How Soviet artists repurposed religious iconography to create secular art in the 1980s.
In short: Jill Cook examines a monumental painting from the 1980s Soviet Union that mimics the aesthetic of Renaissance religious icons. This piece offers a rare look at how secular themes were expressed through traditional sacred visual languages during the late Soviet era.
The painting, featured in the British Museum exhibition 'Living with gods: peoples, places and worlds beyond,' serves as a striking example of cultural adaptation. By adopting the formal qualities of a Renaissance icon, the artist navigated the complex ideological landscape of the USSR, blending historical religious artistic traditions with secular subject matter.
The exhibition, which ran from 2 November 2017 to 8 April 2018, was supported by the Genesis Foundation and John Studzinski CBE. It also complemented a BBC Radio 4 series hosted by Neil MacGregor, providing further context on how different societies have expressed their beliefs through objects and art.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Living with gods: a secular icon from the Soviet era
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