V.Y. Bryusov, N.F. Fedorov and the Fedorovians of the 1900s-1920s: The Question of Meaning and Goals of Art. Article one. What were Bryusov and Fedorov Arguing about in the House of Yu.P. Bartenev

Abstract

The article is the first part of the study of the problem of spiritual and creative dialogue between the founder of Russian symbolism V.Y. Bryusov and the philosopher of common cause N.F. Fedorov. In the works of Russian and foreign researchers, this dialogue was studied by V.Y. Bryusov, in terms of the poet's interest in cosmic themes, in the context of his theory of scientific poetry. In this study, the focus is on the question of the meaning and purpose of art. For the first time, with the involvement of new, including archival sources, the reaction of N.F. Fedorov to the meeting with V.Ya. Bryusov, held on April 20, 1900 in the house of Yu.P. Bartenev, is considered, it is shown how the ideological dispute that arose during this meeting was reflected in the late work of the philosopher. The content of the dispute and the interrelation of its two themes – the possibility/impossibility of overcoming death and the attitude to the ideas of F. Nietzsche are revealed. Fragments of articles and notes written by N.F. Fedorov, in which his dispute with V.Y. Bryusov is mentioned, are analyzed. N.F. Fedorov's perception of decadence is reconstructed, the philosophical complex of which, as well as the ideas of the new religious consciousness, the philosopher associated with the spiritual crisis of the fin de siècle era, contrasting them with the idea of active Christianity, man's cooperation with God in history. It is shown how N.F. Fedorov's liturgical aesthetics is formed in the polemic with Nietzschean aesthetics and decadence aesthetics, in the center of which is the image of art as an extra-temple liturgy. The relation of N.F. Fedorov to the current of symbolism, to which he opposed the religious understanding of the symbol, is considered.