Доклад посвящен малоизвестной картине В. В. Рождественского «Карусель» (1910–1911) из собрания семьи. Произведение несколько раз участвовало в выставках в начале 1910-х гг., однако позднее не выставлялось ни разу и не вошло в монографии и очерки о творчестве художника. Архивные поиски позволили найти дополнительные сведения о картине и обстоятельствах ее создания. Технологические исследования произведения дополняют картину раннего творчества мастера. This paper considers an early little-known canvas “Carousel” (1910–1911) by Vassily Rozhdestvensky from the collection of the artist’s family. It was exhibited only in the early 1910s, and was not included in monographs and essays about Rozhdestvensky. Archive researches revealed additional data about painting and its creation context. Technological studies of the canvas complement the picture of the master’s early work.

The article is the first to consider Alexander Ivanov's process of drafting the sketches for an unrealized painting based on the Bible story “Joseph’s Brothers Finding a Cup in the Sack of Benjamin”. The paper also considers the artist's discussion of compositional options with his father – historical painter A. I. Ivanov, as well as with famous European masters – Bertel Thorvaldsen, Vincenzo Camuccini, Johann Friedrich Overbeck. Such a dialog and exchange of opinions is of particular importance for understanding the specifics of both Alexander Ivanov's creative personality and the peculiarities of compositional, scenic and figurative approaches to historical painting in the times of classicism.

Using an example of lighting of art objects in museums with limited power supply, methods of solving problems of meeting the requirements to museum lighting and forming of a lighting environment inherent to the initial function of a building (palace, temple) are demonstrated. The proposed methods are based on utilisation of a self-contained power supply and original luminaires of minimal size with increased functionality and properties specific for lighting of different exhibitions. Requirements to such luminaires are formulated and principles of their arrangement and operation are demonstrated.

Microorganisms are one of the main factors in the deterioration of cultural heritage, in particular art paintings. The antiseptics currently used in painting have significant limitations due to insufficient effectiveness or increased toxicity and interaction with art materials. In this regard, the actual challenge is the search for novel materials that effectively work against microorganisms in the composition with painting materials and do not change their properties. Chitosan has pronounced antimicrobial properties but was not used previously as an antiseptic for paintings. In our study we developed a number of mock layers based on sturgeon glue, supplemented which chitosan (molecular weight 25 kDa or 45 kDa), standard antiseptics for paintings (positive controls) or without additives (negative control). According to Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy, the addition of chitosan did not significantly affect the optical and surface properties of this material. The ability of chitosan to effectively protect paintings was shown after inoculation on the created mock-up layers of 10 fungi-destructors of tempera painting, previously isolated from cultural heritage of the of the 15-16th centuries in the State Tretyakov Gallery, on the created mock layers. Our study demonstrated the principled opportunity of using chitosan in the composition of painting materials to prevent biodeterioration for the first time.

Modern Russian sculpture, at its best, has long since moved away from direct depiction and has learned to speak about painful issues exclusively in the language of plastic arts. In this regard, a natural question arises - what is the "realism in sculpture" concept today? In the 1960s, sculptors were free to use themes and found inspiration in the surrounding reality. However, for Burganov, the feeling of freedom, the primary impulse of the era of the 60s, became the beginning of the search for a symbolic language in the reflection of reality in contrast to the representatives of the "severe style". The master closely interacts with reality, sensitively reacting to what is happening, which he repeatedly spoke about in his interviews. It seems possible to show how Burganov transforms the real into a symbol on the example of House, Pieta, Shooting a Hero, War and Peace and several other works. In the process of analysing the plastic techniques used by the sculptor, it was possible to identify several patterns at the time when the artist works on the "opposition" principle: realistic images, being in opposition to each other, begin to form the world of symbolism and surrealism. In the analysis process, a number of topical problems are revealed: is realism in sculpture a reflection of the realities of life? Or a correctly depicted human body? Perhaps it is the artist's reaction to the ongoing event, regardless of the figurative plastic techniques used? Or is realism an official aesthetic when a work is based on a serious programmatic composition? Summing up these studies, we offer another term - “symbolic realism”, which, in our opinion, is most clearly capable of reflecting the quintessence of Alexander Burganov's creative method. This study aims to look at Alexander Burganov’s work from a different point of view, combining what the sculptor does with his reflections and objective analysis of his creative method, and to update the question of the concept of the realistic in modern Russian sculpture.

Art mediation is one of the topical museum practices of today. The article deals with the features of this phenomenon, outlining the prospects of its use in connection with the norms of museum legislation and world practice. Information about the studies of art mediation in Russia, as well as of its theoretical and methodological aspects, is provided. An experience of introducing art mediation methods in the museum institutions of Samara (as exemplified by exhibitions at the Zero Room Gallery, the Samara Literary Museum and the Art Nouveau Museum) is considered.