Artistic Disciplines, Academy of

(originally the Russian Academy of Artistic Disciplines; from 1925 the State Academy of Artistic Disciplines [GAKhN]), a Soviet scholarly organization of the 1920’s. The Academy of Artistic Disciplines was founded in Moscow on Oct. 7, 1921, under the auspices of the arts division of Glavnauka (the Central Administration of Scientific, Scientific-Artistic, and Museum Institutions) of the People’s Commissariat of Education of the RSFSR. Its main goal was the comprehensive scientific investigation of problems of art and artistic culture, in particular the problem of artistic synthesis.

The academy originally had divisions of physical mathematics (psychology), philosophy, and sociology. Each division had sections devoted to literature, music, theater, representational arts, architecture, and printing. The academy consisted of active members and scientific workers. Prominent members of the Academy of Artistic Disciplines included A. V. Bakushinskii, B. R. Vipper, A. B. Gabrichevskii, V. N. Domogatskii, I. V. Zholtovskii, A. A. Sidorov, R. R. Fal’k, and A. V. Shchusev. The academy published Biulleten’ GAKhN (nos. 1–11, 1925–28). In 1930 it was reorganized as the State Academy for Art Studies.