The golden age of Russian literature of the 19th century. The Golden Age of Russian Literature: Russian Classical Literature of the 19th Century

First half of the 19th century went down in history as the "golden age" of Russian culture. Cultural progress was determined by the unprecedented growth of the national self-consciousness of the Russian people under the influence of the Patriotic War of 1812 and often developed contrary to the conservative policy of the government.

As mentioned above, after the reform of P.D. Kiselyov, a closed class system of education and education has developed: parish schools for state peasants, district schools for merchant children and other city dwellers, cadet schools for training officers, gymnasiums for children of the nobility and officials. For the nobles, cadet corps and other special educational institutions were also created. The right to enter the university was given only by graduating from a gymnasium or noble educational institutions. New special higher educational institutions were opened: the Medical-Surgical Academy, the Higher School of Law, the Technological, Land Survey, Construction Institutes, the Lazarevsky Institute of Oriental Languages.

Science continued to develop, and its differentiation is taking place, i.e. allocation of independent scientific disciplines. In 1826, the outstanding Russian mathematician N.I. Lobachevsky created "non-Euclidean geometry", recognized in science only a few decades later. The Pulkovo Astronomical Observatory was built near St. Petersburg. The most important discoveries were made by Russian scientists in electrical engineering, mechanics, medicine (B.S. Jacobi, P.L. Schilling, N.I. Pirogov, etc.). Geographical discoveries were of world importance: the round-the-world expedition of I.F. Kruzenshtern and Yu.F. Lisyansky (1803-1806), discovery of Antarctica by M.P. Lazarev and F.F. Bellingshausen (1819) and others.

Great interest in Russian history was aroused by the creation of the Society of History and Antiquities at Moscow University (1804). This period includes the works of historians N.M. Karamzina, T.N. Granovsky, and from the end of the 40s. 19th century - CM. Solovyov.

The problems of the Russian language are widely discussed in the Society of Lovers of Russian Literature, which has taken up the development of the rules and norms of the Russian literary and colloquial language, the correlation of foreign words, neologisms and archaisms in it. The problem was especially acute, since the Russian aristocracy spoke predominantly in French, and the simple estates kept the old traditions of the Church Slavonic language. In contrast to N.M. Karamzin, who proposed “to write as they say and speak as they write”, the writer A.S. Shishkov represented the opposite point of view in the Society: he proposed to focus on the book-Slavic language in the name of preserving national roots. The formation of the modern Russian language is usually associated with the work of A.S. Pushkin. A major role in this was also played by the “Practical Russian Grammar” by N.I. Grech and the first Dictionary of the Russian Academy.

At the beginning of the XIX century. sentimentalism in Russian literature under the influence of the war of 1812 was replaced by romanticism (V.A. Zhukovsky, K.F. Ryleev, A.A. Bestuzhev-Marlinsky). The founders of realism, which was then affirmed in European literature, were A.S. Pushkin, A.S. Griboyedov. The method of depicting reality, applied in the novel "Eugene Onegin" and the play "Woe from Wit", began to prevail in Russian literature. It is customary to consider their younger contemporaries M.Yu. as realist writers. Lermontova, N.V. Gogol, I.A. Goncharova.

Of exceptional importance for the development of Russian literature were "thick" literary magazines - "Sovremennik", founded by A.S. Pushkin, .and "Domestic Notes". Distribution of private book publishing in the 30-40s. 19th century associated primarily with the name of A.F. Smirdin, who founded the series "Library for Reading". He lowered the cost of books and made them widely available even to buyers of modest means.

As already noted, in 1814 the first library for the general public appeared - the Imperial Public Library, the basis of which was the Polish book collection. The entrance to it was open free of charge three times a week to everyone, except for "obscenely dressed". In 1831, the Rumyantsev Museum was founded in St. Petersburg, named after the collector of the original collection, Count N.P. Rumyantsev. In 1861, his collection was transferred to Moscow and served as the basis of the Russian State Library. In 1852, the court Hermitage was also opened to the public.

The Russian theater is developing: along with the serf theaters of Russian aristocrats (Sheremetevs, Yusupovs), there were state theaters - Alexandrinsky and Mariinsky in St. Petersburg, Bolshoi and Maly in Moscow. A Russian, national music school begins to take shape, in the creation of which M.I. played an exceptional role. Glinka, author of the first national opera A Life for the Tsar (Ivan Susanin). Composer A.S. Dargomyzhsky, the author of the opera "Mermaid", sought the maximum expression of the psychological portrait of his characters by musical means. His credo in art “I want the truth” served as the basis for the subsequent searches of Russian composers who took a prominent place in world musical culture.

Of particular note is the ballet art of Russia. From the moment ballet came to the Russian stage from the first ballet capital of the world - Paris - the most significant events of ballet life began to take place in St. Petersburg, and then in Moscow. The ballet dance of the Russian emperors daily affirmed the aestheticized ideal of autocracy. Both the aesthetics of the parade and the aesthetics of ballet had a common basis - the fortress system of Russian life. Ballet did not resist life, but, as it were, became part of it, elevating the daily course of events.

For the royal family, the content of the ballet was a matter of prestige: a good ballet troupe also increased the prestige of the monarch, like a luxurious palace. And if the palaces of European monarchs were not too inferior (if they were inferior at all) to the palaces of Russian tsars, then not a single European court could afford to maintain such a ballet troupe as in Russia, and even two such troupes - in St. Petersburg and Moscow. The Russian ballet was maintained by the Ministry of the Imperial Court. The Mariinsky Theater, named after Empress Maria Feodorovna, like other imperial theaters in both capitals, belonged to the royal family, which annually gave out 2 million rubles for its maintenance.

The creator of Russian classical ballet was the famous French choreographer, teacher and playwright Charles Didelot, in whose ballets the Russian ballerinas E.I. Istomina, A.S. Novitskaya and others. In 1801, S. Didlo was invited to the Russian stage. It was he who laid the foundation for a new era in Russian ballet - the era of great achievements. For 28 years, Didlo headed the imperial school, invited foreign ballerinas and dancers to the Mariinsky Theatre, introduced St. Petersburg to the art of European celebrities - in particular, the great Italian ballerina M. Taglioni shone on the St. Petersburg stage.

The Academy of Fine Arts had by this time become a conservative institution, and the image of biblical and religious subjects prevailed in the work of the “academicians”. O.A. Kiprensky, V.A. Tropinin, K.P. Bryullov. The creators of the everyday genre in Russian painting were A.G. Venetsianov, and then P.A. Fedotov.

The Russian sculptor is actively developing: the first civil monument in Moscow - to K. Minin and D. Pozharsky on Red Square - was created by I.P. Martos (1818), in honor of Alexander I in memory of the victory over Napoleon, the famous "Alexandria" column was erected on Palace Square in St. Petersburg (sculptor A.A. Mont-ferrand), P.K. Klodt owns equestrian sculptural groups on the Anichkov Bridge in St. Petersburg.

Russian architecture is dominated by the traditions of late classicism - the Empire style, which manifested itself in the creation of large architectural ensembles of St. .N. Voronikhin). St. Isaac's Cathedral (A.A. Montferrand) became the tallest building in Russia at that time.

After the fire of 1812, Moscow was rebuilt again: ensembles of Theater Square (O.I. Beauvais) and Manezhnaya Square were created here. In the 30s. 19th century classicism is replaced by the "Russian-Byzantine" style, the largest master of which was K.A. Ton - the creator of the Grand Kremlin Palace and the Armory, the author of the project of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Construction is underway not only in the capitals, but also in other cities - for example, the Primorsky Boulevard ensemble in Odessa with the Potemkin Stairs (A.I. Melnikov).

XIX century - the golden age of Russian culture

The 19th century was a turning point for the Russian people. The Patriotic War of 1812, the Decembrist uprising in 1825, serfdom and the reform to abolish it (1861) are events that changed public consciousness and determined the further development of Russian culture.

The heroic feat of the Russian people is not limited by time frames, having eternal glory. But why is the 19th century so often called the “golden age” in Russian history?

Background of the golden age

The Patriotic War of 1812 awakened patriotism among the Russian people, pride in their homeland and in the defenders of their native land, who managed to defeat the strongest enemy and defend both national freedom and the freedom of European peoples. The war also had a strong influence on art: the works of the 19th century are often devoted to a military theme (the novel "War and Peace" by L. N. Tolstoy and others). The movement of the Decembrists - the Russian nobility, who advocated liberation ideas - caused a strong rise in social and philosophical thought.

Education and science

Russian scientist D. I. Mendeleev discovered the Periodic law of chemical elements in 1869

At the beginning of the 19th century, the government, which had previously held conservative views on education, carried out a reform that included education not only of the upper classes, but also of the lower strata of society. Under Alexander I, a four-stage education system was created, including schools, colleges, gymnasiums, and universities; as a result of which education became available to peasants, artisans, merchants, burghers and other townspeople. The democratization of education and popular education led to a rise in literacy rates and rapid scientific progress.

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Russian navigators F.F. Bellingshausen and M.P. Lazarev discovered Antarctica in 1820

Russian science flourished in the 19th century. The discoveries and achievements of the great Russian scientists of this period made a significant contribution to the development of the natural and human sciences: physics (V. V. Petrov, E. Kh. Lenz), chemistry (D. M. Mendeleev, N. N. Zinin), biology, medicine (N. I. Pirogov, N. F. Sklifosovsky), astronomy (V. Ya. Struve; the Pulkovo Observatory was opened in 1839), mathematics (N. I. Lobachevsky, A. A. Markov), geography (F. F. Bellingshausen, M. P. Lazarev, whose expedition discovered Antarctica in 1820), history (N. M. Karamzin - "History of the Russian State"; publication in 1800 of the chronicle "The Tale of Igor's Campaign"), linguistics (In I. Dal - "Explanatory Dictionary of the Great Russian Language"), etc.

Music, painting, theater


Russian composer P. I. Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) created masterpieces of classical world music

The golden age also touched the arts. Unusual success was achieved by music represented by Russian composers M. I. Glinka and P. I. Tchaikovsky. P. I. Tchaikovsky’s ballets “Swan Lake”, “The Nutcracker”, “Sleeping Beauty” are masterpieces of world musical art. Russian fine art became famous all over the world thanks to the painters K. P. Bryullov, I. E. Repin, V. I. Surikov. The Russian theater rose to unprecedented heights, to which the playwright A. N. Ostrovsky made efforts. In addition, state theaters opened in the 19th century: the Maly and Bolshoi theaters in Moscow, the Alexandrinsky and Mariinsky theaters in St. Petersburg, which are still centers of theatrical art in Russia and the world.

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Literature of the golden age

The "Golden Age" is associated with the development of Russian national culture, but mainly got its name due to the flourishing of fiction, which later became classical.

Literature of the early 19th century. based on the experience of the previous century. The artistic trends that prevailed in the golden age are classicism, sentimentalism, romanticism, realism.

The symbol of the golden age of Russian literature is the brilliant poet of world significance, playwright, thinker, founder of the modern literary language A. S. Pushkin. In the novel by A. S. Pushkin "Eugene Onegin" all aspects of Russian life are reflected. The author depicted the traditions of the era: the features of folk life, the interests and values ​​of society, the life of the noble intelligentsia.

A. S. Pushkin - a symbol of the golden age of Russian literature

The role of A. S. Pushkin in the culture of Russia is so great that the first third of the 19th century was originally called the Golden Age. - the lifetime of the writer. Later, the term "golden age" began to be used to refer to the literature of the entire 19th century, which also became famous for the names of N. V. Gogol, F. M. Dostoevsky, L. N. Tolstoy, M. Yu. Lermontov, I. S. Turgenev, A.P. Chekhova and others. The work of the writers of the golden age is united by the ideas of humanism. Considering socially significant issues (the meaning of life, good and evil, freedom, patriotism), the authors acted as great thinkers of the era. Freedom Singers covered the problem of the difficult living conditions of the people, caring for the welfare of ordinary people. The works of the golden age are aimed at educating society, awakening conscience and moral values ​​in every thinking person.

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Interesting fact: The "golden age" of Russian literature is also called the "Pushkin era".

Writers of the golden age were considered prophets

Due to its bright moralistic character, Russian literature of the 19th century became a great teacher of society. Readers considered literature to be a spiritual source, a powerful force capable of changing the consciousness and life of the people. The word of the writer was revered in the same way as the word of the ruler. Books embodying folk ideas illuminated the life of the disadvantaged with faith and meaning, and their authors were proclaimed the spiritual mentors of society. The writers of the golden age were called "rulers of thoughts", "vehicles of divine truth", "prophets", as they carried out a preaching mission.

The answer to the question why the 19th century is called the golden age is obvious: the 19th century is the greatest period of Russian history; the heyday of science, music, painting, theater, literature. The achievements of the brilliant representatives of the Russian spiritual culture of this period have become the property of world art.

The “Golden Age” mainly refers to Russian literature of the 19th century, which left a valuable artistic heritage and, thanks to moralistic ideology, contributed to the spiritual development of the Russian people.

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The 19th century is called the "Golden Age" of Russian poetry and the century of Russian literature on a global scale. It should not be forgotten that the literary leap that took place in the 19th century was prepared by the entire course of the literary process of the 17th and 18th centuries. The 19th century is the time of the formation of the Russian literary language, which took shape largely thanks to A.S. Pushkin.

A.S. Pushkin and N.V. Gogol identified the main artistic types that would be developed by writers throughout the 19th century. This is the artistic type of the “superfluous person”, an example of which is Eugene Onegin in the novel by A.S. Pushkin, and the so-called type of "little man", which is shown by N.V. Gogol in his story "The Overcoat", as well as A.S. Pushkin in the story "The Stationmaster" click .

Literature inherited its publicism and satirical character from the 18th century. In the prose poem N.V. Gogol's "Dead Souls", the writer in a sharp satirical manner shows a swindler who buys up dead souls, various types of landowners who are the embodiment of various human vices (the influence of classicism affects). In the same plan, the comedy "The Inspector General" is sustained. The works of A. S. Pushkin are also full of satirical images. Literature continues to satirically depict Russian reality. The tendency to depict the vices and shortcomings of Russian society is a characteristic feature of all Russian classical literature. It can be traced in the works of almost all writers of the 19th century. At the same time, many writers implement the satirical trend in a grotesque form. Examples of grotesque satire are the works of N.V. Gogol "The Nose", M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin "Gentlemen Golovlevs", "History of one city".

Since the middle of the 19th century, the formation of Russian realistic literature has been taking place, which is being created against the backdrop of a tense socio-political situation that developed in Russia during the reign of Nicholas I. A crisis in the serf system is brewing, contradictions between the authorities and the common people are strong. There is a need to create a realistic literature that sharply reacts to the socio-political situation in the country. Literary critic V.G. Belinsky marks a new realistic trend in literature. His position is being developed by N.A. Dobrolyubov, N.G. Chernyshevsky. There is a dispute between Westerners and Slavophiles about the ways of Russia's historical development http://duligo.com/map167.

click the following article Writers address the socio-political problems of Russian reality. The genre of the realistic novel is developing. Their works are created by I.S. Turgenev, F.M. Dostoevsky, L.N. Tolstoy, I.A. Goncharov. Socio-political and philosophical problems prevail. Literature is distinguished by a special psychologism.

The development of poetry somewhat subsides. It is worth noting the poetic works of Nekrasov, who was the first to introduce social issues into poetry. Known for his poem “Who in Russia to live well? ”, as well as many poems, where the hard and hopeless life of the people is comprehended.

The literary process of the late 19th century discovered the names of N. S. Leskov, A.N. Ostrovsky A.P. Chekhov. The latter proved to be a master of a small literary genre - a story, as well as an excellent playwright. Competitor A.P. Chekhov was Maxim Gorky.

The end of the 19th century was marked by the formation of pre-revolutionary sentiments. The realist tradition was beginning to fade. It was replaced by the so-called decadent literature, the hallmarks of which were mysticism, religiosity, as well as a premonition of changes in the socio-political life of the country. Subsequently, decadence grew into symbolism. This opens a new page in the history of Russian literature.

Russian national culture in the 19th century reached in art, literature, in many areas of knowledge the heights defined by the word "classic". Russian literature of the 19th century is deservedly called the "golden age". Even an ignoramus of literature cannot object. It became the trendsetter of literary fashion, rapidly bursting into world literature. The "Golden Age" gave us many famous masters. The 19th century is the time of the development of Russian literary language, which took shape for the most part thanks to... It began with the flourishing of sentimentalism and the gradual emergence of romanticism, especially in poetry. There are many poets during this period, but the main figure of that time was Alexander Pushkin. As they would now call him a "star".

His ascent to the Olympus of Literature began in 1820 with the poem Ruslan and Lyudmila. And "Eugene Onegin" - a novel in verse was called an encyclopedia of Russian life. The era of Russian romanticism was opened by his romantic poems "The Bronze Horseman", "The Fountain of Bakhchisaray", "Gypsies". For most poets and writers, A. S. Pushkin was a teacher. The traditions laid down by him in the creation of literary works were continued by many of them. Among them was. Russian poetry of that time was closely connected with the socio-political life of the country. In the works, the authors tried to comprehend and develop the idea of ​​their special purpose. They urged the authorities to listen to their words. The poet of that time was considered a prophet, a conductor of divine truth. This can be seen in Pushkin's poem "The Prophet", in the ode "Liberty", "The Poet and the Crowd", in Lermontov's "On the Death of a Poet" and many others. In the 19th century, English historical novels had a huge impact on all world literature. Under their influence, A.S. Pushkin writes the story "The Captain's Daughter".

Throughout the 19th century, the main artistic types were the "little man" type and the "extra man" type.

From the 19th century, literature inherited a satirical character and publicism. This can be seen in "Dead Souls", "The Nose", in the comedy "The Inspector General", in M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin "History of one city", "Gentlemen Golovlev".

The formation of Russian realistic literature has been going on since the middle of the 19th century. She reacted sharply to the socio-political situation in Russia. A dispute arises between the Slavophiles and the Westernizers about the paths of the country's historical development.

The genre of the realistic novel begins to develop. A special psychologism can be traced in the literature, philosophical, socio-political problems prevail. The development of poetry somewhat subsides, but, despite the general silence, the voice is not silent, which in the poem “Who is living well in Russia?” illuminates the hard and hopeless life of the people. -

The end of the century gave us,. Pre-revolutionary moods run like a red thread in literature. The realistic tradition began to fade, replaced by decadent literature, with mysticism, religiosity, as well as a premonition of changes in the socio-political life of Russia. Then everything grew into symbolism. And a new page has been opened in the history of Russian literature.

On the works of writers of that time, we learn humanity, patriotism, we study ours. More than one generation of people - Humans - has grown up on this "classic".

The topic of our today's lesson is the "golden age" of Russian culture. To do this, we will understand what period of Russian culture is meant and why it is called "golden". We learn the history of the origin of this concept and the features of its development.

Topic: Russian literature of the 19th century

Lesson:Golden age of Russian culture

The concept of "golden age" is metaphorical, and in order to understand the meaning of this metaphor, one must remember where the direct meaning came from. It will take us to antiquity, to antiquity, to Greek mythology, where the idea of ​​the "golden age" arose as a special state of life of people and gods, when they lived in harmony. These mythological representations were recorded by ancient authors. First of all, we are talking about the Greek poet Hesiod

and his poem "Works and Days", in which he speaks only of the generation of people created by the gods. This was the time when Kronos, or Chronos in the Greek tradition, and in the Roman - Satur created a special kind of "golden people". Much later, the Roman poet Virgil

in the poem "Aeneid" he will use exactly this expression - "golden age", meaning now not the qualities of people, but the quality of time. His contemporary Ovid

in the poem "The Science of Love", he ironically recalls the "golden age", saying that now you have to pay for everything in gold, because we live in the "golden age".

Over time, it was Roman literature that began to be called "golden". The heyday of Roman culture in the 1st century BC was called the "golden age" of Roman culture, literature and was associated with several phenomena. On the one hand, with the problem of the Latin language, which at that time acquired a special quality of its classical completeness. Something similar will occur in Russian literature of the early 19th century. On the other hand, it was an era of special patronage of sciences and arts. First Roman Emperor Octavian Augustus

supported writers: Horace, Virgil - in a special way creating favorable conditions for the development of literature and culture.

When it comes to Russian culture at the beginning of the 19th century, there is reason to recall that Herzen,

reflecting on the originality of the historical path of Russian culture, which it has passed from the time of the Petrine reforms to the beginning of the 19th century, with its characteristic beauty of expressions, it will notice that in a hundred years Russia will respond to the Petrine call for education with the genius of Pushkin. And in this sense, indeed, what we call the “golden age” of Russian culture begins in the first decades of the 19th century, and perhaps most clearly manifested itself in the completeness of the ensemble of the northern capital, St. Petersburg. It was at this time that Petersburg acquires that classic look that we remember, first of all, from Pushkin's novel "Eugene Onegin". Indeed, the architect Zakharov

builds the building of the Admiralty,

Rice. 7. Admiralty building in St. Petersburg ()

from which the central avenues of St. Petersburg depart.

About the classical age in the history of Russian culture, which is also called the Petersburg part of its history. And not at all by accident. After all, the center of events will be the city of St. Petersburg itself with a very small history, because its foundation falls at the beginning of the 18th century. In the construction of St. Petersburg in the 18th century, the predominant architectural style was the Baroque style. So, the Peter and Paul Cathedral is being built

Rice. 8. Peter and Paul Cathedral in St. Petersburg ()

Rice. 10. Francesco Rastrelli ()

builds the Winter Palace,

Rice. 11. Winter Palace in St. Petersburg ()

Catherine Palace.

Rice. 12. Catherine Palace in St. Petersburg ()

But by the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries, the idea of ​​Russia as an empire in itself began to be emphasized by the approval of another architectural style - classicism. And if in literature Russian classicism was most clearly expressed in the middle of the 18th century, then in architecture and painting this style will reveal its most significant achievements precisely at the beginning of the 19th century, on the one hand. On the other hand, he will complete the architectural organization of St. Petersburg. Indeed, in this sense, there is a reason to recall the construction of the Admiralty, built by the architect Zakharov. It turned out to be a point from which the main avenues of St. Petersburg radiate in different directions, and first of all, Nevsky, where in the first quarter of the 19th century the Kazan Cathedral completes its decoration,

Rice. 13. Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg ()

built by the architect Voronikhin,

moreover, according to the model of Rome, in this case, according to the model of Peter's Cathedral,

Rice. 15. Peter's Cathedral in Rome

built by Michelangelo.

Rice. 16. Buonarroti Michelangelo ()

And again there are ancient, Roman associations. Of course, the finalization of Vasilyevsky Island requires special discussion.

Rice. 17. Vasilyevsky Island in St. Petersburg ()

with the construction of an exchange building on it, which was supposed to balance the water and island spaces. For this, the same ancient Greek style is chosen: the stock exchange is built in the style of an ancient temple. And, finally, a special topic is the work of the architect Carl Rossi, who had an amazing opportunity to build not individual buildings, as was usual, but to build entire urban ensembles, in the styles of which the same classicism prevails. Indispensable porticos, columns, arches, indispensable proportionality, harmony of architectural parts. In a word, the very thing that was imperceptibly reflected not only in architecture, but also in literature. Because just at this time in the formation of the Russian literary poetic language this tendency will prevail: the desire for clarity, for harmonious accuracy, completeness. And in this regard, we really find a sign of this classical direction, style.

French architect Thomas de Thomon

builds the stock exchange building in the form of a huge ancient temple.

Rice. 19. Exchange building in St. Petersburg ()

builds its famous ensembles: the Alexandrinsky Theater

Rice. 21. Alexandria Theater in St. Petersburg ()

with the famous Rossi street,

Rice. 22. Rossi Street in St. Petersburg ()

Mikhailovsky Castle,

Rice. 23. Mikhailovsky Castle in St. Petersburg ()

Rice. 24. Synod building in St. Petersburg ()

And all this will be architecture built in the style of classicism, which makes us recall the Greco-Roman tradition. And in this regard, indeed, there was a feeling that, at least, before our eyes, St. Petersburg was turning into a kind of Roman Empire. There is also a reason to recall that at the same time it was not only a city associated with the imperial theme. After all, with the ability to build not individual houses, but entire architectural ensembles, St. Petersburg turned into a kind of work of art. And then another association arose: northern Athens, if we mean Greece as a kind of symbol associated with the theme of art, philosophy, science and culture. It should be noted that the established Academy of Arts

Rice. 25. Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg ()

guided both architects and artists to recreate the classical style. It is worth remembering such personalities as Karl Bryullov,

if we mean the creators of the grandiose paintings: "The Last Day of Pompeii",

Rice. 28. "The Last Day of Pompeii" ()

Rice. 29. "The appearance of Christ to the people" ()

More modest portrait painters Orest Kiprensky,

Vasily Tropinin.

If we talk about the development of painting in this era of the "golden age", then there is a reason to pay attention to the grandeur of the ideas of our painters and cultural density. Because these pictorial ideas exert their influence and semantic pressure on other authors, writers for example. In this sense, it is worthy of special note that the outstanding masterpieces of, say, Karl Bryullov’s “The Last Day of Pompeii” are not only a grandiose canvas in itself, executed in a brilliant classicist manner with image accuracy, craftsmanship, and extraordinary subtlety. The "Golden Age" is golden not only because the authors here achieve the maximum perfection of form, but also differ in the depth of their ideas. So, looking at this canvas, Gogol thinks about what is needed for today's writer as a plot, an idea of ​​such an order that it captures everyone. Because the picture of Bryullov is made in such a way that the exploding Vesuvius terrifies a huge number of people. And this very fear, which at the same time unites people and makes them act as a kind of one force, turned out to be extremely important for Gogol's "Inspector General",

Rice. 32. Comedy "Inspector General" by Nikolai Gogol ()

because there is no love affair, and everything is tied to the fear of the characters. But, for example, Ivanov’s painting “The Appearance of Christ to the People” carried a mystical connotation, because with its vastness the viewer turned out to be included in the picture itself, and Christ, as it were, really walked towards you, which absolutely accompanies Gogol’s other brilliant idea: “The Dead souls."

Rice. 33. The poem "Dead Souls" by Nikolai Gogol ()

According to the author's idea, it was such a book that was supposed to turn all of us "dead" souls into people with "alive" souls. Therefore, the grandiosity of these ideas that arise both in painters and writers, in their interaction, is one of the features of the "golden age".

And if we have in mind the musical culture, it is impossible not to recall the brilliant work of Mikhail Glinka.

When we look at this layer of Russian culture associated with architecture and painting, then these classic Greco-Roman traditions are not only palpable here, they acquire their classical character here, completing the very idea of ​​an open window to Europe that Peter dreamed of.

On the other hand, it is easy to see that these authors, architects in the future will be perceived as the creators of national styles in one form or another of art. And therefore it is not at all surprising that in 1825 Pushkin's close friend Pyotr Pletnev,

a well-known poet, literary critic, teacher of Russian literature, rector of St. Petersburg University, in one of the articles published in Delvig's almanac "Northern Flowers", will write a short review related to the development of Russian poetry over the past decades, recalling the work of Zhukovsky,

Batyushkov

Rice. 38. Konstantin Batyushkov ()

and ending with a conversation about the brilliant Pushkin,

Rice. 39. Alexander Pushkin

who, according to the author of the article, "is the first poet of the "golden age" of our literature (if it is absolutely necessary that each literature should have its own "golden age")". Pletnev, of course, has in mind the very “golden age” of Roman literature, therefore, in the environment in which St. Petersburg writers and cultural figures found themselves at the beginning of the 19th century, this feeling of closeness to the Roman classical tradition of its golden age was quite understandable and obvious.

But much later, already in the 30s of the XX century, in Paris, the Russian poet and emigrant Nikolai Otsup

will write an article devoted to the "Silver Age" in the history of Russian culture and literature, in which he will try to identify the line that arose between the "Golden" and "Silver Ages" of literature. He started from the thought of the French writer and essayist Paul Valery,

discussing the originality of Russian literature of the XX century. He was struck by the sheer number of talents that surprisingly shone in the 19th century, referring to the "peak" authors and their "peak" achievements: Pushkin, Gogol, Lermontov, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky.

He compared this miracle of Russian art with what happened once in the development of the ancient theater, when literally in a century three playwrights created the entire European dramatic tradition. He compared this era with the Renaissance, with its titans. And so Nikolai Otsup, thinking about the same thing, collects all Russian literature in its world context in the “golden age”. But he discovers the border separating the 19th century from the future modernist 20th somewhere in the 80s of the 19th century. Thus, indeed, a broader idea of ​​the "golden age" of Russian literature arose, which includes an idea of ​​all the literature of the 19th century.

In the end, we can say that there is a narrow, more specific and historically justified idea of ​​the "golden age", which is associated with Russian culture and literature of the first quarter of the 19th century. The time that entered the history of Russian culture as Pushkin's time. And this, on the one hand, is an era that is largely built as a summing up of the results of the entire previous 18th century. And on the other hand, it is important here as the era of the formation of national traditions, schools, because we habitually call Pushkin the founder of the Russian literary language and new Russian literature. We traditionally call Glinka, a contemporary of Pushkin, the founder of Russian music, the founder of the national school of composers.

But when this "golden age" is understood in a broad sense, then, of course, one has to remember the entire 19th century and include not only the Pushkin era, but also Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Chekhov. And then it becomes clear that this is a kind of result of the "golden age" in the sense that this Russian culture and literature acquires the character of sound. This is not only national achievements, but the emergence of Russian culture on the world stage.

The subsequent era, the era of Decadence, the era of modernity, puts a certain boundary between the emerging classical tradition of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century.

On the other hand, in a narrow sense, since we are still talking about the Pushkin era, the golden age of Russian literature, which really sounded for the first time, was primarily associated with the poets of the early 19th century, and if we recall Pletnev, we are talking about the poetry of Konstantin Batyushkov, Vasily Zhukovsky, Alexander Pushkin, then with some obviousness we find a certain kind of ring composition associated with a strange outbreak of poetry at the beginning of the 19th century on the one hand and no less strange in scale, in terms of the volume of talents, in the number of poets, which, as it were, suddenly happens at the end XIX at the beginning of the XX century. In this sense, the “golden” and “silver” centuries of Russian poetry fit quite symmetrically into the beginning of the 20th and the beginning of the 20th centuries, because in the middle we will find Russian prose, where the formation of Russian realism in the middle of the 19th century will indeed be associated not only with poetry, how much with prose. Although almost exactly in the middle of the century (in the mid-50s) three collections of three amazing poets will be published: this will be the first collection of Nekrasov,

this will be Tyutchev's first big collection

Rice. 48. Fedor Tyutchev

and Fet collection.

Indeed, it turns out that these three authors are exactly in the middle, between the "golden" poetic age of Russian literature and the "silver" one. And they will turn out to be such authors who in a special way will unite these two poetic centuries, the two heydays of Russian poetry.

There is reason to recall that, in fact, the history of Russian poetry draws its origins from the 18th century. In the 30s of the XVIII century, thanks to the efforts of Lomonosov,

Trediakovsky,

Rice. 51. Vasily Trediakovsky ()

a little later at Sumarokov

Rice. 52. Alexander Sumarokov ()

a special system of versification will arise: the classical, so-called syllabo-tonic. And by the end of the 18th century, what is commonly called "noble culture" will achieve special development. And here we are not necessarily talking about some of its higher manifestations, but at the everyday level. It will be customary to write poetry, compose music, and not in order to publish it without fail or to be wonderful writers. It will be a household culture. You can recall the "ladies' albums", in which the gentlemen had to write poetry to the ladies without fail. And it was precisely at such a phase of highly cultured dilettantism that the highest poetic verse could grow, which would be formed by the efforts of the poets of the early 19th century.

1. Sakharov V.I., Zinin S.A. Russian language and literature. Literature (basic and advanced levels) 10. M.: Russian Word.

2. Arkhangelsky A.N. etc. Russian language and literature. Literature (advanced level) 10. M.: Bustard.

3. Lanin B.A., Ustinova L.Yu., Shamchikova V.M. / ed. Lanina B.A. Russian language and literature. Literature (basic and advanced levels) 10. M.: VENTANA-GRAF.

1. Analyze the work of poets and writers of the "golden age" of Russian culture. On the example of several works, show the features characteristic of this period.

2. Prepare a report on the significance and influence of the "golden age" of Russian culture for the modern period.

3. * Make a comparative table of all directions of the "golden age" of Russian culture. Find commonalities.