The sociocultural frameworks and organizational forms of unity of Russian medieval art: reflections on the new edition of the multi-volume collection “Ancient Russian art”

The article examines the latest volume (2017) of the multi-volume collection “Old Russian Art” as the most representative one in Russian historiography of medieval art in Orthodox Eastern Europe. The articles included in the volume show that the best qualities of the art history school behind this project are preserved, such as the inclusion of theological and cultural contexts, the presence of sociological reflection, the study of the independent development of forms and formal decisions, proceeding from the semantic redundancy of icon painting and temple architecture, rather than from the ideological assumption of national originality. However, the narrowness of social communication, limited to an annual conference, prevents some authors from consistently applying social reflection, which leads, in some rare cases, to eclecticism in terminology and simplified arguments. These shortcomings are but marginal in relation to the proposed convincing reconstructions of entire epochs in the development of art in the Eastern Christian area. The authors of the collection show how the reproduction of iconographic programs, the development of new means of expression and conflicts of plot or decorative traditions were an integral part of the formation of church art alongside with the masters’ self-awareness. Sometimes terminological ambiguities impede the full use of semiotic and historical-cultural methods developed by the founders of this recognized and reputable publication. The author of the article discusses certain terms, statements and methods of inference which need some correction for the volume to be viewed in world medieval studies as factually and methodologically valuable.