russian painting of the genre art in the 19th century. According to the first model, the everyday principle acts as an absorber of being. The second model represents a society in which everyday life manifests true existence, in harmony with nature and filled with the divine essence.