The tradition of studying stone carving art in the USSR: a view from the 21st century

Abstract

The article provides a historiographical overview of the Russian scientific tradition of studying stone carving art as a separate art form in the 20th century. In accordance with the topic, the material represents a step-by-step path of the development of scientific knowledge and the development of approaches to one of the complex types of decorative art. The author concludes that the domestic tradition of studying stone carving art can be counted directly only from the middle of the 20th century, and also reflects on the reasons for such active attention to the processing of colored stone during this period. The material is based on the principle of reviewing the most important publications in the field of art under consideration and the activities of the main specialists-art historians from the end of the 19th century to the present. Thus, the article examines the researches' approaches to the material, the problems raised by these studies, the depth of their disclosure in monographic publications, outlines promising directions for the future or ongoing research.