The 18th century opens a new chapter in the history of Russian culture. The turn of the17th -18th centuries marked the end of the Middle Ages in Russia. The new policy of the state ruled by Peter the Great aimed to develop every aspect of the
country's life along European lines. The emerging secular culture played a significant role in this process because, as distinct from Middle Ages culture, it was orientated towards reality. The art of the new period focused on the human being, on his or her inimitable appearance and character, his or her attitude to life. Thus, the secular culture energetically began to form people's mentality, propagating new moral values and providing a visible representation of public ideals.
This period sees the emergence of previously little known forms of fine art in Russia, new artistic styles and trends, while the system of genres takes shape.
Art from the Petrine period is a peculiar mix of tradition and innovation. Peter himself did not begrudge money on encouraging the use of western European experience. Grants were given to young people to study in Europe (I.N. Nikitin)
and Western masters were invited to work in Russia (L. Caravaque).
The rational, seemingly simple art of the Petrine period is permeated with the pathos of statehood. The value of the human being was determined by the service to the state. Energetic, decisive characters brimming with initiative look on us from
the portraits of this epoch of reform (I.N. Nikitin, "Portrait of Count G.I. Golovkin", 1720). In the 1730s, when Empress Anna ascended the Russian throne, the swift development of Russian culture abated. The businesslike, simple, inherently significant art of the first quarter of the 18th century is replaced with heavy ornamentation and crude solemnity (L. Caravaque, "Portrait of Empress Anna Ioannovna", 1730).
The rule of Empress Elizaveta, which was regarded by her contemporaries as the continuation of the Petrine period, is marked by a new upheaval in public and cultural life. This is when M.V. Lomonosov is pursuing his multifaceted activity, Moscow University opens (1755), and the St. Petersburg Imperial Academy of Arts (1757) is established. Grand ensembles of palaces esigned by F.B. Rastrelli are constructed in St. Petersburg and its suburbs. The luxury and magnificence of the imperial court rivals its European counterparts. The baroque and, to a lesser extent, rococo styles dominate art (A.P. Antropov, "Portrait of Peter III", 1762; G.С. Grooth, "Portrait of Empress Elizaveta Petrovna on Horseback with a Negro Boy", 1743). The colourful, lively character of art in 1740s-1750s is apparent in all types of artistic activity.
The rule of Catherine II is marked by a new prosperity throughout Russian life. In the second half of the 18th century the level of Russian and European art is quite comparable. The works created by leading Russian masters of this period could compete with the best creations of western artists.
The ideas of the Enlightenment penetrate Russia from France during this period, providing the philosophical foundation for Classicism, the dominant style in the epoch. The pedagogical system of the Academy of Arts, which played the most leading role in the development of Russian culture as a whole in the second half of the 18th century, is based on the principles of Classicism. The Academy of Arts was the first school of high professional mastership in Russia. It attached priority to historical painting (A.P. Losenko, "Hector Taking Leave of Andromache", 1773).
The focus on the human made the portrait the main genre of 18th century art. It was in portrait painting that the Russian artists F.S. Rokotov, D.G. Levitsky, F.L. Borovikovsky attained the European level of art. The problem of representing
the likeness becomes inseparable from the desire to reveal the inner world of the human being (F.S. Rokotov, "Portrait of Count A.I. Vorontsov", not earlier than 1765; D.G. Levitsky, "Portrait of M.A. Dyakova", 1778).
Russia's spiritual life at the end of the 18th century is complicated and filled with contradictions. A new trend, Sentimentalism begins to form in Russian culture and fine art. While Classicism declared the cult of the public, Sentimentalism
established the right of the individual to have profound intimate emotions (V.L. Borovikovsky, "Portrait of M.I. Lopukhina", 1797).
Sentimentalism directly influenced the development of the landscape (S.F. Shchedrin, "Landscape of the Outskirts of Petersburg"). Appealing to urban and countryside motives, landscape painting of the late 18th century creates a certain ideal world filled with poetry and harmony.
Russian art covered a great distance in one century. Faithful to the ideals of the Enlightenment, it strove to educate the soul of the viewer, glorifying reason, kindness, morality, thus constructing an ideal, harmonious picture of the world.
