In recent years, two contradictory trends related to the study and display of picture frames have emerged in Russian museums. On the one hand, these works have at last caught the attention of scholars leading to publications on the evolution of art framing in Russia. However, the framing of paintings in museums is still not carried out on the basis of conducted research. In the light of a rapidly developing frame market, art historians and art critics have been increasingly replacing historical frames with massproduced ones, while disregarding historical reliability and authenticity of the frames, or the need to follow the author’s conception. Meanwhile, it is known that artists of different eras, as a rule, paid great attention to the selection of picture frames, with some among them, like A. N. Samokhvalov, creating their own. Thus, the purpose of the article is to examine the frames made by Samokhvalov, as well as to draw attention to the question of the author’s original picture framing. Samokhvalov’s frames are characterized by their unique design, which greatly affects the perception of the painting. Despite the fact that there exists a considerable body of art historical studies dedicated to the artist’s work, none of the researchers took notice of the problem of the picture framing. The article is the first to provide a scholarly introduction of designs and drawings of Samokhvalov’s frames, as well as works of art created on their basis. The artist’s frames from the collections of various museums have been attributed according to a comparative analysis. Likewise, traditional and innovative features in the works of Samokhvalov have been revealed as a result of stylistic assessment and comparison of frames produced by the artist with picture frames of the 17th – 20th centuries. The article illuminates the unexplored facet of the artist’s work presenting it in a new light. The research will not only allow to further preserve the unique frames of Samokhvalov in Russian museums, but also exhibit his works in accordance with the author’s intention.

The article is dedicated to the icon “The Mother of God Tikhvinskaya with the Tale of its Image” of the last quarter of the 17th century from the collection of the Historical Museum. It discusses its history, clarifies the literary source, as well as presents the analysis of the iconographic program, compositional features and artistic uniqueness. The work ended up in the museum collection due to global changes in post-revolutionary Russia, which triggered a large-scale movement of cultural properties. The icon originates from the Tikhvin Lands and belongs to the poorly studied culture of the Russian province. Recent research has unveiled a whole set of works linked to the icon painters of the Tikhvin Posad. The icon “The Mother of God Tikhvinskaya with the Tale of its Image” represents a vivid example of the art of Tikhvin masters of the second half of the 17th century. 

The stylistics of the child portrait in Russia in the 1850s – early 20th century underwent significant changes due to the emergence of photography (light painting). From the very beginning of its era, the 1850s, early photography borrowed composition, means of expression, and attributes from painting. Towards the end of the century, artists began to pay attention to the achievements of portrait photography, striving to depict children not in a staged way, but rather in moments of play, studies and rest, taking heed of photographic effects, in particular, cropped and “blurred” compositions. Many Russian artists used photo sketches, rethinking and re-creating the image of a child in their works. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the child portrait turned into an expressive medium of the artist’s self. By contrast, child photography focused on a specific child, with an emphasis on the continued documentation of the stages of his or her growth and development. The art form experienced further technical improvement, which led to the flourishing of the child photo portrait in the subsequent periods.

The traditional culture of homo mobilis has been the subject matter of research both in Russia and abroad. It is the nomadic way of life, largely of the past, that has come into the focus of scholars. This applies, in particular, to Kalmyks, the heirs of the Oirats, who came in the 17th century from Western Mongolia to the steppes of the Northern Caspian region. Nomadic herders explored and developed a vast area resorting to the traditional form of farming. Thousands of years in the constant movement of nomadic life and close linkages with the natural environment affected not only their way of living, but also their cosmovisions, i. e. perceptions of the world. From the point of view of nomads, the “middle world” (the world of people) exists in close contact with heaven and earth. Heaven is the founding father, the creator of all things, the source of everything that happens on earth. This image of the world is associated with a dialectical idea of the mutually exclusive and complementary phenomena of arga and bilig. The philosophical teaching of the Mongols, arga-bilig, extends to the traditional symbolism of color, which expresses ideas about interrelation between the Universe and a Man. The artistic embodiment of religious and philosophical ideas, developed in detail within the worldview of the Oirats of Mongolia, has been further elaborated in the cross-border culture of the Kalmyks of Russia. They preserved and transformed the traditional symbolism of color and space. Comparative analysis of artistic traditions accompanied by the usage of methodologies of history, ethnocultural studies, art history and philosophy enables one to identify the common and different between the cultures of the Oirats of Mongolia and the Kalmyks of Russia.