BELIEVING THAT the art of a nation, more than any other aspect of
its culture, reveals its national consciousness, national character, and
general world outlook, the author attempts here to satisfy the ever-
increasing interest evinced of recent years in Russia, the Russian
people, and Russian culture.

This book is no systematic history of Russian art, no review of
Russia's infinite art treasures. Mikhail Alpatov has confined himself
to indicating the place occupied by Russia in the history of comparative
world art during the one thousand years ending in 1917, and defining
the original and individual contributions made by Russian artists to
the world treasury. For this reason he has concentrated upon the
national characteristics of creative art works, attempting to reveal
them in all their variety by meticulous comparison with those of corre-
sponding importance in other nations.

The reader will not find in this work exhaustive information on the
various periods of Russian art or prominent Russian masters. If, how-
ever, he would like to form his own conclusions as to what elements
constitute the principal distinguishing features of Russian artistic taste,
what measure can be used in evaluating Russian masterpieces in gen-
eral terms, how to find a way of approach to the understanding of
Russian art, he will easily gather from this book a mass of facts, obser-
vations, conclusions and descriptions. Alpatov supports his findings by
a detailed analysis of many examples from the field of art and quota-
tions from numerous authorities, thus providing ample material for
verification of the conclusions reached.

Although the book is devoted principally to Russian painting, sculp-
ture and architecture, the important landmarks of literature and music

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