Artel of Artists: Difference between revisions

{{Infobox organization

| name = Artel of Artists

| full_name = The St. Petersburg Artel of Artists

| native_name = Санкт-Петербургская артель художников

| native_name_lang = ru

| image = Artel of Artists.jpg

| image_size =

| alt = <!-- see [[WP:ALT]] -->

| caption = Group photo, 1863.

| formation = {{start date and age|1863}}

| founder = [[Ivan Kramskoi]]

| founding_location =

| dissolved = {{end date and age|1871}}

| type = [[Artel]]

| headquarters =

| location_city = [[Saint Petersburg]]

| location_country = [[Russian Empire]]

| membership = Bogdan Wenig, [[Firs Zhuravlev]], [[Alexander Ivanovich Morozov|Alexander Morozov]], [[Kirill Lemokh]], [[Ivan Kramskoi]], [[Alexander Litovchenko]], [[Konstantin Makovsky]], [[Nikolai Dmitriev-Orenburgsky|Nikolai Dmitriev]], [[Nikolai Petrovich Petrov|Nikolai Petrov]], [[Vasily Kreitan]], [[Mikhail Peskov]],[[Nikolay Shustov]], [[Alexei Korzukhin]], Alexander Grigoriev

| membership_year = <!-- year to which membership numbers/data apply -->

| language = <!-- or |languages = --><!-- any official language or languages used -->

| leader_title =

| leader_name = [[Ivan Kramskoi]]

| leader_title2 = Treasurer

| leader_name2 = [[Alexei Korzukhin]]

}}

The '''St. Petersburg Artel of Artists''' was a cooperative association ([[artel]]) led by Russian artists during 1863-1871. It was founded in [[Saint Petersburg]] on the initiative of [[Ivan Kramskoi]] following a revolt by fourteen students in the [[St. Petersburg Academy of Arts]] ([[Revolt of the Fourteen]]).

== History ==

=== Formation and flourishing ===

On 9 November 1863, fourteen top students in the [[Imperial Academy of Arts]] held a protest against the Academy's decision to only allow artwork of Scandinavian mythology in the competition for the Large Gold Medal of Academia, held on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Academy of Arts. The subsequent exit of the artists from the Academy, which went down in the history as the "Riot of the Fourteen", put its participants in a difficult financial situation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.philol.msu.ru/~tezaurus/docs/5/articles/2/3/1 |title=Особенности реализма в России |language=ru |author=<!--Not stated--> |date= |website=philol.msu.ru |publisher=Faculty of Philology, [[Moscow State University]] |access-date= |quote= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811132238/http://www.philol.msu.ru/~tezaurus/docs/5/articles/2/3/1 |archive-date=11 August 2020}}</ref>

[[File:Imperial_Academy_of_Arts_1912.jpg|thumb|left|Imperial Academy of Arts]]

After leaving the Academy of Arts, the artists vacated their workshops in Academy, which were not only used for work, but also for living.<ref name="tsomokion">{{cite book |last=Tsomakion |first=Anna Ivanovna |author-link= |date=1891 |title=Иван Крамской. Его жизнь и художественная деятельность |language=ru |url= |location= |publisher=[[Florenty Pavlenkov]] |pages=104 |isbn= }}</ref> As a result, the participants of the "revolt" united into a labour commune.<ref name="ekshtut">{{cite book |last=Ekshtut |first=Semyon Arkadyevich |author-link= |date=2008 |title=Шайка передвижников. История одного творческого союза |language=ru |url= |location= |publisher= |pages=320 |isbn=978-5-358-01904-1}}</ref><ref name="GSE">{{ВТ-ЭСБЕ|Товарищество передвижных выставок|Petrushevsky, Fyodor Fomich}}</ref>

The idea for the artel was formed by Ivan Kramskoi. Thus, after its creation, he became the foreman of the artel and remained its leader until its collapse.<ref name="tsomokion" />

Artel workers rented an apartment on the [[Vasilyevsky Island]], where there not only were rooms for living but also three large art workshops, in each of which several people could work at the same time. Together with the Kramskoi, five artists settled in a common apartment: Bogdan Venig, Alexander Grigoriev, [[Firs Zhuravlev]], [[Alexei Korzukhin]] and [[Nikolay Shustov]]. The rest of the artel members lived in private apartments.<ref name="ekshtut" />

On June 9, 1865, the official charter of the Artel was approved, according to which the members of the Artel had to pay 10% of each independently sold work and 25% of the jointly performed work.<ref name="ekshtut" />

The first to leave the Artel was [[Alexander Litovchenko]], who refused to spend money to place advertisements in the ''[[St. Petersburg Vedomosti]]'' newspaper. The second artist to leave the Artel was [[Konstantin Makovsky]] who rented his own studio on [[Palace Square]] as he was already earning a lot of money from his paintings. Part of the artel workers who remained the Artel often avoided contributing money to the general fund from the works sold independently. This outraged Kramskoi who agreed to the proposal of [[Alexey Tarasovich Markov]] to paint the main dome of the [[Cathedral of Christ the Saviour]] for 10,000 rubles. Bogdan Venig and [[Nikolay Koshelev]] became Kramskoi's assistants.<ref name="tsomokion" />

Kramskoi uses the money he received for the painting to move the artel to a more prestigious area of the city. He rented an apartment in Admiralteyskaya Square in 1866. Gradually, the income of the artel grew.<ref name="ekshtut" /> The increased income allowed Kramskoi to go abroad at his own expense.<ref name="tsomokion" /> By 1868, the total capital of the Artel reached 10,000 rubles.<ref name="ekshtut" />

=== Dissolution ===

In the fall of 1870, one of the members of the Artel, [[Nikolai Dmitriev-Orenburgsky|Nikolai Dmitriev]], secretly submitted a petition to the Imperial Academy of Arts for a three-year overseas retirement, which was approved by the Academy Council.<ref name="ekshtut" /> Outraged by the fact that a participant in the "Riot of the Fourteen" is negotiating with the Academy behind the backs of the artel workers, Kramskoy submitted an application to the Artel demanding to publicly condemn the behaviour of Dmitriev on October 19, 1870.<ref name="tsomokion" />

On November 7, 1870, a meeting of members of the Artel was held, at which the artel workers refused to satisfy Kramskoi's statement, citing that Dmitriev did not formally violate any provisions of the charter. Dissatisfied with the decision of the meeting, Kramskoy submitted a second application, insisting on the exclusion of Dmitriev from the Artel. The members again refused to condemn Dmitriev. Outraged by the unscrupulousness of the members of the Artel, Kramskoi submitted an application to withdraw his membership from the Artel on November 24, 1870.<ref name="ekshtut" /><ref name="GSE" />

Having lost its founder and permanent leader, the Artel gradually fell into decay. It was formally disestablished in 1871. Some of the members of the Artel joined the newly created [[Peredvizhniki|Association of Traveling Art Exhibitions]], which subsequently played a key role in the development of Russian fine arts of the 19th century.<ref name="tsomokion" /><ref name="GSE" />

{{Blockquote

|text= Some misunderstandings began in the Artel. At first, it was family disagreements between the wives of the artel workers, which ended in the exit of two members. One of the members of the Artel came under the special patronage of the Academy and in the future had a trip abroad at public expense. Kramskoi found this act of a comrade a violation of their main principle: not to use the benefits of the Academy alone, since it was decided upon leaving the Academy to stick to a partnership and not go for academic baits at retail. He submitted a written statement to his comrades and demanded that they express their opinion on how they view such an act. The comrades answered evasively, with silence. As a result, Kramskoi left the Artists' Artel. After this, the Artel lost its significance and imperceptibly melted away.

|author=[[Ilya Repin]]

|source=''Distant Close'' (1937)<ref>{{cite book |last=Repin |first=Ilya |author-link=Ilya Repin |date=1937 |title=Далёкое близкое. Воспоминания |url= |location=Moscow |publisher=Захаров |page=182 |isbn=5-8159-0204-7 |language=ru}}</ref>

}}

== Links ==

* Лейкинд О. Л., Северюхин Д. Я. [http://encspb.ru/object/2804028863 Artel of Artists]. Историко-культурный интернет-портал «Энциклопедия Санкт-Петербурга» ''(Historical and cultural Internet portal "Encyclopedia of St. Petersburg")''

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20200220075059/http://history.sgu.ru/glossary/?tid=8&fL= Artel of Artists]. ''Russian history in the mirror of fine art.''

== References ==

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Russian artist groups and collectives]]