Russia's History Painters: Vasily Surikov, Viktor Vasnetsov, and the Remaking of the Past
Beginning with the 1881 Itinerant Art Exhibition, this book examines the history of modern Russia through the paintings of Vasily Surikov and Viktor Vasnetsov, two of the most important Russian painters of the period. By placing specific paintings and their artists alongside the historical myths and legends depicted in the art, Stephen M. Norris explores in highly readable prose how paintings helped to bring obscure, half-forgotten historical events into the public imagination in the 19th century.

Russia's History Painters reveals how Russian history and national identity came to include Kievan princes, Orthodox Christian knights, Cossacks and Peter the Great, among many others. It also analyzes how critics and commentators interpreted these canvases as living entities, encouraging viewers to immerse themselves into the pasts captured on them, and in doing so, to assimilate notions of honour, bravery, and love for the motherland.

Analysing 11 pivotal artworks in depth, this accessible book explores how painting has defined Russian history and nationhood up to the present day.

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Russia's History Painters: Vasily Surikov, Viktor Vasnetsov, and the Remaking of the Past
Beginning with the 1881 Itinerant Art Exhibition, this book examines the history of modern Russia through the paintings of Vasily Surikov and Viktor Vasnetsov, two of the most important Russian painters of the period. By placing specific paintings and their artists alongside the historical myths and legends depicted in the art, Stephen M. Norris explores in highly readable prose how paintings helped to bring obscure, half-forgotten historical events into the public imagination in the 19th century.

Russia's History Painters reveals how Russian history and national identity came to include Kievan princes, Orthodox Christian knights, Cossacks and Peter the Great, among many others. It also analyzes how critics and commentators interpreted these canvases as living entities, encouraging viewers to immerse themselves into the pasts captured on them, and in doing so, to assimilate notions of honour, bravery, and love for the motherland.

Analysing 11 pivotal artworks in depth, this accessible book explores how painting has defined Russian history and nationhood up to the present day.

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Russia's History Painters: Vasily Surikov, Viktor Vasnetsov, and the Remaking of the Past

Russia's History Painters: Vasily Surikov, Viktor Vasnetsov, and the Remaking of the Past

Russia's History Painters: Vasily Surikov, Viktor Vasnetsov, and the Remaking of the Past

Russia's History Painters: Vasily Surikov, Viktor Vasnetsov, and the Remaking of the Past

Overview

Beginning with the 1881 Itinerant Art Exhibition, this book examines the history of modern Russia through the paintings of Vasily Surikov and Viktor Vasnetsov, two of the most important Russian painters of the period. By placing specific paintings and their artists alongside the historical myths and legends depicted in the art, Stephen M. Norris explores in highly readable prose how paintings helped to bring obscure, half-forgotten historical events into the public imagination in the 19th century.

Russia's History Painters reveals how Russian history and national identity came to include Kievan princes, Orthodox Christian knights, Cossacks and Peter the Great, among many others. It also analyzes how critics and commentators interpreted these canvases as living entities, encouraging viewers to immerse themselves into the pasts captured on them, and in doing so, to assimilate notions of honour, bravery, and love for the motherland.

Analysing 11 pivotal artworks in depth, this accessible book explores how painting has defined Russian history and nationhood up to the present day.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781350097452
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date: 07/23/2026
Series: Russian Shorts
Pages: 144
Product dimensions: 5.08(w) x 7.79(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Stephen M. Norris is Walter E. Havighurst Professor of Russian History and Director of the Havighurst Center for Russian and Post-Soviet Studies at Miami University (OH), USA. He is the author and editor of seven books, including A War of Images: Russian Popular Prints, Wartime Culture, and National Identity, 1812-1945 (2008) and Blockbuster History in the New Russia: Movies, Memory, Patriotism (2012).

Stephen M. Norris is Walter E. Havighurst Professor of Russian History and Director of the Havighurst Center for Russian and Post-Soviet Studies at Miami University (OH), USA. He is the author and editor of seven books, including A War of Images: Russian Popular Prints, Wartime Culture, and National Identity, 1812-1945 (2008) and Blockbuster History in the New Russia: Movies, Memory, Patriotism (2012).

Polly Jones is Professor of Russian at University College, Oxford, UK. She has published extensively on Soviet literature and memory politics, including two monographs Myth, Memory, Trauma (2013) and Revolution Rekindled (2019), several edited volumes, including The Dilemmas of De-Stalinization (2006) and numerous articles. She is embarking on a new collaborative project about the concept of the '101st kilometre' in Soviet penal policy and practice.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations
1. History on Canvas
2. Peter the Great and the Thunderbolt of Modern Russianness
3. Kievan Rus' and Russian Historical Imaginings
4. Baptizing Rus', Christianizing Russia
5. Russian Conquests, Russia's Empire
6. Bogatyrs and the Defense of the Motherland
7. Myths and Memories in Paint
8. The Long Lives of the History Paintings

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