Religious painting by Alexander Smirnov in line with the traditions of Slavic culture

The article is devoted to the work of the artist of the second half of the 20th century, honorary member of the Russian Academy of Arts A.M. Smirnov. The artist's diptych is considered, which includes two works: the left part is "Wonderful Fishing", and the right part is called "The Blessing of Loaves", created in 1991-1993.

A. Smirnov "Wonderful fishing", x/m

A. Smirnov "The Blessing of bread", x/m

It should be noted that with a significant number of exhibition projects, the artist's work is covered relatively little in the art history literature. As A. Florkovskaya rightly notes in her article: "the religious theme in the art of the turn of the 20th-21st century is a complex and still little-explored phenomenon" ^{[9, p. 428]}. It is also noted that much of the heritage of the last decades has not yet been given an art criticism assessment. Thus, this small study may be relevant for further study of the development of artistic practices of this time period.

The aim of the work is to analyze the creative approaches of the artist on the example of the studied diptych in line with the national artistic tradition. At the same time, the task is to highlight some of the approaches and techniques of painting techniques used in this diptych.

The diptych, which includes two works: the left part – "Wonderful Fishing", and the right part called "Blessing of Loaves", was created in 1991-1993, and on the one hand they retain the spirit of their time, and on the other hand an indissoluble living connection with the Russian Christian tradition. A characteristic feature of the diptych is the expression of the semantic basis of the pictorial form through images through a certain system of signs and symbols connected in logical unity. This phenomenon of logical unity originates in ancient Russian and, as in its natural continuation, Russian medieval art.

If we turn to the panorama of ideas about the Universe that took place in the artistic practice of the Slavic peoples, based on the research of V. Baydin ^[1], then it becomes possible to identify points of contact in the methods of artistic expression used by the artist in this diptych with the traditions of ancient Russian art. The author in his other works raised the whole theme of Ancient Russia in a whole layer, and at the same time pagan Russia is the seed from which Christian Russia has grown up. His cycle of paintings "Russian Temple" combines pre-Christian motifs. For the author, all this is a Russian temple, as a "culture–creating beginning" ^{[10, p. 227]}, which was the most valuable for the pre-Christian consciousness.

V. Baidin, in his art history study on the representations of the image of the world in art, notes that the meaning of symbolism in ancient Russian art was to convey the perception of the eternal and divine through signs and symbols. For our research, it is important both to use the symbolism found in these periods and to understand its expression through the pictorial form. The task is also to trace their influence on the semantic and plastic solutions used in this diptych.

Archaeological finds of fine plastics of the pre-Christian period make it possible to see what great importance spheres, hemispheres and arc-shaped rhythms had among the Slavic peoples. The Ancient Slavic civilization used this form of expression to comprehend the divine origin and heavenly light, revered most of all in ancient Russian culture. Pre-Christian finds provide an opportunity to study how the concept of light was depicted in a symbolically stylized way in the ancient Slavic civilization. An example is the image of a stylized pointed flame of a bathing bonfire and the arcing used in ornamentation and small-form plastics. Later, we meet variants of this artistic expression throughout the entire period of Russian art.

The reduction of an artistic image to a sacred sign is one of the most important features of the religious thinking of the Slavs. Due to this peculiarity of thinking, the Christian worldview, as noted by Baidin, has organically entered into the spiritual basis of the life of the Russian people ^{[1, p. 24]}.

The image of the flame of a burning bush, which is based on a roundness with an upstretched tongue of flame, revealed the metaphysics of light in Christian culture. This symbolism of thinking was expressed in the extraordinary architecture of icons, in the domes of temples, in vaults, arches of windows, a system of arcs that arose from the end of the 11th century. The St. Sophia icons were the prototype of the cosmological vision of Russian artistic symbolism. The idea of gathering together, the integrity of hierarchical unity is expressed in icons of the Novgorod type by means of concentric circles framing the figure of St. Sofia. The whole composition is built by cross-sections of the celestial spheres. Thus, the basis of the ideological and compositional principle is sphericity, as a symbol of the Universe.

If we turn to the diptych we are studying, the moment of reducing the semantic basis of the artistic image to an expressive sign – symbol is also clearly traced. Each figure in the paintings has, first of all, exactly this sound.

 In the diptych, the rhythmic integrity of the composition is also based on the movement of spheres and hemispheres. The arc-shaped rhythms of the figures give a sense of the universality of what is happening. The figures themselves are simultaneously enclosed in a sphere, and are its organic continuation, creating the integrity of perception due to the rhythmic unity and semantic basis of the art form. Through the special plasticity of the gesture, the sacred essence of what is happening is expressed. Thus, the Savior's hand raised up with bread in the form of an ellipse-halo calls for striving for heavenly bread. At the same time, with a gesture of the other hand, Christ also gives the bread of the earth to those who ask of Him. Thus, through the symbolism of gestures, Christ, being the center of the universe, serves as a source of both earthly material goods and spiritual goods. This comprehensive idea gives a sense of the cosmism of what is happening.

The symbolism of color also goes back to the archaic and medieval understanding of light. A very important point is the understanding of color as light in the study of the tradition of Russian artistic culture. The technique of melting, used in the iconographic tradition and carrying an understanding of luminosity, was the prototype for applying light accents on the clothes and faces of the figures of the diptych.

In the period of modern times, the loss of the former sacredness affected the narrative of compositions on biblical subjects. The Sophia image of the world is being replaced by scientific artistic cosmism and the role of man in it.

At the turn of the century, symbolism solves its artistic tasks by depicting cosmic poetics. There is an ascent to the universal being through consciousness and spiritual experience, in which there is no place for a sophistic understanding of the Universe through spiritual transformation. "Science-like mythology", as V. Baidin succinctly put it, becomes the main theme of the Russian avant-garde. V. Kandinsky theoretically justified the color forms fragmented into parts by the universal cosmic understanding of the fourth dimension. Thus, this new vision of the world was the antithesis of the medieval concept of the "sophia sphere", where a clear integrity and hierarchy of details and the whole was the main component.

The avant-garde, in turn, also uses a circle. The concept of the sphericity of space is being formed, as a space that has neither top nor bottom, where the directions are essentially indifferent. In many works, the interpretation of the language of the "bathing campfire" is directed not to the upper part of the work, but to the opposite, lower part (for example, "Atom" by D. Burliuk in 1913). This theoretical concept of sphericity could mean that the distinction between positive and negative beginnings is erased. The avant-garde experiment became a reflection of its historical time.  

If the Old Slavic concept included the representation of the original in the form of light, then the world of the avant-garde surprisingly voiced its doctrine that the primary source is chaos and darkness as symbols of the destruction of the world order ^{[5, p. 47]}. It was cosmic chaos that seemed to be the source of all possibilities. A kind of "theosophical icon" was K. Malevich's "Black Square". This reverse vision is expressed in layouts, as N.N. Tretyakov put it in his book "ragged rhythms". A circle, a circle, a sphere appear in the form of torn, pierced figures. The sign of the bathing bonfire is more often turned by its pointed fire-shaped part into the lower edge of the canvas (K. Yuon "New planet).

Simultaneously with the image of eternity without God, other concepts of the vision of the universe are created.  In church art, thanks to the work of M. Nesterov, a division into church and religious art appears for the first time. This is indicated by A. Florkovskaya in her article "The religious theme and the search for contemporary art" ^{[9, p. 442]}. In religious painting, there are changes in the direction of a subjective understanding of the Gospel teaching. It becomes the subject of expression of the artist's personal attitude. This emotional foundation has been developed throughout the 20th century. The concept of a "spherical perspective" by Petrov-Vodkin arises. The artist expressed it with the words "the dome gave me a new sense of space." Here we again encounter the influence of the Sophia view on the universe.

 The issue of turning to the Russian Christian tradition is particularly acute in the last quarter of the 20th century.

The process of convergence of the avant-garde understanding of the Universe with its rhythmic features, with its understanding of "cosmism" and the traditional image of the face of the Savior, we see in Potapov's work "Carrying the Cross" (1980). In the work, the sphere is again taken as the organizing principle.

  Artist N. Mukhin defined the tasks of religious art at an exhibition in the Russian Academy of Sciences in 2013: "Art should give a sense of understanding the life of the 21st century" ^{[8, p. 442]}. The dynamics of modernity is clearly felt in the paintings of A. Smirnov, as well as a pronounced subjective personal vision that has been developed in conditions of a certain internal isolation. Creativity was created independently of associations of unions of artists and stood somewhat apart from the currents and trends of that time. It also did not have any strong ties with representatives of unofficial art. These conditions of their creation give a special sound to the artist's works.

The diptych consists of two works written on blackboards, united thematically by a gospel plot; as well as a special construction of a compositional series, where rhythmic movements smoothly flow from one to the other without sharp breaks and are based on the nature of a sphere and a hemisphere.

The artist in his works creates a special line of understanding of artistic rhythm – rhythm as a symbolic metaphor that creates an artistic image.

If we turn to the technical side of the issue, it should be noted that the works are written (unlike the easel works of the same author) in the melting technique. The method of applying light to figures traces the connection with the Russian tradition of understanding painting as a light painting. N. N. Tretyakov writes about this tradition, which was originally characteristic of the Russian school, in his work "Image in Art". He points to this tradition as a continuity of understanding of light tasks in artistic practice since ancient Russian art and preserved in some of its manifestations to the present day.

In the diptych, the shadow is subordinated to the light, which is achieved by the melting technique due to subtle lissirovki on the local tone. The application of spaces occurs in harmony with the form. It is noteworthy that, if we turn to the left part of the diptych, the gaps on the figures in the boat with Christ are in the same tonal luminosity with the gaps on the Savior's clothes. It is symbolic that this tonal analysis has the roots of the traditional understanding of the impact of spiritual light and being "in the Light of God", which is close to understanding the theme of Transfiguration. This phenomenon is emphasized by two figures outside the boat.

Tonally, they are solved by a darker silhouette.

The space of the entire canvas is organized in such a way that the main factor in the organization of the art form is the movement of the hemisphere during plastic line work.

The elongated plastic of the figures is perceived as a sign or image and echoes the tradition of El Greco in understanding the plasticity of the human body. But creating a holistic image due to the roundness of the lines is close to understanding the Russian school of painting.

The rhythm of the movement of the figures has a direction towards the semantic compositional center, which is the figure of the Savior. It, in turn, is not static and tends to counterbalance the ascending diagonal of the boat towards the figures of the students. In this way, a rhythmically closed composition occurs, forming a semblance of a sphere.

A group of figures outside the boat in the right part of the work and the leftmost figure gives rhythmic completeness to the composition. This left figure closes the whole composition and stops the movement due to its foreshortening and vertical position of the paddle. In the right part of the work, the same inclined vertical "works" with the inclined vertical of the paddle. The diagonal of another paddle, which creates the direction of the general movement towards the figure of Christ, has a decisive significance in the entire musical rhythm of the work. This diagonal gives a special sharpness to the dynamics of what is happening.  On the one hand, this dynamic seems to be a reflection of the entire aspiration of the figures of the disciples to Christ. The gestures of the hands of the figure of Christ, in turn, symbolize the reconciling and protecting principles. The nets, which have the image of a hemisphere, pick up the general movements of the boat with the figures of Christ and the disciples. The silhouettes of the two figures outside the boat and the gestures of the central figures pulling the nets close and seem to catch the figure of the Savior in these nets. It is symbolic that Christ is caught in their nets not only by the silhouettes of figures outside the boat, but also by the figures of the disciples who are with the Savior. The artist expresses by plastic artistic means the essence of the atoning sacrifice of Christ, who suffered both for the righteous and for sinners. The figure of the Savior appears to be enclosed between two aggressively directed diagonals in the form of sticks, which serves as a prototype and symbolic reminder of subsequent events. The figure of the Savior turns out to be symbolic, as if caught in a net, like a fish. In early Christian images, the fish was a symbol of the Savior ^[5]. Here we can trace the thread connecting the early Christian understanding with the plastic solution of this understanding in the artist's work. In the lower edge of the picture, the waves are solved by rhythmic multidirectional movements and their general movement towards the compositional center gives completeness to the whole picture.

The painting is characterized by a frieze construction. The foreshortening arrangement of the figures makes it possible to work the space deeper. This depth is enhanced by the complex, transparent purity of the blue background, which goes back to the Christian color tradition, where blue and blue shades were considered the personification of heaven, purity and divinity ^{[6, p. 590]}. This pure blueness is given special importance in the painting. The tradition of blue, as defined by N. N. Tretyakov, dates back to ancient Russian painting. In A. Smirnov's painting, this blueness is interpreted as the all-encompassing glow of the figure of Christ. And already from this blueness, from the figure of Christ, light clouds – clouds-halos symbolically diverge on the heads of the disciples. The blue background works deep into the pictorial surface; the figures are taken in a warm scale and, on the contrary, tend to move from the plane of the picture to the viewer. At the same time, so that this movement does not violate the holistic perception of the art form, one of the center figures closest to the viewer is taken in active blue, which returns the viewer's gaze back to the visual plane.

Before turning to the right part of the diptych, I would like to note the huge aestheticism of the presentation of the entire art form created by A. Smirnov.

In the right part of the diptych "The Blessing of the Loaves" – the semantic and visual center is the figure of the Savior. In this part, working with space is as follows. Considering that the establishment of depth is determined by the artist's style, we see that the author brings his understanding of space, as well as his understanding of proportions, subordinating them to the plastic and rhythmic principle. In constructing the space of the diptych, as in its left part, the artist uses the law of relief and builds a spatial solution on the movement of the depth of the cold background directed from the viewer's gaze deep into the plane as opposed to the warm color of the figures that create movement from the pictorial plane to the viewer. This color balance emphasizes the monumentality of what is happening and does not create a violation of integrity.

In the above book by N. N. Tretyakov, the author writes: "The composition embodies two principles – logos and melos. Melos is a plastic principle, logos is a semantic one, it is a word" ^{[7, p. 25]}.

In his paintings, Smirnov wonderfully combines these two principles and in their mutual penetration, the integrity of a harmonious image is created, full of energy of movement on the one hand and clarity of semantic meaning on the other. This interpenetration is a very important moment in his painting. Paul Signac claimed that everything that is not plastic is a plot ^{[8, p. 26]}, Petrov-Vodkin also called the plot "an additional trailer for the composition". Thus, the opinion was fixed that plastic and the plot not only can exist without each other, but also to some extent the semantic part can only be a pretext for an artistic solution and is not the defining moment of the composition.

The universality of this picture is the moment of this unity, where the content is a necessary factor of the compositional rhythm, and, like a rod, holds the entire structure of the visual image. The movement of the figures is built in the direction of the compositional visual center of the painting – the figure of the Savior. In the figure of Christ, the artist focuses all attention on the gestures of the Savior's hands. They carry the compositional basis of the whole work. The artist builds the solution of the work diagonally, and uses the diagonal in this case as the line of the story. The figure of Christ itself is located frontally to the viewer, and the meaning of the prayer "Give us this day our daily bread" is read in the movement of the hands. In the gesture of the right hand raised by the Savior, the meaning of spiritual bread is laid, to which the figure of the boy and the figures of the saints standing to the right of Christ stretches. They acquire a special compositional significance at the border of the canvas and form an area of lateral vision. To the left of the Savior are silhouettes of figures asking for concrete bread – material goods and receiving such bread and putting it in baskets, and then again turning to Christ with a petition. The Savior himself gives this bread with one hand, with the other raised high, calls for the search for spiritual bread. He appears as both a source of earthly goods and a giver of spiritual treasures, and it is already possible for human freedom to make a choice.

This part of the diptych has the characteristics that distinguish the left part, and both parts are imbued with harmonious unity.

Understanding the pictorial form through an appeal to the Old Slavic (and as their continuation Christian) symbols, as to the "life-giving spirit" of art become a spiritual need of artists of the late 20th century ^[6].

 A. Smirnov's diptych was created during this critical period. The nature of the organization of his artistic form can be attributed to the words of A. Bely, where he speaks about the creation of "<...> the integrity of form and content, and the sacredness of the inner structure of the work" ^[2]. A sense of inner cosmism fills the diptych by reducing the evangelical images to a symbolic sign. The extraordinary clarity of the artistic language, coupled with the inner musical harmony of the spheres, is created due to a deep subjective understanding of the gospel tragedy. Through a personal plastic language, the artist talks to the viewer about deeply experienced. He takes Christian morality and teaching as a basis, as the most perfect embodiment of human existence, which allows to reveal the full depth of human experiences and, through plastic images, to express the problems of the modern world most accurately and strongly. If we turn to the sketches of this period, this feeling is even more acute.

 In conclusion, we can define that in his works, the artist, starting from the philosophical beginning, creates his world through images, and from this point of view there is a reading of his entire work. As a result of this approach, the plot of his works begins to take the form of a phenomenon, which, as N.N. Tretyakov claimed, has always been the main feature of the Russian school of painting.