Sorcerers in the visual arts of the late XIX and the early XX centuries (ethnographic and historico-mythological discourses)

The article discusses two discourses in picturing sorcerers in Russian art of the late XIX and the early XX centuries: 1) ethnographic discourse - when the artist seeks for ethnographic authenticity of the image of a sorcerer; 2) historical and mythological discourse - when the artist refers to the world of Ancient Russia constructed in his mind, where a sorcerer is one of the iconic figures. The author analyzes the paintings of V M. Maksimov (Sorcerer Comes to a Peasant Wedding), M. V. Nesterov (Love Potion) and N. K. Roerich (A Sorcerer, Sorcerers, A Witch Doctor). The visual material is compared and verified by the texts of mythological stories. The article proposes a project to create a database of visual arts reflecting folklore and ethnographic issues.