An association which took its name from the periodical it published — World of Art (Mir iskusstva) — played an important role in Russian culture at the turn of the century. The history and way of life of Holy Russia and eighteenth-century Europe were themes developed by Alexander Benois (1870–1960), Yevgeny Lanceray (1875–1946), Mstislav Dobuzhinsky (1875–1957) and Konstantin Somov (1869– 1939), all of whose works are well represented in the collection of the Russian Museum. These artists did more than just bring gallantry and refinement together with humour and the grotesque in Russian art. They also extended the borders of the active participation of leading masters in the art process. The design of book covers and stage sets (particularly for Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes) became one of the most important activities of the members of the World of Art group.
Theatrical passions clearly reflected on the stylistics of easel art in the works of masters who helped design stage sets, artists like Léon Bakst (1866–1924) and Alexander Golovin (1863–1930). Bakst’s Terror Antiquus (1908) is also reminiscent of an enormous curtain. The same can be said of his portraits (Supper 1902, Portrait of Sergei Diaghilev and his Nanny 1906), which while not entirely traditional, are still painted in the spirit of easel compositions.
