The reception of ancient heritage in Russian publicism during the late 19th and early 20th centuries (a study of the World of Art magazine)

The importance of this study lies in the need to determine the significance of the theme of antiquity in Russian publicism in order to understand its role during the so-called transitional period of Russian culture development in the early 20th century. This research aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of the publications in the World of Art, the most aesthetically refined Russian magazine during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In these publications, authors actualized ancient texts, images, and motifs as versions of the unique reception of ancient culture within Russian culture. Through statistical analysis, this study identified a decline in the reception of ancient heritage within the magazine over its six-year publication period and explored the reasons behind this trend. Content analysis of the publications revealed that Russian authors delved into issues related to art criticism, epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and aesthetics through the lens of ancient texts. The research findings revealed a successful synthesis of ancient reception with the reception of Christian mythology by the authors, which they saw as a way to propel Russian art to a new progressive stage of development.