The Presidential Library marking the 265th anniversary of the founding of the Imperial Academy of Arts

In November 1757, the Imperial Academy of Arts was established in St. Petersburg. The electronic collections of the Presidential Library contain important evidence that gives an idea of ​​how the citadel of classical art emerged and developed in Russia.

The book Regulations of the Imperial Academy of Sciences and Arts says that even during the life of Peter the Great, a project was “written and signed” to create the Academy of Sciences, but the idea of ​​​​forming a higher art school under Peter I was not embodied “after the death of his majesty”.

“The Academy of the Three Most Noble Arts was resurrected by the order of the Empress Elizabeth Petrovna”, - says historian and artist, President of the Academy of Arts Alexei Olenin in the publication A Brief Historical Information on the State of the Imperial Academy of Arts from 1764 to 1829. In 1747, in Tsarskoye Selo, Elizabeth Petrovna signed the resolution of the Regulations of the Imperial Academy of Sciences and Arts, which defines "the generous hand of the state". According to the "Regulations", the salary of 3,000 rubles is determined for the president of the academy. Honorary members of the Academy receive 200 rubles each.   

The Academy of Arts developed thanks to the efforts of the educator and philanthropist Ivan Shuvalov and the champion of Russian education Mikhail Lomonosov. During the first admission to the Academy, which began in 1758, 16 pupils of Moscow University and 22 boys from the soldiers' families of St. Petersburg were accepted. By the end of 1761, 68 people were already studying here.

At first, the classes were held in the house of Ivan Shuvalov on the Italianskaya Street in St. Petersburg, then wooden buildings on the banks of the Neva were equipped for training. The building at  Universitetskaya Embankment 17, which now houses the Russian Academy of Arts, was built in 1788.   

Shuvalov selected talented students without formalities. So, the artist Fyodor Rokotov was admitted to the Academy "by verbal order", and the sculptor Fedot Shubin "was called from the court stokers".

Shuvalov insisted that the first students of the Imperial Academy of Arts were sent abroad "for improvement". Shuvalov understood that the education given by the young Academy was insufficient and only where there were "old academies, a collection of paintings and antiquities, in the atelier of famous masters, a young Russian painter or architect could polish his talent". Students were sent to Paris, Rome, Venice, London for a period of three years. All this time, the Academy closely monitored the stay of its students abroad, demanded notification of their pastime and the works they created. “Boarders should be careful in notifying information about life in a foreign land”, - we read in the book The Academy of Arts in the 18th Century, which is publicly available on the Presidential Library’s portal. The borders, promising to become famous artists in the future, often spent their time "in idleness, rather than in learning". So, for example, the artist Fyodor Alekseev “studied in Venice, led a hectic life and often angered the Academy with his behavior. This, however, did not prevent him from working hard, and he developed into a first-class landscape master”.

The "friend of Russia Diderot" joined the training of young Russian artists. “From Mr. Diderot”, - the students wrote to the Academy, - we use prudent advice”.

The Presidential Library features a large collection of photographs of those wishing to study at the Academy of Arts in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The photographs depict applicants of various classes: peasants, aristocrats, representatives of the clergy. The publication Photographic portraits of those who appeared at the entrance exam in drawing, dated 1888, is one of the unique collections of photographs stored in the electronic holdings of the Presidential Library. The publication contains the notes “accepted” or “refused admission”, it also includes portraits of the Academy teachers who worked at that time.

In the 20th century, the Imperial Academy of Arts had to go through difficult paths of transformation. Since 1918, the Higher Art School existed on its basis. Then the Petrograd state free art and educational workshops were created. From 1932 to 1947, the All-Russian Academy of Arts operated in the country, in 1947 it was transformed into the Academy of Arts of the USSR and moved to Moscow. The Academy of Arts of the USSR existed until 1991, and in 1992 it was transformed into the Russian Academy of Arts.

No matter how complicated the history was, the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts has always been an arbiter in the field of artistic taste, the home of "arts and crafts", in which, in the words of the poet Vasily Maykov, "arts bloom" and "happiness perfection". Among the graduates of the Academy are the artists Alexander Ivanov, Karl Bryullov, Vasily Polenov, Vasily Surikov, Arkhip Kuindzhi and many others. The Presidential Library provides a large collection of materials dedicated to the life and career of Ilya Repin, whose name the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts bears today.

Throughout the history of the Academy of Arts, famous students have decorated the ceremonial interiors of the halls. Thus, the design of the house church of the Academy, the Raphael and Titian halls was carried out under the guidance of the famous architect Konstantin Ton.

Zurab Tsereteli, one of the presidents of the Academy of Arts, erected a monument to the first president of the Academy, Count Ivan Shuvalov, in the center of the circular courtyard in 2003. Thus, the idea of ​​the continuity of generations was embodied, which for 265 years, being in different historical eras and circumstances, are united by aspiration to the height of art and service to Russian culture.