A Look at the Orient in Russian Fine Art of the 19th-21st Centuries

A Look at the Orient in Russian Fine Art of the 19th–21st Centuries (Взгляд на Восток в российском изобразительном искусстве XIX–XXI веков) is a richly illustrated study of the ways in which the cultures, landscapes, peoples, and traditions of the East have been represented in Russian art across more than two centuries.

Rather than treating “the Orient” simply as a distant or exotic subject, the book explores the complex relationship between Russia and the East, tracing how artists encountered and interpreted Eastern cultures from the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries through the Soviet period and into contemporary art. The chronological sweep encompasses everything from early ethnographic drawings and the great age of Russian Orientalism to Soviet artistic engagement with Central Asia and the Caucasus, and the diverse approaches of contemporary artists.

The volume brings together seven illustrated scholarly essays, examining subjects including nineteenth-century Russian Orientalism, the artistic representation of the Caucasus, the transition from Russian to Soviet Orientalism, the wartime evacuation of artists to the East, and the dialogue between Russian and Tatar artistic traditions. Particular attention is also given to artists associated with Central Asian art, including Pavel Benkov, Alexander Volkov (Usto Mumin), Alexander Nikolaev, Rudolf Mazel, and Semyon Chuikov.

With numerous reproductions—many published for the first time—and contributions from museums and collections across Russia, Uzbekistan and elsewhere, the book functions as both an art-historical study and a substantial visual survey. Its texts are presented in both Russian and English, making the volume accessible to an international readership.

Compiled and edited by R. R. Suleymanov and published in Moscow by Medina Publishing House in 2023, this 488-page volume is an important recent contribution to the study of Orientalism, Russian art, and the long and complicated cultural dialogue between Russia and the wider East.