Memorial museum of Marina Tsvetaeva, November 16, 2016

A cross with the elected Saints, an icon «Boris and Gleb», an icon «The virgin on the Throne» by artists Nikolay Chibisov and Lyudmila Chibisovf in a show-window of the mirror hall of the memorial museum of Tsvetaeva.Photo by Tatyana Uspenskaya

On November 16, 2016 the opening ceremony of the exhibition “History of the Russian State in Persons” took place in Borisoglebsky lane in Moscow. The exhibition is devoted to the 250th anniversary of Nikolay Mikhaylovich Karamzin. Truly a large-scale panorama of history of our Fatherland is presented in exposition of three chamber halls of the memorial museum of Marina Tsvetaeva. This panorama is reflected in painting canvases and monumental sculptural portraits, in penetrating graphic sheets to the Russian poetry and proze, in bronze medals and iconography.

From the most gloomy and shameful historical memoirs, like for example execution of a family of the last Russian Sovereign-emperor Nicholas II in work of the artist Sergey Afonsky "The Ekaterinburg Prayer", till the lightest and pure images of the Saint Reverend Sergey of Radonezh in works of the Honored artist of Russia Gennady Zhivotov, Viktoriya Afonskaya and Margarita Alyonicheva. From the mightiest both in a form and on sense sculptures of the Honored artist of Russia Ivan Korzhev "Evpaty Kolovrat" and "Yemelyan Pugachyov" to the most lyrical and penetrating plots. For example, illustrations of the artist Yury Cherepanov to Anna Akhmatova's poem "Listening to singing", written by Anna Andreevna on December 19, 1961 (on Nikola Zimnego) in the hospital named after Lenin when she heard on radio how Galina Vishnevskaya sang "The Brazilian bakhiana"...

And tears are ready to rush suddenly from eyes as you imagine the great poet in hospital when you feel how she was listening attentively to that singing and when you guess, suddenly, as all this was thinly experienced by the artist who has drawn with ink on paper such epitaph.

On the death of the poet. On the death of the artist. On the death of the Russian culture...

And that is why there is a number of cold water colors of the Honored artist of Russia Valery Ryabovol “Solovki” next to which in the neighbourhood Alexander Isayevich Solzhenitsyn's portraits by artists Pavel Borisov and Margarita Siourina in the concert hall of the museum of Tsvetaeva on one of key walls of an exposition. And only near mind is not able to understood why there are portrait of Peter the Great from creative heritage of the National artist of Russia Gennady Sevostyanov and Igor Hamrayev's work "Two geniuses. Vrubel and Lermontov" on one wall in an exposition, divided or united by the transparent and light Virgin of the artist Margarita Yurkova.

But all is indeed like this in our history because there is an eternal abyss between genius and the tsar which can't be closed by anything...

Except Blessed Virgin Mary.

But it is our culture that showed to the world knights of high spirit, such as Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky, Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin and Nikolay Vasilyevich Gogol, such as Bulat Shalvovich Okudzhava and Dmitry Sergeyevich Likhachyov – and all of them are presented at our exhibition in works of Yury Zemlyanukhin and Margarita Siourina, Pavel Borisov and Raisa Arefyeva

And it is indeed in our history when the most hard times, times of troubles were able to overcome. In those hard times always addressed the people - both patriarchs, and voivodes, and princes... and the people rose, did everything as it was necessary, and built marvelous temples of fantastic outlines and elegant flowers, anew lifted the cities. And tsars pricked out after that eyes to master handymen, caged rebels and just discordants, turned monasteries into camps, and temples into pools. Also held up to shame all former tsars, everywhere erecting monuments to darlings to themselves. But how long all that wouldn't proceed, surely only the most important, the kindest and the most beautiful remain in centuries...

Works by the artists Margarita Siourina, Valery Sopp, Margarita Yurkova, Elena Kraznoshchekova, Yury Zemlyanukhin, Gennady Zhivotov in the exposition of the mirror hall of the memorial museum of Tsvetaeva. Photo by Margarita Siourina

Only the cleverest persons and persons of fine fiber remain in centuries. Such people as Nikolay Karamzin and Mikhail Lomonosov, Ivan Fyodorov and Vladimir Dahl – and all of them are at our exhibition in graphics of the artist Leonid Kozlov. Only persons of fine fiber and wise people are able to understand for what such contrasts adjoin in show-windows and on walls at the exhibition. Why a traditional iconography of artists Nikolay and Lyudmila Chibisovs and vanguard art objects of artists of Margarita Al and Anvar Almukhametov are aggregated in one exposition. When even in a palette of one artist there is the most powerful range, as in Tatyana Gorelova's works, from cold and gloomy winter landscapes to festive and solar (and also winter) "Fair".

The holiday in the Russian culture comes always unexpectedly, and it can't always be passed. It arises, suddenly, in the heart, rises up from unknown secret depths and doesn't allow to be upset and start howling, doesn't allow to relax and indulge in despondency, doesn't allow to fall and lose a human face...

On November, 2016 the memorial museum of Marina Tsvetaeva was full of clever and talented people who saved their human face in our time of troubles.

And let everything changes in this world – presidents and directors of the museums, public order and political system, let replace each other officials and accountants, a gusting wind and pouring rains, a bitter cold and midday summer heat...

It is quite natural because everything in this life is transitory.

But the art project "Portrait of the Russian Fine Word" with success opened already the ninth thematic exhibition for the last three years. Artists and poets of the project continue to paint pictures and verses, to create sculptures and poems, portraits and romances...

You shouldn't be surprised, only art – is eternal.

Artist Margarita Siourina,
Manager of the art project «Portrait of the Russian Fine Word»
November 22, 2016, Moscow

Graphic works by Konstantin Kedrov-Chelishchev in a show-window of the concert hall of the museum of Tsvetaeva. Photo by Tatyana Uspenskaya

 

PHOTO REPORT OF THE OPENING DAY OF THE EXHIBITION «HISTORY OF THE RUSSIAN STATE IN PERSONS»