When, almost twenty years ago, we founded the World of Art, we had a burning desire to liberate Russian artistic activity from the tutelage of literature, to instil in the society around us a love of the very essence of art, and that was the aim we had when we took the field. We considered enemies all those “who fail to respect art as such”, those who either fasten wings to an old nag or harness Pegasus to the cart of “social ideals”, or reject the idea of Pegasus altogether. For that reason, we addressed ourselves to the artistic world with the slogan “Talents of all directions, unite!” And that is how in our ranks Vrubel immediately appeared alongside Levitan, Bakst alongside Serov, Somov alongside Maliavin. – Alexander Benois

The Art Nouveau movement in Russia was known under the name of The World of Art. This association grouped a remarkable collection of artist and poets at the end of the 19th century. Inspired by the poetic ideals of neo-Romanticism and Symbolism, they extended their influence into all forms of plastic and literary composition. Certain members of the group became world famous for book illustrations and theatrical decors. The illustrations include paintings, book illustrations, theatrical costumes and decors of such members as: Alexander Benois, Leon Bakst, Mstislav Dobujinsky, Boris Kustodiev, Evgeni Lanceray, Anna Ostrumova-Lebedeva, Konstantin Somov, Alexandre Golovin, Mikhail Vrubel, Valentin Serov Ivan Bilibin, Dimitri Mitrokin, Sergei Tchekonin and others.

Art Periodical Culture in Late Imperial Russia (1898-1917). Print Modernism in Transition offers a detailed exploration of the major Modernist art periodicals in late imperial Russia, the World of Art (Mir Iskusstva, 1899-1904), The Golden Fleece (Zolotoe runo, 1906-1909) and Apollo (Apollon, 1909-1917). By exploring the role of art reproduction in the nineteenth century and the emergence of these innovative art journals in the turn of the century, Hanna Chuchvaha proves that these Modernist periodicals advanced the Russian graphic arts and reinforced the development of reproduction technologies and the art of printing. Offering a detailed examination of the “inaugural” issues, which included editorial positions expressed in words and images, Hanna Chuchvaha analyses the periodicals’ ideologies and explores journals as art objects appearing in their unique socio-historical context in imperial Russia.

Beautifully illustrated and drawing on unpublished images and memorabilia, this book illuminates the ways in which innovations by the Ballets Russes in dance, music, sets and costume both mirrored and invigorated contemporary culture. --Book Jacket.

This critical survey of the Art Nouveau movement reveals the diversity of this style across the breadth of the European continent. With the inclusion of Eastern Europe and the full range of artistic media, the book shows how this movement changed the face of European art and design from Paris to Prague. Clearly structured by country, it traces the emergence of Art Nouveau, highlighting the particular interpretations of the style in each country. Countries covered include: Belgium; Spain; Britain; Austria; Hungary; and Russia. Each chapter contains sections on political and cultural contexts, specific visual characteristics and key artists and designers. It analyzes the contribution of both well-known artists and designers such as Gaudi; Van de Velde; Mackintosh; and Mucha, and brings to light many others whose contributions have been largely inaccessible. With a bibliography and glossary, this text should provide a useful introduction to this subject.

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Modernism on Stage restores Serge Diaghilev?s Ballets Russes to its central role in the Parisian art world of the 1910s and 1920s. During those years, the Ballets Russes? stage served as a dynamic forum for the interaction of artistic genres - dance, music and painting - in a mixed-media form inspired by Richard Wagner?s Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art). This interdisciplinary study combines a broad history of Diaghilev?s troupe with close readings of four ballets designed by canonical modernist artists: Pablo Picasso, Sonia Delaunay, Henri Matisse, and Giorgio de Chirico. Experimental both in concept and form, these productions redefine our understanding of the interconnected worlds of the visual and performing arts, elite culture and mass entertainment in Paris between the two world wars. This volume traces the ways in which artists working with the Ballets Russes adapted painterly styles to the temporal, three-dimensional and corporeal medium of ballet. Analyzing interactions among sets, costumes, choreography, and musical accompaniment, the book establishes what the Ballets Russes' productions looked like and how audiences reacted to them. Juliet Bellow brings dance to bear upon modernist art history as more than a source of imagery or ornament: she spotlights a complex dialogue among art forms that did not preclude but rather enhanced artists? interrogation of the limits of medium.

Disney's animated trailblazing, Dostoyevsky's philosophical neuroses, Hendrix's electric haze, Hitchcock's masterful manipulation, Frida Kahlo's scarifying portraits, Van Gogh's vigorous color, and Virginia Woolf's modern feminism: this multicultural reference tool examines 200 artists, writers, and musicians from around the world. Detailed biographical essays place them in a broad historical context, showing how their luminous achievements influenced and guided contemporary and future generations, shaped the internal and external perceptions of their craft, and met the sensibilities of their audience.

The era of the Ballets Russes is probably the most chronicled in dance history, yet this book is the first to explain the company as a totality--its art, enterprise, and tudience. Taking a fresh look at familiar sources and incorporating fascinating archival material previously unexamined by Diaghilev scholars, Lynn Garafola paints an extraordinary portrait of the Ballets Russes, one that is bound to upset received opinion about the wellsprings and impact of early modernism.