I am a die-hard Northeasterner (resident in Albany, NY), with a love of the plastic arts, music, literature, cooking, theatre, travel, my Nicky, and our cats Tulip, Moo, and Poochie. My Orthodoxy is not simply a faith; it is a matrix within which I see all of culture and civilisation. Indeed, without this cultural apparatus, the faith becomes a sterile and barren imitation of Protestant prooftexting. It then becomes a fruitless tree fit only for the fire. With the support of Orthodox civilisation, the faith becomes a spreading and flowering tree with bounty for all, and then some! The tree IS known by the fruits thereof…
This site presents Russian art from all periods, from its beginnings in the 18th century to the present. Mainly, I shall confine myself to fine art and posters; however, there shall be examples of iconography posted from time to time. I endeavour to give Westerners the historical and social background necessary to fully appreciate our art. Also, I give the thoughts that arise when I view a particular artwork.
The header art is from “White Russia in Exile” painted by Dmitri Belyukin (born 1962) between 1992 and 1994. The original canvas is quite large. Mr Belyukin was recently (and deservedly) elected to the Russian Academy of Fine Arts.
Barbara-Marie Drezhlo (“Vara”)
5 November 2007
Christ is in our midst!
Vara:
I came upon your site quite by accident, looking for more recent works of Zhanna Bichevskaya. It is so great to see someone thinking about and actively showing the relationships between faith in Christ and art. I loved the slide shows of artworks put to Russian songs. I’m really crazy about Russian folk music. I am also interested in literature informed by faith in Christ, that gives the sweet savor of Christ in its essence, rather than simply constructing a rude scaffolding from which to hang contrived preachments.