What is monumental art?

In modern schools, senior students are taught a very important and necessary subject called "World Art Culture". The course MHC tells students about the masterpieces of architecture and fine art from antiquity to the present day. The program includes such a section as monumental art. We'll get to know him better now.

What is monumental art?

This is a special section of the fine arts, distinguished by the plastic or semantic load of the architectural work, as well as by the importance and significance of the ideological content. The word "monumental" comes from the Latin moneo, which means "I remind". And no wonder, because this type of art - one of the oldest on earth.

The history of monumental creativity

The roots of this kind of architecture and painting go back to primitive society. Ancient people then only learned to draw, clumsily kept in the fingers of coal, but their works of monumental painting on the cave walls were already striking imagination. Of course, they were drawn clumsily, an abundance of colors was missing, but there was a sense. He consisted in the representation of ancient people about the forces of nature, his own life, various skills. Therefore, the walls of the caves were decorated with various scenes from the life of primitive man: mammoth extraction, the most beautiful woman in the cave, ritual dances by the fire and many, many others.

Primitive society was replaced by the Ancient World, and there the monumental creativity also found its place. In ancient Egypt, this art is very respected and loved. This is what the surviving sphinxes and Egyptian pyramids tell us. In the Renaissance there was a flourishing of monumental architecture. To the light there were such masterpieces as the statue of David, the painting "The Creation of Adam", as well as the ceiling painting of the Sistine Chapel. All these works are executed by the genius of his time - Michelangelo Buonarroti.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, art was moving along a new path. The most popular style of "modern" then reflected on this work, because of which most of the monumental works were performed in this direction. This particularly affected the painting and was reflected in the works of such artists as M. Vrubel, M. Deni and others. But architecture was not forgotten, at that time such sculptors as E. Burdel and A. Mayol are working. Their hands were created most of the works in the genre of monumental sculpture, with which we admire and admire to this day.

The greatest development and recognition this type of art received in the USSR. The country of the Soviets set itself Napoleonic plans, and impressive monuments and pedestals perfectly reflected its ideas. Impressive, high, aspiring statues reflect the courage and strength of the spirit of the workers of that time.

Examples of this art form

This includes both architectural and paintings. Monumental art includes mosaics, frescoes, monuments and busts, various sculptural and decorative compositions, stained-glass windows and even ... fountains. Now you can see how much this works of art. No wonder that thousands of museums have been created around the world, where panels, busts and sculptures of various epochs and generations are exhibited to everyone's delight.

Variety of products

This includes two types of creativity: sculpture and visual arts. Monumental decorative painting is usually a variety of panels, wall paintings, bas-reliefs, etc. They serve as an ornament to the environment and are necessarily part of any ensemble, being its important part. In the monumental painting distinguish a variety of techniques: it's a mural, stained glass, mosaic, etc. It is worth noting that the monumental painting is located on a specially designed for its construction or on an immovable architectural basis.

The era of the USSR and this kind of creativity

Monumental art was highly valued in the USSR. It contributes to the development of artistic taste, education of morality and patriotic feelings for their homeland. It emotionally enriches, giving at a sight to it unforgettable memories which for ever stay in soul and hearts both children, and adults. Soviet humanistic art is inherent in humanism and artistic organization. Works of painting and architecture, made in the appropriate style, could be found everywhere: near schools and kindergartens, plants and parks. Managed to build monuments, even in the most unusual places.

This kind of creativity became widespread after the October Revolution, when a new country was being built with new laws, regulations and socialism. It was then that the works of monumental art received special recognition among the people. All the painters, sculptors, architects were enamored to create a masterpiece of monumental art to show that time has changed, a new life, a new way of life, new discoveries in science and a new kind of art have come.

The immortal work

One of the most memorable creations of those times was the magnificent monumental sculpture of Vera Mukhina "Worker and Collective Farm Girl", personifying the hard work and heroic deed of the Soviet people. The history of the monument is very interesting and informative. In 1936 the construction of the Palace of Soviets, at the top of which the monument "Worker and Collective Farm Woman" was to be completed. To create a sculptural structure selected the best masters, including Vera Mukhina. They were given work for two months and said that the statue should represent two figures - a worker and a collective farmer. The same idea was fulfilled by the four sculptors in completely different ways. Someone stood calmly and serenely, someone on the contrary, furiously tore forward, as if trying to overtake someone. And only Mukhina Vera Ignatyevna captured in her work the beautiful moment of the begun, but not finished movement. It was her work that was approved by the commission. Now the monument "Worker and Collective Farm Girl" is on restoration.

Monumental painting: examples

As already mentioned above, the fine art of this type goes back to ancient times. Even then, magnificent drawings were created on the walls of caves, depicting the process of hunting, ancient rituals, etc.

Monumental decorative painting is divided into several types:

• Fresco . This image is created on a damp plaster with several types of paints, which were obtained from a pigment in the form of a powder. When this paint dries, a film is formed that protects the work from external influences.
• Mosaic . The picture is laid out on the surface of small glass or colored stones.
• Tempera . Works of this type are made with paints from pigment of vegetable origin, diluted in egg or oil. Like the fresco, it is applied to the dried plaster.
• Stained glass . It is similar to a mosaic, as it is laid out from pieces of a multi-colored glass. The difference is that the pieces are joined together by spikes, and the finished product is placed in the window opening.

The most famous works of monumental painting are the frescoes of Theophanes the Greek, for example the two-sided icon "Our Lady of the Don", on the other side of which the "Assumption of the Virgin" is depicted. Also to works of art can be attributed "Sistine Madonna" Raphael Santi, "The Last Supper" by Leonardo da Vinci and other paintings.

Monumental architecture: masterpieces of world art

Good sculptors have always been worth their weight in gold. Therefore, the world was enriched with such works as the Arc de Triomphe, located in Moscow, the monument to Peter 1 "The Bronze Horseman", the sculpture of David, executed by Michelangelo and located in the Louvre, the statue of the beautiful Venus, whose hands are cut off, and many others. Such kinds of monumental and decorative art fascinate and attract the views of millions, they want to admire again and again.

There are several types of architecture of this type:

• The monument . Usually it is a sculpture of one or several people standing motionless or frozen in some pose. Produced from stone, granite, marble.
• The Monument . Perpetuates in the stone any historical event, such as the Patriotic War, or a great personality.
• Stela . This type of architecture is a slab of stone, granite or marble, standing upright and bearing any inscription or picture.
• Obelisk. This is a pillar consisting of four tapering upward facets.

Conclusion

Monumental art is a complex and ambiguous thing. In all people, it causes different feelings, someone - the pride of the masters, that human hands could produce a masterpiece. Someone feels perplexed: how could such a work be performed by an ordinary person, after all, there are so many small details in it? Another viewer will simply stop and admire the monuments of painting and architecture, both ancient and modern. But the objects of monumental art will not leave indifferent any person. This is because all the masters who have done something in this style have a huge, outstanding, very real talent, patience and boundless love for their work.