ABSTRACT
By the mid nineteenth century, exhibition reviews were a frequent and popular feature in the Russian periodical press. The visual arts in general had been appearing as a regular topic of discussion since the beginning of the nineteenth century, when brief references had been made to famous paintings or antique sculpture. During the first half of the century, the Old Masters and French and German painting, in particular that which appeared at the annual Salons in Paris, attracted most attention in Russian articles and reviews. The French School was increasingly used as a foil against which the achievements of young Russian artists could be praised, and detailed accounts of European painting in general appeared less and less. One Russian commentator on the International Exhibition of 1862, however, distinguished himself by concentrating not on the Russian section, but on English painting.
