The St Petersburg Art and Industry Academy named after A. L. Stieglitz was founded in 1876. Now it is one of the most famous educational institutions in Russia. The university is located in the historical part of St. Petersburg, the second largest city in the country and the main cultural center.
Start
The establishment of the Stieglitz Academy in St. Petersburg was associated with the rapid growth of industrial production that swept European countries in the middle of the 19th century. Semi-handicraft manufactories were replaced by factories in which it became possible to produce goods in large quantities. However, it soon became clear that consumers were interested not just in utilitarian things, but in a beautiful product with a memorable design.
In 1851, the famous art-industrial exhibition was held in England, at which different countries presented their best goods and products. In addition to traditional embroidery, ceramics, weaving, jewelry, the company presented amazing factory products made of wood, cast iron, steel. The “Crystal Palace” became the apotheosis of the achievements of industry: the pavilion where the exhibition was held was as if woven from a metal web and “sheathed” with large glass panels.
The birth of the art academy
Russian industrialists who visited the fair were very impressed. The idea of creating a national school for the training of artists specializing in applied art was born. In 1860, a technical drawing school was established on the basis of the Moscow Stroganov School . However, its capabilities were clearly not enough.
According to popular belief, the initiative to organize a specialized art-industrial educational institution in St. Petersburg was made by Senator Alexander Polovtsov, the son of the richest (according to contemporaries) Russian banker - Baron Stieglitz. The banker liked the idea, and he established a special fund in the amount of 7 million rubles (huge money at that time), for the interest of which the Central School of Technical Drawing, created in 1876, existed. It trained decorators in applied disciplines and technical drawing teachers for other schools, which began to appear around the country. Thus, the Center became the progenitor of the Academy. Stieglitz.
Development
The Soviet government looked differently at the role of art in industry. All decorations were considered excessive, a manifestation of philistinism. In 1922, the center was closed, and later reformatted into a general educational institution.
The rebirth of the Academy. Stieglitz happened on 02/05/1945. On this day, courses began on the training of restorers. After the war, many historic buildings and works of art needed restoration.
In 1953, the Leningrad Higher Industrial Art School (LVHPU) named after V.I. Mukhina was formed. The people called him the Mukhinsky school. We must give credit, an amazing team was formed within its walls, which was able to restore bit by bit the centuries-old traditions of its predecessors and at the same time bring a lot of new to the science of industrial design, art crafts, preservation of historical heritage. In 2007, the university was reorganized into the St. Petersburg Art and Industry Academy named after A. L. Stieglitz.
Today
Currently, the university has about 1,500 students and 500 employees. Applicants can get higher education in the field of monumental and decorative art, design, art history and restoration.
The faculties of the Stieglitz Academy in St. Petersburg actively cooperate with structural organizations and industrial enterprises. For example, the department of industrial design works side by side with well-known Russian companies, including automakers KamAZ and AvtoVAZ, shipbuilders Almaz and Aurora, NPO LOMO, and the Svetlana factory. The fashion design department hosts numerous contests and festivals.
SPHHPA. them. A. L. Stieglitz has a long history of successful international relations. Teachers and students collaborate with higher educational institutions and creative organizations in Germany, Finland, China, France, Japan and other countries.
Faculty of monumental and decorative art
It trains artists in all types of arts and crafts. A variety of specialties is determined by innovative directions of the 21st century, as well as traditions drawn from the past. Applicants to the art academy can choose one of many specializations:
- History of art and civilization.
- Art processing of metals.
- Graphic art, book illustration.
- Ceramics, glass.
- Painting, restoration.
- Wood painting.
- Sculpture.
- Textile design.
- Interior and equipment.
- Monumental and decorative painting and sculpture.
Faculty of Design
First of all, this is a school of art and design creativity, which is faced with the task of determining the optimal ways to integrate design, pedagogy, science and industrial production. The curriculum is based on creating a kind of launching pad for creativity. Here are trained in the following specialties:
- Costume design.
- Design environment.
- Graphic design.
- Furniture design.
- Industrial design.
Achievements
The famous university has prepared a galaxy of talented and successful artists and designers for the manufacturing industry. In search of aesthetic values, graduates are actively forming new trends for architecture, design, monumental, decorative and applied art.
Today, former students successfully work in industrial enterprises, participate in projects of research institutions, as well as in construction bureaus, art schools and creative organizations. In addition, the students of the Academy. Stieglitz made a significant contribution to the development of the country's material culture. For high achievements, the team was awarded the honorary order of the Red Banner of Labor.
Social and cultural life
The Academy has a developed material and technical base. There is a museum with more than 35,000 objects of applied art and a collection of student works. The library has more than 140,000 publications and a rare book repository for 10,000 items. Organized meals.
Excellent facilities for playing sports have been created, sports facilities and a gym are operating. There is a student dormitory located on 30/9 Kuznetsova Avenue, St. Petersburg. By the way, applicants can be accommodated in dormitories during entrance exams and training courses.
Museum
At the Academy. Stieglitz operates a wonderful museum (founded in 1878). It presents the work of teachers and students of the academy of different years, as well as other works of art.
The creation of an art museum at an educational institution was promoted by the same Alexander Polovtsov. Together with the architect Maximilian Mesmacher, he convinced Baron Stieglitz of the need to have a collection of works of applied art - both as a teaching aid and to develop students' artistic imagination. The Baron gave an additional 5 million rubles for the implementation of this idea, which allowed him to buy art books for the school library, new exhibits for the museum, printed graphics, originals of paintings and drawings by Western European artists, pieces of jewelers and craftsmen, and works by artists and decorators of various industries.
Large amounts of money were spent on acquiring specialized exhibits and works of art at Paris auctions, often the best and unique lots were bought. Thanks to these acquisitions, the college museum became the owner of:
- Samples of ceramics from archaic times.
- Jewelry.
- Archaeological sites of the ancient Phoenicians.
- Antique furniture.
- Antique Fireplaces.
- Products of ceramic centers in Italy, France, Germany.
- Collections of French tapestries.
- The originals of Tiepolo's painting.
- Original drawings by artists and decorators, including Giovanni Castiglione, Franceso Guardi, Perino del Vaga, Tiepolo, Polidori da Caravaggio, Annibale Carracci, Gilles Marie Oppenor and others.
After the death of Stieglitz, Alexander Polovtsov had to complete the task of improving the new art school to its logical conclusion. He gave considerable amounts to charity and the development of material and technical base.