Abramtsevo Art Colony

Located about 40 miles from Moscow, this Russian artists' colony was for much of its history involved with the revival of Russian folk art and national culture and was at its most dynamic in the later 19th century. Originally a private estate purchased in 1843 by the Slavophile Russian writer Sergei Aksakov, who met regularly with like-minded Muscovite intellectuals, Abramtsevo was given further nationalistic impetus following its acquisition in 1870 by the Russian industrialist and art patron Savva Mamontov. He brought together many leading artists and designers, cultivating a strong interest in national traditions and Russian cultural heritage, as evidenced by the estate's buildings and their decorations. Many of those associated with the colony went on to become leading figures in Russian art, their imaginations fuelled by Mamontov's collection of traditional Russian folk arts. Amongst those living in Abramtsevo during this period were the painters Il'ya Repin and Mikhail Vrubel, both of whom also worked with ceramics. In addition to ceramic figures, Vrubel also designed the traditional tiled stove in the church of Christ the Saviour in Abramatsevo, built in medieval style by members of the colony. Abramtsevo's artists and designers also built the Teremok, a traditional pitched-roof Russian cottage that contained traditional carved wooden furniture. Mamontov also built the first private opera in Russia, with set designs by the colony's artists. Other artists associated with Abramtsevo included Apollinarius and Viktor Vasnetsov, Mikhail Nesterov, Valentin Serov, Vasily Poleno, and Yelena Polenova.