Petrov-Vodkin

THE CURRENT EXHIBITION IN THE LAVRUSHINSKY GRAPHIC ARTS HALL REPRESENTS THE SECOND PART OF THE MAJOR PROJECT TITLED "MAGIC OF THE HUMAN BODY". IT TELLS THE STORY OF A MOST POETIC CHAPTER IN THE HISTORY OF RUSSIAN GRAPHIC ARTS AT THE END OF THE 19TH AND BEGINNING OF THE 20TH CENTURIES, THAT OF DRAWING THE NUDE HUMAN FORM. GENERALLY SPEAKING, THE ART OF DRAWING, COMPARED TO PAINTING AND SCULPTURE, IS BY NATURE MORE CAPABLE OF QUICKLY AND FORCEFULLY TRANSFORMING AN INHERENTLY NEUTRAL MOTIF INTO AN ARTISTIC IMAGE THAT EXPRESSES CERTAIN IMPORTANT NOTIONS AND CONCEPTS. THE NUDE GENRE IS NO EXCEPTION, SO IT IS NO SURPRISE THAT EVERY WELL-KNOWN RUSSIAN ARTIST OF THE 20TH CENTURY TRIED HIS OR HER HAND AT IT. THIS EXHIBITION BRINGS TOGETHER THOSE FIGURES WHO MADE THE NUDE DRAWING INTO A SEPARATE GENRE OF THE VISUAL ARTS, AND AN IMPORTANT THEME IN THEIR WORK.

IN 2012 A ROOM DEVOTED TO THE MOST DIFFICULT PERIOD IN THE HISTORY OF THE RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS (RAFA) WAS OPENED AT THE INSTITUTION'S ACADEMIC RESEARCH MUSEUM. INTEGRATED WITHIN THE PERMANENT DISPLAY TITLED "ACADEMIC MUSEUM", IT CAN ALSO BE VIEWED AS AN AUTONOMOUS SECTION. ALTHOUGH THE SURVIVING VISUAL EVIDENCE DOES NOT AMOUNT TO A COMPREHENSIVE ACCOUNT OF THE SINGULAR AND DIVERSE LIFE AT THE ACADEMY IN THE 1920S, WHEN THAT INSTITUTION WAS HOME TO DIFFERENT AND SOMETIMES MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE TRENDS, IT NEVERTHELESS WIDENS OUR KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THIS PERIOD.