Summer Landscape with Women 

Boris Kustodiev created this sketch, Summer Landscape with Women, with charcoal, in Russia. We see two women on a hill in the foreground. One gathers flowers, the other holds what looks like wheat. In the background, a wide vista opens up onto the Russian landscape, complete with a church. The image evokes an arcadian vision of rural life, a common theme in Russian art and literature of the time. Such images can be interpreted as part of a conservative, nationalistic project to assert a unique Russian identity based on the virtues of peasant life. But Kustodiev was a member of the ‘World of Art’ movement, which reacted against the dominance of the Russian Academy of Arts. They preferred symbolism and aestheticism. They organized exhibitions to promote these alternative aesthetic values. To understand the cultural references, it would be useful to consult literary sources, exhibition catalogues, and critical reviews from the period. Art history illuminates the changing role of art institutions in the shaping of national identity.