Abstract: Alongside with personification of Russia, there are other state personifications in Russian art, including Genius of Russia. Despite some interest to this figure (V.M. Faibisovich), its iconography has not yet been comprehensively analyzed. Appearance of “Genius of the Russian Empire” in the ballet “The New Argonauts” (1770) by Gasparo Angiolini allows us to assume that this personification became widespread in Russian art in the second half of the 18th century.
In the article, this personification is examined on materials of artworks and performances of the late 18th and early 19th centuries in Western European context. Geniuses are good guardian spirits of individuals, or territories, or countries. Geniuses were represented as puttos, young men or women, typically winged, sometimes with flames on their hair. Genius of Russia could have miscellaneous attributes: a golden scepter, a coat of arms (or sometimes he could have been accompanied by an eagle – a heraldic animal), a cornucopia, a palm branch, Hercules’ club, a sword. Genius of Russia acquired great significance in the early 19th century in connection with the Patriotic War of 1812. There are two fundamental variations of his iconography: a winged (or sometimes wingless, but hovering) personification in antique dress and a half-naked, armed warrior with an ancient Russian helmet (“as Slavic vityaz”). The latter variety at the beginning of the 19th century was associated with the theme of glorification of the Russian Empire and presented in projects of medals by A.N. Olenin (1817) commemorating the Patriotic War, and existed in theatrical performances. The image of Genius of the Russian Empire “as Slavic vityaz” was most in demand at the beginning of the 19th century; subsequently, an image of Vityaz (Bogatyr) became widespread in Russian art.

Abstract: Since the end of the 17th century, personifications of the four parts of the world, or four continents (Europe, Asia, Africa, and America), have appeared in Russian art, along with many elements of the Western European allegorical vocabulary. These allegorical figures in some works of art attracted the attention of researchers, but their iconography has not yet been elaborately analyzed. The present article summarizes information about personifications of the four parts of the world in 18th-century Russian art. Their iconography is examined in Western European context and in comparison with their descriptions in iconological lexicons (e.g., Honoré Lacombe de Prézel’s "Dictionnaire iconologique, ou introduction à la connoissance des peintures, sculptures, médailles, estampes...") and literature. The iconography of the personifications of the four parts of the world, borrowed from European art, varied from case to case, following different patterns, but remained recognizable. Allegorical figures could be accompanied by various symbolic animals. Sometimes parts of the world could be depicted as children, also in accordance with one of the variations of European iconography. The appearance of allegorical figures of the four continents in panegyric art served to the purpose of glorifying the Russian Empire and its ruler. By pointing to the universality of their meaning, these allegorical figures helped to exalt the imperial nature of power.
In addition to the examples of personifications of the four parts of the world in 18th-century Russian art which were already analyzed, the article adds works of art that had not previously attracted attention in connection with this topic, including images of not-preserved decorations of court celebrations, as well as alternative embodiments of universal meaning (such as images of the winds).