Chechen art is the historical and present art form representing Chechnya or the Chechen Republic. This type of art is a part of Chechnya's tangible cultural heritage, showing its deep history. Being formed centuries ago, Chechen art has been dated back to the Early

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

. Chechens have used art to express their culture, beliefs, customs, and history. An important message shown in this art are Chechen religious beliefs, especially in their rituals and legends. Like in many other ancient cultures, Chechen decor is shown with symbols idealizing their everyday life and roles, such as hunting, farming, and religious rituals.

History

Whether looking at Chechen art in the

or the present, there is still a strong Eastern influence with other groups, including

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abra ...

and

Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 ''Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...

. In the era of the early Bronze Age, Chechen artifacts found were pottery, ceramics, obviously, bronze and metal objects. Chechen people would carve symbols in these ceramics and pottery, mainly of animals which were then used in rituals. Other works of carving symbols was done in the late Bronze Age to the late

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. Painting hadn't taken much place in Chechen art until 1917. With all the beautiful and vast forms of art this culture had created, many were displayed in the Grozny Museum, having a total of 3,270 works and 950 paintings. After the First Chechen War, with the bombing of Grozny in 1995, most of the Chechen art within the museum was destroyed, with only 100 paintings saved. Since then, many artists and historians are trying to restore many of these paintings, and making exhibits for them in Moscow. With a country full of history, culture and war, it is resembled in Chechen art.

Chechen artists

Pyotr Zakharov was the first famous painter in Chechen art, being very popular within the 1800s. He became popular for his work in self portraits, painting many celebrities in St. Petersburg, Russia. Another famous Chechen artist is Amandi Asukhanov, being known for his painting landscapes in the late 1900s. Lastly, Zamir Yushaev, who is a more recent painter of Chechen art. He specializes in a couple of media, but mainly painting and oil, and is also a cartoonist.

References

{{reflist Culture of Chechnya Russian art