The Representative and Managerial Potential of Art in Imperial Russia of the 18th Century

The article is devoted to the problem of management in the field of art in the era of the formation and development of the Russian imperial state of the XVIII century. The authors address the issue of the specifics and dynamics of organizational and regulatory methods corresponding to the reign of Peter I, Elizabeth Petrovna, Catherine II.The structure of the work differs in the thematic and chronological principle of material selection, which is based on the policy of representatives of the ruling dynasty. The novelty of the research consists in the development of a socio-managerial discourse in relation to historical and art history material, which makes it possible to overcome the one-sidedness of the Europeanization processes and positively evaluate the domestic experience in the space of a modern socio-humanitarian worldview. The possibility of managing cultural processes is considered in the context of the proportionality of the elements "producer" – "artifact" – "consumer" in the "culture" system.The ways of mastering the European pictorial language are considered by the authors in a system of state-sanctioned events. The engagement of European masters, the acquisition of works of art abroad, retirement and the education of national personnel in domestic government institutions are classified in the article as the administrative corps of management technologies. In conclusion, it is concluded that representatives of the ruling dynasty effectively tested methods of cultural management to create a positive image of the government and assert the national identity and imperial greatness of the state.