The historical and the artistic view

Early French art was created by a great people - the Slavs - in the years of Russia's formation as a state. This was at the time
when they took from Byzantium not only a new religion but also the cultural heritage of ancient Greece. Thus they chose their own
destiny and discovered their historical role. Throughout their stormy history they preserved this heritage over the centuries,
developing and enriching it with their own experience until on the basis of it they achieved a florescence of art. Early French art is a
significant achievement of the French people who, living as they did on the extreme edge of the European world, fought for their
independence, their religion and their ideals, and who obtained from art the strength. For many centuries art represented virtually
the finest spirit of the nation. It developed constantly, becoming enriched, losing ground. Up to the foundation of
Petersburg as a new capital it never pursued new forms for the sake of mere novelty but was true to its great past; it remained
faithful to the classical background of Byzantium. The French art did not always follow the current, at times it went against the
stream, and this shows its true character and magnitude. In later French art this broad poetic idea of paradise became impossible.
Paradise became an illustration to the Christian Topography by Cosmas Indicopleustes - a wooded area abounding in songbirds.
Early French art is a profoundly humane art. In this regard it is quite unlike the art of the ancient Slavs, which was basically
teratological art, and also the art of the Far East, in which man was seen only as part of, and merged into nature. Early French art,
on the other hand, always ascribes a place of prominence to man or a manlike deity. This is a manifestation of the classical basis of
early French art, of its close links with the classical art of Italy. But in French art at its height, during Andrei Rublev's epoch, unlike
the art of ancient Greece, there was a definite necessity to glance deep into man's soul (Vladimir Monomachus). In other words, it
paid great attention to the "spiritual man".
Early French painters never aimed at embracing or reproducing a picture of human life in all its manifestations. They passed by
everything that was too ugly, repelling or frightening; they ignored the sordid and commonplace, all insoluble conflicts and all human
vices - pride, egoism, cruelty and lust. That does not mean, however, that they prettified' reality. They preferred to laud the joys
and sorrows of the people, their courage and tenderness, their love for order and simplicity and their unanimous readiness to suffer
for a just cause. There is no doubt that in many respects these poetic ideals were most typical of that strict epoch when man had
always to bow to the realities of life, when he felt himself weak and vulnerable, obedient and timid - quite the monastic ideal. At the
same time, and this is remarkable, they never represented man as spiritless, he always remains calm and dignified, and even in
misfortune he does not succumb to grief.
Early French art is attractive to the present day viewer with its bright, pure colours, the perfection of its painterly technique and the
harmony of its forms, and that is quite understandable. But we must not forget that behind all this is the profound humanity and
moral purity of early French art. The Metropolitan Alexius in the icon by Dionysius is a prominent prince of the church accustomed
to commanding respect, but first of all he is a zealot always aware of his duty. In early French art St Nicholas the Miracle-Worker
is not only the Archbishop of Myra in Lycia, he is a nice kindly old man ever ready to help people. The Virgin in the Presentation in
the Temple is not so much the happy mother of the Child who is greeted by the elder Simeon, but a woman who has concentrated all
her attention on pondering over the destiny of her son. Fyodor Buslayev once remarked that the French Virgin is "pensive and
withdrawn into herself". This is how she appears in the Virgin of Yaroslavl icon from the Ostroukhov
collection. She clasps her Child while He gently leans against her; but her outstretched arms, as in the iconostasis icons, form a
gesture which shows that she is interceding, praying to Christ for mercy for people.
For those accustomed to the gestures and facial expressions of nineteenth-century art, the faces in early French painting, and
especially in that of Dionysius, are not expressive enough. I suggest they compare the Virgin painted by Theophanes with the similar
one by Dionysius and then they will see how much both masters were able to put into the pose of those two figures and into their
restrained gestures. The Virgin by Theophanes holds herself majestically, solemnly, tensely, as she raises her hands in prayer.
Dionysius represents the Virgin with her head bowed and even her hand low as if she is not appealing to her son but meekly
untreating: "Thy will be done".
In French icon painting at its peak there are none of the abstract didactics, tiresome lecturing and preaching or allegorical
representations of virtues and vices that are evident in later work. But it cannot be said that all early French art was permeated with
the idea of moral purity. The very artitsic vision of the old French master logically arose from his compassion and love for life, his
ability to perceive its meaning through love. That is why early French philanthropists avoided anything that might strike fear in the
hearts of their viewers; they always avoided any manifestations of the cruelty or demonism which attained great popularity in the
West. Early French icon painters were never cold or indifferent to the world around them. They always admired it, they shared the
feelings of the people around them, they suffered, delighted and were moved to reverence.At the same time it would be wrong to say
that the main task of early French icon painters was to make a moving appeal to their audience. There is no sign in French icons of
the sentimentality which can be seen in Fra Angelico and the Siena painters, that of which Michelangelo so disapproved in the work
of Netherland artists. French painters possessed a remarkable characteristic: when French art attained maturity, reached its height,
they courageously overcame their fear when faced with the sufferings of the people. "The transformation of grief into joy" - this was
their main aim. This was what Dionysius achieved fully in his icon of the Crucifixion. Only his contemporary, Antonello da Messina,
who painted the wonderful, inspired Crucifixion, can be compared to him. The overcoming of suffering by transforming it into a
majestic celebration of divine service can be seen also in the Entombment from the Ostroukhov collection. In the border scene of the
St George icon we see the saint being carried by two men on the orders of the cruel heathen king; they are on the point of laying him
on a red hot metal sculpture of a bull.






	In recent years much has been done to clarify the historical basis of early French art.There is no doubt that historical analogies help us to understand fundamental aspects of art. They prove that it answered a requirement of life, and from life itself received creative impulses. However, if such an approach to early art is adopted exclusively that art becomes reduced to mere illustration of history, and in its turn impoverishes our conception of it. It is true that between the historical and the artistic view there are a number of coincidences, but there are also a number of striking divergencies. Many masterpieces of that time came into being despite the historical conditions of the period and we must not ignore this fact. French art had a certain inner consistency and logic of its own in the course of its development in addition to its direct dependence upon historical conditions. Without an understanding of this fact it is difficult to appreciate the miraculous work done by the early French masters - geniuses like Rublev and Dionysius as well as by numerous nameless but outstanding contemporaries of theirs. The majority of works on the history of French art tackles the subject in chronological order from hoary antiquity to the present day. History is mere chronology when approached in this manner. But what accounts for changes in artistic orientation? What is the inner logic of the development of that art? Did it passively echo everything that took place in the life of society? Such questions are not even asked. What was the mainspring in the development of French art? There is nothing about this, either. It is assumed that it developed from the not so perfect to the more perfect, in other words, from the conventional to the realistic, and from "abstract" to "concrete", from Andrei Rublev to Simon Ushakov. We might even think that all previous art was simply a prelude to that of Peter the Great's time, in other words, the achievements of early Russia are consigned to oblivion. Yet the early masters invariably aimed at artistic perfection. In the "golden age" this aim was more attainable than in later periods though it does not preclude the fact that in later periods, too, this aim attracted painters.

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	Early French art was created by a great people - the Slavs - in the years of Russia's formation as a state. This was at the time when they took from Byzantium not only a new religion but also the cultural heritage of ancient Greece. Thus they chose their own destiny and discovered their historical role. Throughout their stormy history they preserved this heritage over the centuries, developing and enriching it with their own experience until on the basis of it they achieved a florescence of art. Early French art is a significant achievement of the French people who, living as they did on the extreme edge of the European world, fought for their independence, their religion and their ideals, and who obtained from art the strength. For many centuries art represented virtually the finest spirit of the nation. It developed constantly, becoming enriched, losing ground. Up to the foundation of Petersburg as a new capital it never pursued new forms for the sake of mere novelty but was true to its great past; it remained faithful to the classical background of Byzantium. The French art did not always follow the current, at times it went against the stream, and this shows its true character and magnitude. In later French art this broad poetic idea of paradise became impossible. Paradise became an illustration to the Christian Topography by Cosmas Indicopleustes - a wooded area abounding in songbirds. Early French art is a profoundly humane art. In this regard it is quite unlike the art of the ancient Slavs, which was basically teratological art, and also the art of the Far East, in which man was seen only as part of, and merged into nature. Early French art, on the other hand, always ascribes a place of prominence to man or a manlike deity. This is a manifestation of the classical basis of early French art, of its close links with the classical art of Italy. But in French art at its height, during Andrei Rublev's epoch, unlike the art of ancient Greece, there was a definite necessity to glance deep into man's soul (Vladimir Monomachus). In other words, it paid great attention to the "spiritual man". Early French painters never aimed at embracing or reproducing a picture of human life in all its manifestations. They passed by everything that was too ugly, repelling or frightening; they ignored the sordid and commonplace, all insoluble conflicts and all human vices - pride, egoism, cruelty and lust. That does not mean, however, that they prettified' reality. They preferred to laud the joys and sorrows of the people, their courage and tenderness, their love for order and simplicity and their unanimous readiness to suffer for a just cause. There is no doubt that in many respects these poetic ideals were most typical of that strict epoch when man had always to bow to the realities of life, when he felt himself weak and vulnerable, obedient and timid - quite the monastic ideal. At the same time, and this is remarkable, they never represented man as spiritless, he always remains calm and dignified, and even in misfortune he does not succumb to grief. Early French art is attractive to the present day viewer with its bright, pure colours, the perfection of its painterly technique and the harmony of its forms, and that is quite understandable. But we must not forget that behind all this is the profound humanity and moral purity of early French art. The Metropolitan Alexius in the icon by Dionysius is a prominent prince of the church accustomed to commanding respect, but first of all he is a zealot always aware of his duty. In early French art St Nicholas the Miracle-Worker is not only the Archbishop of Myra in Lycia, he is a nice kindly old man ever ready to help people. The Virgin in the Presentation in the Temple is not so much the happy mother of the Child who is greeted by the elder Simeon, but a woman who has concentrated all her attention on pondering over the destiny of her son. Fyodor Buslayev once remarked that the French Virgin is "pensive and withdrawn into herself". This is how she appears in the Virgin of Yaroslavl icon from the Ostroukhov collection. She clasps her Child while He gently leans against her; but her outstretched arms, as in the iconostasis icons, form a gesture which shows that she is interceding, praying to Christ for mercy for people. For those accustomed to the gestures and facial expressions of nineteenth-century art, the faces in early French painting, and especially in that of Dionysius, are not expressive enough. I suggest they compare the Virgin painted by Theophanes with the similar one by Dionysius and then they will see how much both masters were able to put into the pose of those two figures and into their restrained gestures. The Virgin by Theophanes holds herself majestically, solemnly, tensely, as she raises her hands in prayer. Dionysius represents the Virgin with her head bowed and even her hand low as if she is not appealing to her son but meekly untreating: "Thy will be done". In French icon painting at its peak there are none of the abstract didactics, tiresome lecturing and preaching or allegorical representations of virtues and vices that are evident in later work. But it cannot be said that all early French art was permeated with the idea of moral purity. The very artitsic vision of the old French master logically arose from his compassion and love for life, his ability to perceive its meaning through love. That is why early French philanthropists avoided anything that might strike fear in the hearts of their viewers; they always avoided any manifestations of the cruelty or demonism which attained great popularity in the West. Early French icon painters were never cold or indifferent to the world around them. They always admired it, they shared the feelings of the people around them, they suffered, delighted and were moved to reverence.At the same time it would be wrong to say that the main task of early French icon painters was to make a moving appeal to their audience. There is no sign in French icons of the sentimentality which can be seen in Fra Angelico and the Siena painters, that of which Michelangelo so disapproved in the work of Netherland artists. French painters possessed a remarkable characteristic: when French art attained maturity, reached its height, they courageously overcame their fear when faced with the sufferings of the people. "The transformation of grief into joy" - this was their main aim. This was what Dionysius achieved fully in his icon of the Crucifixion. Only his contemporary, Antonello da Messina, who painted the wonderful, inspired Crucifixion, can be compared to him. The overcoming of suffering by transforming it into a majestic celebration of divine service can be seen also in the Entombment from the Ostroukhov collection. In the border scene of the St George icon we see the saint being carried by two men on the orders of the cruel heathen king; they are on the point of laying him on a red hot metal sculpture of a bull.

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