Monograph by Tamara Malinina The Imperial Glass Factory. XVIII - Beginning of XX Century

17 September 2009, the State Hermitage Publishing House presented a monograph by Tamara Malinina The Imperial Glass Factory. XVIII - Beginning of XX Century.

The monograph reveals the history of the factory, introduces the creative work of prominent craftsmen and artists of one of the most famous 'court' manufactories of St Petersburg. The book analyses and attributes the works of the Imperial Glass Factory produced in different styles: Baroque, Rococo, Classicism, Empire, Historicism, Art Nouveau. The material is presented in accordance with the reign periods of Russian emperors and is divided into the related sections: The Study of the Imperial Glass Factory in XIX-XX Centuries, The Petersburg Artistic Glassmaking in XVIII Century, The Imperial Glass Factory in the First Half of XIX Century, The Imperial Glass Factory in the Second Half of XIX Century, At the Edge of the Centuries, End of XIX - Beginning of XX Century.

During last years Russian decorative art as a whole, and artistic glassmaking being a part of it, draws increasing attention of researchers, primarily because of the need to add new materials to the study of the history of art factories and publish little-known works. Glass is usually studied in connection with the history of glass production, with the level of its technological achievements, as well as with issues of style, the role of glassware in the interiors of various historical periods.

The Imperial Glass Factory in St Petersburg, being the leading enterprise, played a special role in the history of Russian art during XVIII - beginning of XX century; it could be considered a developer of a number of technological ideas and experimental base for the creative work of world famous craftsmen, painters, architects.

In this sense, the Petersburg glassmaking could be regarded as a historical and artistic phenomenon, reflecting the development of culture and art in Russia. Together with other imperial (state) manufactories the Imperial Glass Factory participated in the formation of the St Petersburg School of Decorative and Applied Art. Never before was the history of the Imperial Glass Factory studied in the context of the artistic life of St Petersburg, responsive to contemporary changes in the spirit of the times; it is reflected in the work and activities of the administration, artists and craftsmen of the factory.

Until today the collection of works of the Imperial Glass Factory in various museums has not been studied as a single collection. Most of the studies and publications devoted to the Imperial Glass Factory during the period between XVIII - beginning of XX century, are related only to certain periods of its work; they often are descriptive, not all the most significant works have been published. To present day there is no comprehensive catalogue of its works. In order to determine the place of the Imperial Glass Factory among other glass factories a lot of accumulated factual material has been analysed and summarized; evaluation from the point of view of Art study is carried out as to its separate periods, as well as to unique works of the most significant artists and craftsmen.

Having been under His Imperial Majesty’s Cabinet, the Imperial (‘Court’) Glass Factory, like other state-owned manufactories, was producing glassware for metropolitan and suburban palaces. At various times, items were manufactured on the basis of the drawings of architects and the best professional painters of St Petersburg. In view of the close connection of the state glass factory with the Imperial Court, the artistic works of the factory were greatly influenced by the taste and level of culture of its customers, the rulers of Russia. The evaluation of this impact appears to be very interesting and relevant in the context of today.

Thus, the need for this publication is caused by the fact that the domestic literature lacks a similar synthesis of works where all issues are integrated and developed as a common cultural and artistic problem, the solution of which requires an interaction of related disciplines in the field of art history. An attempt to consolidate all information relating to this topic has been made for the purposes of its objective assessment.

This book is written for art historians, museum professionals and amateurs of art and culture.

About the author:

Tamara Malinina - Associate Professor, Doctor of Philosophy, leading scholarly researcher, curator of Russian art glass in the State Hermitage. Author of more than 70 publications, including exhibition catalogues, monograph, guide, articles in encyclopedias, research works of the museum, in special editions published in our country and abroad. Tamara Malinina graduated from the Department of Art History, History Department of Leningrad State University. She works in the State Hermitage Museum since 1970, she has been combining work with study. She has devoted herself to studying unknown at that time history of the Imperial Glass Factory, artistic and stylistic characteristics of its works; now she is a recognised expert in the field of Russian art glass. The author of the monograph has prepared several exhibitions devoted to glassmaking in Russia during the period between XVIII - beginning of XX century and contemporary art glass in the State Hermitage Museum and the Corning Museum of Glass (USA).

Monograph by Tamara Malinina The Imperial Glass Factory. XVIII - Beginning of XX Century