Equine genre" in Russian artof the second half of XIX - early XX century.The nature of the artistic image and the genre''s value
This article analyzes the "equine" genre in Russian painting of the XIX - beginning of the XX century, its characteristics and peculiarities. The author analyses the concept of a "portrait" image, which was popular in the iconography. The author distinguishes two main historical periods: 1) first half of the XIX century is characterized by the priority of gala pictures; 2) the second half of XIX - beginning of XX century is marked by the most significant step in adding the characteristic structure of the "equine" genre. The article describes the historical situation of the era, which became favourable to this phenomenon, and marks national peculiarities of the genre amid similar images in Europe. The article says that the image of horses in Russian painting is more realistic and less susceptible to idealization compared to the European ones. The author emphasizes the art by of N.E. Sverchkov and his cooperation with a known breeder Ya.I. Butovich, which was the initiator of creation of the "horse-breeding portrait". Image of the Orlovsky Trotter, glorified by the researcher and artist, was widely used not only in portrait, but also in the landscape, household, historical art, that expanded the boundaries of the "equine" genre, as a typical phenomenon of the animal art and special for all Russian art.