“He Descends on the Clouds; He Has a Golden Scepter in His Right Hand; a Two-Headed Eagle Hovers Above Him”: the Figure of the Genius of Russia in Russian Art of the Late 18th – First Quarter of the 19th Century

Alongside with personification of Russia, there are other state personifications in Russian art, including Genius of Russia. Despite some interest to this figure (V.M. Faibisovich), its iconography has not yet been comprehensively analyzed. Appearance of “Genius of the Russian Empire” in the ballet “The New Argonauts” (1770) by Gasparo Angiolini allows us to assume that this personification became widespread in Russian art in the second half of the 18th century. In the article, this personification is examined on materials of artworks and performances of the late 18th and early 19th centuries in Western European context. Geniuses are good guardian spirits of individuals, or territories, or countries. Geniuses were represented as puttos, young men or women, typically winged, sometimes with flames on their hair. Genius of Russia could have miscellaneous attributes: a golden scepter, a coat of arms (or sometimes he could have been accompanied by an eagle – a heraldic animal), a cornucopia, a palm branch, Hercules’ club, a sword. Genius of Russia acquired great significance in the early 19th century in connection with the Patriotic War of 1812. There are two fundamental variations of his iconography: a winged (or sometimes wingless, but hovering) personification in antique dress and a half-naked, armed warrior with an ancient Russian helmet (“as Slavic vityaz”). The latter variety at the beginning of the 19th century was associated with the theme of glorification of the Russian Empire and presented in projects of medals by A.N. Olenin (1817) commemorating the Patriotic War, and existed in theatrical performances. The image of Genius of the Russian Empire “as Slavic vityaz” was most in demand at the beginning of the 19th century; subsequently, an image of Vityaz (Bogatyr) became widespread in Russian art.

allegory, figure of genius, figures of geniuses of countries, Genius of Russia, Genius of the Russian Empire, Russian Genius, XVIIIth century art, XIXth century art, Russian art, theatre