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The Wanderers were the first Russian artists to move out from under the umbrella of the Russian Imperial Academy of Arts so that they could paint what they saw as opposed to classical art that forced them to paint subject matters in the style of ancient Greek and Roman art. These painters became a part of the movement by the Russian intelligentsia that wanted to expose the injustices of the prevailing social order. They insisted on painting Russian life as it was. They became marvelous plein air painters depicting for the first time Russian nature in all of aspects. They took portraiture art to new heights and incorporated drawings as a pure art form for the first time in Russian art history. Before this drawings were used only as preparation for the main painting which was to follow.
The Wanderers boasted some of the most famous artists in all of Russian art history. Names such as Repin, Savitski, Savrasov, Surikov, Levitan, Makovsky, Yaroshenko, Shishken, Kunji, Ghe, and Kramskoi among many others. They painted the paintings that most Russian art critics would consider to be the very best of what Russian oil painting has to offer. For over thirty years and numerous exhibitions the work of these artists were all that mattered to the people of Russia. After some years of open conflict with the government and the Imperial Academy, it was the government that submitted to the artists. You must understand this before you can realize how important the World of Art was. It was incredibly important, if only for the reason that it supplemented the Peredvizniki. In reality it was far more that. Whereas names such as the art critic Stasov, and the great collect Tretyakov are indelibly linked to the Wanderers, equally important names such as Sergei Diaghilev and Leon Bakst are just as cemented to the movement known as the World of Art.
The World of Art appealed to a new and younger group of artists. They wanted even more freedom of expression and to paint something new and fresh. The icons of their movement were Serov, Kustodiev, Vrubel, Benois, Somov, Ryabushkin, Korovin, and Petrov Vodkin, and again many others. The World of Art brought a new focus on art that ranged from the sublime to the fantastic. In addition the World of Art incorporated the Russes Ballet and a new emphasis on Russian theater art. The world of art went to Paris and London and demonstrated to Europe that Russian artists ranked among the best in the world. It is safe to speculate that the reign of dominance of the members of the World of Art would have had a grater life span if it had not been for the Russian revolution and the subsequent turn to social painting that followed.
This book is rich in its art and its information. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in either art or Russia. The plates of the paintings are spectacular and should make anyone hungry for a trip to Russia and the Russian State Museum of Art.
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People unfamiliar with the work will probably approach it with a certain amount of apprehension. It's really about as far from pornography as you can get, though. The author provides a witty and fairly enlightening essay addressing charges of obscenity as an epilogue. The only real problem I can find with this book is that the writing is a bit too floral in places. Even the keenest of literary minds will most likely falter a bit here.
For readability, Lolita loses one star. This, however, is part of what makes it beautiful: it is no way an ordinary book, one that you can read and be done with in a week. For those desiring a challenge, or a refreshingly original style, Nabokov comes highly recommended.
Let me return once more to Dostoyevsky. I found myself comparing Humbert Humbert to Dostoyevsky's Raskolnikov in "Crime and Punishment" - a person torn apart by his own conscience, trying to hang on to his sanity by telling himself that he is doing the right thing. And just like Dostoyevsky, Nabokov takes us inside the mind of a criminal, as if he is trying to makle us understand him. And the greatness of Nabokov lies in the fact that he pulls it off. Even though you don't like Humbert - and you most certainly will not - you can begin to understand the reasons behind his behavior. Perhaps this - and the beautiful prose, of course - is the true greatness of Vladimir Nabokov.
The content of this book is notorious. It is also very touching. It's a perfect tragedy. Now then. Lolita is far from being a sugary sweet angel. She has had sex before, she is manipulative, self-contained, seductive, crass...but so clearly through the voice of Humbert (the older man) you can see how young she is, how horribly abused, and how he is slowly destroying her.
Why would anybody ever want to read such a thing? For two reasons (in my opinion). Firstly, as I mentioned above, because Nabokov is a great artist. Very few books I have read come close to his craftsmanship in terms of stringing words together.
Secondly because abuse happens. People will gain control over others and then not act in their best interests. It happens, it can be horrible, and so it makes sense to examine it as part of the human condition. On the cover of this paperback edition, Vanity Fair claims it is "the greatest love story of all time", which seems a little weird, given that this "love" is completely one-sided and involves assaulting, trapping, manipulating and destroying a young girl.
But don't get the wrong impression. The content is dark, but the mood of the book is surprisingly light; and there are distinct passages and descriptions that are downright beautiful.
There are a lot of books around, but very few of this quality. Really. Read it.
It will greatly temper expectations of what can be accomplished by, and the price to be paid for, government intervention into the economy, whether done from Moscow or (for example) Washington, D.C.