THE URBAN REFORM OF 1870 IN FINE ART
Authors:   Tolyatti State University, KUZNETSOVA D.V. , LAZAREV S.E. ,   Tolyatti State University
Published: December 2024

The purpose of the article is to analyze visual art materials dedicated to the Urban Reform of 1870. The relevance of the study is due to the lack of generalizing works on this topic. The culture of a people has always played a key role in the formation of its national consciousness. Outstanding works of artists allow us to better understand the world around us and the processes occurring in it at different stages of history. The authors attempted to determine the extent to which the Urban Reform of 1870 and its consequences were reflected in Fine Art.
The methodology can be varied and depends on the objectives and goals of the study. In this case, the historical context and background of the study are worth paying attention to. It is necessary to consider the historical circumstances and reasons that led to the urban reform of 1870. It helps to better understand and relate changes in the visual arts to the sociocultural context of the time. Analysis of fine art painting, sculptures, engravings, architectural designs and other art historical objects as well as a comparative analysis and interpretation of various works and manifestations of fine art regarding the urban reform of 1870 help to identify general trends, features and influence of the reform on the artistic creativity of that time. The combination of these aspects help to create a comprehensive overview of the research on the topic and present an analytical approach to the topic.
As a result, the authors conclude that the fine art materials devoted to the Urban Reform of 1870 are quite varied. Many artists were interested in the issue - a large number of their works survived to the present days, and they are very diverse in their content. Initially, genre paintings that reflected the process of meetings of City Dumas and councils in various provinces became widespread. The authors highlight the artistss who captured the transformations in cities after the adoption of the reform. For example, brothers V. E. and K. E. Makovsky,
I. E. Repin, K. A. Trutovsky and others. Portraits remained the predominant genre depicting figures who developed the Urban Reform, City mayors and councils. Although some shortcomings in the activities of city Dumas were reflected on the pages of satirical periodicals. At the same time, artists sometimes forgot about the limited financial resources at the disposal of the mayors and their sincere desire to help their fellow countrymen.
Unlike the pre-revolutionary period, in the Soviet Union the development of the problem slowed down, which was due to the general skeptical attitude of the pro-government creative intelligentsia towards the transformations of the tsarist government. However, in modern Russia, masters of fine art are once again returning to the theme of the City Reform of 1870, which is expressed in a series of wonderful sculptural busts of participants in those events, and watercolor landscapes depicting the buildings of the city Duma, including on numerous postage stamps, cards and envelopes. Illustrative materials provide an opportunity to study the issue of self-government on a larger scale and to clearly see the changes and innovations that took place in cities during the post-reform period.