IMPERIAL ACADEMY OF ARTS

Prior to the Russian Revolution, the country’s elite artists studied at the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg. In order for an artist to achieve any kind of success or notoriety, it was required for them to be trained here. The building itself was built in 1789 along the Neva River and emulated the pretentious and grandiose attitude of the academy at that time, which rejected progressive ideas in art.

Around the time of the Russian Revolution, as ways of thinking began to change, so did the mindset of artists. They began to explore new ways of seeing and expressing themselves. One notable Russian artist, Wassily Kandinsky really pushed the boundaries and pioneered the abstract art movement. Today, the Imperial Academy of Arts is known as the Repin Institute of Arts and the building still facilitates university classes for painting, sculpture and architecture.

Your escort today takes you to a gallery of historical student artwork and stops in front of two simple abstract paintings. On their frame plaques, you spy the monogram and recognize the paintings hold your next clues. Time to decipher their messages.