Abstract: The subject of the study is the fundamental philosophical and aesthetic problems in the aesthetics of Pierre Simon Ballanche, who stood at the origins of French romanticism. Two layers of his creativity - explicit and implicit - have been identified and analyzed. It is shown that his ideas about the art of romanticism are verbalized in a strict academic style. The implicit layer, is associated with Ballanche’s artistic prose. It includes philosophical and aesthetic poems, testifying the originality of his aesthetic position. Unlike most French romantics, who distance themselves from ancient culture as pagan in favor of Christianity and medieval art, Ballanche, in his talented paraphrases of mythological stories, romanticizes Antiquity, finding in it the beginnings of future Christian ideas of sublime love, mercy, sacrifice, beauty and goodness.
The main conclusion of the study is the conclusion that art, according to Ballanche, plays a leading civilizational role in the cosmogonic-historical process. The core of Ballanche's implicit philosophical aesthetics is revealed - the original concept of palingenesis, interpreted by the author as a radical degeneration of the world for the sake of its future revival; it is precisely this stage of cultural and historical development that, in his opinion, marks romanticism. The author's special contribution lies in introducing into domestic scientific circulation, translated into Russian for the first time and analyzed the philosophical and aesthetic poems “Antigone”, “The Man with No Name”, “The Experience of Social Palingenesis. Orpheus".

Abstract: The subject of the study is the fundamental philosophical and aesthetic problems in the romantic aesthetics of one of its leaders in France - Victor Hugo. The evolution of his aesthetic views is traced - from adherence to the aesthetics of classicism and royalist views to the established theory and artistic practice of romanticism, colored with democratic pathos. The core of Hugo's aesthetics is revealed - the original concept of the grotesque, which has found a convincing embodiment in his poetry, drama, historical novels. Such main themes as the correlation of the tragic and the comic, the beautiful and the ugly, the sublime and the base, content and form, freedom and order, historical truth and fiction in art, romantic symbolization in the context of the formation of the concept of the artistic essence of romanticism by Hugo are considered. The features of his artistic and aesthetic concept related to the national specifics of art, local color, the problems of artistic taste, inspiration, imagination, aesthetic pleasure, artistic style, genius, talent are analyzed.
The main conclusion of the study is the conclusion that all these topics form the basis of Hugo's judgments about the nature of romantic drama as the pinnacle of 19th century poetry and its differences from classic tragedy. The multidimensional nature of this study predetermined the use of a number of methodological approaches: philosophical and aesthetic approach, art history analysis, comparative, interdisciplinary methods. The author's special contribution lies in the fact that the study of Hugo's aesthetic theory and artistic practice is based on original material. The article provides a comparative analysis of the embodiment of Hugo's aesthetic views in various types and genres of art. Such a study was undertaken for the first time in domestic science.

Abstract: The subject of this research is the fundamental aesthetic problematic in the symbolist philosophy of art of André Gide. The author examines such mainstream themes as the concept of artistic symbol, categories of the beautiful, tragic and heroic, interrelation of art and nature, specificity of theatrical aesthetics. In his works, Gide brings to life the ideas of subjective, solipsistic symbolism, when symbol ingratiates with a hieroglyph that depicts inner world of the artist in a creative form, his subjective experiences, dreams and reverie, while the external sensible world is interpreted as illusory, appears as combination of senses, or is left as side as nonexistent. The main conclusion of the conducted study consists in a statements that in the period of symbolism André Gide was sure that illusory character was extraneous to art. Disregarding the external, art must refer to the profound truth, heroic beginning of human personality. Emphasis is made on infiltration into the spheres of esoteric, mystical and spiritual. The article analyses André Gide’s “Treatise on Narcissus (The Theory of Symbol”), in which such worldview found its programmatic expression.

Abstract: The subject of the study is the fundamental aesthetic issue in Charles Baudelaire's philosophy of art. Such main topics as the symbolic concept of correspondences, the categories of beauty, high, ugly, issues of symbolization in art, imagination and fantasy, imagery and allegory, artistic conventions, synthesis of arts and synesthesia, the connection of art and nature are studied. In his artistic criticism of painting, sculpture, music, literature, drama Baudelaire advocates the ideals of romanticism, as opposed to positivism and naturalism, sharply criticizes the spirit of bourgeois art. The multi-aspect nature of the present study has predetermined the application of a number of methodological approaches: philosophical and aesthetic approach, art analysis, comparative, interdisciplinary methods. The main conclusion of the conducted study is the conclusion about Baudelaire's paradoxical aesthetic views, sharply contrasting with his ideally elevated aspiration to God in his philosophy of art and art criticism with his poetic creativity, "flowers of evil", and their demonic origin. It is shown which of the system-forming ideas of Baudelaire's philosophy of art do not lose their relevance today.A special contribution of the author to the study of the topic is that it is conducted on the original material, both the theoretical statements of Baudelaire and his analysis of various types and genres of art. The author introduces the previously unexplored aspects of early French symbolism into the domestic scientific circulation. 

Abstract: The subject of the research is the fundamental philosophical and aesthetical problem of existentialism concepts in the art of the 20th - 21st centuries and their verbal and visual expression. The author of the article pays special attention to transformations happening in existentialism, the theatre of the absurd, the theatre of cruelty, body-art, kinetic art, auteurism, theatre performances, happenings, and art-practices. Mankovskaya analyzes particular features of existential portraits based on the examples from Russian and foreign literature, dramaturgy, painting, cinematography, theatre, and actual art. The author of the article has selected art movements, personalities and artwork that represent the 20th - 21st centuries most of all. The fact that this research covers many aspects, the author had to apply a number of methodological approaches: philosophical-aesthetical approach, art analysis, comparative approach and interdisciplinary methods of research. The main conclusion of the research is that over the last century modifications of existential portrait took artistic shapes that corresponded to the philosophical and aesthetical content thereof, from myths, symbols, artistic image in modernism to post-modernism simulacrums and further to neomythologies and performance sketches of art-practices. Existential portrait still remains an important topic today because the Internet virual reality allows to create an existential portrait and self-portrait (profile picture). The author's special contribution to the topic is that she carried out her analysis based on original material. In her article Mankovskaya conducts a comparative analysis of verbal and visual existential portraits that can be found in all kinds of artistic types and genres. This is the first research of this kind in the academic literature. 
portrait, existentialism, absurdism, simulacrum, neomythology, art-practicies, kinetic art, body-art, performance, virtual reality

Abstract: The subject of the research is the fundamental aesthetic problem of arts classification. Mankovskaya pays special attention to disputes around the relationship between painting and poetry held by Josephin Peladan, an outstanding representative of the mysticism branch of French symbolism, and Leondardo da Vinci. In her research Mankovskaya covers such overarching issues as art and science, art and nature, aesthetic contemplation, mimesis, synthesis of art, artist, creativity, gift, genius, canon, beautiful, sublime, ugly, aesthetic perception that Peladan used to fundamentally oppose to the main idea of Leondardo's 'A Treatise on Painting'. Peladan defended the primacy of poetry and literature in general over fine arts. To prove his point of view, Peladan successively dissaproved of Leonardo's main theses. Considering that the present research has many aspects, the researcher has applied a number of methodological approaches such as philosophical-aesthetical approach, art history analysis, comparative and interdisciplinary methods. The main conclusion of the research is the author's statement that Peladan's concept of art life is marked with his belief in metaphysical essence of art and his anagogic mission defining mystic symbolic hermeneutics as the method of art history studies. As for the dispute about the relationship between arts and principles of their classification, it is an important issue even today and still far from being completed. There are new arts being created such as technical arts (photography, cinematograph, video art, virtual art, etc.) and their list is still to be continued. What is the relationship between them and how are they related to classical arts taking into account contemporary interest in art genres and branches mix? This is the problem that is worthy of further analysis. The author's special contribution to the topic is that Mankovskaya performs her research based on original material. She introduces aspects of French symbolism that have never been studied before. Josephin Peladan's views on aesthetics and metaphysics of art are studied in Russian science for the first time. 

Abstract: The subject of the research is the arts metaphysics of Josephin Peladan as a remarkable representative of the mysticism branch of the French objective symbolism, in particular, its Neo-Platonist Christian movement. Special attention is paid to his polemics with Lev Tolstoy, his analysis of Dante's creative work, ancient and modern dramaturgy and theatre. In her research Mankovskaya also analyzes Peladan's ideas about the relationship between art and religion, artistic creativity, aesthetic contemplation and pleasure, ideals of beauty, tragic, comic, aesthetic ideals, artisticity, essence of an artistic image, symbolization in art and anagogic mission of art. Such a great variety of aspects covered by the present research created the need to apply a number of methodological approaches such as art analysis, philosophical aesthetic approach, comparative and interdisciplinary methods. The main conclusions of the research is that Peladan's three hypostases as a symbolist, neoclassicist and esoteric create a paradoxical but organic unity. His thoughts on the nature of esoterics, particular artistic types and genres have one thing in common which is the idea of beauty, absolute ideal, undying values, spiritual and artistic components of art. Special contribution made by the author to the analysis of the topic is that she uses only original materials in her research. Mankovskaya introduces aspects and works of French symbolism that have never been studied before. Josephin Peladan's arts metaphysics is studied for the first time in the Russian academic literature, too.