L’école du paysage de Leningrad : phénomène artistique des années 1930 et la réalité soviétique

This article is devoted to the Leningrad Landscape School, an association of artists that existed from the late 1920s to the early 1940s. This expression is employed conventionally, in the sense of the École de Paris : the artists themselves did not use the term “Leningrad Landscape School” and any association independent of the Soviet state was forbidden from 1932. This group included Nikolai Lapshin, Alexander Vedernikov, Vladimir Grinberg, Nikolai Tyrsa and Alexey Uspensky. Their work also inspired emerging artists such as Alexander Rusakov, Vyacheslav Pakulin, Georgy Traugot, Nikolai Yemelyanov and others. Their paintings were characterized by certain formal features : the generalization and simplification of forms, the use of broad compositional perspectives and a clear, constructive organization of urban or rural scenes. This approach was shaped by the very appearance of Leningrad. The article also provides a detailed account of the Soviet conditions under which the artists lived and worked. Their art was often criticized as lacking in ideological depth ; moreover, they typically painted landscapes from memory or from their window, as obtaining permission to work en plein air in the city required clearance from state security authorities.As a result, they earned their living mainly through other activities, such as teaching or illustrating books. The article also traces the history of the Leningrad Landscape School’s recognition and offers an analysis of the creative work of its most prominent representatives.