Royal Academy of Arts: From Russia
French and Russian Master Paintings from Moscow and St. Petersburg
More than 120 paintings by French and Russian artists, including Cézanne, van Gogh, Gauguin, Matisse, Kandinsky, Tatlin and Malevich, are currently on show in London.
From Russia: French and Russian Master Paintings 1870-1925 from Moscow and St. Petersburg brings together modern masterpieces by French and Russian artists active from 1870 to 1925. The show has been made possible by the sponsorship of E-ON, one of the UK's leading power and gas companies. All of the paintings on loan to London's Royal Academy of Arts are from the State Hermitage Museum and the State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg, the State Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts and Moscow's State Tretyakov Gallery.
The exhibition has been organised by the Royal Academy of Arts in conjunction with the Museum Kunst Palast, Dusseldorf, Germany. It explores the development of modern art from Realism and Impressionism to Suprematism and Constructivism. This is the first time that paintings from these collections have been displayed together.
The Wanderers
The exhibition is organised around four themes. The first section features the work of the Russian Realists known as the Wanderers, including Ivan Kramskoy, Valentin Serov, Mikhail Nesterov, Isaak Levitan, Ilya Repin and others. Their art centered on traditional peasant life, landscapes, social issues and Russian history. Ilya Repin's magnificent Manifesto of October 17th, 1905, dominates the gallery. This gallery also includes work by artists of the French Barbizon School (ca. 1830-1870) such as Charles Daubigny, Jean-François Millet and Théodore Rousseau.
The Great Collectors - Shchukin and Morozov
Part Two of the exhibition features art from the collections of Sergei Shchukin (1854-1936) and Ivan Morozov (1871-1921). These two gentlemen were both wealthy textile merchants and keen collectors who purchased paintings by Picasso, Gauguin, Cézanne, van Gogh, Monet, Renoir and Matisse. Henri Matisse discovered an enthusiastic patron in Sergei Shchukin, who commissioned The Dance to enhance the grand staircase of his grand Moscow home. The Dance is the highlight of Gallery III. It literally takes your breath away!
World of Art Movement
The third part of the show looks at the World of Art movement. Alexander Benois, Léon Bakst and a group of friends established the "World of Art" in the 1890s as a reaction to The Wanderers. Their aim was to promote Russian art in the West and expose it to Western influences. The World of Art magazine was founded and edited by impresario Sergei Diaghilev (1872-1929), founder of Ballets Russes. Bakst's imposing portrait of Sergei Diaghilev is on display. Pieces by Boris Kustodiev, Mikhail Vrubel, Nochiolas Roerich and Alexander Golovinund Valentin Serov, all artists attracted to the World of Art, can also been seen.
Developments in the 20th Century
The exhibition concludes with an exploration of the rapidly changing Russian art scene in the early 20th Century. This section features paintings by Mikahail Larionov, Jean Pougny, Pavel Filonov, Olga Rozanova, Lyubov Popova and Alexandra Exter. Natalia Goncharova's Smoker, (1911) and Kazimir Malevich’s triptych Black Square, Black Circle, and Black Cross are also in display.
From Russia: French and Russian Master Paintings 1870-1925 from Moscow and St. Petersburg will be showing from 26th January 2008 to 18th April 2008. You can book tickets online or by telephone: +44 (0) 870 8488484. For more information check the Royal Academy of Arts website.
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