Ivan Zabelin and the Development of Russian History Painting in the Second Half of the 19th Century

Abstract

This article examines the relationship between historical scholarship and visual culture in the Russian Empire during the second half of the nineteenth century. It focuses on the work of the prominent Russian historian I.E. Zabelin and his influence on nineteenth-century visual production. Zabelin’s seminal studies of everyday life in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Muscovy served as an important source for historical paintings by many Russian artists. The article draws on drafts of Zabelin’s lectures Historical Studies and Archaeology in Relation to History Painting, delivered at the Moscow Society of Art Amateurs. In these lectures, Zabelin devoted particular attention to the problem of representing the national past in the works of Russian artists. He argued that artists should strive to capture the spirit of earlier times rather than aim at strict historical accuracy in the depiction of individual scenes. A central place in Zabelin’s discourse was accorded to the representation of historical figures in Russian history painting. Beyond an analysis of Zabelin’s theoretical contributions, the article considers the broader cultural and ideological implications of his views on Russian historical painting and traces the evolution of history painting as a genre within nineteenth-century Russian art.