Expressionist Networks in the Russian Empire, Soviet Russia, and the Soviet Union

It is widely accepted that Russian modernism, particularly Russian cubo-futurism, was based on adaptations and transformations of ideas and principles derived from French cubism and Italian futurism; however, the extent to which expressionist influences can be identified in the work of Russian modernist artists remains controversial. Among the Russian modernists, impressionism and expressionism were never clearly defined as distinct schools. Impressionism existed as a stylistic tendency that influenced the realists, symbolists, and futurists, ¹ yet it was never an exclusive feature of any school; it did, however, provide “a meeting ground for various schools and movements.” ² In much the same way, expressionism was broadly perceived in philosophical and psychological terms and less so as an artistic style; ³ it served largely as a spiritual basis for intellectual thought, leaving art historians to conclude that, as an art movement, it either never arrived in Russia, ⁴ or that its influence, in fact, went much deeper. ⁵