Author : Christopher Ely
Publisher : NIU Series in Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies
ISBN 13 : 9780875809854
Total Pages : 278 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (98 download)
Book Synopsis This Meager Nature by : Christopher Ely
Download or read book This Meager Nature written by Christopher Ely and published by NIU Series in Slavic, East European, and Eurasian Studies. This book was released on 2009 with total page 278 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Boundless Russia, humble yet full of hidden grandeur—such visions of "the motherland" became crucial markers of Russian national identity. This Meager Nature is the first full-length study to trace the cultural construction of Russia's landscape during the nineteenth century, showing how artistic and literary representations of nature reflected and shaped Russians' ideas about themselves and their nation. In the early 1800s, Russians commonly accepted the European judgment that their land lacked aesthetic value. That view changed with the outpouring of literary and artistic creativity that followed the century's political upheavals. Artists such as Aleksei Savrasov, Fedor Vasil'ev, Ivan Shishkin, and Nikolai Nekrasov turned to their native land and revealed the power of grey skies, vast open fields, and simple birch forests. Russians came to embrace their land's modest beauty, which represented strength and hidden depths. The historical creation of Russia's sense of place resulted not so much from its citizens' encounters with their environment, Ely argues, as from their long-term struggle to distinguish Russia from Europe. The humble beauty of the Russian land served to assert the genuineness of Russia against the inauthenticity of western Europe. For those who embraced it, the "meager" beauty of the landscape provided a powerful means for experiencing and expressing Russian national identity. (2002) 289 pp., illus., biblio., index ISBN: 978-0-87580-303-6 cloth $42.00 Christopher Ely is Assistant Professor of History at the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College of Florida Atlantic University. He lives in West Palm Beach with his wife and two children.