History of Russian art culture
Icon painting:
A piece of Russian Icon art known as Rublev's Trinity.
Russian icon painting was inherited from the art of the Byzantine churches, and it soon became an offshoot version of the mosaic and fresco traditions. Icon paintings in Russia attempted to help people with their prayers without idolizing the figure in the painting. The most comprehensive collection of Icon art is found at the Tretyakov Gallery.
Rather than being a mere imitation, Russian icons had a peculiar style and masters such as Andrei Rublev took the icon to new heights.
Russian avant-garde:
The Russian avant-garde is an umbrella term used to define the large, influential wave of modernist art that flourished in Russia from approximately 1890 to 1930 - although some place its beginning as early as 1850 and its end as late as 1960. The term covers many separate, but inextricably related, art movements that occurred at the time; namely neo-primitivism, suprematism, constructivism, and futurism. Notable artists from this era include El Lissitzky, Kazimir Malevich, Wassily Kandinsky, Vladimir Tatlin, Alexander Rodchenko, and Marc Chagall amongst others. The Russian avant-garde reached its creative and popular height in the period between the Russian Revolution of 1917 and 1932, at which point the ideas of the avant-garde clashed with the newly emerged state-sponsored direction of Socialist Realism.
Moscow Art Galleries:
The art scene is Moscow is currently thriving and many excellent art galleries are located around the city. Amongst the best worth visiting, the Moscow Modern Art Museum (Muzei Sovremennogo Iskusstva) can be found within the Boulevard Ring and specializes in 20th-century contemporary works and post-modernist paintings. Many famous artists are represented here amongst the 1,500 art works, with favorites including Birstein, Chagall, Konchalovsky, Picasso and Steinberg.
A series of well-lit galleries wait within the Moscow Sculpture House (Moskovskii Dom Skul'ptury) on the Pervyi Spasonalivkovskii Pereulok within the Garden Ring. Each month, this gallery holds a number of exhibitions, with paintings, sculptures and ceramics in all shapes and sizes.