City Libraries, City of Gold Coast

The art of Russia, written & presented by Andrew Graham Dixon; produced by John Hay

eng

The art of Russia

written & presented by Andrew Graham Dixon; produced by John Hay

Series in which art critic Andrew Graham-Dixon tells the story of Russian art : 1. Out of the Forest : He explores the origins of the Russian icon from its roots in Byzantium to the masterpieces of the country's most famous icon painter, Andrei Rublev, and visits the monastery founded by Ivan the Terrible, where Ivan's favourite forms of torture found inspiration in religious art. Peter the Great then shone a light into Russia's 'dark' ages and, surprisingly, took Deptford in London as his inspiration ------- 2. Roads to Revolution : He explores how Russia changed from a feudal nation of aristocratic excess to a hotbed of revolution at the beginning of the 20th century and how art moved from being a servant of the state to an agent of its destruction. From monuments that celebrate the absolutism of the tsars to the epic Russian landscape as inspiration, from golden palaces to the minutiae of Faberge eggs, the journey is one of beauty and surprise ------ 3. Smashing the Mould : He examines political revolution and how art was at the forefront of throwing out 1,000 years of royal rule, from the early days of optimism when the poster was king to the dead hand of Socialist Realism. Andrew roots out now-hidden portraits of Stalin and visits the most stunning creation of post-war Communist rule, the Space Monument, before looking at how some of the world's strangest art is being produced in Russia today

not applicable