The Soviet Era
After identifying the preferences of Russian collectors nowadays, it is reasonable to question if it is prompted by the development of Russian art during Soviet era.
During the October Revolution in 1917 to 1932, the Lenin’s era was a period of relative freedom and experimentation for the art in any forms inside the country. Wide variety of trends was tolerated by the government, given that they were not explicitly oppose to the government. Lenin was conservative and traditional in art. He hated any new art movements by that time and declared that art must serve as utilitarian function of promoting the Revolution. He was the one set the future route by strongly encouraging that artists serve party interests and reinforce the power of the party. However, he did not execute this policy as what Stalin did, severely punished those who did not follow the party direction. Although government did not control the artists, numerous of them emigrated because of their opposition to the government (Fox, 1977).
In 1932, Stalin 's government took control of the arts and published a decree entitled
“Reorganization of Literary and Art Institutions”. It stated that Socialist Realism was the only theory and method of artistic expression suitable to Soviet society …show more content…
It is a strict rule on exporting national treasures from Russia and coupled with tedious bureaucratic procedures and corrupt officials. While works that purchased outside Russia can bring in and out of the country legally, the Russian buyers specifically focus on the Russian arts in western markets (Sayakhova, 2013; Bayer, 2007). Furthermore, since considerable amount of Russian modern and avant-garde arts were smuggled and artists were fled, majority of these works are now on the hands of European collectors. As a result, Russian collectors are buying back from their European
After identifying the preferences of Russian collectors nowadays, it is reasonable to question if it is prompted by the development of Russian art during Soviet era.
During the October Revolution in 1917 to 1932, the Lenin’s era was a period of relative freedom and experimentation for the art in any forms inside the country. Wide variety of trends was tolerated by the government, given that they were not explicitly oppose to the government. Lenin was conservative and traditional in art. He hated any new art movements by that time and declared that art must serve as utilitarian function of promoting the Revolution. He was the one set the future route by strongly encouraging that artists serve party interests and reinforce the power of the party. However, he did not execute this policy as what Stalin did, severely punished those who did not follow the party direction. Although government did not control the artists, numerous of them emigrated because of their opposition to the government (Fox, 1977).
In 1932, Stalin 's government took control of the arts and published a decree entitled
“Reorganization of Literary and Art Institutions”. It stated that Socialist Realism was the only theory and method of artistic expression suitable to Soviet society …show more content…
It is a strict rule on exporting national treasures from Russia and coupled with tedious bureaucratic procedures and corrupt officials. While works that purchased outside Russia can bring in and out of the country legally, the Russian buyers specifically focus on the Russian arts in western markets (Sayakhova, 2013; Bayer, 2007). Furthermore, since considerable amount of Russian modern and avant-garde arts were smuggled and artists were fled, majority of these works are now on the hands of European collectors. As a result, Russian collectors are buying back from their European