S. K. Lanzy’s history painting in the collections of the National Museum of the Republic of Tuva

Abstract

The article looks at the role of the National Museum of the Republic of Tuva as a custodian of the people’s historical memory, as well as of the Tuvan artistic heritage. Our case study is the works of Tuva’s first professional painter, S.K. Lanzy (1927-1997). Our study of the creative career of S.K. Lanzy has shown that he studied with some of the best Soviet painters, and learned a lot from the art of his days. His work was dominated by historical painting in the genre of Socialist realism. The article reconstructs the history of how the current S.K. Lanzy collection was brought together at the National Museum of the Republic of Tuva, starting from the 1940s. The authors provide a critical survey of the most famous paintings in the history genre, as well as the tradition of the Socialist realism. Also covered are the basic issues of storing and exhibiting paintings. The article’s sources include the museum’s internal documentation, orders of the Ministry of Culture, Tuvan ASSR. S.K. Lanzy’s personal archives, and also the archives of the board of the Union of Artists of Tuvan ASSR.

Keywords

• Тува
• Национальный музей Тувы
• живопись
• С. К. Ланзы
• искусство Тувы
• Союз художников Тувы
• 60 богатырей
• историческая живопись