Andrey Rublev: The Artist and His World

Description

An overview of master medieval Russian icon painter Andrey Rublev. Born in the 1360s, Andrey Rublev was a Muscovite monk and icon painter who died between 1427 and 1430 in Moscow. He is acknowledged as the supreme medieval Russian painter of icons and frescos, yet much about him remains mysterious. To date there is no volume in English on him or his work. This book addresses the gap, giving an overview of Rublev's own times and later reputation, and taking in the most recent Rublev scholarship. It uses Russian-language material (including Old Russian), but is thoroughly accessible to the non-specialist reader. Andrey Rublev is profusely illustrated with previously unpublished images, bringing the story of Rublev's 'rediscovery' right up to date.

Robin Milner-Gulland is Emeritus Professor of Russian and East European Studies at the University of Sussex, and an eminent translator, author and editor of works on Russian topics. He is the author of Cultural Atlas of Russia and the Former Soviet Union (2nd edn, 2002) and The Russians: The Peoples of Europe (1997), and translator of Icon and Devotion (Reaktion, 2002).

'Informed by extensive scholarly research, keen esthetic analysis and, most importantly, bold intuition, Robin Milner-Gulland has produced a magical account of the life and work of Andrey Rublev, whose icons and frescoes illuminated the dark ages of medieval Russia. Supported by colour reproductions of relevant icons, embroideries and ecclesiastical structures, the story, narrated in a sincere, engaging and unpretentious style, provides a broad and vivid context for understanding and evaluating the art of Rublev anew, from his masterpiece the Old Testament Trinity, to his manuscript illustrations and his frescoes for the Trinity Monastery.' - John E. Bowlt, Professor Emeritus of Slavic Languages and Literatures, University of Southern California; 'Robin Milner-Gulland is just the author to introduce us to Rublev and his world - both little known and much misrepresented . . . Comparing and contrasting his work with that of contemporaries and colleagues, gliding lightly over differences of scholarly opinion without getting bogged down in the detail, [Milner-Gulland] evokes the man and the artist as a living presence.' - Avril Pyman, Reader Emeritus in Russian, University of Durham