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TITLE: 'Materials for a history of civilisation' (1)
AUTHOR: I.I. Dmitriev
THIS VERSION: Copyright © 2002 Carol Adlam; all rights reserved. Notes by Carol Adlam and Robert Russell Redistribution, or republication of this text in any medium requires the consent of the translator.
N. Ramazanov, (2) that same person who presents 'Sovremennaia letopis'' with art reviews, that same person from whose design an inkwell presented to M.N. Katkov (3) was made, that same person who greatly praised his own statue 'Angel' when discussing sculptural works, saying that 'the undersigned created a statue about which he had the pleasure of hearing a most complimentary comment from the Marshal of the Nobility, and even received a letter from him written in his own hand...' - it is this same N. Romazanov [sic] who now discusses the exhibition of the Society of Art Lovers.

Asserting that the chief misfortune of our life consists in the fact that 'everything has been infected by tendentiousness', he reproaches Mr Perov, (4) one of the most talented of contemporary artists, for the fact that 'there is not a painting of his that is not tendentious and a protest'. He advises Mr Perov to repair this great deficiency and to learn from foreign artists, the value of whose paintings lies specifically in the fact that they contain 'no tendencies'.

'Thus,' he says, 'Mr Kindler's (5) painting presents a scene that is utterly true, that is pleasing (?), and is filled with the most varied characters ; and here there is no hint of tendentiousness'.

'How much learning, keenness of observation, how much talent and love for art there is in Mr Val'dmuller, (6) and this splendid artist does not exhibit any sort of tendentiousness...'

Are these not truly original reviews? To rebuke a painting for its principal quality and to praise it for its deficiencies! It would be exactly the same were I to start railing against various art reviews for the fact that they are written with sense, and to praise Mr Ramazanov for the fact that his contains no common sense: 'Mr Ramazanov's review is true, and pleases (?), while containing not a drop of common sense...'.