Yuly Aikhenvald or Eichenwald (Russian: Юлий Исаевич Айхенвальд, Yuliy Isayevich Aikhenvald; 24 January 1872 - 17 December 1928) was a Russian Jewish literary critic who developed a native brand of Aestheticism and went down in history as "a Russian version of Walter Pater" (Vladimir Nabokov's assessment).^[1]

Contents 1 Life 2 Family 3 Books 4 Quotes 5 Online resources 6 Notes

[edit] Life

Aikhenvald was born in Balta into a rabbi's family and attended the New Russia University in Odessa, where he developed a lasting interest in Schopenhauer's ideas. After moving to Moscow in 1895 he employed a number of pen-names, including Yu. Ald (Ю. Альд) and B. Kamenetzki (Б. Каменецкий).

Aikhenvald followed Schopenhauer in that art is irrational and that the essence of it can be reached only by dint of intuition. He panned most Russian literary critics for applying social and utilitarian criteria to literature and for producing political journalism in the guise of artistic criticism.

Following the Russian Revolution Aikhenvald was briefly arrested and then, in 1922, exiled to Germany where he involved himself in several high-profile émigré publications. His life was cut short by a tram accident in Berlin.

[edit] Family

• Natalia Shvedova (1916-2009) - his daughter, a lexicographer
• Alexander Aikhenvald (1899-1941) - his son, an economist
• Yury Aikhenvald (1928-1993) - his grandson, a dissident
• Alexandra Aikhenvald (born 1957) - his great-granddaughter, a linguist

[edit] Books

• In his best-known book Silhouettes of Russian Writers (1909) Aikhenvald offers a series of memorable impressionistic sketches of major Russian authors and their works. His argument that Ivan Turgenev was a second-rate writer caused an outcry in the conservative literary circles.

[edit] Quotes

• "There are no literary movements, only writers. There is no society, only individuals".^[2]

[edit] Online resources

• Русское зарубежье (Золотая книга эмиграции) Первая треть XX века. Энциклопедический биографический словарь. М., 1997. 748 с. at apologetika.com
• Русский биографический словарь at www.rulex.ru
• Онлайн-энциклопедия Кругосвет at www.krugosvet.ru
• Биографический указатель at www.hrono.ru

[edit] Notes