Benois

Vrubel: an Artist for the Ages

Irina Shumanova

Article: 
CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
Magazine issue: 
#3 2021 (72)

Mikhail Vrubel (1856-1910) holds a unique place in the history of Russian art. On the one hand, he belonged to the legendary cohort of Russian Art Nouveau artists. According to his contemporaries, it was in his oeuvre that “we find the saddest and most beautiful artistic expression of the time” In a newspaper article on the occasion of Vrubel’s funeral, the celebrated Russian artist and art historian Alexandre Benois predicted: “Future generations, should true enlightenment shine upon the Russian public, will look back at the last decades of the 19th century as ‘the era of Vrubel’.” Nevertheless, there is clearly a great gap between Vrubel and his artistic milieu: he seems to be much more in touch with the future than with the world around him. “Here is what I do know: I can only stand in awe of the mysteries that Vrubel and others like him begin to reveal to mankind once in 100 years. We are unable to see the worlds that were open to them, and so all we can do is utter this feeble, indifferent word: ‘genius’.

Vrubel: an Artist for the Ages

The Almighty gave us Pushkin to reveal what a poet is.
We could say the same about Vrubel - he is the embodiment of an artist.
Nikolai Ge[1]

Sergei Diaghilev's "Ballets Russes" on the Tretyakov Gallery Stage

Yevgenia Ilyukhina, Irina Shumanova

Article: 
CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
Magazine issue: 
#3 2009 (24)

Sergei Diaghilev occupies a special place in the culture of the 20th century – many publications have analysed his personality and artistic projects. But who can state that the puzzle of Diaghilevʼs infinite creativity has been unriddled. For many, he is not so much a real person as a composite figure of the ideal impresario, in whom the talent of an organizer was married to an exceptional sensitivity and receptivity to any innovation in art and, of course, the faculty for finding like-minded individuals and financing for his projects.

Sergei Diaghilev's "Ballets Russes" on the Tretyakov Gallery Stage

SERGEI DIAGHILEV OCCUPIES A SPECIAL PLACE IN THE CULTURE OF THE 20TH CENTURY - MANY PUBLICATIONS HAVE ANALYSED HIS PERSONALITY AND ARTISTIC PROJECTS. BUT WHO CAN STATE THAT THE PUZZLE OF DIAGHILEV'S INFINITE CREATIVITY HAS BEEN UNRIDDLED? FOR MANY, HE IS NOT SO MUCH A REAL PERSON AS A COMPOSITE FIGURE OF THE IDEAL IMPRESARIO, IN WHOM THE TALENT OF AN ORGANIZER WAS MARRIED TO AN EXCEPTIONAL SENSITIVITY AND RECEPTIVITY TO ANY INNOVATION IN ART AND, OF COURSE, THE FACULTY FOR FINDING LIKE-MINDED INDIVIDUALS AND FINANCING FOR HIS PROJECTS.

Creative Discoveries of the Russian Artist-travelers

Margarita Krylova

Article: 
HERITAGE
Magazine issue: 
#2 2010 (27)

The late 18th century saw the appearance in Russia of the “artist-traveler” - artists who accompanied official delegations to new lands, or visited Europe on Academy fellowships, or traveled independently, always recording their impressions of their journeys. Drawing was the most direct form in which to do so: their sketches from nature - the first step towards final, finished compositions - were created using different media (pencil, quill, watercolour or pastel), and preserved intact the freshness of the artistic perception of nature, architectural landmarks, and people. An exhibition of graphic artwork from the Tretyakov Gallery collection, held from June 2009 through January 2010, featured more than 350 pieces from the late 18 th to the early 20th century (up until the 1930s), created by artists during their travels across the Russian empire and the world.

Creative Discoveries of the Russian Artist-travelers

Valentin Serov and Leon Bakst. Seeking an ideal

Yelena Terkel

Article: 
EXCLUSIVE PUBLICATIONS
Magazine issue: 
#3 2015 (48)

Valentin Serov (1865-1911) appeared reserved, earnest, and sombre; Leon Bakst (1866-1924) was vibrant, unpredictable and a little funny - a dedicated dandy. What was it that brought together these two artists, so unlike one another? Why did their fondness for one another grow in the years after they met while publishing “Mir Iskusstva” (World of Art) magazine? The answer seems simple and complicated at the same time: deep down, they were looking for something indiscernibly similar. While their public personas were so different, both used them to protect their respective creative selves from the rude intrusions of outsiders. Both artists were successful and famous, each in his own unique way; both were chasing their dreams and looking for new paths and expressions, while remaining honest and true to themselves in their artistic pursuits.

Valentin Serov and Leon Bakst. Seeking an ideal

Valentin Serov (1865-1911) appeared reserved, earnest, and sombre; Leon Bakst (1866-1924) was vibrant, unpredictable and a little funny - a dedicated dandy. What was it that brought together these two artists, so unlike one another? Why did their fondness for one another grow in the years after they met while publishing “Mir Iskusstva” (World of Art) magazine? The answer seems simple and complicated at the same time: deep down, they were looking for something indiscernibly similar.

Golovin and Diaghilev. Pro et contra

Irina Shumanova

Article: 
HERITAGE
Magazine issue: 
#3 2014 (44)

ON OCTOBER 2 1921 IN PETROGRAD, STRAVINSKY'S BALLET "THE FIREBIRD", DESIGNED BY ALEXANDER GOLOVIN, PREMIERED AT THE ACADEMIC THEATRE OF OpERA AND Ballet (Formerly The MARIINSKY Theatre). IT WAS The Finale OF A CONFUCT, BETWEEN The IMPERIAL THEATRES AND SERGEI DIAGHILEV'S COMPANY, WHICH HAD BEEN RUNNING THROUGH THE 1910S - A CONFRONTATION IN WHICH GOLOVIN PLAYED AN IMPORTANT AND COMPLICATED ROLE, ACTING AS DIAGHILEV'S ASSOCIATE AND, AT THE SAME TIME, CHALLENGER.

Golovin and Diaghilev. Pro et contra

ON OCTOBER 2 1921 IN PETROGRAD, STRAVINSKY'S BALLET "THE FIREBIRD", DESIGNED BY ALEXANDER GOLOVIN, PREMIERED AT THE ACADEMIC THEATRE OF OpERA AND Ballet (Formerly The MARIINSKY Theatre). IT WAS The Finale OF A CONFUCT, BETWEEN The IMPERIAL THEATRES AND SERGEI DIAGHILEV'S COMPANY, WHICH HAD BEEN RUNNING THROUGH THE 1910S - A CONFRONTATION IN WHICH GOLOVIN PLAYED AN IMPORTANT AND COMPLICATED ROLE, ACTING AS DIAGHILEV'S ASSOCIATE AND, AT THE SAME TIME, CHALLENGER.

Working with the Material

Irina Shumanova, Yevgeniya Ilyukhina

Article: 
CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
Magazine issue: 
#3 2012 (36)

The exhibition "The Basic Materials of Graphic Art: Paper and Wood, Silk and Glass..." features items from the Tretyakov Gallery's collection of drawings of the 18th-early 20th centuries. It is the final show in a series devoted to drawing materials, media and techniques used in Russia, and is intended to introduce to the public the history and diversity of the materials used in graphic art. The word traditionally applied to them in Russia — "the foundation" — most aptly characterises their role in the creation of an artwork, that of a "tuner" directing the artist towards a certain drawing style. The choice of material to a large extent determines how strokes or dabs of colour are applied — their tempo, rhythm, energy, and density. The exhibition is thematically arranged, exploring different kinds of materials and their characteristics such as structure, texture of the surface, colour, and tone.

Working with the Material

The exhibition "The Basic Materials of Graphic Art: Paper and Wood, Silk and Glass..." features items from the Tretyakov Gallery's collection of drawings of the 18th-early 20th centuries. It is the final show in a series devoted to drawing materials, media and techniques used in Russia, and is intended to introduce to the public the history and diversity of the materials used in graphic art.

"The Forgotten One" from the Benois Dynasty

Yury Mudrov, Olga Savitskaya

Article: 
HERITAGE
Magazine issue: 
Special issue. SWITZERLAND–RUSSIA: ON THE CROSSROADS OF CULTURES

Five St. Petersburg museums - the Russian Museum, the Academic Research Museum of the Russian Academy of Fine Arts, the St. Petersburg Museum of Theatre and Music, the Yelaginoostrovsky Palace-Museum and the Russian Ethnography Museum - were exhibiting the works of Alexander Benois di Stetto (1896-1979). His works, never before shown in Russia, reaffirmed the reputation of the illustrious family of artists as the most significant, and artistically most prolific and versatile dynasty of its time

"The Forgotten One" from the Benois Dynasty

Five St. Petersburg museums - the Russian Museum, the Academic Research Museum of the Russian Academy of Fine Arts, the St. Petersburg Museum of Theatre and Music, the Yelaginoostrovsky Palace-Museum and the Russian Ethnography Museum - were exhibiting the works of Alexander Benois di Stetto (1896-1979). His works, never before shown in Russia, reaffirmed the reputation of the illustrious family of artists as the most significant, and artistically most prolific and versatile dynasty of its time.

Goncharova, Music and Theatre

Inessa Kouteinikova

Article: 
CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
Magazine issue: 
#1 2014 (42)

NATALIA GONCHAROVAS SUBTLE, DISTINGUISHED, HIGHLY MUSICAL AND LEARNED DESIGNS FOR THE THEATRE ELUCIDATE A FUNDAMENTAL SHIFT FROM THE EMPHASIS ON THE BOMBASTIC, GLORY-OBSESSED CELEBRATIONS FOR DIAGHILEV'S SPECTACLES TO PERFORMANCES THAT STRESSED THE VIRTUES OF INDIVIDUALITY, FANTASY AND HISTORY. DIAGHILEV'S ABSOLUTE POWER WITHIN THE RUSSIAN WORLD OF THEATRE, SIMILAR TO THAT OF LOUIS XIV, RESIDED IN ITS REPRESENTATION AND CONTROL OF THAT REPRESENTATION, WHICH RESIDED NOT ONLY WITH DIAGHILEV BUT ALSO WITH HIS ARTISTS, WHO, LIKE THE KING'S HISTORIOGRAPHERS, CREATED THEATRICAL IMAGES ON WHICH THE OPINION OF POSTERITY DEPENDED.

Goncharova, Music and Theatre

NATALIA GONCHAROVAS SUBTLE, DISTINGUISHED, HIGHLY MUSICAL AND LEARNED DESIGNS FOR THE THEATRE ELUCIDATE A FUNDAMENTAL SHIFT FROM THE EMPHASIS ON THE BOMBASTIC, GLORY-OBSESSED CELEBRATIONS FOR DIAGHILEV'S SPECTACLES TO PERFORMANCES THAT STRESSED THE VIRTUES OF INDIVIDUALITY, FANTASY AND HISTORY.

Goncharova -"This Name Had the Ring of Victory"

Irina Vakar

Article: 
CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
Magazine issue: 
#1 2014 (42)

THE EXHIBITION "NATALIA GONCHAROVA. EAST AND WEST", RUNNING AT THE TRETYAKOV GALLERY FROM OCTOBER 16 2013 TO FEBRUARY 16 2014, PRESENTS MANY OF THE ARTIST'S PAINTINGS FROM HER LATER EUROPEAN PERIOD TO RUSSIAN VIEWERS FOR THE FIRST TIME. DISPLAYING THE FULL STYLISTIC RANGE OF HER WORK, IT REVEALS A FIGURE FOR WHOM THE CONCEPT OF EXPERIMENTATION IN GENRE REMAINED FUNDAMENTAL.

Goncharova -"This Name Had the Ring of Victory"

THE EXHIBITION "NATALIA GONCHAROVA. EAST AND WEST", RUNNING AT THE TRETYAKOV GALLERY FROM OCTOBER 16 2013 TO FEBRUARY 16 2014, PRESENTS MANY OF THE ARTIST'S PAINTINGS FROM HER LATER EUROPEAN PERIOD TO RUSSIAN VIEWERS FOR THE FIRST TIME. DISPLAYING THE FULL STYLISTIC RANGE OF HER WORK, IT REVEALS A FIGURE FOR WHOM THE CONCEPT OF EXPERIMENTATION IN GENRE REMAINED FUNDAMENTAL.

Symbolism and Russian Art

Alla Gusarova

Article: 
HERITAGE
Magazine issue: 
#2 2013 (39)

FLOURISHING IN THE LATE 19TH-EARLY 20TH CENTURIES, SYMBOLISM ASPIRED TO CONVEY IN ART INTUITIVE INSIGHTS INTO DIFFERENT REALITIES - THE REALITY OF DREAM, REVERIE, MEMORY, FAIRY TALE, LEGEND, OR THAT OF A DIFFERENT, HIGHER WORLD. THIS NEW WORLDVIEW, REPLACING POSITIVISM, BECAME ONE OF THE FEATURES OF THE CULTURAL SILVER AGE IN RUSSIA, AND EMBRACED ALL AREAS OF CREATIVE ENDEAVOUR, INCLUDING LITERATURE, RAINTING AND MUSIC RUSSIAN WRITERS AND POETS SUCH AS ALEXANDER BLOK, ANDREI BELY AND VY-ACHESLAV IVANOV, AND THE RELIGIOUS PHILOSOPHERS VLADIMIR SOLOVIEV, PAVEL FLORENSKY AND SERGEI BULGAKOV BECAME EVANGELISTS AND INTERPRETERS OF THE NEW MOVEMENT: THEY PREACHED ABOUT THE MYSTICAL AND EVEN DIVINE ESSENCE OF ART WHICH WAS BOUND TO TRANSFORM THE WORLD.

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FLOURISHING IN THE LATE 19TH-EARLY 20TH CENTURIES, SYMBOLISM ASPIRED TO CONVEY IN ART INTUITIVE INSIGHTS INTO DIFFERENT REALITIES - THE REALITY OF DREAM, REVERIE, MEMORY, FAIRY TALE, LEGEND, OR THAT OF A DIFFERENT, HIGHER WORLD.

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