Art of the Altai Mountains

On the basis of rethinking of a role of religious and mythological bases of development of spiritual culture in Mountain Altai the processes of translation of an art heritage are considered. Recently discovered cultural monuments, such as ancient, medieval and modern petroglyphs, statues, and the art of Altai shepherds, are introduced into the circle of scientific problems. Artistic peculiarities of one of the indigenous peoples of Siberia are traced throughout the whole period of development of fine arts in the Altai Mountains. Taking into account the historical and cultural synthesis of folklore and foreign cultural elements, the phenomena of continuous, discontinuous and latent continuity in folk and professional art are revealed. It is noted that the continuity is based on the undivided real and mythopoetic view of the world and is manifested at different levels of ideological and imaginative plan, as well as formal and stylistic. At the heart of the mechanism of continuity, corresponding to the processes of revival of national culture, is the functioning of archetypal images.