Louis Caravaque and secularization of Russian art

The article examines the Louis Caravaque’s works (the painting of the portrait genre and also the works of decorative-applied art including those designed for Orthodox churches) and discusses the correlation of their secular and religious components. The author highly appreciates the role of Caravaque’s paintings, his pedagogical activity and religiosity in the processes of secularization of Russian art. Secular principles of Caravaque’s works are considered by the scientist in the context of Western Europe culture’s development in the Early Modern epoch. In the light of new data about the personality of the painter, the author finds out how the creative path of Caravaque was associated with his religious life. The study shows that in the artist’s works were used many ways to the secularization of painting, namely: a method of combining of Christian images with mythological images and symbols (a method of turning these images into some kind of universal cultural secular heritage); the appeal to erotic characters; a method of purification of pictorial compositions from religious meanings (the erosion and even elimination of their religious content). The author concludes that aesthetics of Rococo fully corresponded to moral and religious qualities of Caravaque. In the works of this painter all artistic images are connected with religion only nominally.