Stylistic Symbiosis as the Basis of the Artistic Method of Efim Chestnyakov

Abstract

The article traces the connection between the iconographic system of Efim Vasilievich Chestnyakov’s artworks and the Northern European Romantic tradition of the late 19th century, in particular the artworks by the Swedish artist Vicken von Post Börjeson Totten. The researcher concludes that the themes of Chestnyakov’s works are based on the folklore and ethnography of his native Kologriv region, and his visual method is rooted in the principles of neo-romantic art. These two lines are connected through the primitivist approach that is chosen as a vector of a creative path. This approach gives rise to stylistic symbiosis which becomes the basis of the author’s artistic method.