#3 2005 (08)

The family of Russian merchants from whom Pavel Tretyakov was descended had no long-term roots in Moscow. It was only in 1774 that the family moved to Moscow from Maly Yaroslavets, a small town near Kaluga where the Tretyakovs had long been known as merchants. In 1 832, the founder of the world famous Tretyakov Gallery and Honorary Citizen of Moscow - a title accorded to very few at the end of the 19th century - was born in the old part of Moscow's Zamoskvorechye area, in Yaki- manka in the parish of St Nicholas' Church in Golutvino, the first child in the family of Mikhail Tretyakov and the first representative of the fourth generation of the Tretyakov family.

Vasily Khudyakov (1826-1871) was famous in the 1860s as a genre painter, the author of excellent portraits and historical paintings, and a brilliant graphic artist. A former serf, he became the only painter from the small Volga merchant town of Simbirsk to be awarded the honorary titles of Academician and Professor of St. Petersburg's Academy of Arts in the mid-19th century.

An exhibition marking the 225th anniversary of Vasily Tropinin (17801857) is running at the Tretyakov Gallery from May 25 to September 4 2005. The artist's creative work belongs to the epoch that is considered the “golden age” of Russian culture.

In May 2006, the Tretyakov Gallery will celebrate its 150th anniversary. As the years pass, we find ourselves constantly returning to Pavel Tretyakov and his vital role in the development of Russian art. A successful merchant and entrepreneur, Tretyakov claimed that "assembling the Russian school, as it is today" was one of his life's goals. 150 years later, we still remember Tretyakov with immense gratitude, such was his gift to society and future generations.

To visit the Venice Biennale is always an adventure, given the atmosphere of the town defined by the sea, its canals and artistic and architectural jewels of the past. The festival of arts, which was originally situated only in the Giardini, has spread over the years throughout the city, growing to include exhibitions from more than 70 countries, while many shows from independent groups must find their place in the Giardini’s pavilions, or in palaces, churches and cultural centres.

Twenty chapters, or twenty acts of an unfinished play about artistic life which the German artist Guenther Uecker is destined to complete have become a culminating event in Berlin’s cultural life from March to June 2005, alongside the exhibition “Nefertiti” in the Kunst Forum, and a celebration of the centenary of Albert Einstein.

On June 7 2005 a new statue was unveiled in Moscow - an impressive monument to Tsar Alexander II which stands by the rebuilt Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. Known as the "Tsar Liberator", Alexander II abolished serfdom in 1861. As well as helping other Slavic peoples in their struggles against the Ottoman Empire, he undertook a number of radical state reforms. Alexander II was something of a martyr - a noble and conscientious ruler who fell victim to the pressures and limitations facing all monarchs.

Slava Polunin recalls: “Many, many years ago, I remember seeing a picture in a book. The picture made such an impression on me that I had to find out where it had been taken. Having made me enquiries, I duly took myself to Versailles. There, among the shining gilt and cascading fountains, I chanced upon a group of mysterious creatures - dressed in strange costumes, they were carrying saxophones, those most rebellious, vital and non-conformist instruments. Saxophones have done much to change the entire history of music. And here, wielding these magical tools, was a whole army, an entire population from “planet Saxophone", bringing us a whole new world of sound. Together with the bizarre surroundings of Versailles and the talented musicians with saxophones, the sounds fused to create a different reality: an enchanted kingdom, a special path - the path trodden by the French group Urban Sax and its leader, the producer and composer Gilbert Artman.