Prisoners of Beauty Automatic translate

“The sun, the sea, architecture, the dumb delight of the Greeks…” in these words of Henry Semiradsky embodied the atmosphere of a large-scale project of the Tretyakov Gallery “Prisoners of Beauty”. Exhibition of Salon and Academic Art 1830 - 1910 - ies. became one of the most successful and visited. Fans of classical beauty are greeted by languid looks, luxurious sensual bodies, Eden landscapes, romantic ruins.

“Careless artists” of the 19th century did not seek to convey the social and moral problems of their time, like their contemporaries - Wanderers, preferring the concept of art to art. Brilliant draftsmen and painters, masters of complex multi-figure compositions, they were known as connoisseurs of ancient mythology and biblical subjects. Academists managed to create an eye-caressing image even in sad scenes: their Christian martyrs were impeccably beautiful, delightful heartbroken widows.

The pearl of the exposition was the painting by Semiradsky “Frina at the festival in Elevzin,” in which the naked heterosexual Fryna, beloved of the famous sculptor Praxiteles, acted as Aphrodite. The Turkish woman of Bryullov did not lose her charm, the canvases of Makovsky and Bruni were fresh, the works of Surikov, Repin, Somov, who also paid tribute to fine art, were also added to them.