Elena Nesterova. Ideal Art. Late Academic and Salon Painting

It's not the artist who chooses his time, but his time that chooses the artist... Until recently, late academic painting from the second half of the 19th and early 20th centuries was considered routine by many, and the "ornamental" salon art was considered empty and pompous. Today, names once displaced from their pedestals have once again found themselves in demand. The works of G. Siemiradzki and K. Makovsky, P. Svedomsky and S. Bakalovich, J. Klever and F. Lagorio, A. Kharlamov and N. Sverchkov captivate the viewer with their ideal images and masterful painting. They lift the curtain on a world devoid of the ordinary, where everything can be too beautiful, a little too much... This book introduces the reader to Russian artists of the late academic and salon movements, whom contemporaries called "idealists." The album contains over 450 illustrations from works held in museums and private collections, many of which are being published for the first time.