Journal of Siberian Federal University. Humanities & Social Sciences 7 (2019 12) 1216-1239
УДК 069.5
"Madonna of Demidovs" and "Madonna of Stroganovs": to the Question of the Sociocultural Space Forming
Natalia V. Parfentieva, Nikolai P. Parfentiev*
and Semen D. Voroshin
South Ural State University 76 Lenin, Chelyabinsk, 454080, Russia
Received 30.05.2019, received in revised form 20.06.2019, accepted 04.07.2019
This work demonstrates results of study of museum and exhibition activity, which forming modern sociocultural space at the examples of Renaissance and Mannerism art works from the Stroganovs and the Demidovs collections. The members of these families of Ural and Siberian industrialists, patrons of arts and philanthropists possessed the richest collections of world-class art works. Authors pay attention on such work as "Madonna del Popolo", also known as "The Holy Family". Now this masterpiece is stored in the Nizhny Tagil Municipal Museum of Fine Arts. Academician Igor Grabar, who saved it from destroy, considered that this artwork belongs to the authorship of Raphael Santi. The second masterpiece "The Holy Family with Infant Saint John the Baptist" by Agnolo Bronzino now is in the Pushkin State Art Museum (Moscow). Each painter in its own way have revealed the images of the Holy Family, especially Madonna and Infant Christ. Raphael did it in the traditions of the High Renaissance and Bronzino followed the best achievements of Mannerism. These paintings are especially important and valuable because Italian painter, architect and writer Giorgio Vasari, known as the founder of art history as branch of science, have paid his attention on them. The researchers give characteristics to members of the Stroganovs and the Demidovs families on the context of the stated problem. The President of the Academy of Arts and the Director of the Imperial Public Library, the Count A. S. Stroganov bought for his collection the "Holy Family with Infant Saint John the Baptist" by Agnolo Bronzino. The owner of Nizhny Tagil factories N.N. Demidov, who also was a Russian envoy to the Duchy Tuscany (Florence), is connected with inclusion of "Madonna" by Raphael in his art collection. In the study the materials of Grabar's monograph are analyzed, the results of author's own scientific research and the detailed section on the Demidovs' Madonna attribution are given. There are used cultural research and art criticism methods of analysis, for instance, with attraction of "Madonna Doni" by Michelangelo. The acquisition and transfer to Russia of this unique incarnations of the "Holy family" enriched the historical and cultural space not only of the owners and people close to the families, but also of the wider social circles, because these paintings were becoming an integral part of museum and exhibition activities.
© Siberian Federal University. All rights reserved Corresponding author E-mail address: parfentevnp@susu.ru
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0).
As a modern example authors analyze the exhibition "Madonna by Raphael from Nizhny Tagil", where the samples from the collection of the Demidovs, Ural and Sibirian magnates, in the Hall of Arts of the South Ural State University were presented. It is established that, using them, the university academic exhibition has fulfilled the important task of the complex formation of cultural identity of students in the interaction of its regional, national and supranational (universal) aspects.
Keywords: sociocultural space, regional, national and universal identity, Stroganovs, Demidovs, Raphael Santi, Agnolo Bronzino, Michele Tosini, South Ural State University Hall of Arts.
Research area: theory and history of culture.
Citation: Parfentieva, N.V., Parfentiev, N.P., Voroshin, S.D. (2019). "Madonna of Demidovs" and "Madonna of Stroganovs": to the question of the sociocultural space forming. J. Sib. Fed. Univ. Humanit. soc. sci., 12(7), 1216-1239. DOI: 10.17516/1997-1370-0449.
Introduction
In the modern world an extensive flow of information together with the manifold impact of various cultures have influence on a person. It exacerbates the problem of self-determination in society and do it especially significant. The forming of the phenomenon of a person's cultural identity occurs on several levels, creating the involvement with the world cultural values and the understanding of the peculiarities of country and region development in this context.
One of the important ways to create a sociocultural space is the museum collection and exhibition activity, capable to join people to the transmittied values both at rational and emotional levels. In this multidimensional process art works, which can simultaneously forming several layers of cultural identity, including universal, national and regional, are the most significant. This paper demonstrates results of the study of museum and exhibition activity, forming the modern sociocultural space at the examples of Renaissance and Mannerism art works from the Stroganovs' and Demidovs' collections. In Russia the interaction with the original works of high art of these styles is possible because of the collections, assembled by representatives of the Russian elite in the pre-revolutionary period. Art works from these collections are the basis for most of the capital and regional museums of Russia.
Representative sources of research
In this regard, the painting "Madonna del Popolo", also known as the "The Holy Family" by Raphael Santi, now stored in the Nizhny Tagil Museum of Fine Arts
(Ural)1 and the work "The Holy Family with the Infant Saint John the Baptist" by Agnolo Bronzino, received in Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts (Moscow)2 are the representative ones in the context of our research. They have appeared in Russia thanks to the Ural and Siberian industrialists Stroganovs and Demidovs, who purchased them for their private collections. The works reveal images of Holy Family, especially Madonna and Infant Christ, in the traditions of the High Renaissance (Raphael's painting from the Demidovs' collection) and in the highest achievements of Mannerism (Bronzino's artwork from the Stroganovs' collection). Moreover, these paintings are especially important and valuable because Italian artist, architect and writer Giorgio Vasari, known as the founder of art history as branch of science, have paid his attention on them.
Thus, in his work "The Lives of the Most Famous Painters, Sculptors and Architects" in the essay on Raphael Santi, he refers to the "Madonna del Popolo", indicating that it was located in the church of S. Maria del Popolo in Rome near the portrait of Pope Julius II. Vasari with great emotional force assesses the Raphael's Madonna as the greatest creation of mankind, he writes that the Child Christ "is filled with such beauty that, judging by the expressions of the face and the whole body, he is truly the son of God. But the head and the face of Madonna herself are no less beautiful, in them, in addition to higher beauty, we see exultation and pity. And then Joseph, who, leaning on the staff with both hands, thoughtfully contemplates the picture of the king and queen of heaven with a sense of admiration befitting a holy elder" (Vazari, 2001: 143). No less enthusiastically, Vasari writes about "The Holy Family with the Infant Saint John the Baptist" by Agnolo Bronzino. The art historian describes the picture as the best work ever created the great artist and distinguished by both the skill of drawing and the extraordinary relief of painting (Vazari, 2001a: 480).
As already noted, both of these masterpieces are now stored in Russia due to the fact that they were in the ownership of the Stroganovs and Demidovs. Each of these families of Russian industrialists, patrons of arts and philanthropists possessed the richest collections of world-class works of art (Gavrilin, 2003; Kafengauz, 1949;
Rafael Santi. "Madonna del Popolo", 1509, tempera, wood. 119.0 x 89.0. On the collar of the Madonna's dress there is an inscription in gold: "RAPHAEL. URBINAS. PINGEBAT. MDIX". Nizhny Tagil Museum of Fine Arts. The conventional name of the painting is "Demidovs' Madonna" (Fig. 2). Available at: https://ntagil.org/ gorod/istoriya/madonna.php
Agnolo Bronzino. "The Holy Family with the Infant Saint John the Baptist", beginning of the 1540s, oil on tempera preparation, canvas (transferred from wood). 117.0 x 99.0. Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts (Moscow). The conventional name of the work is "Stroganovs' Madonna" (Fig. 4). Available at http://www.italian-art.ru/ canvas/15-16_century/b/bronzino_agnolo/madonna_stroganova.php
Kuznetsov, 2008; Kuznetsov, 2008a; Kurkov, 2011; Mezenina, 2007; Mosin, 2012; Parfentiev, Parfentieva, 1993; Parfentiev, 2004; Vvedensky, 1962).
The Stroganovs and the Demidovs families in Russian culture
More ancient family of the Stroganovs, originating in the 14th century, is a unique phenomenon in the history of Russia. Due to extraordinary entrepreneurial acumen and organizational skills they received huge land ownership in the poorly developed region of northeastern Russia, including the Urals, from Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible. As powerful owners of their estates, Stroganovs became the largest Russian manufacturers. There was the special "Stroganovs" region formed in their possessions, which was characterized by a commonality of socio-economic life and features of the cultural structure (Mezenina, 2007; Parfentiev, Parfentieva, 1993; Vvedensky, 1962).
In 1610 year, with the recognition of enormous merit, including joining and development of Siberia, the Stroganovs received a high status of "eminent people", which has no analogues in the history of Moscow State (Vvedensky, 1962: 133). Then Peter I granted the title of barons to the Stroganovs, and Paul I — the title of counts. From the middle of the 16th century until the nationalization after the Russian revolution of 1917, several generations changed as owners of the Stroganovs' lands and crafts. The founders of the family were inherent desire to organize the production of art objects. For their descendants it resulted in a passion for art and collecting of artworks. Stroganovs' collections of paintings, books, coins, minerals were evaluated as ones of extremely valuable in world history. Among the representatives of the family at the end of the 17th century the personality of Grigory Dmitrievich is distinguished. He received in his sole possession all the great wealth of the Stroganovs. The talented entrepreneur, associate of Peter I he, continued the traditions of his ancestors, was engaged in collecting of old manuscripts and printed books, contained the excellent church choir, built several magnificent churches at his own expense. The names of a number of prominent representatives of the Stroganovs also entered the history of Russian culture of the 18th-19th centuries. For example, the construction such masterpieces of architecture as the Kazanskiy Cathedral and Stroganovs' Palace in St. Petersburg are associated with them.
One of the most famous representatives of the Stroganovs, Count Alexander Sergeevich (1733-1811), who became president of the Academy of Arts and director
of the Imperial Public Library1, substantially supplemented the family collection of works of art. The period of his tenure as president was a truly "golden age" for the Russian Academy of Arts. He acquired Agnolo Bronzino's "Holy Family with the Infant Saint John the Baptist", the painting we are considering (Fig. 4). The picture came to the collection of the count at the beginning of the 19th century. It was originally made on wood, then it was transferred to canvas in 1857. The owner himself, a truly cultured and enlightened person, gave a deep description of his acquisition, testifying to his high erudition in the field of art: "The painting ... can be considered as one of the masterpieces of the painter who represents the perfect combination of the most essential components of art: composition, drawing, color, high style, beauty of Raphael's forms, nobility and accuracy of Michelangelo's drawing, grace of Correggio, coloring of the Venetian school" (Stroganoff, 1807).
The Stroganovs always dreamed of seeing the works of Raphael in their collection, but they could not fulfill this aspiration. It was done by the Demidovs. Two powerful families united their riches when in 1795 Nikolay Nikitich Demidov, the owner of Nizhny Tagil factories, took Baroness Yelizaveta Alexandrovna Stroganova to marry. The union was beneficial to both dynasties, but above all to Demidovs, who were only strengthening their position in the aristocratic society (Krasnova, 1992). The researchers associate the acquisition of Raphael's "Madonna del Popolo" with the personality of Nikolai Nikitich2.
The Demidovs family played an equally important role in the history of Russia. But the Stroganovs rose under Ivan the Terrible, then the Demidovs much later — under Peter the Great. Akinfiy Nikitievich Demidov (1678-1745) became the founder of the iron and copper ore plant in Nizhny Tagil. It made a significant contribution to the economic development of Russia and led to the security and prosperity of the family for several generations to come. Thanks to their capital, the descendants of the merchant became nobles and entered the elite of Russia and Europe. The son of Akinfiy Nikitievich, Nikita Akinfievich Demidov (1724-1789), traveling around Europe, supported the people of science and art. His son Nikolay Nikitich (17731828) settled in Florence, appointed by the Russian emperor as the envoy to the of
The Museum of the Russian Academy of Arts (St. Petersburg) has a "Portrait of the Count Alexander Sergeyev-ich Stroganov, President of the Academy of Arts" by Jean Monier, 1804 (Fig. 3). Available at: https://artchive. ru/artists/253~Zhan_Mone/works/2239~Portret_prezidenta_Akademii_khudozhestv_grafa_Aleksandra_Ser-geevicha_Stroganova
In the collection of the Perm State Art Gallery there is a "Portrait of Nikolai Nikitich Demidov" by Salvator Tonchi, 1797 (Fig. 1). Available at: http://permgallery.narod.ru/index/tonchi_s_i_portret_nikolaja_nikiticha_ demidova 1797/0-134
Fig. 3. Jean Monier. Portrait of the President of the Academy of Arts of Count Alexander Sergeyevich Stroganov. 1804
Fig. 4. Agnolo Bronzino. "The Holy Family with the Infant Saint John the Baptist". Beginning of the 1540s. State Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts (Moscow)
Fig. 5. Michele Tosini. "Madonna and Infant Christ". Mid of 16th century. Museum-estate Sheremetyev of Kuskovo
Fig. 6. Mikele Tosini. "Madonna and Infant Christ". 1570-1575. Attribution by prof; Marco Tanzi (Italy)
Fig. 7. Michele Tosini (1503-1577). "Madonna with the Infant Crist and John the Baptist"
Fig. 8. Tozini workshop (?). "Madonna with the Infant Crist and John the Baptist". Second half of 16th century. Nizhny Tagil Museum of Fine Arts
Duchy Tuscany (Grabar, 2009: 38). One of the Florentine squares, Piazza Demidoff, is named after him, on which a monument is erected in memory of his charitable activities (1871, sculptor L. Bartolini). In Russia Nikolai Demidov donated huge sums to charity as well.
Being engaged in the formation of professional collections, he founded his own art gallery in Florence. His son, Anatoly (1812-1870), who married Napoleon I's niece Matilda, Countess de Montfort, moved the collections to Petersburg, in a special building on Vasilyevsky Island. As patron of arts he allocated funds to the great Russian painter Karl Bryullov for creation of paiting "The Last Day of Pompeii", later donated by Anatoly Demidov to Russian Emperor Nicholas I. All this testifies that the Demidovs, well versed in true art and possessing innumerable riches, could have purchased the original "Madonna del Popolo" of Raphael and transported it to Russia. However, no documents confirming this fact have been preserved.
Both art works under researching — "Madonna del Popolo" from the collection of the Demidovs and the "Holy Family with the Infant Saint John the Baptist" of the Stroganovs have attracted the attention of art historians for centuries. In the twentieth century they came to the attention of prominent Russian art critics. So, V.N. Lazarev suggested that the Bronzino's work was painted for the his childhood friend Carlo Gerardi from Pistoia (Lazarev, 1937). Academician Igor Grabar, studying the history and art criticism aspects of the Madonna of Demidovs from the Nizhny Tagil Museum of Fine Arts, concludes that most likely it is Rafael Santi's Madonna del Popolo (Grabar, 2009: 37).
If the history of the creation of the Madonna of Bronzino is closely connected with the Medici family, its existence in Russia with the Stroganovs, and its attribution does not cause questions, then the situation with the Demidovs' Madonna is much more complicated.The history of the masterpiece of Raphael is in contact with the personalities of the Popes Julius II and Gregory XIV, the Italian Cardinal Sfondrato, the German Emperor Rudolf II, the Dukes of Orleans, Napoleon Bonaparte. In the end, "Madonna del Popolo" was included in the collection of the famous Ural factory owners the Demidovs. According to the outstanding painter, art historian and restorer academician Igor Grabar's opinion, "all the data speak for the fact that the Tagil variant of the Madonna is not only the earliest of surviving ones, but perhaps the same original, which was once in the church S. Maria del Popolo (in Rome)" (Grabar, 2009: 38).
"Madonna of Demidovs" and "Madonna of Stroganovs"
In his conclusions, Grabar proceeded from the scientific restoration method of studying works, consistently disclosed in his monographic work1. In 1924 the painting of Madonna was found in the manor house of the Demidovs in Nizhny Tagil. After the revolution, civil war in 1918 due to the chaos and destruction of that time, it represented a terrifying sight: it was split in two. The masterpiece suffered greatly, its surface was covered with deep abrasions and scratches. Grabar saw it in 1925 and under his leadership, the Raphael's Madonna was restored. Restoration was carried out in 19251926 at the Central State Restoration Workshops (now the Grabar Art Conservation Center). Since 1978, the painting has been preserved in the Nizhniy Tagil Museum of Fine Arts (Ural) (Ageyeva, 2012).
In order to determine the authorship of "Madonna of Nizhny Tagil" Grabar selected a complex scientific method, which included restoration, historical and art criticism directions. In those sections of the restoration process, which belonged to the brush of the author, and not subsequent restorers, Grabar saw Raphael's characteristic techniques: tempera technique, great painter's work with light. Thanks to the use of microphotography and X-ray Grabar discovered the final edits of the author. They are drawn with a confident hand, tempera paint and do not lie on the ground, but already on the painting layer. This is not characteristic of the copyist, the work demonstrates the living creative process of finding the artistic decisions of the author himself. In the question of attribution, special attention in the study of the academician was paid to the master's signature and the date made in gold on the collar of the Madonna's dress — "RAPHAEL. URBINAS. PINGEBAT. MDIX". Grabar determined that the form of the Latin word "pingebat" corresponds to the level and manner of noble Latin, what is characterised for humanist artist of the early 16th century. The enlightened leaders of the Renaissance noted the word "wrote" precisely so. The inscription is carried out on the initial layer of painting, inseparable from it, which indicates the authenticity of the strokes. According to the academician, the date writing form also corresponds to the traditions of the beginning of the 16th century. In this case, it is worth believing Grabar, because he made these conclusions, directly touching the oldest layer of painting, using not only empirical methods, but, as already mentioned, X-rays and microphotography. In the study of the signature and date, Grabar conducted
Grabar, I.E. "Madonna del Popolo" by Raphael and Madonna from Nizhny Tagil. Moscow, 1928 (Grabar, 2009).
a serious comparative analysis with other designations on the works of Raphael, which are stored in European museums and archives (Grabar, 2009).
In his research, Grabar, according to historical documents, recorded the movement of the picture. The work "Madonna del Popolo", written in 1509, until 1591 was in the church of S. Maria del Popolo, together with a portrait of Pope Julius II, from where Cardinal Sfondrato took it. In 1595 its trace is lost. In the Grabar's opinion, among the variants of the "Madonna" that have come down to our time, Nizhny Tagil variant is the earliest. Its comparison with the engraving of Giorgio Mantovano in 1575 and the Raphael's drawings to the "Madonna" shows their greatest affinity with the painting studied by Grabar. The theory, that Nizhny Tagil Madonna written by Raphael, to some extent confirmed by a historical document — a letter from clerk Iacov Smirnov sent to Nikolai Nikitich Demidov (whose list of collections includes two paintings by Raphael) in May 1819: "Today Mr. Burke unexpectedly came to tell me that his painting of Raphael is appointed again for sale, which is the last price of 6,000 guineas. So, would you like to become the owner of the beautiful creation of human hands? If you decide, he asks not to tell anyone the price required for his Raphael ... " (Ageyeva, 2012: 7).
In general, the study of the Madonna from Nizhny Tagil, carried out by Grabar, gives reason to come to the following conclusions. The picture has the coat of arms of the Dukes of Orleans of the Bourbon Line (17th), was in France (late 18th century), before restoration was found in the house of the Demidovs in Nizhny Tagil (first quarter of the 20th century). It was written on a wooden board, for a long time it was in Russia (the dowels fastened the boards exactly in the way that Russian icons fastened). The weak point in the attribution of the picture is the lack of an exact mention of it in the documentary sources. Materials on its origin and acquisition were not found either. The history of the painting stay in the house of the Demidovs was not disclosed by Grabar. According to M. Ageeva, director of the Nizhny Tagil Museum of Fine Arts, part of the Demidov's art collection was sent to the Urals to decorate the Vyiska-Nikolskaya Church in Nizhny Tagil, where Nikolay Nikitich Demidov was buried. Probably, "Madonna" arrived in Nizhny Tagil in connection with this (Ageyeva, 2012: 7). We point out that the church was built with the money of his sons, the factory owners Pavel and Anatoly Demidovs in memory of his father. There was a crypt with the graves of representatives of the family, perhaps Madonna was placed there. In the post-revolutionary time of militant atheism, the church was closed (1929) and later blown up (1963). The crypt with Demidovs' marble sarcophaguses was completely
looted and destroyed. The miraculously surviving Madonna after the restoration was returned to the city after almost half a century. For a long time after the restoration by Grabar, it belonged to the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts (Moscow), then to the Sverdlovsk Art Gallery (Ekaterinburg). In 1978, the "Holy Family" returned to Nizhny Tagil, the city founded by the Demidovs. So, thanks to the Stroganovs and Demidovs, we have the opportunity to study the authentic creations of Raphael and Bronzino on the eternal New Testament plot, represented the achievements of Renaissance and Mannerism.
Nizhny Tagil Madonna embodies the mature features of the Renaissance style. As is known, the image of Madonna is the key to the art of this era, but it was especially prevalent in the works of Raphael, who certainly experienced a particularly tender and sacred feeling to the maternal beginning. Note that none of the many masters of the Renaissance has reached such a multifaceted nature and the complexity of the essence in the interpretation of this image, as he. In the letter to Count Castiglione, Raphael revealed his search in this way: "In order to paint a beautiful woman, I would have to see a lot of beautiful women, but since there are so few beautiful women, I take some idea to the guide" (Guber, 1937: 163).
Thus, in his work, the ideal type of Madonna is born, which symbolizes the humanistic idea of the epoch about the high dignity and significance of the human personality. In the essay of the German writer V.-G. Wackenroder (1733-1798) "The Vision of Raphael" gave the poetic myth of the birth of Madonna in a romantic spirit: "One night, when he, as happened more than once, in a dream, prayed to the Most Holy Virgin, he suddenly awoke with a constrained heart. In the darkness of the night his eyes were attracted by the glow on the wall, just opposite his bed, and when he looked, he saw that the unfinished image of the Madonna glowed with a gentle light, hanging on the wall, and that it had become a completely finished and life-filled picture. <.> She looked at him with an expression that indescribably touched the soul, and seemed to be about to move. <.> Most of all, he was amazed, it was the very image that he had been searching for all the time, although so far he had only a vague and unclear premonition about him" (cited by: Vladimirova, 2006: 11).
Raphael was a master whose gift was polished by incessant artist's work, great intellectual and emotional tension. Having created the "Madonna del Popolo" in the spirit of the high humanistic ideas of the epoch, he opened the secret of maternal love with such perfection that he elevated it to the level of Divine feeling. The young Madonna, gentle, chaste, is full of sublime heavenly purity and sadness. Analysis of
the form of the work — its lines, color, composition leads to the conclusion about the completeness of the disclosure of a humanistic content in it.
Art critics, following Grabar, suggest that the artwork is associated with the Roman period of Raphael. In addition to all the signs on the basis of which Grabar attributes the work to his authorship, there is a special emotional force emanating from work. The beautiful "Umbrian" face of Madonna, the light of love coming from her and warming the Divine Infant, something elusively perceived from Leonardo da Vinci, but expressed in new tonality, with great humanism and tenderness, testifies that we have the masterpiece of High Renaissance. We hear the divine music of the higher spheres in the singing lines, in compositional perfection, in virtuoso color solutions. The highest divine harmony of the world and the human spirit sounds in this beautiful painting.
After Raphael's death the high ideals of the Renaissance gradually gave way to a style that was called Mannerism. It continued the Renaissance traditions, but also largely departed from them. Michelangelo much more so than Raphael became a teacher of young artists. They were attracted by the struggle of spirit and matter reflected in his works, the strength and power of the Divine manifestation in human. "Madonna" ("Holy Family") from the Count Stroganov's collection provides a unique opportunity to study the complicated process of the Mannerism formation and its detachment from the Renaissance tendencies. As already noted, this painting belonged to the brush of Bronzino (Agnolo di Cosimo di Mariano, 1503-1572), the Florentine master, court painter of the Cosimo I de Medici, the Grand Duke of Tuscany (Stroganoff, 1807).
Art historians associate Bronzino's name with a period of mature mannerism. But in this painting, the traditions of the Renaissance are also strong, especially in the spirit of Michelangelo. The artist realized the images of the "Holy Family" in the style of antique design of ideal beauty. Creating his Madonna, Bronzino enters into dialogue with Michelangelo. The development of the complex pose of "serpentinate figure", "twisting" the whole composition in a spiral, was continued in the figure of the Virgin Mary. This position of the sitting on the ground Madonna, but in mirror reflection, the artist perceived from the "Madonna Doni" by Michelangelo. It is believed that Michelangelo in this work laid the foundations of a new style — Mannerism, and Bronzino became the foremost artist of it.
Uniting for the works of two masters is also the fact that the painting becomes like a relief sculpture. Both Madonnas are not humble tender Virgins. Michelangelo created an innovative, bright, almost heroic image of the mother from common people,
filled with impetuous force and the lively dynamics. Bronzino created an image not of the Virgin Mary, but of a secular lady with a stately figure, a proud turn of the head and an aristocratic bearing. Her image corresponds to the perfect ancient beauty, she is elegant and kindly in a secular way. We can see an alarming note, that arised from state of immersion in herself and detachment from all characters, including her son.
The images of the "Holy Family" of Bronzino are not abstract. Their prototypes are real members of the Medici family. Thus, the image of the Virgin Mary bears the idealized features portrait likeness of Eleanor of Toledo, the of the Grand Duke's wife. In the image of St. Joseph we also guess the idealized reflection in the painting of the Duke himself. Their son Giovanni is represented as Child Jesus. The work presents the atmosphere of aristocratic dignity, high status, elitism with a hint of cold inaccessibility. The main soul state of the characters is the phenomenon of "alienation". They are immersed in their own world, in contemplation of their own "I", they are characterized by a certain "narcissism". An aristocratic ideal that was born in this work of Bronzino, became fundamental to his works. We can feel stylistic calm, less expressive forms in comparison with Michelangelo. In the scene presented by the "titan of the Renaissance", an inner impulse is captured in a strictly balanced composition. The massive figures of the Holy Family are a unity enshrined in both the spiritual and the "sculptural and architectural" space of Michelangelo. Because of external representativeness and showiness we can't see deep feelings and character traits of the heroes of Bronzino, they are hidden behind a mask of impassivity and artificiality. Not unity, but alienation reflect the spirit of this family.
Bronzino appears to be the heir to Michelangelo most of all in matters of technology. Taking from him the sculptural relief, smooth texture of painting, the complexity of the circular compositional solution, Bronzino acts as a codifier of the new manneristic principles: exquisite aristocratism, allegory, passionlessness. In general, we see a departure from the ideas of the Renaissance and the accession of the elite-subjective, whimsical, sometimes bizarre picture of the world. The "Holy family" of Bronzino is a semblance of a secular act, the semantics of the gospel plot disappears into the most complex artistic and technical experiments: spatial, compositional, coloristic ones. In fact, Bronzino lowered the Holy Family from Heaven to earth and created an idealized portrait of the powerful Medici family. What is worth the comparison of the sleek and elongated fingers of the Madonna Bronzino with the strong muscular arms of a woman from the common people in the "Madonna Doni". Michelangelo has deified represantatives of folk, who love the son dearly, and Bronzino — the aristocratic
family of powerful rulers, whose life, even intimate, is subject to etiquette and status. Elegance, secular courtesy, estrangement — this is what we read in the image not of the Mother of God, but of the Eleanora Duchess of Tuscany.
If we compare this secular reading of the plot with the work of Rafael "Madonna del Popolo", then Bronzino's departure from the humanistic ideas of the High Renaissance will be even more significant. The paintings are at opposite poles. As already noted, the Raphael's tender, shy, love-filled image of the Virgin Mary is illuminated by the supreme light of spiritual life, being an expression of the Divine idea. The artist was destined to express the ideal of unearthly Divine beauty and the dream of mankind about a beautiful person living in harmony with the world. The idea of a High Renaissance about the existence of a perfect person was given a worthy expression in the work of Raphael. Bronzino, lived in a complex, tense era of Mannerism, when high ideals underwent a rethinking in the context of complex historical transformations, presented his vision of the plot in the spirit of a secular event, removing religious content from it. Agnolo Bronzino was a richly gifted and versatile person (Khachaturov, 2013). In addition to outstanding pictorial works, wonderful poems came out from under his hands. This can be explained by his desire to understand the nature of his work, to feel the limits of his capabilities and to be realized in other types of art, in particular — in poetry (Aloshin, 2012). Bronzino manifested himself as a scientist, philosopher, writer. At the request of art theorist Benedetto Vacari, he wrote a letter, reflecting on the primacy of sculpture or painting (Aloshin, 2014). All this, as well as portrait art, characterizes Agnolo Bronzino as a great representative of the "Autumn of the Renaissance". It is not surprising that the brilliant creation of this master attracted attention of the enlightened art collector the Count A. S. Stroganov. His acquisition of the unique painter "The Holy Family", which is essentially an allegorical group portrait of the Medici family, the artistic merit of the work, the virtuosity of its art technique enriched the historical and cultural space not only of the owner and his environment. Then it became accessible to wider social circles, becoming an integral part of the museum and exhibition activities.
The sociocultural space forming on the basis of masterpieces from Demidovs and Stroganovs collections
Let us return to the Demidovs collection, from which, in addition to "Madonna del Popolo", "Madonna with the Infant Crist and John the Baptist" was entered to the Nizhny Tagil Museum of Fine Arts. It was attributed to prominent Mannerist
representative Jiulio Cesare Procaccini (1574-1625) by museum employees1. However, in our opinion, this picture is not related to the work of this artist, whose life flowed in Bologna and Milan. Compositional solution, the interpretation of the image of Madonna are most similar to the work of the Florentine master Tosini, which was in the Russian Count Sheremetev collection2. It is symptomatic that the painting was done in Florence, where the residence of the Demidovs in Italy was located.
So and one more name of the artist of the Mannerist era is associated with the Ural and Siberian industrialists. This is the outstanding Florentine painter Michele Tosini (Michele Tosini Ridolfo Ghirlandaio, 1503-1577), the disciple of Ridolfo Ghirlandaio, the contemporary of Bronzino, the friend of Vasari, mentioned in his "The Lives of the Most Famous Painters, Sculptors and Architects" (Vazari, 2001a: 14). Tosini together with Vasari participated in the frescoing of the hall in the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence. We note a scientific interest in his work (Hornik, 1990).
In addition to the virtuoso performed work from the Count Sheremetev collection, issuing the brush of a skilled craftsman, who perfectly mastered the painting technique, it was possible to reveal several close to it variants3. After comparing all these works, we have found the following. The first work (from the Sheremetev's collection) characterizes the Tosini's painting (Fig. 5). His Madonna represents the image of the beautiful Virgin. The background is artfully crafted landscape, including a building in the Renaissance style on a wooded hill and picturesque ancient ruins, which are found in Italy. Thunderstorm clouds and the colour range of greenish-cold tones give an anxiety note to this idyllic world. The work is filled in the traditions of Renaissance humanism: the image of the Madonna is resolved in a lyrical way, it is full of dignity and beauty, the twist of Her elongated neck is aristocratic, like the hand in the foreground: narrow, with long fingers. A finely drawn face with lowered eyes expresses elegiac sorrow and thoughtfulness. The Child Jesus, entwined with a light cloth, resembles a beautiful, lively baby playing with a bird. We should note that such a complex position of the
Jiulio Cesare Procaccini. "Madonna with the Infant Crist and John the Baptist", second half of 16th century, wood, tempera, size: 66.0x50.0 cm. From the Demidovs' collection. Nizhny Tagil Museum of Fine Arts. Available at: http://artmnt.ru/collection.php?id=660&_sc=1
Michele Tosini. "Madonna and Infant Christ", mid of 16th century, oil on wood, 73.5 cm x 56.0. Museum-estate Sheremetyev of Kuskovo (Fig. 5). Available at: https://kuskovo.catalog.mos.ru/entity/0BJECT/32018?index=0 For example: Mikele Tosini. "Madonna and Infant Christ" (1570-1575), oil on wood, size: 82 x 53.5 cm. Sold at auction Auktionshaus Demessieur under, lot 406, 04.21.2018. Attribution: Professor Marco Tanzi, University of Salento, Italy (Fig. 6). Available at: https://veryimportantlot.com/ru/lot/view/mikele-tosini-1530-florentsii-tam-je-1577-60270;
Michele Tosini. "Madonna with Infant Crist and John the Baptist". Wood, oil, size: 72.4 x 56.5 cm., Sold at Christie's auction under, lot 143, 07.10.2015 (Fig. 7). Available at: http://www.artvalue.com/auctionresult — tosini-michele-michele-di-rido-the-madonna-and-child-with-the-4625890.htm
Infant's figure is present at the work of Tosini "Charity". The right leg of the Infant, bent and turned, easily rests on the finger and the knee, and the left one, also bent at the knee, as if hanging in the air. There is a deeper subtext of this lyrical composition yet. The bird is a goldfinch, eating berries in the thorns, a symbol of the future Passion of Christ, light sadness of the Madonna and Child — the foreboding of His tragic fate. In the work Tozini was able to achieve a high degree of generalization and come closer to the world of the Divine idea, creating a lyrical image of holiness. From Michelangelo he inherited attention to drawing, anatomy, to work on volume and space.
Researchers point out, that the works of Bronzino influenced the style of Tosini. As innovations of Mannerism, we note the elongated proportions of the Virgin Mary figure, the different directions of Madonna's and Jesus's figures and looks, the "Serpentine" pose of the Infant Jesus and an alarmingly cold colouring. In the lyrical solution of this work, Tozini is a supporter of the Raphael line in art. But the aristocratic restraint and distance of his Madonna is different from the harmony of the images of the "Madonna del Popolo" by Raphael. The details (curls of Infant's hair, strained fingers of Madonna's hands, clutching the Child, and Jesus's hands, holding a goldfinch, serpentine lines of tissue on his body, unstable figure, as if he is ready to break free from the mother's embrace) reproduce anxious and doomed of harmony, the unattainability of the dream of absolute beauty.
In the next version, also attributed to Tosini, it seems to us, the image loses its sublime lyricism and becomes colder (Fig. 6). Now Madonna is drawn against the backdrop of a mountain landscape under the lush crown of a tree. In this work, the influence of mannerism is more significant. Vasari points out that Tosini headed the workshop. Perhaps this work was performed with the pupils of the master, who became major artists after passing through the school. Finally, in the next painting of Tosini (Fig. 7), the influence of the new style is growing. The figure of John the Baptist appears. The similarity of the beautifully drawn landscape from Sheremetev's Madonna is given in mirror reflection. The general anxious colouring, detachment and aloofness of images, their hidden sorrow testify to the characteristic features of the conventional pictorial language of Mannerism, its symbolism.
Considered in this series the work from the collection of the Demidovs probably originates from the Tozini workshop (Fig. 8). We see a repetition of the variant, attributed to Tozini and examined by us (Fig. 7), where the image of the little John the Baptist was introduced. But in this painting, the features of simplified Mannerism prevail to a greater degree than in all previous versions. Here Madonna is a beautiful
Florentine lady, in a state of secular courtesy, but some artificially liveliness. The images of Jesus and John the Baptist do not carry the depth and seriousness; they are just the cheerful charming children-angels. The landscape is given in general terms; it is not worked out, as in previous cases. According to the technique the work is inferior to all previously considered examples. The different directions of the looks, the lines of the figure of Jesus, more than in previous cases turned from Madonna, the "alienation" of the mother and the son are quite in the spirit of Mannerism.
As follows from the comparison, like many experienced artists, Tosini created an exemplary prototype, which could be repeated in the work by himself or with involving pupils of his workshop. Possibly, the author's repetitions of this pattern were made to order. It is clearly visible that the different faces of the Madonna are depicted on them. Most likely the Florence ladies were the models of these paintings. In subsequent works, the sacred image of the Virgin Mary was dissolved in the images of these kindly, courteous and beautiful representatives of wealthy families. Very likely the "Madonna" from the Demidovs' collection refers to this type of work and, according to our version, is originating from Tosini's workshop.
Thus, masterpieces of 16th century painting, the achievements of the Renaissance and Mannerism — Rafael's Madonna and Bronzino's Madonna appeared in Russia thanks to the activities of Stroganovs and the Demidovs, who were the brilliant representatives of the Russian elite of their time, collectors and patrons of art, the Ural and Siberian industrialists. These works continue to attract the attention of researchers, they participate in numerous exhibitions, including in the university environment. Thanks to these works, the embodiment of the humanism ideas by the great Raphael and the conventional language of Mannerism Bronzino became available not only to residents of the capitals. Due to the wide exposure of works from the collections of the Stroganovs and Demidovs families, we can see and study the stylistic features of these different directions. Raphael represents a high Renaissance, the form and content in his work personify Divine harmony. The image of the Holy Family of Bronzino is the antipode of Raphael. There is a decrease in sacrality, secularization and conventionality of painting language are growing. In allegorical form, the artist created an idealized portrait of the Medici family. In the works of Michele Tosini we note the height of the artistic embodiment of the Madonna's image in the author's exemplary prototype (Fig. 5), while in the variants, probably made by him with his pupils and followers, there is a somewhat simplified Mannerism. Rather, these paintings reflect refined artistic life art of Florence on the everyday level. Possibly they were executed as high-prised orders,
taking into account the tastes of representatives of the rich strata of the inhabitants of Florence.The resource of authentic works of Italian artists of the 16th century allows us to perform a comparative study in the field of theory and history of the Renaissance and Mannerism styles.
The university academic exhibition as sociocultural practice of constructing cultural identity of students
Significance of the reviewed paintings is not limited only to the sphere of scientific interests. Thanks to them, the formation of a modern cultural space continues. An example is the intense exhibition activity of the Nizhny Tagil Museum of Fine Arts, concentrated on exhibiting works from the Demidovs collection in the Urals, in Siberia, and in the Far East (Kamensk-Uralsky, Irbit, Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk, Novokuznetsk, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Vladivostok). Thus, the impetus to the research presented in this article were the exhibition "Madonna Raphael from Nizhny Tagil", which demonstrated three works from the collection of the Ural industrialists and patrons of art Demidovs in the Hall of Arts of the South Ural State University (SUSU, 2012), as well as the exhibition "Madonna from Tagil". "Madonna del Popolo Raphael Santi" (2018) in the Chelyabinsk Museum of Fine Arts (Ageyeva, 2012; Parfentieva, 2018).
Two of the examined in our study paintings, the "Madona del Popolo" by Raphael and the "The Holy Family with the Infant Saint John the Baptist" were exhibited in the largest university in the South Urals (during the exhibition the last painting was attributed to Italian artist Giulio Cesare Procaccini, but according to our version originating from Tosini's workshop). In order to establish the contribution of this exhibition in the university Hall of Arts to the development of the region cultural space and to the formation of the students cultural identity, the authors of the article conducted a sociological study based on the material of the guest book covering the period since the creation of the Hall of Arts of SUSU in 2003. The technique was partially borrowed from sociology research (Smakotina, Khvylya-Olinter, 2010). The applicable method of content analysis revealed the following characteristics.
The exhibition "The Madonna of Raphael from Nizhny Tagil" refers to the three most significant, culminating phenomena of the life of the university Hall of Arts during the whole period of work (15 years). It is also the most equipped guided tour: the number of excursions is 190, which is in 7 times more the usual number per month. The largest number of students responded to this exhibition in the guest book. In 93 %
of reviews, viewers noted the effect of contact with the universal, national and regional artistic values. All responses indicate a positive emotional effect, and half of them mark the valuable contribution of exhibition materials to the professional development of students.
The academic exhibition of the University Hall of Arts from the Demidovs' collection, thanks to the power of emotional impact and serious study of the problem at a rational level (including the presented analysis of the Grabar's monograph), deeply immerses students into a world of high culture and helps to learn its constants and values. All this happens in direct, lively, emotionally coloured interaction with artefacts, carriers of culture, creators of unique author's concepts, personalities of scientists, cultural figures in the field of history, science, education and art. Cultural identity is formed by understanding the meaningful styles and symbols of art, mastering the historical context, behavioural patterns in various forms of excursion work.
When students interacting with genuine examples of high art, including world-class masterpieces, they open up the opportunity for themselves to feel involved in the great values of artistic culture. The study of the fundamental research work of academician Grabar, familiarity with this phenomenal personality, reveals to the students a world of high national culture. The fact that the priceless collections of art works are collected by the efforts of the Ural and Siberian industrialists, patrons of arts and philanthropists Demidovs, opens up a new world of national and regional culture. Understanding the tragic fate of Russia, which survived the horrors of the Civil War, the barbaric destruction of cultural and art monuments, the oblivion of the contribution of the Stroganovs and Demidovs to the development of domestic industry and culture and overcoming this catastrophe in the restructuring period (known as «perestroika») and the present time is pushing the limits of the historical and cultural identity of youth.
Conclusion
Summing up, it should be noted that the Stroganovs and the Demidovs were not only major industrialists who ensured Russia's economic development. These were people of global level, who passionately loved art. Thanks to their contribution, Russia has a valuable cultural heritage, including the considered in this research the works of Raphael and Bronzino. If the original collection served the representatives of the families, the aristocracy and the enlightened, elite circles of society, then gradually, especially nowadays, they became the property of broad democratic strata of modern Russian society, including students.
The university's activities on a world-class academic exhibition, its contacts with leading museums in the Urals and Russia open up a world of high, genuine culture to students. The uniqueness of the activity is that the expositional sphere includes students of the largest South Ural University and allows conducting focused work with representatives of various faculties and specialties. The particular important directions are the publication activity in ensuring the publication of materials of the exhibition, the creation and accumulation of electronic media resources and their further use in the work of the Virtual Museum, as well as the experience of scientific understanding of the problems of the history and theory of art, including the one presented in this article. These topical sociocultural and scientific practices of the university in the field of art are an important tool in constructing a holistic cultural identity of students. It has been established that using them in the academic exhibition of the Hall of Arts fulfilled the responsible task of comprehensively shaping cultural identity in the interaction of its regional, national and universal aspects, including the construction of professional identity in working with students of creative specialties (art history, architecture, design, fine art).
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«Мадонна Демидовых» и «Мадонна Строгановых»: к вопросу об истоках формирования социокультурного пространства
Н.В. Парфентьева, Н.П. Парфентьев,
С.Д. Ворошин
Южно-Уральский государственный университет Россия, 454080, Челябинск, пр. Ленина, 76
В статье предпринято исследование музейно-выставочной деятельности, формирующей современное социокультурное пространство на примере включения в него произведений искусства Ренессанса и маньеризма из коллекций Строгановых и Демидовых. Представители этих фамилий урало-сибирских и российских промышленников, предпринимателей, покровителей искусств и благотворителей обладали богатейшими коллекциями произведений искусства мирового уровня. Авторы обращаются к работе «Мадонна дель Пополо», или «Святое семейство», ныне хранящейся в Нижнетагильском музее изобразительных искусств. Спасший ее от разрушения И. Э. Грабарь считал, что она принадлежит кисти Рафаэля Санти. Второй шедевр — «Святое семейство с маленьким Иоанном Крестителем» Аньоло Бронзино — поступил в Государственный музей изобразительных искусств им. А. С. Пушкина (Москва). Каждый из художников по-своему раскрыл образы Святого семейства, прежде всего Девы Марии и младенца Христа, в традициях Высокого Ренессанса (Рафаэль) и наивысших достижений маньеризма (Бронзино). Особое внимание и значение произведениям придает и то, что к этим творениям в период зарождения искусствознания как науки обратился его основоположник, итальянский живописец, архитектор и писатель Джорджо Вазари. Исследователи дают характеристику представителям фамилий Строгановых и Демидовых в контексте заявленной проблемы. Президент Академии художеств и директор Императорской публичной библиотеки граф А. С. Строганов приобрел для своей коллекции «Святое семейство с маленьким Иоанном Крестителем» Аньоло Бронзино. С именем владельца нижнетагильских заводов Н.Н. Демидова, российского посланника в герцогстве Тосканском (Флоренция), связывают включение в его коллекцию Мадонны Рафаэля. В исследовании анализируются материалы монографии Грабаря, а также результаты собственного научного поиска, дан развернутый раздел по атрибуции демидовской Мадонны. Авторы статьи доказывают, что образы Мадонны в произведениях из коллекций Демидова и Строганова концентрируют в себе высокие достижения Ренессанса и маньеризма. Используются культурологические и искусствоведческие методы анализа, например, с использованием работы «Мадонна Дони» Микеланджело. Приобретение и перемещение в Россию двух уникальных воплощений «Святого семейства» обогатили историко-культурное пространство не только самих владельцев и их окружения, но затем и широких социальных кругов, включая студенческую молодежь, став неотъемлемой частью современной музейно-выставочной деятельности. Примером тому служит выставка «Мадонна Рафаэля из Нижнего Тагила», на которой демонстрировались три работы из собрания уральских промышленников и меценатов Демидовых в Зале искусств Южно-Уральского государственного университета. Установлено, что эта академическая выставка
выполняла ответственную задачу по комплексному формированию культурной идентичности студенчества во взаимодействии ее регионального, национального и наднационального (мирового) аспектов.
Ключевые слова: социокультурное пространство, культурная идентичность, Строгановы, Демидовы, Рафаэль Санти, Аньоло Бронзино, Микеле Тозини, музейно-выставочная деятельность, Зал искусств Южно-Уральского государственного университета.
Научная специальность: 24.00.01 — теория и история культуры.