Symbolism

The exhibition "Russian Artists Abroad. Marianne Werefkin (1860-1938)"'opening at the Tretyakov Gallery, is a part of the Ticino Year in Russia - the year dedicated to the Swiss canton of Ticino in Russia - and is timed to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the artist's birth. Regrettably, the general public in Russia knows little about Marianne Werefkin, although she is a fascinating personality in many respects. Some viewers will be more interested in her evolution as an artist - from her "Peredvizhniki"-style realism, through symbolism and other schools that nearly all artists of her age engaged with, towards a very distinctive, idiosyncratic expressionism. Others will probably take an interest in her life story, so unusual for a 19th-century woman, including many dramatic turns of fate, and resolute decisions taken in the course of it.

An unparalleled overview of Ferdinand Hodler's work opened on April 9 2008 in the old building of the Museum of Fine Arts in Bern, in rooms specially designed for the exhibition. This show is one of the most important and comprehensive of Hodler's exhibitions, with over 150 major works from all periods; it will remain there until August 10 2008. The exhibition was arranged in collaboration with the Budapest Museum of Fine Arts, and offers a unique overview of Hodler's work, clearly establishing the international significance of this Swiss painter. His large symbolist figure paintings are shown alongside his best landscapes. The exhibition is rounded out with his unique group of works dealing with the sick and dying Valentine Gode-Darel, his mistress, and with a selection of self-portraits.

EDVARD MUNCH'S ICONIC IMAGE OF MODERN MAN "THE SCREAM" - THE BEST-KNOWN PICTURE IN THE WORLD AND THE SEMINAL WORK OF EXPRESSIONISM - CAPTURES THE VULNERABILITY AND TRAGIC ASPECT OF HUMAN EXISTENCE. INDEBTED TO VINCENT VAN GOGH AND PAUL GAUGUIN, MUNCH (1863-1944) SEARCHED FOR A NEW ART OF DEPTH AND AUTHENTICITY. TODAY, "THE SCREAM" HAS BECOME AN UBIQUITOUS IMAGE OF POPULAR CULTURE, SIMULTANEOUSLY "APPROPRIATED" BY AN IRONIC POSTMODERNITY. BOTH EXTREMES SEEM RELEVANT IN UNDERSTANDING THE CONTEXT OF THE SPECTACULAR PRICE OF $120 MILLION THAT WAS PAID FOR A PASTEL VERSION OF THE IMAGE IN SPRING 2012. THE FAME OF "THE SCREAM" HAS COME TO EXCEED THE FAME OF THE ARTIST: THIS DISCREPANCY SEEMS TO BE DIMINISHING, HOWEVER, AS LARGE INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITIONS MAKE VIEWERS MORE FAMILIAR WITH THE BROADER ASPECTS OF MUNCH'S ART AND LEGACY. CELEBRATING THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARTIST'S BIRTH, THE MUNCH MUSEUM AND THE NATIONAL GALLERY IN OSLO GIVE A VAST, JOINT PRESENTATION OF THE ARTIST'S WORK THIS SUMMER AND AUTUMN.