The Exhibition of Experiments in St. Petersburg and the Independent Sketch

Abstract

Rejection of both academic and realist conventions in favor of more varied approaches to art was a complex process in late 19th-century Russia. The creation of the independent sketch, denounced by conservatives as part of the careless, superficial novelty of “impressionism,” but valued by some as a key to finding new artistic forms, is one barometer of this change. The emergence of many exhibiting societies at the end of the century is another. The 1896 Exhibition of Sketches and Experiments in Creative Art was the first attempt to demonstrate new techniques, to validate both the sketch and decorative art forms, and at the same time to introduce young, unknown personalities to the art world. It was controversial and only partly successful, but it helped to pave the way for more radical and effective efforts a decade later.

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Alison Hilton

Alison Hilton teaches European, American, and Russian art of the 19th and 20th centuries. She is the author of Russian Folk Art and the Patterns of Life (forthcoming, Indiana University Press), and several articles about Russian art. She is now working on a book on Russian Impressionism [Department of Fine Arts, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. 20007].