On “Real Truth” and “Higher Truth” in the Art Criticism of F. M. Dostoevsky

The article deals with the art reviews of F. M. Dostoevsky. Based on the analysis of the articles “Exhibition at the Academy of Arts for 1860–61” and “About the Exhibition” published in “A Writer’s Diary” for 1873, the aesthetic criteria for Dostoevsky’s assessment of genre, historical, portrait and landscape Russian painting are determined. The author of the article reveals the most important criteria outlined by Dostoevsky: the expression of the author’s ideal that distinguishes a painting from mirror reflection and photography; the artist’s independence from direction, excessive naturalness, theatricality and “excessive showiness”. Particular attention is paid to Dostoevsky’s analysis of paintings by V. N. Jacobi, V. G. Perov, V. E. Makovsky, N. G. Sсhilder, M. P. Klodt, I. E. Repin, A. I. Kuindzhi, N. N. Ge, whose work aroused genuine interest of the writer and prompted reflections on artistic truth in art. The characters of the paintings as presented by Dostoevsky come to life, acquire a “history of feelings”, a psychological appearance and a voice. The work distinguishes between such concepts used by Dostoevsky to analyze contemporary painting for the writer in the light of “realism in the highest sense”, such as “natural truth”, “real truth”, “stage truth”, “artistic truth”, “higher truth”.