Abstract: The subject of the study of the proposed article is the early plein-air works of the German expressionist artist Gabriele Munter, later a member of the Blue Horseman art association, a student and friend of Vasily Kandinsky. The authors of the article aim to review and introduce into scientific circulation a number of Munter's sketches created by her during summer trips to the plein air in 1902-1903 to the Alpine towns of Kochel and Kalmunz with the Munich art school "Phalanx", headed by Kandinsky. The article also examines the picturesque plein-air works by Kandinsky, created by him in the same years there, in Bavaria - mainly landscapes and sketches of figures in the landscape. The authors of the study see as their task to trace the influence of Kandinsky's artistic manner and his role as a teacher on the formation of a Munter painter.  The research methodology includes formal stylistic, comparative methods of art criticism analysis, as well as a comprehensive historical and biographical approach. The relevance of the study is due to its scientific novelty: the authors of the article for the first time in Russian-language art history literature describe the pre-expressionist works of Munter during the period of joint plein-airs with Kandinsky, trace the formation of her artistic vision and picturesque manner, the influence of Kandinsky on her formation. The development of the impressionistic technique common to Munter and Kandinsky in the early 1900s, according to the authors of the article, is combined with individual searches for expressiveness of form and color. The first experiments of plein-air oil painting in a special "spatula technique" under the guidance of Kandinsky were accompanied by the successful search for Munter in the field of graphics, mastering the technique of printing color woodcuts. The authors of the article come to the conclusion that the formation of the original manner of Munter was equally influenced by both pictorial emancipation through sketching practice in oil, as well as their own experiences in drawing and engraving.

Abstract: The article examines two studies of the early period of Mstislav Dobuzhinsky's work, relating to the time of his life and studies in Germany (Munich): "A Street in Munich" (circa 1899-1901) and "Workshop of the Anton Ashbe School" (1899). The author of the article, based on the artistic and critical literature devoted to Dobuzhinsky's work, as well as correspondence and memoirs of the artist and his contemporaries, examines the urban pastel landscape and interior sketch of the late 90s. In the context of the tasks that the artist set himself during his studies abroad at the schools of Anton Ashbe and Shimon Holloshi, as well as in line with the conceptual searches of the artist both in the early and mature periods of creativity. In the analysis of the works under consideration, the author of the article uses formal stylistic, descriptive methods, the study of the features of artistic manner, the nature of the figurative and plastic language of the works, emotional and aesthetic assessment. The author of the article discovers an unconditional coincidence of artistic images, mood and texture of the early sketches of the artist's Munich period with verbal descriptions of the atmosphere of Munich in the late 1890s and the school of Anton Ashbe and his method, left by the artist and his contemporaries in letters, memoirs, art-critical and historical notes. Summing up the analysis of the "Streets of Munich" and the "Workshop of the Anton Ashbe School" by Mstislav Dobuzhinsky, the author of the article concludes that the special, subtle poetic mood of the two works under consideration, a gloomy autumn landscape and a bright sunny interior sketch, representing the early stage of the evolution of the artistic manner of the master, thoughtfully and figuratively reflect the concept "quiet poetry", characteristic of the artist's mature graphics and paintings, consistently developed by him in his further work.

Abstract: This article describes the practical experience of a group of pedagogues, organizers of the elective module “Theory and Practice of Contemporary Art” in Moscow City Pedagogical University (D. S. Matyunina, M. V. Nozdracheva, M. A. Semenova). The authors share their opinion on the role and effectiveness of the system of elective modules in modern university education, outline the primary tasks, and discuss the peculiarities of teaching general university courses of artistic orientation. The focus attention is the questions of motivation of students, who chose the module, possibility of flexible arrangement of the content of disciplines thereof in accordance with attainment level and requests of the student audience. The researchers assume that elective courses allow the students to adjust the content of their professional education. Based on the three-year experience of conducting a joint elective course, the co-authors conclude that elective courses can expand the professional competencies of students in adjacent fields, as well as give confidence to the students majoring in other disciplines to change their own educational trajectory. The article is addressed to the pedagogues and students of higher education institutions.

Abstract: The subject of this article is the picturesque portrait of Natalia Frantsevna Auber by Konstantin Andreevich Somov that refers to the early period of his works – mid of 1890’s. The portrait is viewed in the context of the scenic pursuits of the painter of the prior to “World of Art” stage. The scenic manner alongside the portrait concept are also analyzed with consideration of the impact upon the works of K. A. Somov of the relevant trends of Russian and European portrait paining of the turn of the XIX-XX centuries: traditions of the Russian realistic portrait, European and Scandinavian lines of impressionism and salon. The author applies the method of comparative art analysis, viewing the portrait of N. F. Auber made by K. A. Somov in contrast with other works of the painter and his contemporaries. A particularly valuable contribution into the research of Somov’s portrait concept is defined by the analysis of the new trends emerging in the portrait of N. F. Auber: compositional structure, decorativeness of painting, specificity of spatial structure, and color specificities. All of the listed features are emphasized by the author of the article as the key for establishment of iconography of Somov’s portrait of the “mature” period.