THE BIRTH of ART and GENIUS in ANDREI TARKOVSKY's ANDREI RUBLYOV by NATALIYA B. BRANT (Under the Direction of Katharina M. Wils
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THE BIRTH OF ART AND GENIUS IN ANDREI TARKOVSKY'S ANDREI RUBLYOV by NATALIYA B. BRANT (Under the Direction of Katharina M. Wilson) ABSTRACT There are few twentieth century films that have successfully inspired a complex combination of awe and controversy when socially and critically received. Among them are such canonical works as Goddard's Weekend, Fellini's Satyricon, Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin, and Bergman's Persona. Yet there is no film that can rival the exhaustive intensity of Tarkovsky's simultaneously brutal and lyrical narrative, Andrei Rublyov. A cinematic behemoth whose production was banned for over two decades, Andrei Rublyov is more than a mere quasi~historical chronicle of the Mongol domination in medieval Russia or a foray into the absurdity of the human condition, but rather, it is a film that probes the depths of human suffering and transgression against a backdrop of cultural, historical and spiritual devastation as seen through the eyes of a genius holy man. Tarkovsky's acute attention to Rublyov's character development (a kind of cinematic bildungsroman), his obsession with historical detail, and his deft manipulation of the camera render an accurate but disturbing portrait of the religious and individual spirit of Russia. It is precisely this detailed analysis of the diagesis, characterization and cinematography of Tarkovsky's narrative that will enable my discussion of the genesis of Russian iconography, and more specifically, the origins of Russian culture and society. So, while Tarkovsky's film is seems an account of the trials and tribulations of a monk and his extraordinary talent, it is really the story of the rise of Russian iconography and its emergence from the ashes of Mongol domination. More than anything, Tarkovsky's film elucidates the importance passionate suffering, or passio in the classical sense, as a necessary catalyst for great artistic expression. Filtered through Rublyov's gaze, we watch not only the transformation and reconfiguration of an artist's life, but more importantly, we bear witness to the rise of the Russian art and culture that manifests itself in this renaissance of Russian iconography. INDEX WORDS: Tarkovsky, Rublyov, Russian Iconography, Medieval Russia, Mongol THE BIRTH OF ART AND GENIUS IN ANDREI TARKOVSKY’S ANDREI RUBLYOV by NATALIYA B. BRANT B.L.S., Bowling Green State University, 1992 M.A., The University of Georgia, 2000 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ATHENS, GEORGIA 2003 © 2003 Nataliya B. Brant All Rights Reserved THE BIRTH OF ART AND GENIUS IN ANDREI TARKOVSKY’S ANDREI RUBLYOV by NATALIYA B. BRANT Major Professors: Katharina M. Wilson Committee: Elena A. Krasnostchekova Lioba Moshi Tom Peterson Karim Traore Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia May 2003 DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my handsome, brilliant, witty, talented and charismatic father, Boris L. Brant. If you can see me, I hope you’re smiling. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I would like to thank my mother, Zhanna Akimovna Brant, M.D., for her emotional, physical and financial support. Without you this degree, like any other good thing in my life, would not have been possible. If I grow to be a shadow of the woman that you are, I would consider myself lucky, indeed. I would like to thank my major professors, Dr. Katharina M. Wilson and Dr. Elena A. Krasnostchekova, for making my academic experience both challenging and satisfying. To Dr. Wilson, I am profoundly grateful for the encouragement, strength and guidance you have so tirelessly provided. I aspire to emulate both your dedication to pedagogy and your uncompromising standards. I am truly fortunate to have had the opportunity to be in your presence, and I will never forget you. To Dr. Krasnostchekova, I am unable to describe in words the manner in which you have touched my life. Your wisdom, grace and integrity have been my constant source of inspiration. Your belief in my ability as a teacher and scholar has often been my beacon of hope, and for that I am eternally grateful. I would also like to thank Dr. Karim Traore, whose patience I’ve tested beyond all limits, for his infectious enthusiasm and support. Somehow, you seem to always have time for me, and I will never forget your deus ex machina of my Master’s Thesis. I would like to thank Dr. Lioba Moshi for her unwavering support. You are a true matriarch, and I you have set the bar high personally and academically. Finally, I owe tremendous thanks to Dr. Tom v Peterson, whose film course planted the seed for my dissertation. Thank you for sticking it out with me, I hope to someday make you proud. Last but most definitely not least, I am profoundly indebted to my colleague, Krissy, for acting in the capacity of my technical and spiritual guru. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS......................................................................................v CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION.............................................................................1 2 LATE BEGINNINGS....................................................................... 8 3 PROFILE OF THE ARTISTS: THE TALE OF TWO ANDREIS .........................................................................64 4 RELUCTANT GENIUS: THE EVOLUTION OF RUBLYOV'S AESTHETIC .......................................................88 5 THE MUMMERS ............................................................................97 6 THE PASSION ACCORDING TO ANDREI................................ 128 7 THE BELL....................................................................................142 8 EPILOGUE:SCULPTING IN LITERATURE AND FILM........... 158 WORKS CONSULTED .......................................................................................165 vii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION For the most part, Western critics have been sluggish in recognizing Andrei Tarkovsky(1907-89) as one of the major forces in Russian filmmaking, relegating their discussion to the Dziga Vertov group and Sergei Eisenstein1. However, due to fluctuating trends, Russian filmmaking has enjoyed a wave of resurgence in popularity, and now the old canon has started to breathe with some new life. More and more, Andrei Tarkovsky’s cinematic achievements are being heralded as having both universal appeal and a certain timelessness that has set the director apart from the forefathers of Russian filmmaking. In addition to his unexpected but ubiquitous resurrection in “Art House” movie theatres and University campuses, Tarkovsky has become popular among American filmmakers and actors alike. Still, despite the growing popularity of films like Katok I Skripka(The Steamroller and Violin-1960), Ivanovo Detstvo(Ivan’s Childhood-1962), Solaris-1969, Zerkalo(The Mirror-1974), Stalker-1979, Nostalghia(Nostalgia-1983) and Offret(The Sacrifice-1986), it is the largely overlooked but highly underrated film Andrei Rublyov(1964-9) for 1 Dziga Vhertov known for Man With A Movie Camera, as well as the group of filmmakers he inspired during the 1950’s and Sergei Eisenstein, most famous for his epigrammatic baby carriage careening down the Odessa Stairs sequence in his film Battleship Potemkin, preceded Tarkovsky, and were no doubt an enormous influence on the young film student. 1 which I, as a Russian immigrant, have always had a peculiar though understandable fascination. But if Western critics and viewers alike are guilty of sweeping Andrei Rublyov under the rug, then perhaps Tarkovsky himself is to blame. After all, Andrei Rublyov is the film where Tarkovsky makes his most ambitious excavation of Russian history, uncovering in epic scope the mythic beginnings of Russian art and culture in a manner that begets both controversy and devotion. An ambitious, behemoth of a film that takes historical and artistic liberties at virtually every turn, Andrei Rublyov is more than a medieval story about an iconographer. Rather, it is a story about genius, art, and the inimitable resilience of the Russian people as they rise from the ashes of more than a century of Mongol domination. The goals of this dissertation are to explore the film Andrei Rublyov in the context of an established Russian tradition of iconography, to elucidate the dialectic between the modern genius of Andrei Tarkovsky and the medieval genius of Andrei Rublyov, and to provide a detailed examination of three pivotal episodes within the film that I believe illustrate the parallels between the lives of the two Andreis’, and buttress the symbolic connection between the life of Rublyov and the life of a fledgling, medieval Rus’. Within a framework of six chapters, I will posit that, in as much as Tarkovsky’s cinematic bildungsroman unravels in a complex tapestry of biting socio-political criticism, historical fact and fancy, and lyrical beauty, it is more importantly the story of the beginnings of Russian religion, culture and artistic representation. 2 Because even the informed reader may not be familiar with the origins of Russian iconography during the Middle Ages, I will devote the first chapter of my dissertation to outlining the various traditions of iconography that existed in medieval Rus’, as well as the influential artists that were thought to be associated with those schools. Specifically, I will trace historical and temporal connections between regional movements of iconography and the integral characters