The Russian Academy of Arts is important for classical painting, it gave Russian artists an international role and status. Notable portrait painters from the Academy include Ivan Argunov, Fyodor Rokotov, Dmitry Levitzky, and Vladimir Borovikovsky.
In the early 19th century, when neoclassicism and romantism flourished, famous academic artists focused on mythological and Biblical themes, like Karl Briullov and Alexander Ivanov.
Realism came into dominance in the 19th century. The realists captured Russian identity in landscapes of wide rivers, forests, and birch clearings, as well as vigorous genre scenes and robust portraits of their contemporaries. Other artists focused on social criticism, or depicting dramatic moments in Russian history.
By the turn of the 20th century and on, many Russian artists developed their own unique styles, neither realist nor avante-garde. Many Russian oil paintings by the Peredvizhniki group of artists have been highly sought after by collectors in recent years.
During the Russian Revolution a movement was initiated to put all arts to service of the dictatorship of the proletariat. However, in the late Soviet era many artists combined innovation with socialist realism. They employed techniques as varied as primitivism, hyperrealism, grotesque, and abstraction.
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