How great works of art are received by the public

MASTERPIECE FROM THE CRADLE OR FOR FUTURE GROWTH?

The wider public does not always greet artistic innovation with ovations.

The magazine “THE GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY” delved into the “biographies” of paintings and books, sculptures and ballets. Those that we today call masterpieces. It turns out that not all creative impulses were unequivocally perceived as “breakthroughs” in art. In several cases, humanity needed to grow and mature to belatedly recognize geniuses.

How did the public receive the premiere? With a storm of criticism or with ovations? Assess the potential of creative rebellion.

We illuminate scientific horizons with an intensity that rivals a laser.

Subscribe and discover new horizons.

Thank you!

The audience met the ballet 'Swan Lake' with:

a storm of ovations. Only eternal classics could handle the role of a national ‘sedative’ at a time when the Soviet Union was experiencing clinical death.

Alas, your art optimism was not shared by the witnesses of the premiere performances. 'Swan Lake' spilled into an ocean of audience love only after the death of P. I. Tchaikovsky.

a storm of criticism. It took time to see the points of convergence between the fantastic and earthly lines of the ballet’s narrative.

Yes, your artistic intuition did not fail you. The history of the work began with a fiasco. Critics assessed the work of choreographer Vaclav Reisinger as a set of 'gymnastic exercises' in feathered costumes. The depth of the concept remained out of reach.

The audience met A.A. Fet's poem 'A Whisper, a Timid Breath...' with:

a storm of ovations. The bold, ‘verbless’ poeticization of passion was meant to produce the effect of a colorful fireworks display. The true hymn of love, a single sentence in length, was destined to ‘go to the people’ as a long-awaited hit.

Alas, your art optimism was not shared by many of A.A. Fet's fellow craftsmen. The poem was widely memorized only after the poet's death.

a storm of criticism. The ‘abolition’ of verbs and the cloudless lightness of the plot could not go unpunished for the poet.

Yes, your artistic intuition did not fail you. Numerous parodies of this poem by contemporaries have survived. Summarizing the general sentiment, Nikolai Chernyshevsky would later remark on Afanasy Fet's work: 'All poems of such content could have been written by a horse...'.

The audience met Giuseppe Verdi's opera Macbeth with:

a storm of ovations. The vivid boiling of genuine Shakespearean passions in vocal performance of the highest level of complexity was bound to impress the audience.

Yes, your artistic intuition did not fail you. At the premiere performance, the composer took a bow 38 times.

a storm of criticism. To encroach upon Shakespeare is a thankless task. A 17th-century tragedy on the 19th-century stage most likely resulted in a tragic failure at the ‘box office’.

Alas, your artistic pessimism led you astray. The masterpiece was indeed Verdi's first experience working with a Shakespearean plot. But the experiment was a success.

The audience met Édouard Manet's painting Luncheon on the Grass with:

a storm of criticism. The provocative depiction of a nude woman in the company of impeccably dressed men could not help but shock respectable society. Moreover, the technique of large, ‘sketchy’ brushstrokes and the flirtation with linear perspective were clearly interpreted as a display of disrespect towards the viewer and Art itself.

Yes, your artistic intuition did not fail you. The jury did not allow the work to participate in the prestigious Paris Salon.

a storm of ovations. A rebellion against public morality could have been perceived as a decisive step forward—towards the creative freedom of the Artist.

Alas, your art optimism was not shared by Édouard Manet's contemporaries. At the exhibition of the 'Salon des Refusés', even Emperor Napoleon III, a known connoisseur of painting, found the canvas to make a distressing impression.

The audience met Miloš Forman's film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest with:

a storm of ovations. Ken Kesey’s novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is considered an incredibly successful literary debut. The adaptation of the bestseller was doomed to success.

Yes, your artistic intuition did not fail you. In 1975, the film recouped its costs many times over at the box office and became the second most popular.

a storm of criticism. Instant karma: the screenplay, penned by Kesey himself, did not satisfy the filmmakers. It would have been strange if a literary masterpiece of such caliber had cast a great shadow only on the page.

Alas, your artistic pessimism led you astray. The film earned its creators five Oscars, including one for the 'rewritten' screenplay.

The audience met Urs Fischer's aluminum sculpture 'Big Clay #4' with:

a storm of ovations. Nowadays, it’s hard to surprise a jaded viewer with anything. But the Swiss artist succeeded: an enlarged copy of clay lumps stacked on top of each other is a real stimulant for rethinking the creative process.

Alas, your art optimism is not shared by contemporaries. In the USA, Italy, and Russia, the installation failed to win a pedestal of audience affection. Perhaps the viewer needs a little more time to grow into it?

a storm of criticism. Persistent associations with a pile of trash, among other things, prevent the art object from being perceived as materialized Beauty.

Yes, your artistic intuition did not fail you. In the Russian media, the installation has firmly acquired the status of 'scandalous' and 'provocative'.

The audience met Johann Sebastian Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor with:

a storm of ovations. The German composer is the king of the organ, and this is one of his finest works, created to resonate through eternity.

Alas, your artistic optimism is based solely on emotion. Contemporaries recognized in Bach only a talented musician. The genius of the composer was revealed and duly appreciated only by posterity.

a storm of criticism. Music that is too ‘human’, not aligning with the rhythm of church hymns, was likely perceived as deeply ‘underground’.

Yes, your artistic intuition did not fail you. During his lifetime, Bach's works were unknown to the general public and were mercilessly criticized by the guardians of church music canons.

The audience met Eugène Sue's novel 'The Mysteries of Paris' with:

a storm of ovations. Could it have been otherwise? An adventurous feuilleton-novel about the ‘here and now’, with an unusually intense criminal plot and charismatic characters – a source of dopamine-fueled emotions.

Yes, your artistic intuition did not fail you. The newspaper editorial office publishing the 19th-century French bestseller in installments sent the author bags of letters from grateful readers.

a storm of criticism. The sensational novel could have repelled with its overly intricate plot, causing fatigue from its philosophical lyrical digressions.

Alas, your artistic pessimism led you astray. The public eagerly queued for each new 'installment' of the novel. For the illiterate, the book was 'voiced' in special clubs.

We take our hats off to your masterful artistic intuition. The sense of the Timeless Beautiful can be given free rein in the space of The Wall Global.

The Wall Global

The history of the Beautiful does not always present itself as an open book to you. Let’s tiptoe into the cradle of world masterpieces. Even the inquisitive genius of A.S. Pushkin would have envied the quantity of “wondrous discoveries” awaiting you in the space of The Wall Global.

The Wall Global