British Realism VS Soviet Realism 1

Realism has often been unfairly lumbered with a millstone wrapped around its conceptual neck; branded as dangerously ideological, aesthetically rigid, or worse, overly sentimental....

Yet, recent ambitious exhibitions in the UK such as Revolution, Russian Art 1917-1932  at the Royal Academy and Truth to Life: British Realist Painting in the 1920s and 1930s at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art quickly dispensed with these associations... Instead, they offered the British public an array of highly imaginative, tantalisingly evocative and, crucially, never-before-seen works from one of the most eclectic sub-sections in the canon of art history.

While “Decadent Art” that included Cubism and Futurism was banned by Stalin in the 1920s, “The Return to Order” in England after the chaos of the First World War created unexpected but uncanny parallels between two ideologically polar nations.

Both British and Soviet Realism were informed by photography, classicism and a close observation of society and its mores. However, the contrast in the underlying values of inter-war Britain and the Stalin’s USSR is resoundingly clear…

This two-part lecture series will delve into the archives of social, mystical and biblical realism across the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union between 1918-1945 to reveal how one of the most pervasive styles of modernism was both manipulated and revered as a means to an end.

Delivered by Freddie Heacock-Barber

NB This is lecture is part of a two part series. You can watch part two here.

Please note that once you pay you will get an email confirming your payment. This email will also contain a link and password for the first online lecture. If you have not received any emails with a link, please check your spam or junk folder, or email us and we will manually send you the link.

Note that the unique link and password to this recorded lecture are automatically changed at set intervals. It is therefore recommended to watch asap.