World Exhibitions in Paris. History of World Exhibitions (Many photos) Industrial exhibition in Paris 1900
Russia at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900 - St. Petersburg: Publication by I. Shustov, 1900. - 56, 116, 71, 5 p. : ill.; 43.
Russia at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900 - St. Petersburg: Edition of I. Shustov, 1900. - 56, 116, 71, 5 p. : ill.; 43.
[From the Introduction]
To determine the state of culture and progress by the end of the 19th century, the government of the French Republic organized the World Art, Industrial and Agricultural Exhibition in Paris in 1900, in which, at the invitation of France, Russia and forty-nine foreign countries took part.
According to the plan of Paris, an area of 1,080,000 square meters was allocated for the exhibition. meters with the provision of 24,000 sq. m. to Russia. meters (5,270 sq. fathoms).
The exhibition occupied the space between Place de la Concorde and Avenue d'Antin and Avenue des Champs Elysées; Place des Invalides (Esplanade des Invalides), the embankments of the Seine from the Pont Alexandre III, the Trocadero and the Champs de Mars. In addition, a place has been allocated in Vincennes Park for rolling stock of railways, items for constructing a railway track and its equipment. Temporary competitions in all kinds of sports were also held here.
Part one
Introduction
Russia at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900
Biographies of exhibition participants
Russia in the exhibition groups and in the pavilion of Russian outskirts
Part two
Exhibitors
Awards given to Russian exhibitors at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900
Alphabetical list of exhibitors for Russia's participation at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900
Sample pages
Illustrated description of the Universal Industrial Exhibition in Paris, 1867. - St. Petersburg: Edition of V. E. Genkel, 1869. - VI, , 48, 349 pp., ill.
Illustrated description of the World Industrial Exhibition in Paris, 1867. - St. Petersburg: Edition of V. E. Genkel, 1869. - VI, , 48, 349 pp., ill.
PREFACE.
In presenting to the public the “Illustrated Description of the Universal Exhibition in Paris,” we consider it not superfluous to say a few words about the purpose of this undertaking.
Recently, doubts have arisen in society regarding the usefulness of world industrial exhibitions in general. To be convinced of the absurdity of such an assumption, it is enough to look at the works of any country exhibited at the London World Exhibition of 1862, and compare them with the same works of the Paris World Exhibition of 1867. We see that in the latter there is no longer that clumsy finishing, that tastelessness and meaningless reproduction of forms that were so distinguished by many of the works of the London exhibition. And this, of course, is very natural - a world industrial exhibition gives both the industrialist and the worker the opportunity to compare on the spot the same items prepared in different countries ah and by various methods, evaluate the qualities of some and the disadvantages of others, and thus draw a conclusion about the advantages of one or another method. Indeed, the Paris World Exhibition of 1867 eloquently proved to us the benefits of such exhibitions; it gave us the opportunity to survey the various degrees of culture on which individual nations stand, and at the same time form a general concept of the civilization of the entire globe. By examining the objects of the Paris exhibition, we could, in some way, trace a certain part of the history of mankind. So, for example, next to the bow and arrow of primitive man, we saw a rifled cannon and a needle gun; next to the crude written signs of barely known peoples, scratched on tree bark or on palm leaves, are telegraph machines, calculating machines and gigantic printing presses of civilized peoples.
Unfortunately, not all of our industrialists had the opportunity to personally attend the Paris World Exhibition. Only a lucky few were able to examine the exhibited items and make a comparative assessment of them on the spot... Based on this point of view and bearing in mind the encouragement of our domestic industry, we began to publish the “Illustrated Description”, and we dare to think that we have rendered an undoubted service to our an industry that still greatly needs this kind of literary enterprise. In fact, in order for our industry to improve, it needs an abundant supply of good samples, which it now borrows from foreigners. To get rid of this slavish dependence, first of all, industrialists need artistic education, and in this regard, good drawings with a comparative assessment of them can help a lot. We say, of course, to help, because the main thing must be done by art schools, in the establishment of which France and England are again far ahead of us.
We hope that An Illustrated Account of the Paris Universal Exhibition will do its share of usefulness in this regard. We published, in the form of a feuilleton, a whole series of essays in which we tried to critically evaluate some of the essential sections of the exhibition and indicate the nature and purpose of the exhibition itself. We even made an attempt to prove the influence of ancient industry on modern industry.
Attached to the “Illustrated Description” is also the “Chronicle of the Exhibition”, in which we made a detailed assessment of the 10th group as more interesting. In addition, it contains articles of a more general content, the purpose of which is to present to the reader the most versatile and interesting characteristics of the Parisian World Industrial Exhibition of 1867.
The artistic and educational significance of our “Illustrated Description” will become clear to anyone who agrees that in general world exhibitions serve as excellent educational schools for workers, and it is impossible not to agree with this, taking into account the influence that the last world exhibition had on these poor workers, who flocked in such huge numbers to the Campus Martius.
We must, unfortunately, admit that with all our efforts to present the works of the Russian art industry in a more favorable light, we still had to give advantage to foreigners, who in this regard were far ahead of us.
In “An Illustrated Description of the Paris Universal Exhibition” we have tried to present the most remarkable examples of the art industry of each department and each country, and thus to compile a lasting picture gallery of interest to everyone who took any part in the Paris exhibition or was interested in it. Our pictures give a visual idea of the artistic and manufactured works of all countries, and present them in the same form in which they were presented at the exhibition (as far as, of course, this is generally possible in illustrations).
After all of the above, we dare to think that by offering this book to the public, we are offering it useful, conscientious work, which will provide an undoubted service to our domestic industry and will serve as a reference book for those industrialists who want to conduct their business in accordance with modern requirements.
St. Petersburg.
V. Genkel.
Preface... V
Feuilleton: The nature and goals of the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1867 ... 1
Glass as a necessity and luxury... 68
Lace, linen and embroidery...117
The influence of ancient works on art...141
Materials of ceramic art and sculpture: clay, stones, marble.184
Furniture and artistic carpentry...228
Carpet production, wool, silk, paper fabrics and mixed yarn...261
Metals. - Products made of gold and silver. - Gems...298
Porcelain and pottery.310
Bronze. - The influence of art on industry.. 331
General view of the Paris Industrial Exhibition of 1867 ..342
General view of the Champ de Mars and the World Exhibition.. 1
Little things...4
Furniture and fashion (Groups III and IV)..5
Little things...8
Review of the Xth group. 8
Russian exhibitors who received awards at the Paris World Exhibition of 1867 12
Little things...-
Review of the Xth group (continued)...13
Russian exhibitors who received awards at the Paris World Exhibition of 1867 (continued)...-
Little things... 16
Review of the Xth group (continued).17
Russian exhibitors who received awards at the Paris World Exhibition of 1867 (continued).18
Little things..19
Review of the Xth group (continued)...21
Russian exhibitors who received awards at the Paris World Exhibition of 1867 (continued) -
Little things..23
Review of the Xth group (end)...25
Russian exhibitors who received awards at the Paris World Exhibition of 1867 (continued).26
The symbol of the exhibition was the meeting of the new, 20th century. The dominant style at the exhibition was Art Nouveau. Over seven months, the exhibition was visited by more than 50 million people, which is a record figure to this day. 35 countries presented their expositions in 18 thematic sections. The exhibition lasted from April 15 to November 12, 1900. It was visited by over 50 million people (a world record at that time) and brought an income of 7 million francs to the French treasury. Over 76 thousand participants took part in the exhibition; the exhibition area was 1.12 km².
In 1900, the government of the Russian Empire decided to demonstrate the country's technical power as fully as possible. The Parisians met halfway and allocated more than 24,000 m² to Russia for the exhibition. However, in the end even this area turned out to be not enough.
The article, based on memoirs and letters, shows the contradictory impressions of Russian visitors from the Parisian World Exhibitions of 1889 and 1900, which became the most visited and at which the achievements of Russian culture were most vividly presented.
In the second half of the 19th century. World Exhibitions were the prototypes of modern biennales, international economic forums and festivals. Since its first convening in 1851, the World Exhibitions of Commerce, Industry and the Arts began to gain increasing popularity and prestige - they were called “meetings of nations”.
Thanks to the emerging Institute of PR and professional advertising, it was possible to present the organization and its products here, strengthening its competitive position in your country and in the world. At the World Exhibitions they not only competed, but also communicated, made deals, exchanged technologies and entered into long-term cooperation. The interest of Russian entrepreneurs, specialists, high-ranking officials, journalists and ordinary people in the “dating of peoples” was very high. Each such exhibition was accompanied by international congresses at which a wide variety of topics were discussed.
For partner states of that time, the participation of national industry in World Exhibitions became an important means of solving foreign policy problems. However, the main thing was that hundreds of thousands of visitors could get acquainted with the way of life and the achievements of different countries and peoples, in particular Russia, which still remained an exotic country for many. Thousands of tourists, specialists, travelers and simply curious people were attracted by the results of scientific and industrial activities: cars, rare crafts, colonial goods, as well as the atmosphere of an international holiday: “ <...>The streets are especially busy, - wrote a visitor to the 1889 Exhibition, artist M. V. Nesterov, - what kind of peoples you won’t see here: Arabs in their costumes, blacks, mulattoes, Indians».
The Crimean War made it impossible for Russia to participate in the first Paris World Exhibition of 1855. O. von Bismarck wrote that at its height - August 15, 1855 (Napoleon I’s birthday) -through the streets Russian prisoners were escorted out of Paris. However, Russia subsequently participated in the World Exhibitions in Paris in 1867, 1878, 1889 and 1900. The World Exhibitions of 1889 and 1900 deserve special attention, at which our country was most clearly represented.
If the World Exhibition of 1867 was, according to N.M. Shchapov, a symbol of a “triumphant, but not lasting empire,” then the 1889 exhibition is a “triumphant but not lasting republic.” On the first day, about 500 thousand people visited it. The timing of the exhibition to coincide with the anniversary of the Great French Revolution, as well as internal Russian events (the struggle of the tsarist government with the revolutionaries) led to the refusal Russian government formally participate in its work. <...>Therefore, the Russian exposition was mainly compiled through the efforts and funds of interested enterprises, institutions and individuals. Everything that was connected with Russia was extremely popular and Russians were treated here with great sympathy: “ Russians are celebrated here. Recently I was at the exhibition of Pasteur and Charcot (I think) , - wrote M.V. Nesterov, - they were greeted, at that time they saw a Russian student, immediately they picked him up, began to rock him and shouts - “Long live Russia and long live France!” - the Exhibition was announced, and similar stories can often be found here
The Russian pavilion at the exhibition in Paris looked more like a small city. It was built in the Russian style and with many of its features (towers, hipped roofs, battlements, patterned windows and porches) resembled the Moscow Kremlin. Nearby, Kustarnaya Street was built with typical Russian mansions, huts and a rural wooden church. The main focus of the extensive exhibition was on the ethnography of the so-called outskirts - Siberia, the Far North, Central Asia, Caucasus.
Visiting Russian artists, for example M. V. Nesterov, were primarily interested in the French department of painting: “ <...>... seventeen halls. All the best things from France are here, many of them have received worldwide fame. All this is stunning at first, the brilliance surprises, the courage is extraordinary, you walk as if in a daze, your legs give way from fatigue, and everything new and new lies ahead...<...>But all this is good, beautiful, original, but not brilliant, and among the French there are geniuses who have turned everything upside down. Not a single nation has left them, from us, many sinners, to the Americans. The first and greatest of the modern Frenchmen, in my opinion, is Bastien-Lepage. Each of his things is an event, it is a whole volume of wisdom, kindness and poetry» .
As for the exposition of the Russian department of fine arts, then, according to M. V. Nesterov, it was not the most successful: “The Russian department is shameful,” he wrote to his relatives. However, many works enjoyed attention, for example paintings by K.E. Makovsky, who received a gold medal here.
The highlight of the Exhibition was the Eiffel Tower, a metal bright red three-tier structure 305 m high erected on the Champs de Mars - “a fairy tale by Jules Verne”. She, towering over the Exhibition, like “a giant above the little guys,” shocked both the French and foreigners: “ In the evening we went to Notre Dame de Paris, along the way we could still see the Eiffel Tower in the distance. It is like a pillar in the sky, covered with fog below, only its top is clearly visible with an electric torch." I was amazed by its illumination, as well as the entire Exhibition: “ <...>a particularly grand view of the Trocadéro. It was filled with fire, the Eiffel Tower was all red, like hot jelly. The fountains were launched and flowed with multi-colored water: sometimes green, sometimes purple, sometimes red, sometimes rainbow - beautiful and majestic» .
Anyone could climb the tower; other equally extreme services were also offered: “ <...>not yet
I decided,” wrote V. M. Vasnetsov, “maybe I’d prefer to climb (for the same price of 5 francs) on a balloon, you’ll be a few arshins higher than the tower, and they’ll give you a diploma that you flew, supposedly, on your own 400 meters.” from the earth» .
At the service of hungry visitors was the so-called “Russian hut of the 15th century,” where a certain Dmitry Filimonovich, an Ufa merchant, traded: “ <...>Outside there is black bread, samovars, inside it is covered with red, and on the shelves are Russian wooden dishes, and on the table is a large samovar.<...>Groups of curious people approach the hut and look at it as if it were a savage’s home, smile and move on.". In the “Russian Izba” you could try traditional Russian dishes: cabbage soup, porridge, tea. So, M.V. Nesterov, surprisingly French, drank five glasses of tea and left “as if nothing had happened.” .
At the exhibition of 1889, France, as they say, suppressed all other countries, exhibiting, in comparison with them, much more quality goods. However, there was something to brag about in the Russian department too “ <...>the calicos of Baranov and Morozov, the silk and brocade of Sapozhnikov, the silver of Khlebnikov and Ovchinnikov are good. In technical news, we tried the telephone - an opera was transmitted to the exhibition from a distance of 5 kilometers. The crematorium was also news". At the exhibition they admired “silk, velvet, furniture, bronze, porcelain, artificial flowers, velvet dresses (“mindlessness”), and finally, the engine room, where all the machines worked, and the public looked at them from the bridge moving slowly under the roof; glowing fountains (“how beautiful they are and it’s impossible to tell<...>""). The Russians rejoiced at the kaleidoscope of impressions, for which, in fact, they came: “ <...>you won’t see anything - the dance of Almeys from Algeria, the Chinese theater in the Annam department, and the galloping of ragged Cairo boys on white donkeys. We tried oriental coffee and all sorts of other things you can see here» .
The Paris World Exhibition of 1900 summed up the results of the last century, surpassing all previous Exhibitions in cost and splendor. Outwardly, it looked “unprepossessing,” “huge,” and “stretching for many miles.” The architecture was reminiscent of the “Nemetti Garden” - a theater in St. Petersburg, founded by actress V. A. Linskaya-Nemetti. To attract the public and profitability, numerous places of entertainment and entertainment were installed on the Exhibition site, for example, a Ferris wheel with a diameter of 93 m, a large telescope, a giant globe and much more. Opened in July 1900, the Paris Metro became one of the most unique and interesting exhibits for French and foreign visitors.
Russia, as the main trade, cultural and military-political partner of France, took the most active and visible part in this grandiose event. For the first time, Russia had its own separate national pavilions here. The main one was located on a hillside in the Trocadero park, which the French public " greedily attacked<...>partly because there was almost nothing else to see at the exhibition, partly because of the feeling of that “aiiense” that now permeates the slightest contact between French and Russian» .
Nearby was the “Handicraft Pavilion,” which exhibited decorative and applied arts, works of traditional and modern folk crafts. After the Exhibition ended, the French press expressed regret that the inhabitants of this “village” - the Russian workers who built it - had disappeared: “The French marveled at their fur hats, caps with leather visors, their disheveled beards, their hair cut into brackets, their childish, good-natured eyes and gentle smiles. Our workers especially surprised their French comrades with their artistic ability to wield an ax and use it to make things out of wood for which a Frenchman uses a whole range of different tools.". An interesting message, also related to the construction of a handicraft pavilion, was made at the Society of Architects by A. A. Staborovsky, a producer of works in the Russian department of the World Exhibition. He said that the first batch of Russian carpenters who arrived to build the department created a real sensation in Paris.
Firstly, Russian workers, thanks to their red shirts and greased boots, seemed like a rare curiosity to the French: “The boys ran after them in a crowd, ran ahead, shouted to them “vive 1a Russie!”, gave them tobacco, cigarettes and newspapers to read, which our peasants used for cigarettes. The adults also showed their affection for them, treating them to cognac, which our workers drank in glasses of beer and plunged the company gathered around into amazement. The beautiful half of the human race also did not remain indifferent to œs petits Russes. People began to come to the commissariat for information about the material well-being of some workers; one young guy was not married only because he turned out to be already married" .
Secondly, the very methods of work and arrangement of Russian life seemed at least strange and surprising to the French. For example, the French were terribly afraid of fire, and therefore the most stringent fire safety measures were used at the exhibition: « <...>It took a lot of effort to get permission to build a Russian stove and kitchen for the workers. The Russian stove terrified the French, and they proposed installing gas fires.”. In addition, to speed up the work, despite the presence of 125 Russian carpenters, the French still had to be hired: “The French carpenters were not entirely comfortable: they didn’t have axes and didn’t know how to hew. The Russian workers, with their natural intelligence and intelligence, as well as their endurance and ability to adapt to all kinds of circumstances, caused great surprise among the French. With their almost primitive tools, our workers sometimes achieved the same results as the French. The French carpenters marveled at the ax dexterity of our workers and began to buy spare axes from them, and since our carpenters were reluctant to part with their only tool, the French, without hesitation, stole our axes, since there is nothing to get them in Paris.”
It should be noted that the French, when they encountered ordinary Russian people, were always admired by their qualities such as helpfulness, skill and agility: they sometimes replaced a lot of tools with one ax, with which they worked miracles. However, this did not prevent the French from realizing their superiority over the Russian workers. And indeed, thanks to their school training, they have come far ahead. «<...>Not all of our foremen understood the drawing as well as the French ordinary workers. They execute the most complex designs and drawings extremely simply and accurately. Looking at our work, they could not understand our frame, brackets, scaffolding, etc., and tried to suggest their own methods. All wooden buildings and towers were erected by French carpenters without scaffolding, but with the help of prefabricated ladders, and the habit of working in this way developed in them the abilities of acrobats, so that our workers themselves called them “desperate” .
In general, the work at the Exhibition showed that talented and savvy Russian workers lack only basic school training and technical education, which Russian engineers regretted at every step: “Our worker is a talented self-taught person, as can be seen from the fact that everything was done no worse than French professionals, solely thanks to his ability.” .
A Military Pavilion was also built at the exhibition. But in general, the place provided to the Russians was, according to Princess M.K. Tenisheva, "extremely unprofitable<...>, because the Russian department at the exhibition did not turn out as spectacular as it could have been.<...>However, despite the unfortunate location, some Russian departments were still very interesting.” .
The World Exhibition of 1900 became the most visited in their entire previous history - over 48 million people. The artist I. S. Ostroukhov wrote to V. D. Polenov in September 1900: «<...>I lived from morning to night at the exhibition, which is a thousand times more interesting and serious than both the ones I saw in 1878 and 1889. This exhibition is really worth seeing." .
Not everyone was delighted with the scope of the large-scale action, since these “places of pilgrimage to the commodity fetish” with their “vital nerve - fetishism” erected a “commodity universe”, in which sometimes there was not enough room for the Parisians themselves: “The Parisian feels as if destroyed, he is strangled, crushed by the exotic element that has developed under the frames of the palace of industry<.>The presence of 500,000 foreigners in Paris is, first of all, manifested by the pressure of crowding at the main points of the capital and the complete impossibility of obtaining a hired carriage."- read in Russia about the Exhibition of 1855.
According to Russian observations, the same picture could be observed decades later, only on an even larger scale: "This type of international relations, - wrote P. Boborykin, - put a stamp on it (Paris) not for the benefit of what was the main attraction of Parisian street life. Exhibitions developed the pursuit of curious novelty, flooded Paris with all kinds of visiting people who follow only the lure of advertising and curiosity.”. . The first impression of the artist E. D. Polenova from the Exhibition of 1889 was as unpleasant as from “huge, cheap and untalented advertising. There’s a lot of popular print,” she wrote, “but very little subtlety.”. It was later, after a more careful study, that she found a lot of interesting things here. The main drawback of the Exhibition, according to the artist, was that it “too big, and a good thing is lost in a huge number of unimportant, mediocre and often even bad things.” » . “Living in Paris is good, - she wrote to E. G. Mamontova, - but not when there’s an exhibition, otherwise it’s terribly tiring.<...>I feel very energetic again in spirit, which was not the case the first time I arrived here.” .
The achievements of mankind sometimes evoked mixed feelings of delight and horror among some representatives of the Russian intelligentsia, since it was almost impossible to imagine an even more advanced development of science and technology. Unprecedented progress, piercing like an arrow into the outcome of the 19th century, was bound, in the opinion of domestic observers, to reach some kind of dead end and lead to degradation. From Paris in 1889, in which one can “resolutely forget everything, father, mother, clan, and tribe,” V. Vasnetsov wrote: “What about the exhibition? This, I think, is something terrible in its infinity, in its boundless accumulation of wealth, labor, culture (!), genius, talent. I certainly imagine that this must be terrifying, because where to go? What else remains to be completed? Meanwhile, people will go even further. God! Yes, this is already quite scary! There will certainly be people to eat! ». To the religious philosopher N. Fedorov, the Exhibition in Paris of 1889 and the French Exhibition in Moscow (“and this in a year like the hungry year of 1891”) seemed almost animated monsters: “To expect that a blind force, given to the control of this conscious being and not controlled by it, would itself produce only good, give only good harvests, is the height of childishness<...>. How can one not say that the Lord was apparently angry at our continued minority!”. He believed that industry and trade are “all this little thing that modern man is so proud of, which he collects from all corners of the earth under the inappropriate name of “World (Exhibitions)” and which keeps under the yoke of human thought and activity, even the physical offices and laboratories are all just “children’s” sciences.
In October 1900, 18-year-old Margarita Sabashnikova, a future famous artist, poetess, writer and wife of the poet M. Voloshin, went to Paris: "The Face of the Beloved City"<...>,” she recalls, “was distorted by this monster—that’s how I perceived the Exhibition.<....>I felt lost in this hustle and bustle. The Trocadero waterfalls, illuminated by sparklers, the swirling skirts of Louise Fuller, also illuminated by sparklers, the false exotic dances of the famous beauty Cleo de Merode, and especially the dazzling audience left only a feeling of emptiness and despondency in my soul. Among all kinds of machines and spectacles, questions about the meaning of this entire culture and the meaning of life in general haunted me all the time.”. At the Exhibition - the quintessence of material and technical progress, the naturalism of which so wounded the delicate young soul, Sabashnikova was truly delighted only by the Japanese theater with the famous actress Sadayakko, the first woman on the Japanese stage: “This art,” I thought, “comes from ancient culture, why is such art inaccessible to us in our time? Ancient cultures were artistically superior to ours!” .
The philanthropist and collector of collections of Russian antiquities, the wife of the General Commissioner of the Russian Department, M.K. Tenisheva, who played one of the leading roles in organizing Russia’s success at international representation, writes about the “nervous hustle and bustle of Paris”, fatigue from the hyper-buzzing life in the “capital of the world”. The Exhibition itself left few pleasant impressions in her memory: «<...>I consider it a complete failure. There was nothing original or new in it, and, studying and examining it, I could not bear anything but fatigue. Starting with its location and still the same Eiffel Tower, which was already an eyesore even before the exhibition, ending with the complete decline of creativity discovered by the French nation - all together was unpleasant. The poor French could not break free from the style of Louis XVI, and all the hastily erected buildings bore the imprint of a decline in taste and testified to the poverty of artistic goals. It was disgusting to see this endless row of buildings, huge exhibition sheds, with plaster moldings. Looking at them, I thought that if France did not make an effort and break these shackles of two centuries of copying an undoubtedly great past, it would die for art, and it would not be so easy to be reborn. Even applied art and its branch, which formerly constituted the glory of France - “l" art precieux,” now stand very low there.” .
V. Vasnetsov wrote to his brother in September 1900: “The impressions you received from the exhibition do not really encourage you to go there. You will get tired, but you will not take away anything significant in your soul. Why did they fool us that the place for our paintings is wonderful!”. The French political journalist A. Leroy-Beaulieu was also a staunch opponent of the World Exhibitions. They, according to him, due to their incredibly growing size and costs, are becoming more and more impossible and useless, turning into some kind of bazaars where the visitor is looking only for entertainment. He dreamed that the Exhibition of 1900 would be the last.
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A copy of someone else's materials
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Politics and culture
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The main event of the year
World Exhibition in Paris. Panorama of the Champ de Mars from the gallery of the Trocadero Palace
1900
View of part of the World's Fair from the bridge on the Seine
Paris, 1900
Zhivago Foundation, Pushkin Museum im. A.S. Pushkin, Moscow
The World Exhibition in Paris, which surpassed all previous exhibitions not only in France, but also anywhere else (they were held on various continents, but mainly in Western Europe), was certainly the main event of the year. It attracted the attention of the whole world and provoked the arrival of an unprecedented number of tourists in the country: from April to November, 50,860,801 people visited France - more than its entire population.
Entrance to the metro on Boulevard Pasteur in Paris, designed by Hector Guimard
OK. 1900
Roger-Viollet / East News
In July, the first metro line opened in Paris - a triumph of technology and art (the metro entrances, sophisticated from a decorative point of view, were decorated in the Art Nouveau style according to the designs of Hector Guimard). It is now possible to travel from one end of Paris to the other in just 25 minutes instead of an hour and a half.
Impressive buildings appeared on both sides of the Seine. On the left bank is the Orsay station, which after more than seven decades, as a result of a major internal reconstruction, became the Orsay Museum, the main center of 19th-century art. On the right bank there grew the Grand and Small Palaces (Grand Palais and Petit Palais), from which the Alexander III Bridge was thrown across the Seine; its very name was reminiscent of the ever-growing Russian-French ties. These buildings visibly embodied the Belle Epoque - a quarter-century period French history, abruptly interrupted by the outbreak of the First World War.
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World Exhibition in Paris. View of the Pont Alexandre III
1900
World Exhibition in Paris. Pont Alexandre III and Invalides esplanade
1900
Zhivago Foundation, Pushkin Museum im. A.S. Pushkin, Moscow
Among the most notable attractions of the exhibition was also the long-forgotten “Parisian Woman” - a slightly strange symbol of the great city with large breasts and oriental style, created through the efforts of the sculptor Paul Moreau-Vautier. This five-meter statue with outstretched arms welcoming the whole world, crowning a huge arch on the Place de la Concorde, simply could not survive for long, as it was cast from plaster.
World Exhibition in Paris. Sculptures in the central hall of the Grand Palais
1900
Zhivago Foundation, Pushkin Museum im. A.S. Pushkin, Moscow
The main part of the World Exhibition was dedicated to the achievements of industry, but many hundreds of works of art from different countries were also displayed there for every taste - from the pompous creations of the masters of the Parisian salons to the paintings of the Impressionists, Georges Seurat and other opponents of official art that received citizenship rights here. (I. S. Ostroukhov was appointed organizer of the large Russian department of the painting exhibition). Art lovers and simply people who like to stare flocked to Paris from all over the world. The exhibition was visited by many Russian painters and cultural figures, including the Shchukin brothers.
World Exhibition in Paris. French painting at the Grand Palais
1900
Roger-Viollet / East News
As part of the World Exhibition, two expositions were launched, the organizers of which pursued far from the same goals. One exhibition, Exposition Decennale, focused on works recent years, did not allow paintings by the Impressionists and their followers into its halls. At another, the Centenary, the Impressionists could be represented, but only with works performed before 1890 (the century was counted from the Great Revolution). This dispensation was achieved by the academic circles of France, who did not want to popularize the latest trends in painting, marked by the paintings of Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Auguste Renoir, and Paul Cezanne. Paintings of the latter were sent to the Centenary Exhibition by Paul Durand-Ruel, Ambroise Vollard and a number of famous collectors (14 works by Monet, 7 by Degas, 8 by Alfred Sisley, etc.) Be that as it may, the admission of the Impressionists to the international arena meant their recognition in the eyes of the rest of the world. At that moment, M. A. Morozov and S. I. Shchukin had barely begun to collect new French painting, and I. A. Morozov was still just thinking about such an idea, but it was already clear to them that, no matter how their Moscow brethren treated their hobby According to the merchant class, the path they have chosen is the right one and not so risky. At the same time, one of the Russian pioneers of new French painting, I. I. Shchukin, on the contrary, is selling most of his collection of impressionists in order to completely switch to old masters.
Young Pablo Picasso
1904
In connection with the exhibition of his paintings at the World Exhibition, the young Spaniard Pablo Picasso comes to Paris for the first time - and lingers there, becoming closely associated with the colony of Spanish modernists who settled in Montmartre: he greedily absorbs new acute impressions of the life and art of Paris.
The second future titan of the avant-garde, Henri Matisse, at this time stands on the threshold of radical changes in his destiny. Avoiding the well-trodden and promising paths offered by the Salon and the Academy of Arts, he first paints in the spirit of impressionism, then is influenced by the art of Vincent Van Gogh, but his paintings do not at all attract either lovers of new painting or Marchands: he was probably too ahead of himself. At the beginning of 1900, Matisse was forced to earn money as a painter, taking part as a day laborer in the decoration of the Grand Palais, a huge, newly completed building designed to house paintings and sculptures.
Grand Palais, Paris
1900
Archive of the Pushkin Museum im. A. S. Pushkina
The arrangement of creative forces in French capital at that time it was distinguished by exceptionally great diversity and significantly increased tolerance towards any innovations in a short time, because the World Exhibition of 1900 itself was nothing more than a colossal parade of innovations. The routes to climb the Parisian artistic Olympus are gradually losing their standardization and legitimacy. Salon benefits and awards attract young artists less and less. On the other hand, adherents of officially approved art are increasingly willing to adopt what only recently would have been subjected to the most decisive condemnation by the academic Areopagus. This, in particular, refers to the widespread use of Art Nouveau (Art Nouveau) techniques.
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Maurice Denis
Tribute to Cezanne
1900
Canvas, oil. 180 x 240
Orsay Museum, Paris
Pierre Bonnard
Man and woman
1900
Canvas, oil. 115 x 72.5
Orsay Museum, Paris
It is characteristic that Maurice Denis, one of the luminaries of Art Nouveau and Symbolism, paints a large group portrait “Tribute to Cézanne” (Orsay Museum, Paris), showing his friends reverently listening to the Master from Aix. An astute critic who had excellent command not only of the brush, but also of the word, Denis perfectly understood how important a place Paul Cézanne had already occupied in French painting, although he was still very far from wide public recognition.
The group of nabis, to which Maurice Denis belonged, then nominated its most talented masters - Edouard Vuillard and Pierre Bonnard. In “Man and Woman” (Museum Orsay, Paris), Bonnard simply and boldly addresses issues of psychology and the opposition of the sexes, which at that time acquired an acute social resonance and worried not only scientists and medical workers, but also all thinking people.
The growing understanding of the coloristic foundations of painting leads to the strengthening of the position of neo-impressionism on the Parisian stage, as well as to the expansion of this style beyond the borders of France. Young artists are noticeably attracted to Paul Signac and Henri Edmond Cross.
World population
The 1900th, the final year of the century, the very logic of chronology pushed us to sum up the results, to comprehensively take into account various indicators, especially since the 19th century became, at least for Europe, the era of the greatest achievements of civilization. It was calculated, in particular, that the globe is inhabited by 1617 million people (this figure has increased by 711 million over the century). In 1900, there were 132 million people in Russia, 40 in France, largest country Western Hemisphere - USA - 76.
"Boxer Rebellion"
Soldiers of the Eight Power Alliance and European recruits who suppressed the Boxer Rebellion in China
1900
European states, including Russia, began to suppress the “Boxer Rebellion” in China, aimed against Western expansion. As a result, China adopted an “open door” policy.
The first issue of the newspaper "Iskra"
December 1900
G.V. Plekhanov and V.I. Lenin founded the Marxist newspaper Iskra in exile. The illegal press contributed to the spread of anti-government sentiment in Russia.
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Development of Russia
Laying the Great Siberian Route.
Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich personally transports a wheelbarrow of earth onto the roadbed in Vladivostok.
May 19, 1891
Prisoners pave part of the Great Siberian Route.
Late XIX - early XX centuries.
Along with the USA, England, Germany and France, Russia has become one of the world's leading industrial powers. The country's financial position remained quite strong: the then ruble was backed by gold and was worth half the American dollar. The Russian railway network developed, and part of the Great Siberian Route was laid, construction of which began in 1891.
New in knowledge of the world
1900 is truly a milestone date. The point is not in the magic of a round number that closes one period and notifies about the onset of a new time, but in the formation of new conditions for intellectual awareness of the world, in which exact sciences coexist with esoteric fads, and rationalism is accompanied by faith in the sacraments. The eve of the next century is a crossroads of a wide variety of discoveries in the exact sciences and humanities, in literature and art. Max Planck, the founder of quantum theory, deduces the law of radiation. The era of color photography begins. Edmund Husserl publishes Logical Investigations, Sigmund Freud publishes The Interpretation of Dreams (Russian translation appears in 1913), and Henri Bergson publishes the book The Comic.
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The turn of two centuries of Russian culture
Mikhail Vrubel
City of Ledenets. Set design sketch for the opera “The Tale of Tsar Saltan” by Rimsky-Korsakov (fragment)
1900
Mikhail Vrubel
The Swan Princess (fragment)
1900
Canvas, oil. 142.5 x 93.5
State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
To the end point XIX century Russian culture has come up with many significant achievements that can withstand comparison with the highest world standards, especially in the field of literature and music. A characteristic property of this period of development of Russian culture was comprehensiveness, syntheticity, universality - with deep attention to national nature chosen theme, image, motive. In 1900, this unique fusion of qualities was demonstrated, in particular, by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera “The Tale of Tsar Saltan,” which was probably not the best creation of this composer and yet has not lost its significance. “Saltan” was staged at the Moscow Private Opera, the production was designed by M. A. Vrubel. The role of the Swan Princess was performed by the artist’s wife N.I. Zabela-Vrubel. Many years later, B.V. Asafiev admired the “exceptional sound-light-colorful imagery” of this performance.
This was the fourth world exhibition in France. Like all previous shows, it was located in the very center of Paris - on the Champ de Mars, the Quai d'Orsay and, on the contrary, across the Seine - in the Trocadero area. The exhibition area, which occupied more than 70 hectares, was provided by the city free of charge. The exhibition turned into a unique experimental construction laboratory. Buildings and structures made of metal were built here, which, in terms of the boldness of their technical thought and their enormous size, were many years ahead of world practice. The grandiose 300-meter metal tower, designed by Gustav Eiffel on the banks of the Seine, was twice the height of the tallest buildings in the world. The engineer Bourdon took part in the design along with Eiffel, and it was built by several contractors: Gobert, Nougnier, Cachelin, Salle and Sauvestre. All parts of the tower were manufactured in a factory manner. Its construction lasted 7 months. The dynamic composition of the tower showed new aesthetic possibilities of metal architecture.
Behind the Eiffel Tower there were various exhibition buildings, among which the main compositional role was played by luxurious Palace industry. On the dome of this building, 65 meters high, a huge female figure was installed, personifying France.
Behind the Palace of Industry designed by architect F.L. Duter and engineer M.Zh. Contamena built a true masterpiece of engineering art - the Palace of Machines. The length of this gigantic three-span building was 420 m, the middle span was 115 m, and the clear height was 45 m. Unique for that time was the light load-bearing structure of the central hall. It consisted of twenty lattice three-hinged arches resting directly on the foundation. The building had an unusual observation platform, operating on the principle of an overhead crane. It transported more than 200 visitors along the entire length of the grandiose pavilion and allowed them to view from above a varied exhibition - the most modern for that time and most of them working machines.
The Palace of Machines was a specifically exhibition building, outstanding in the history of world architecture. He changed the usual ideas associated with the distribution of masses in conventional structures. The famous architectural historian Siegfried Gideon wrote about this: “Such a freely covered spatial volume meant a victory over matter that was completely unknown until now.” This architecture, which expressed the new possibilities of machine production, contrasted with the prevailing tradition of decoration and eclecticism in which other exhibition buildings were maintained.
Unfortunately, the Palace of Machines, like most unique exhibition buildings of the 19th century, was dismantled after the closure of the world show. The Eiffel Tower was luckier. Despite numerous protests and petitions from Parisian writers, artists, sculptors and architects that accompanied the construction of the tower, and even after the exhibition was closed, it survived. Moreover, two decades later it became a symbol of the city. Ironically, the Eiffel Tower inspired poets and artists to create outstanding works in the 20th century.
In the Paris exhibition of 1889, 29 countries took part officially and another 11 countries took part unofficially. Russia, like most monarchical states, refused to officially participate in the show, “timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the execution of the French king.” The exhibition attracted 56 thousand participants. About 62 thousand exhibits were thematically divided into 9 groups and 83 classes:
1st group – objects of fine arts;
2nd group – subjects of upbringing and education;
3rd group – furniture, bronze, watches, carpets, luxury items;
4th group - fabrics, dresses, jewelry, toiletries;
5th group – mining industry, raw materials and their processing;
6th group – mechanically processed items;
7th group - food;
8th group – agriculture, winemaking, fishing;
9th group – gardening.
What unique was presented at this show? The most impressive was the engine department. Among the steam units, the machines of the American Corlis predominated. The large 1200-horsepower coal-lifting machine was amazing. The development of machine technology was ensured by the rapid growth of steel smelting using the latest processes. At the exhibition, along with the Bessemer and Martin processes, the dephosphorization of metal in converters using the Thomas method was shown. Here, for the first time, samples of cars were demonstrated: a three-wheeled car by Karl Benz and a four-wheeled car by Gottlieb Daimler.
The electrical department was widely admired. Lighting equipment, light bulbs, telephones, and the telegraph fascinated the public. Of particular interest was the stand with numerous inventions of Thomas Edison. Visitors stood in line for hours to listen to his phonograph. Great advances in electrical engineering, especially in the field of lighting, contributed greatly to the splendor of the exhibition itself. Effective and safe electric lighting made it possible to visit the exhibition in the evening. Gas and electricity were used to illuminate the exhibition, but gas was clearly inferior to the latter. The palm belonged to incandescent lamps. Interestingly, 70 Yablochkov candles were also burning in the gardens and on the bridge over the Seine.
There have been significant advances in the development of chemical technologies. Many new chemical products were demonstrated here: artificial alkaloid, indigo, saccharin, celluloid, etc.
The exhibition coincided with the 50th anniversary of the invention of photography. An extensive exhibition introduced the public to the victorious spread of “light painting” throughout the world.
The exhibition organizers organized several more special thematic exhibitions, among which the section “History of Human Dwelling” was of greatest interest. The author of the idea was the famous French architect Charles Garnier. According to his designs, 44 buildings were built, representing an impromptu retrospective of residential buildings of different nations from the Stone Age to the 17th century. The Paris Exhibition of 1889 began a tradition of building settlements of “exotic” peoples, which continued until the mid-twentieth century.
Despite the fact that Russia did not take official part in the Paris show, the Russian department was still privately represented. It occupied an area of 3800 square meters. m in the large gallery of the Palace of Industry. 820 of our compatriots exhibited their exhibits here.
Russia's unofficial participation in the exhibition inevitably affected its quality. The costs of participating in the exhibition this time fell entirely on the exhibitors themselves. There were no Russian exhibits in the machinery department. The mining section did not reflect the state of the Russian mining industry and was significantly inferior to similar sections of ours at previous world exhibitions. Russian artists were also poorly represented at the Palace of Fine Arts. Nevertheless, 671 Russian exhibitors received awards - 19 honorary diplomas, 128 gold, 184 silver, 210 bronze medals and 130 honorable mentions, i.e. more than 80% of the total number of world exhibition awards.
Among the most significant exhibits of the Russian department, the collection of soils sent by Professor V.V. stood out. Dokuchaev. Of particular interest was the “cube” of black soil brought from Voronezh and later transferred to the Sorbonne University. The collection of Russian soils received a gold medal at the exhibition, and its compiler was awarded the medal “For Merit in Agriculture.” Visitors and the press noted the quality of Kuznetsov's faience, Batashev and Vorontsov's Tula samovars, Morozov's calicoes, Novinsky's furs, Labzin's Pavlovo Posad shawls, Greenwald's hunting furniture and stuffed animals, Aliber's stone products. Special praise was given to Savin's leather, Svirsky's furniture, Chopin's bronze, silverware by Khlebnikov and Ovchinnikov, Frachet's cupronickel, and samples of Auerbach's mercury ore. The first producer of Russian cognac, founder of famous cognac factories in Kizlyar, Yerevan and Tbilisi D.Z. Saradzhiev was awarded two gold medals at once.
Parisian newspapers spoke enthusiastically about the concerts of Russian music at the Trocadero Palace. A symphony orchestra conducted by N.A. performed here. Rimsky-Korsakov.
The Russian restaurant “in national taste,” which was set up on the first platform of the Eiffel Tower during the exhibition, enjoyed great success among the Parisian public. Among the “History of Dwellings,” the “Russian house” built by the French also stood out. It was a free improvisation on the theme of a two-story boyar house of the 15th century.
The World Exhibition of 1889 turned into a colossal celebration - a massive public holiday and at the same time a holiday of industry. It gave a lot of new ideas and improvements that contributed to the progress of mankind.
