1897: il debutto dell'arte russa all'Esposizione Internazionale di Venezia

In 1897 Russia had its debut at the Venice International Art Exhibition, with a group show commissioned by the State Academy of Fine Arts in Saint Petersburg and curated by Ilya Repin. Based on Russian and Italian unpublished archival documentation and press reviews, the article sheds light on the organization of the art show, while also addressing its critical and popular reception, mostly characterized by common places and stereotypes derived from Russian literature. In turn, such a critical response fitted the rhetoric of a "national character" promoted by early Biennale exhibitions and its collateral events, from public acquisitions to art criticism awards.Con una mostra collettiva realizzata su commissione dell’Accademia Imperiale di Belle Arti di San Pietroburgo e a cura di Il’ja Repin, la Russia debuttò all’Esposizione Internazionale d’Arte di Venezia alla sua seconda edizione (1897). Alla luce di documenti inediti e di recensioni critiche di provenienza sia russa che italiana, l’articolo prende in esame le alterne fasi di realizzazione della rassegna e la sua accoglienza da parte di critica e pubblico. Ne emerge un quadro ricettivo in cui l’orizzonte d’attesa nei confronti dell’arte russa è in larga parte condizionato da precognizioni e stereotipi di natura letteraria, orientati verso l’individuazione di quel “carattere nazionale”, a cui si ispiravano il “concorso delle nazioni” delle prime Biennali e le sue attività collaterali, come le acquisizioni con fondi pubblici e i premi alla critica.In 1897 Russia had its debut at the Venice International Art Exhibition, with a group show commissioned by the State Academy of Fine Arts in Saint Petersburg and curated by Ilya Repin. Based on Russian and Italian unpublished archive records and press reviews, the article sheds light on the organization of the art show and on its critical and popular reception, mostly affected by common places and stereotypes derived from Russian literature. In turn, such a critical response fitted into the rhetoric of the “national character” promoted at the early Biennale exhibitions and at its collateral events, which included public acquisitions and award