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The life story of Empress Catherine II of All Russia. The upbringing and education of the empress, the independence of her character. Accession to the throne, the first years of reign. Literary movement under Catherine II. Death of the Empress after 34 years of reign.
Culture, as is known, is a historically determined level of development of society, expressed in specific types and forms of human activity, including national, class, religious, historical and social content. In culture, as nowhere else, all the diverse processes occurring in the country in one period or another are clearly reflected. This is especially clearly observed during the study of the middle and second half of the XVIII century - the “Golden Age” of the nobility.
What are the historical conditions for the formation of culture in the middle and second half of the 18th century in Russia - the century of Catherine II? What events and phenomena of Russian reality were reflected in the culture of the era of Catherine II? The primary ones include: the growth of the privileges of the nobility, the granting of lands and peasants to them, the desire for pomp and wealth, and the wars of Russia. Very significant circumstances of the general historical background are also the beginning of the decomposition of feudalism and the maturation of capitalist relations, accompanied by increased exploitation of peasants and working people, which led to formidable popular uprisings. Russian society was worried about such problems as the organization of power, overcoming the remaining state of the country, and the peasant question.
During the period called the “Golden Age”, the country observed processes that reflected in the country’s culture the official ideology of “enlightened absolutism”, the awakening of a sense of citizenship and an increase in protest against autocracy and serfdom. In Russia, renewed by the reforms of Peter I, until the end of 1761, Peter’s daughter Elizabeth ruled the country. After her death, her nephew took the throne under the name Peter!P. At the insistence of Elizabeth, he married a German woman discharged from abroad, Princess of Anhalt, Sophia-Augustina-Friederike, rebaptized Catherine. During her more than thirty-year reign, Catherine II did a lot for Russia in various fields of science, education, Russian economy, architecture, literature and other areas. The center of education in the country was Moscow University. He was to play an outstanding role in the development of the country's culture and in the history of its socio-political thought. In 1786, a state system of public education was created in Russia for the first time: small public schools in county towns, the main thing is that Catherine II stood at the head of all this educational work. She also founded two closed educational institutions: for noblewomen - the Smolny Institute, for bourgeois women - the Catherine Institute. During the reign of Catherine, the number of literate people, often with special education, although slowly, increased, and the role of printed materials grew. By the middle of the century, there were already 10 printing houses in the country and book publishing continued to develop.
During Catherine’s time, with her support, such bright talents as M.V. Lomonosov, V.N. Tatishchev, S.P. Krasheninnikov, the brilliant self-taught inventor I.P. Kulibin and others shone.
Historical conditions The development of culture during the reign of Catherine the Great was reflected in all genres of art; Catherine, together with her contemporaries - King Frederick II of Prussia and Emperor Joseph II of Austria - was an outstanding representative of the so-called “enlightened absolutism”. In her young years, she voraciously read the works of the French “enlightenment” - Voltaire, Rousseau, Diderot, d'Alembert and considered herself their student. Her correspondence with Voltaire continued until 1777; she also corresponded with other European philosophers.
Catherine always showed diplomatic dexterity and art in her relations with European states. In internal political and organizational affairs, she had a special talent - the most important for an autocratic sovereign, namely the ability to find and select employees.
Already from the first years of Catherine’s reign, a number of important measures were taken to internal management. In 1763-64. The secularization of church and monastic estates with a population of about 1 million male souls was carried out. These estates were transferred to the management of the “College of Economics”. To revive and develop the country's economic forces in 1762-63. Catherine issued manifestos calling for foreigners to settle in Russia, to whom she promised protection. Especially many colonists were attracted from Germany. They received the beautiful black soil steppe in the Volga region for settlement. An important milestone in agriculture was the cultivation of potatoes, imported from Ireland in 1765. To organize medical care, by decree of Catherine, a medical college was established in 1763. And that's not all. Catherine conceived and soon realized her idea of creating government leadership within the framework of strict, newly created laws. Catherine also planned to give the country a new legislative code, based on old customs and at the same time on the principles new philosophy and science discovered by the contemporary era of Enlightenment. To this end, Catherine set about drawing up the project “Nakaza”. In a somewhat abridged form, the “Nakaz” served as a guide for the legislative commission for many decades, and in 1767 it was translated into the main European languages.
Catherine the Great did not ignore architecture. The amazingly beautiful facades of the Winter Palace, which Rastrelli began to build during the reign of Elizaveta Petrovna; Catherine Palace; ensemble of the Smolny Monastery; the famous Pashkov house in Moscow, built by the architect V.I. Bazhenov; near Moscow Kuskovo or Ostankino of the Sheremetevs, Arkhangelskoye of the Yusupovs, the Senate building of M. Kazakov. Architecture - the stone chronicle of the era and all the main XVIII styles centuries were reflected during the reign of Catherine. At the same time, graphics, painting and sculpture developed exceptionally progressively in Russia, and the school of Russian portraiture served as the basis for portraiture in many countries. An exceptional breakthrough during the reign of Catherine also occurred in the field of literature.
Topic 10. What are the origins of spectacular art in the culture of the 18th-20th centuries?
In structure modern culture great place are occupied by the performing arts, which play a significant role in the ideological, moral, and artistic education of people and the organization of their life and leisure. In order to penetrate into the essence of the performing arts, it is necessary not only to analyze them as phenomena of today's reality, but also to know the stages of formation and development of various types of spectacles. One of the most interesting and the most important moments In the history of Russian entertainment culture, it is quite legitimate to consider folk pleasure fairs and city festivities that existed in the period from the mid-18th to the beginning of the 20th century.
Development of industry and growth of cities at the beginning of the 18th century. led to a revival of trade
within the country, towards the creation of a single pan-European market. The number of fairs and their turnover increased sharply, and the influx of foreign merchants increased. In addition to the direct participants in the purchase and sale, many so-called “service personnel” flocked to the fairs:
porters, loaders, moneylenders, food sellers, entertainers. Along with trade tents, taverns, taverns, carousels, swings, circus and theater booths were erected. Fairs also attracted “dark people”: beggars, cheaters, thieves, the unemployed, etc.
Crowded festivities and holidays have become an integral part of city life. However, on throughout for a long time they completely copied the tradition of the peasants - to organize holidays on the same calendar dates and in the same forms, as was customary in rural areas.
The 18th century is characterized by a noticeable difference in the life of cities and villages. In the new urban conditions, traditional agricultural holidays also take on their own specific forms. Naturally, in the atmosphere of an industrial city, first of all, the most essential features of a peasant holiday are violated, such as, for example, its strict regulation and ritual. The composition of participants in festivities and fairs is changing dramatically. City festivities become like an open system and easily absorb elements and forms different traditions, spheres of everyday life, culture, art.
At the same time, social stratification in cultural consumption occurs. While the peasant population still kept traditional culture, the upper class was oriented toward the West, adopted customs, and imitated the fashions of the European nobility. The unprivileged part of the residents of large cities increasingly began to feel the need to create their own art - this is how urban folklore began to take shape. V.O. Klyuchevsky noted in this regard that since the middle of the 17th century Russian society“a foreign culture, rich in experience and knowledge, began to operate,” and this Western influence unevenly penetrated different layers of the population, affecting primarily its upper circles.”
A large role in the formation of new forms of city festivities and fairs belongs to Peter I. Since his decisive and bold reforms in external and inner life countries often met with misunderstanding and rebuff in various circles of patriarchal Russia, he was forced to persistently search for new forms and methods of conducting a propaganda campaign in support of his endeavors. So, in 1707, he ordered the construction of a “comedy mansion” in the very center of Moscow, on Red Square - the first public theater, the performances of which could be attended by everyone. To popularize his transformations, Peter I resorted to such public spectacles as street masquerades, solemn processions, illuminations, parody rituals, etc. Here, on the one hand, the traditions of folk Yuletide and Maslenitsa dressing were used, and on the other, symbols and allegories of theatrical performances. In the 18th century, the so-called “playing element” arose, capturing many aspects of public life, so this century can rightfully be called the “playing century.” At the same time, since the beginning of the century there has been a noticeable influx of foreigners into the country, including traveling actors, introducing Russia to European fairground art. The square, which was the center of the city's social and commercial life, has been transformed since the 18th century into a venue for mass celebrations. The emerging folklore of the city included such vibrant traditional folk spectacles as performances by puppeteers, bear leaders, musicians and jokers. From year to year, the city square absorbed, selected, and processed all the varied material that splashed out here in holidays, adapted it to the requirements of its main visitor and at the same time shaped his tastes and requests. All this led to the fact that entire entertainment towns were erected at fairs and festivities, including both old and new entertainment and spectacles unknown to rural Russia.
Thus, starting from the 18th century, fairs and folk festivals began to occupy a very prominent place in the life of the Russian urban population. Accordingly, both the theme of the holiday itself and the free-fun festive atmosphere determined the plots, images and tone of many literary works. Ethnographers, folklorists, writers and even revolutionary figures of Russia often hurried to the fair, where the free speech and free speech of the peasant and artisan were often heard. Among the fair crowd one could meet Pushkin and Nekrasov. On the fairground near the walls of the Svyatogorsk Monastery, the idea of the first Russian national tragedy, “Boris Godunov,” was born. The poem “Who Lives Well in Rus'”, which took shape in big trip in peasant Russia, also originates at the fair.
Particular interest in fairground and farce culture was observed among the Russian intelligentsia borders of XIX-XX centuries. F.I. Chaliapin named among his first “theatrical” impressions the farce barker Yakov Mamonov. The motives of the Russian fair, the aesthetics of public laughter, the festive perception of the world, all this was reflected in the paintings of a whole galaxy of artists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries: B. Kustodiev, M. Larionov, N. Goncharova, V. Kandinsky, M. Chagall and others. Stimulus M. M. Bakhtin’s book “The Work of Francois Rabelais and the Folk Culture of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance” served as a basis for a deep study of urban entertainment culture in our century. An appeal to Russian fairground entertainment, in addition to specific acquaintance with an extremely specific and surprisingly interesting side of urban life in Russia (of the past two centuries), will make its contribution to resolving issues related to identifying artistic principles spatio-temporal organization of holidays and large theatrical and entertainment forms with the specifics of festive behavior.
Topic 11. How can you characterize the “golden age” of Russian culture?
The culture of Russia in the 19th century is an example of an unprecedented rise in its peak achievements. At no other time was Pushkin born in Russia, our greatest pride and the most complete expression of the spiritual forces of Russia, and next to him were so many world-famous geniuses who made such a contribution to the treasury of universal human achievements. A.M. Gorky said this very vividly and figuratively: “The magical giant Glinka and the beautiful Bryullov, Gogol, merciless to himself and people, the yearning Lermontov, the sad Turgenev, the angry Nekrasov, the great rebel Tolstoy and our sick conscience Dostoevsky, Kramskoy, Repin, the inimitable Mussorgsky, Leskov: all efforts to create a positive type of Russian person and, finally, the great lyricist Tchaikovsky and the sorcerer of language Ostrovsky, not similar to each other, as it can be here in Rus', where in the same generations meet people as if different centuries, before that they are psychologically unfused. All this grandiose was created by Russia in less than a hundred years. Joyfully, to the point of insane pride, I am excited not only by the abundance of talents born Russia XIX centuries, but amazing diversity." All this allowed us to call this period the “golden age” of Russian culture.
Literature occupied a special place in the culture of the “golden age”. She played the main stabilizing and creative role in her peak creations. The classics of Russian literature have always gravitated towards a three-dimensional, multidimensional worldview that preserves ambiguity and imagery. Classic literature The 19th century was more than literature. It became a synthetic cultural phenomenon and turned out to be, in fact, a universal form of social self-awareness, fulfilling the mission of the social sciences. Many enlightened people of Russian society built their lives based on high literary examples.
By the middle of the 19th century. Russian culture is becoming more and more famous in the West. N.I. Lobachevsky, who laid the foundation for modern ideas about the structure of the Universe, became the first scientist to become famous outside of Russia. P. Me-rime discovered Pushkin to Europe. Gogol's The Inspector General was staged in Paris. In the second half of the 19th century. European and world fame of Russian culture is increasing, primarily thanks to literature, the works of I.S. Turgenev, L.N. Tolstoy, F.M. Dostoevsky. For the first time in the 19th century. cultural exchange between Russia and Europe has acquired a bilateral character, Russian culture has acquired European and global significance. Russia has expressed itself in forms understandable to the West, without losing its originality.
Despite all the grandiose achievements of the culture of the “golden age,” the deep cultural split, largely caused by Peter’s reforms, was not overcome. According to the population census in Russia in 1897, only slightly more than 20% were literate. The terrorist attack on March 1, 1881, a little six months after Pushkin’s speech by F.M. Dostoevsky, who passionately called for the unity of Russian culture and proclaimed its world mission based on “worldwide responsiveness,” became fatal for the country. The balance of the two lines in culture was disrupted. Radical modernist ideas prevailed in their destructive form. The “Golden Age” of Russian culture has come to an end. Although there was still silver Age", the cultural creative upsurge could no longer balance and curb the boiling wave of revolutionary nihilism.
The development of the educational system in the Russian Empire in the second half of the eighteenth century was influenced by the so-called enlightened absolutism of Catherine the Second. During this period, cadet corps, educational institutions, the Smolny Institute, as well as many other educational institutions were formed. A charter for public schools is being developed.
At the same time, Catherine’s education reform was not brought to its logical conclusion. However, it was she who was able to play a major role in the further development Russian education. Thus, between 1782 and 1800, many schools managed to graduate about two hundred thousand children, seven percent of whom were girls. At the beginning of the nineteenth century in Russia there were three hundred boarding houses and schools with twenty thousand students, taught by about eight hundred teachers.
The Empress of Russia closely studied the experience of organizing public education in leading European countries, introducing innovative pedagogical ideas. For example, in eighteenth-century Russia, the works of Jan Kamensky, as well as Locke (such as Thoughts on Education) and Fenelon, were quite famous and popular. This gave rise to a new formulation of school tasks: to educate, and not just teach. At the heart of everything was the humanitarian ideal that originated during the Renaissance. He preached “respect for freedom and individual rights,” and also excluded from pedagogy any manifestation of coercion and violence. However, this educational concept of Catherine the Second required great isolation of each child from his family and subsequent transfer of him into the hands of a teacher. At the same time, already in the eighties, all attention was again transferred to education from education.
The foundation of the educational reform was the Austrian and Prussian education systems. Also, it was planned to establish three separate types of schools:
· main;
· average;
The latter taught the rudiments of Russian grammar, sacred history, catechism, knowledge of numbers, writing, and reading. In secondary schools, a brief geography of Russia, Russian and General history, Russian grammar with various spelling exercises, as well as an explanation of the Gospel. The main school taught the basics of civil architecture, natural history, physics, mechanics, geometry, business writing exercises, mathematical geography, a detailed course in history and geography, etc.
Catherine II became the founder of the all-Russian educational system and the initiator of the first vaccination. But the most important thing is that the empress forced us to respect and reckon with the powerful Russian state.
Development of science, education and healthcare under Catherine the Great
The descendants of Catherine II owe the development of the educational system; under her, a network of city schools was created and colleges were opened. The Empress especially paid great attention to the education of women, so the Smolny Institute of Noble Maidens was created. Thus, even then the all-Russian system of educational schools was laid down. Printing houses, libraries, an anatomical theater, Botanical Garden, a physics room, an observatory and an archive are open. In 1783, a special Russian Academy of Sciences was created, whose activities were to be devoted to the study of language and literature.
During her reign, the number of printed products increased significantly; in addition, the empress signed a decree on the possibility of establishing “free” printing houses. Public and paid libraries were opened.
Thus, under Catherine II, the formation took place national culture, which includes the centuries-old achievements of the Russian people.
Under Catherine II, homes were created for street children - there they studied, received education and upbringing.
The Empress did not ignore healthcare; by her decree, smallpox vaccination was introduced in the country. In addition, Catherine II resolutely took up the fight against epidemics, and now prevention and control of them were the responsibilities of the Senate. Hospitals for the treatment of syphilis, psychiatric hospitals and shelters began to open in the country.
The empress's class policy
Under Catherine II, the nobility received maximum amount rights and privileges. In 1785, the Empress issued two charters establishing the special position of the “noble” nobility, as well as defining legal status various layers of the urban population and the privileges of the merchants. Despite this, property inequality grew among the nobility: some of its representatives quickly became rich, while others became poor.
However, the situation of the peasantry, constituting 95% of the population, in Catherine's era was deplorable. The number of serfs reached 90%; their position could be compared to slavery. Moreover, during the reign of Catherine II, a number of decrees were issued that worsened the already poor situation of the peasants. Thus, society was divided into two parts - the highly privileged nobility and the peasantry, which had no rights but had responsibilities.
However, despite the class policy of Catherine II, she entered the history of the Fatherland as a Russian patriot, the creator of a mighty and great power.
The "Great Rus'" store offers you to get acquainted with the "To Your Majesty" collection, many of whose products are copies of unique works of art stored in the State Hermitage (the former winter residence of the Russian emperors).
2.1 Life and customs
The second half of the 18th century, namely the period of the reign of Catherine II, went down in history as the “golden age” of the Russian nobility. One of the first manifestos of Catherine II after her accession to the throne was the “Manifesto on the granting of liberty and freedom to the entire Russian nobility,” according to which the nobles were exempted from the duties of military and civil service.
According to the same “Manifesto”, many nobles received lands into their possession, and the peasants, the inhabitants of these lands, were assigned to them. Naturally, these lands had to be improved. Improvement began, as a rule, with the construction of an estate. And the reign of Catherine was the heyday of noble estate culture. But the life of the majority of landowners was not separated by the “Iron Curtain” from the life of the peasants; there was direct contact with folk culture, and a new attitude was emerging towards the peasant as an equal person, as an individual.
Also, the second half of the 18th century was marked by a number of innovations concerning the life of citizens. Especially a lot of new things have appeared in the life of cities. After the government allowed merchants to keep shops in their homes, merchant estates with warehouses and shops appeared in cities, forming entire shopping streets.
Water pipelines appeared in Moscow and St. Petersburg, but for most cities the source of water supply remained numerous wells and nearby reservoirs, as well as water carriers delivering water in barrels.
At the end of the century in some major cities lighting of main streets is being introduced. First in Moscow Street lights appeared since the 30s. XVIII century In them, a wick dipped in hemp oil was lit by special order of the authorities.
Hygiene issues became a big problem for city authorities with the increase in population, so the number of public baths, in which, for a special fee, visitors could have a meal and while away the night. For the first time, a special decree of the Senate prohibited the patriarchal custom of bathing together for men and women, and according to the Charter of the Deanery of 1782, persons of the opposite sex were prohibited from entering the bathhouse not on their day.
Another innovation in the second half of the century was the opening of city hospitals. The first of them appeared in St. Petersburg in 1779. But, despite this, the common people firmly retained faith in healers and conspiracies. The government itself strengthened prejudices: in 1771, during the plague epidemic in Kostroma, Catherine II confirmed the decree of 1730 on fasting and religious procession around the city as a means of combating the infection.
2.2 Education and science
In the “Catherine era” the trend towards nationalization of education received a new impetus and new character. If in the first quarter of the century the main goal of education was to satisfy the state’s need for personnel, then Catherine II, with the help of education, sought to influence public consciousness and educate “a new breed of people.” In accordance with this, the principle of class-based education was preserved.
Book publishing played an important role in the spread of literacy and the development of education, which expanded significantly in the second half of the century. Book publishing has ceased to be a privilege of the state. The Russian educator N.I. played a major role in its development. Novikov. His printing houses published books in all branches of knowledge, including textbooks. An important event became the publication in 1757 of “Russian Grammar” by M.V. Lomonosov, which replaced the outdated “Grammar” by M. Smotritsky.
Primary school still remained the least developed link in the education system. As in the previous period, there were diocesan schools for the children of the clergy, and garrison schools for the children of recruits. Only at the end of the century were formally classless main public schools opened in each province, and small public schools in each district. However, the children of serfs were still deprived of the opportunity to receive an education.
Vocational schools continued to occupy a significant position in the education system. Further development received a network of medical, mining, commercial and other professional schools, new directions emerged special education. In 1757 in St. Petersburg, according to the project of I.I. Shuvalov founded the Academy of the Three Most Noble Arts. A Ballet School was opened at the Moscow Orphanage. For teacher training public schools Teachers' seminaries were created in Moscow and St. Petersburg, on the basis of which pedagogical institutes subsequently emerged.
Significant changes have occurred in the system high school. The largest cultural center The Russian Empire became created in 1755 according to the project of M.V. Lomonosov and I.I. Shuvalov Moscow Imperial University. The university had faculties of philosophy, law and medicine. Theology was not taught there until early XIX c., all lectures were given in Russian. A printing house was organized at the university, where the newspaper Moskovskie Vedomosti was published until 1917. In addition to Moscow University, where education in accordance with the charter was classless, noble corps (land, naval, artillery, engineering and pages) and theological academies still operated.
In 1764, the Smolny Institute of Noble Maidens (Educational Society of Noble Maidens at the Smolny Monastery in St. Petersburg) was opened for girls, at which there was a “School for Young Girls” of non-noble origin (later it was transformed into the Alexander Institute).
In 1786, the “Charter of Public Schools” was published - the first legislative act in the field of education. For the first time, unified educational plans and class-lesson system
By the end of the 18th century. there were 550 operating in the country educational institutions, which had about 60 thousand students; Women's education was started. Despite significant achievements in the spread of literacy and the development of a network of educational institutions, education still remained class-based; it was not universal, compulsory and the same for all categories of the population.
Catherine II continued her policy state support national science. Understanding the importance of the development of science for strengthening the economy and defense capability of the country, Catherine II supported various Scientific research. For example, it was she who received the first smallpox vaccination in 1768. In the “Era of Catherine”, domestic scientists took a dominant position in the Academy of Sciences, the circle of domestic scientists - academicians, among them the nephew of M.V., grew significantly. Lomonosov mathematician M.E. Golovin, geographer and ethnographer I.I. Lepekhin, astronomer S.Ya. Rumovsky and others. At the same time, fearing any “freethinking,” the empress sought to subordinate the development of science to strict state regulation. This was one of the reasons for the sad fate of many talented Russian self-taught scientists.
Natural sciences in the second half of the 18th century, as in the previous period, developed at an accelerated pace. By the end of the century, domestic natural science had reached the pan-European level. In the second half of the century, active development and description of new lands continued. To study the territory of the Russian Empire, its natural resources, population and historical monuments The Academy organized 5 "physical" expeditions (1768-1774); polar explorer S.I. Chelyuskin described part of the coast of the Taimyr Peninsula; in honor of Russian navigators D.Ya. and H.P. Laptev named the sea of the Arctic Ocean; S.P. Krasheninnikov, who is considered the founder of Russian ethnography, compiled the first “Description of the Land of Kamchatka”; V. Bering's expedition reached the strait between Asia and America, named after him. G.I. Shelikhov compiled a description of the Aleutian Islands and organized the exploration of Alaska.
By the second half of the 18th century. refers to the origin of domestic agronomic science, one of the founders of which is the Russian writer and naturalist A.T. Bolotov.
2.3 Literature
In the second half of the 18th century. In Russian literature, the intensive creative search that began in the previous period continued. The socio-political role of literature and writers has noticeably increased. XVIII century often called the "century of odes". Indeed, odes became widespread during this period, but in general literature is characterized by a multi-genre nature. Further development has already been achieved famous genres(elegies, songs, tragedies, comedies, satires, etc.), new ones appeared (modern urban story - " Poor Lisa" N.M. Karamzin).
Until the end of the 60s, classicism remained the dominant direction. In the last third of the century, a new literary and artistic direction arose - realism, characterized by social topicality, interest in inner world person. Sentimentalism, which appeared in the last quarter of a century, proclaimed the cult of natural feeling, nature, and called for the liberation of man from power social environment. In the literature of sentimentalism, the predominant genres were the lyrical story, family and psychological novel, elegy. The flourishing of Russian sentimentalism is associated with the work of the writer and historian N.M. Karamzin (the stories "Poor Liza", "The Village", "Natalia, the Boyar's Daughter").
Folk art. In the second half of the 18th century. oral folk art acquired a pronounced anti-serfdom character: songs about the hard lot of peasants and the tyranny of landowners; satirical poems ridiculing gentlemen; jokes in which the main character was a savvy man; stories about the life of serfs and Cossacks. Among the most striking works of this period are “The Tale of the Pakhrinskaya Village of Kamkina”, “The Tale of the Village of Kiselikha” and the song of the runaway peasant “The Lament of the Serfs”.
The patriotic themes traditional for the Russian epic received further development. Folk tales and soldiers' songs reflect the historical battles of the Russian army and the activities of outstanding Russian commanders of the 18th century.
2.4 Art
2.4.1 Visual arts
Second half of the 18th century. - time of intensive development various types fine arts, which was largely determined by the activities of the Academy of Arts created in 1757. The leading direction of academic painting was classicism, characterized by compositional clarity, clarity of lines, and idealization of images. Russian classicism manifested itself most clearly in historical and mythological painting.
Leading genre national painting the portrait remained. Intensive development secular portrait by the end of the century, it raised it to the level of the highest achievements of modern world portrait art. The largest portrait painters of the era, who were world famous, were F. Rokotov (“Unknown in pink dress"), D. Levitsky, who created a series of ceremonial portraits (from the portrait of Catherine II to portraits of Moscow merchants), V. Borovikovsky (portrait of M.I. Lopukhina).
Along with portrait painting Landscape (S.F. Shchedrin), historical and mythological (A.P. Losenko), battle (M.M. Ivanov) and still life ("tricks" by G.N. Teplov, P.G. Bogomolov) painting developed. In the watercolors of I. Ermenev and the paintings of M. Shibanov, images of the life of peasants appeared for the first time in Russian painting.
M.V. Lomonosov revived the smalt mosaic technique. Under his leadership, easel portraits and battle compositions were created using this technique. In 1864, a mosaic department was founded at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, the main task of which was to produce mosaics for St. Isaac's Cathedral.
At the end of the eighteenth century. Catherine II's purchase of a number of private art collections in Europe laid the foundation for one of the largest and most significant museums in the world - the Hermitage.