2026 № 1 (56)
Vladimir Pozdnyakov. Meditations on Monrepos
UDC 77.04
LBC 85.16
DOI: 10.51678/2226-0072-2026-1-134-165
For cit.: Shik I.A. Vladimir Pozdnyakov. Meditations on Monrepos. Hudozhestvennaya kul’tura [Art & Culture Studies], 2026, no. 1, pp. 134–165. https://doi.org/10.51678/2226-0072-2026-1-134-165. (In Russian)
Shik Ida A.
PhD (in Art History), Associate Professor, Russian State University for the Humanities, 6 Miusskaya Sq., Moscow, 125047, Russia; Сhief of Scientific and Exhibition Department, The State Historical, Architectural and Natural Museum-Reserve Monrepos Park, 1 Monrepos Park, Vyborg, Leningrad Region, 188800, Russia
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7953-6283
ResearcherID: JBS-7460-2023
Vladimir Pozdnyakov. Meditations on Monrepos
Abstract. In the article, the researcher reveals the artistic features of the photographic series Meditations on Monrepos by the Vyborg photographer Vladimir Pozdnyakov (1956– 2007) in the context of the traditions of representing the Monrepos Park in the 19th — 20th-centuries photography. Despite interest in photography in Monrepos, Pozdnyakov’s creative legacy has not yet become the subject of a detailed study. The author emphasizes that the Meditations on Monrepos series is one of the most striking and interesting pages in the photo chronicle of the park. In the dialogue with the masters of the 19th — early 20th centuries, Pozdnyakov acted as a full-fledged participant working in his unique creative style. He featured the same themes and motifs as photographers of the previous period, made references to their famous works, and aimed to create a poetic atmosphere close to that of the old photography. In addition, the photographer used modernist techniques and methods that allowed him to significantly diversify the visual language of the Monrepos Park interpretation in photography. Pozdnyakov’s photographs representing the same initial motif were completely different in their artistic image due to the season, the choice of distance to the subject, composition, light, and degree of sharpness. The photographer actively used both optic and haptic vision: he combined optical effects with the tactile variety of texture of objects and the photographs themselves. The researcher concludes that the ‘author’s version of the retro style’ proposed by the photographer can be considered both as a continuation of the traditions of the 19th — the early 20th centuries masters, and as an integral part of the creative searches of the Russian photography of the late 20th century.
Keywords: Russian photography of the late 20th century, experimental photography, Monrepos Park, Vyborg, Vladimir Pozdnyakov
Sources:
Lichnoe delo V.A. Pozdniakova [Personal File of V.A. Pozdnyakov]. Arkhiv Gosudarstvennogo istoriko-arkhitekturnogo i prirodnogo muzeya-zapovednika “Park Monrepo” [Archive of the State Historical, Architectural and Natural Museum-Reserve of Monrepos Park], fol. 23, ll. 34–35. (In Russian)
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Received 11.08.2025
Revised 12.12.2025
Accepted 19.01.2026
