Early portraits of Mikhail Lomonosov in Russian historiography of the XX– XXI centuries: problems of interpretation

Abstract

Pictorial and graphic portraits of Mikhail Lomonosov created in the 18th century, during the life of the scientist and for several decades after his death, formed and consolidated his recognizable visual image. It is only natural that these portraits have piqued the interest of Russian scholars. Within a relatively short time of research in the field a long way was covered from a complete absence of any information about the portraits to constructing an impressive knowledge system and an accumulation of scientific interpretations. A domain of investigative issues has been established; a range of questions were asked. Almost every scientist who has addressed this topic tried to find the answers. However, no historiographical analysis of the identified issues has been carried out yet. Neither has the birth of theoretical concepts or the authors’ interpretations been outlined, nor how they changed over time, or how they were often radically revised.

This article presents the first systematized historiographical material, and for the first time highlights the main areas of research issues that were relevant for Russian scientists throughout the 20th–21st centuries. It considers not only the history of existence of the most important theoretical concepts, but the history of individual works, aspects of their interpretation, the existing sociocultural context.

References

1. Antsiferov N.P. 1946. Tri portreta M. V. Lomonosova [Three portraits of M.V. Lomonosov]. Lomono sov. Sbornik statei i materialov [Lomonosov: Collection of articles and materials], pp. 285–300. Moscow — Leningrad. (In Russ.)

2. Babkin D.S. 1940. Obraz Lomonosova v portretakh XVIII v. [The image of Lomonosov in portraits of the 18th century]. Lomonosov. Sbornik statei i materialov [Lomonosov: Collection of articles and materials], pp. 302-317. Moscow — Leningrad. (In Russ.)

3. Bezborodov M.A. 1948. M.V. Lomonosov i ego rabota po khimii i tekhnologii silikatov [M.V. Lomonosov and his work on the chemistry and technology of silicates]. Moscow — Leningrad. (In Russ.)

4. Veinberg A.L. 1957. Materialy k portretu M.V. Lomonosova [Materials for the portrait of M.V. Lomonosov]. Moscow. (In Russ.)

5. Varnek V.A. 2011. Etyud o portretakh Lomonosova [Sketch about portraits of Lomonosov]. Nauka v Sibiri, no. 46. URL: http://www.niic.nsc.ru/institute/inkh-vzerkale-pressy/1047-etyud-o-portretah-lomonosova (accessed: 12.02.2024).

6. Glinka M. E. 1961. M.V. Lomonosov: (Opyt ikonografii) [M. V. Lomonosov: (Experience in iconography)]. Moscow — Leningrad. (In Russ.)

7. Kulyabko E.S. 1966. Neizvestnoe pis’mo I.I. Shuvalova k M.V Lomonosovu [Unknown letter from I.I. Shuvalov to M.V. Lomonosov]. XVIII vek [18th century], pp. 99-105. Moscow — Leningrad. (In Russ.)

8. Nikolaev S.I. 2011. Rannyaya ikonografiya Lomonosova v svete ikonologii [Early iconography of Lomonosov in the light of iconology]. XVIII vek [18th century], pp. 73-84. Moscow — Leningrad. (In Russ.)

9. Pisareva, S.A., Tryapitsyna A.P. 2016. Analiz problemnogo polya dissertatsii kak sredstvo opredeleniya aktual’nosti issledovaniya [Analysis of the problem field of dissertations as a means of determining the relevance of the research]. Aktual’nye problemy sovremennykh pedagogicheskikh issledovanii: sbornik nauchnykh statei Vserossiiskoi nauchno-prakticheskoi konferentsii [Current problems of modern pedagogical research: collection of scientific articles of the All-Russian scientificpractical conference], pp. 41–45. Saint Petersburg. (In Russ.)

10. Rachkova E. 2011. Kakim byl ego oblik [What was his appearance]. Nauka i zhizn’, no.11, pp. 64–66. (In Russ.)

11. Tetermazova Z.V. 2013. Russkii gravirovannyi portret vtoroi poloviny XVIII veka sredi evropeiskikh shkol. Problema sootnosheniya s zhivopisnym izobrazheniem [Russian engraved portrait of the second half of the 18th century among European schools. The problem of correlation with the pictorial image]. Aktual’nye problem teorii i istorii iskusstva, no. 1, pp. 274–279. (In Russ.)