Society and culture: Engravings, school books for artists of the XVIII century are presented at the exhibition “The notion of a perfect painter” in Moscow

The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts (Moscow) on February 20, 2016 presents the exhibition "The notion of a perfect painter", which introduces the viewer to the techniques of teaching in Russian academic school of the XVIII century. The exposition is not by chance in the Olympic hall of the Museum among the molds, such as those filled with educational workshops. Gypsum was the second stage of art education, and the first - engraved "samples". Preserved numerous drawings, copying the prints, while prints themselves are rare and present in full in every museum. Their importance is not limited to educational practice, but affects the entire Russian culture trapped in the XVIII century, the desire to master the European artistic heritage. The exhibition features prints, textbooks and books for artists of the time.  

Of great interest are art books, published in Russia in the XVIII century. The name of the exhibition "The notion of a perfect painter" reproduces the title of one of them. So sculptor Arkhip Matveyevich Ivanov (1749-1826) titled the essay of the famous French theorist Roger de Peel (1635-1709), which he translated into Russian in 1789. The publication tells about the merits of painting, about the intricacies of craft artist, the qualities that make it "perfect" and about the ability to evaluate them. Appearance of the first long-term benefits for the artists is associated with the activity of special chambers - Drawing and Engraving - at the Russian Academy of Sciences. Created in 1724, they introduced the teaching system of a design. 

The exposition included works from the collections: the State Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, the State Tretyakov Gallery and the State Public Historical Library of Russia.