The Atlántida of Capitalism. The murals of Sert in the decorative programme of New York’s Rockefeller Center

New York’s Rockefeller Center is one of most symbolically rich places in the world, although few of its millions of visitors stop to reflect on what its images of power really mean. In the form of an Atlantean mythological allegory, Rockefeller Center was conceived as symbolic propaganda for capitalist, liberal values implicit in both the ‘American Dream’ and the ideology espoused by the Rockefeller family. It embodies the utopia of progress and science that promotes the freedom of the individual and the free movement of capital. Due to ideological clashes –or the vagaries of fate– the Catalan José María Sert was the artist to ultimately complete the most eloquent mural in the main building, a mural which had formerly been painted by Diego de Rivera, and entitled Man at the Crossroads. Sert was a muralist who had previously worked on the scenographic illustration of Manuel de Falla’s Atlántida, capturing some of the motifs that inspired that great cantata based on poetic texts by Jacint Verdaguer. That earlier work is reflected in the lobby of Rockefeller Center’s main building. While Diego de Rivera’s censored frescoes have been studied prolifically, little attention has been paid to Sert’s paradoxical reading of the same subjects. In this article, we analyse the history of the Atlantean Mediterranean literary myth in relation to Spain, the use John D. Rockefeller Jr. made of them in his emblematic urbanistic ensemble, and also the peculiar reading that the Catalan muralist made of these themes of Atlantis in relation to capitalism.

Le « mythe » de l’adolescence dans Le roman de l’adolescent myope de Mircea Eliade

"The Myth of Adolescence in Mircea Eliade’s Diary of a Short-Sighted Adolescent. The article investigates the origins of this novel, which was published decades after its completion, thus identifying the elements that are specific to the genres of the self (autobiography, journal, Bildungsroman). It analyzes some key terms of Mircea Eliade’s world vision which can be pertinently applied to the Diary of a Short-Sighted Adolescent. The article demonstrates the way in which the young Eliade conceives his relation to the profane time of adolescence (the high school years), as well as to its profane spaces (such as the school, the attic, the library), and how he is able to move towards a sacred spatiality and temporality, both of which are spiritualized through his readings and imaginary. This return ab origo, aiming at a better understanding of the homo saber that Mircea Eliade has become, facilitates the sketching of a literary myth – i.e., that of adolescence. Keywords: Mircea Eliade, Diary of a Short-Sighted Adolescent, Bildungsroman, sacred and profane, the myth of adolescence "

The semantics of Lermontov's poetic myth of the Demon N. S. Leskov’s “The Islanders”

The subject of this research is the negative-axiological, satirical layers of the novel “The Islanders”, associated with the image of the demonic character, which M. Y. Lermontov turned into the archetype and poetic myth in the Russian literature. The object of this research is the stylistic techniques and ideological motifs of N. S. Leskov underlying “desacralization” of the romantic myth. The author meticulously examines the following aspects: 1) role of Lermontov's poem “The Demon” and romantic poetry of the 1840s in creation of the myth of the demonic character; 2) semantic deformations that led Leskov to wander from the conventional meanings of the myth ; 3) satirical modus used as the key technique in creation of the the image of Istomin. Particular attention is given to Leskov’s satire in its function of “recoding” of the myth. The conclusion is made that the image of the painter Istomin is appointed with the task to dispel the romantic myth. Therefore, the axiological-emotional lexis, as well as elements of satire that reflect the point of view of the “subjective” narrative are arrayed around him. All of that imparts semantic transparency to the character, which contradicts the “mysterious code” of the myth of romanticism. The author’s special contribution consists in the establishment of correlation between the myth of about the demon and the myth of Prometheus, which is important for assessing the complexity and multifacetedness of the semantic core of the phenomenon under review. The novelty of this research lies in revelation of underlying motif of the satirical style of N. S. Leskov. Its point is not to create a “myth about the myth” or an “anti-myth”; the novel forms the “non-myth” to achieve complete elimination of the literary myth of the demonic character. The writer uses satire for typification, rather than individualization of the character.

“Although he was not equal to Karamzin and Derzhavin, in the society of Russian artists he was not unfamed” (review of the monograph by A. N. Pushkurov “M. N. Muravyov and the culture of literature: a dialogue of perceptions”. Kazan, 2019)

The new monograph by A. N. Pashkurov is a serious scientific study that goes beyond the scope of the work of M. N. Muravyev, raising important methodological problems in the study of Russian literature of the 18th century. A talented historian and theorist of literature, Professor Pashkurov provides an example of the methodology for mastering the literary myth and the system of views of the writer on the world around him and artistic creation. This book marked the beginning of a series of works by philologists on the comprehension of the creative personality in its relation to the past, present and future of literature. This is the special value of the monograph.

The Myth of the Chersonesus Destruction: An Episode of the Literary Development of Crimea

In travel literature of the 19th century (P.I. Sumarokov, V.B. Bronevsky, I.M. Muraviev-Apostol, E.D. Clark, F. Dubois de Montpere, K. Omer de Gell and others), there was a legend that ancient Chersonesus was destroyed to extract building materials for the construction of Sevastopol. The objective data analysis shows that it is a literary myth that originates from the work of P.S. Pallas “Observations Made During Traveling Over Southern Provinces of the Russian State in 1793–1794” (1799–1801). The scholar argued that the “destruction” of Chersonesus was a consequence of the active construction of Sevastopol in the 1780s–1790s. In 1818, P.S. Pallas’s viepoint was supported by N.M. Karamzin, whose History of the Russian State tells (with reference to P.S. Pallas) that Chersonesus was destroyed “to take stones to construct houses in Sevastopol”. Since then, this version of the events has become a commonplace in almost any text about Chersonesus. At the same time, some European authors (E.D. Clark, K. Omer de Gell) used this “common place” as an instrument of political propaganda. It has been documented that only four objects of modest scale were built out of Chersonesus stone in 1783: a chapel, a smithy, a pier and an admiral’s house. Then, they started to produce building materials in F.F. Mekenzi’s estate and in the Inkerman quarries, which made the industrial extraction of stone in Chersonesus impractical. Why did the experience of the first city constructions entail such generalizing conclusions in P.S. Pallas’s book? The reconstruction of the historical situation allows to single out two main reasons. That time Crimea was considered a fragment of classical antiquity acquired by Russia. The remains of ancient constructions became the primary object of literary and research interests. However, the first travelers were deceived in their expectations, since in Crimea they mostly found medieval monuments erected on the site of ancient ones. Modern archaeologists know that in the 6th – 7th centuries ancient Chersonesus was completely rebuilt, which explains the scantiness of ancient traces. However, in the era of P.S. Pallas, it was easier to explain the absence of antique artifacts by the destruction caused by those who built Sevastopol. Yet there was another reason. Sevastopol quickly became the most populous city on the peninsula. This led to spontaneous development and unauthorized extraction of building materials, including the territory of Chersonesus. It was impossible to tackle the problem of protecting ancient monument at the level of local initiatives and funds. The exaggerations found in P.S. Pallas’s writing can be explained by the awareness of the spontaneous threat to the ruins of the ancient polis. A small fragment of the text written by P.S. Pallas about the destruction of Chersonesus was rather a signal of alarm calling for measures to preserve the settlement, than a strictly historical statement. This signal, relayed by many literary texts, eventually caused the required reaction – Chersonesus became an object of historical heritage protection. However, at the same time, P.S. Pallas’s text turned into a mythologeme, firmly entrenched in literary ideas about the history of Chersonesus and Sevastopol.

Caïn et Abel : de la Bible à la peinture du XIXe siècle

This article proposes to examine, first of all, the literary myth of Cain, whose different mythemes meet much more in his representation in painting than in his literary rewritings. Apart from this, the article undertakes to study the pictorial choices of the representation of the biblical episode of Cain and Abel in four paintings from four different artistic movements of the 19th century, in order to see how each artistic movement and each painter appropriates and then transposes the episode of the enemy brothers into painting. Cet article se propose d’examiner, dans un premier temps, le mythe littéraire de Caïn dont les différents mythèmes se rencontrent beaucoup plus dans sa représentation en peinture que dans ses réécritures littéraires. Dans un second temps, l’article entreprend d’étudier les choix picturaux de la représentation de l’épisode biblique de Caïn et Abel dans quatre tableaux issus de quatre courants artistiques différents du xixe siècle, afin de voir comment chaque courant artistique et chaque peintre s’approprie et, par la suite, transpose en peinture l’épisode des frères ennemis.

The anatomy of a myth

The text analyses myth-making practices in the literary field. Literary studies place certain authors on the right side of history, while delegitimising others and letting them slip into oblivion. The analysis of the formation of the literary cult of Danilo Kiš is placed in a wider context of the reproduction of author positions and writing styles that are not independent of power mechanisms. Based on the historical example of the polemic on plagiarism in the book A Tomb for Boris Davidovich by Danilo Kiš, I analyse the formation of the literary field in Yugoslavia. This concrete example helps deconstruct the literary myth that allows us to see the subterranean forces in the field of culture and the specific role of literature in the ideological formation of society.