"Genius lived here...". Literary places of Russia
ARTinvestment.RU   22 сентября 2016

Monographic exhibition of Boris Shcherbakov, which opens today at the Tolstoy center on Pyatnitskaya street, 12, timed to 100-летию from the date of birth of the artist

Tolstoy center
Opening September 22 2016
Moscow, Pyatnitskaya str, 12

the exhibition of approximately 50 paintings from the collections of the State Museum of L. N. Tolstoy, the State Pushkin Museum, Museum-усадьбы L. N. Tolstoy "Yasnaya Polyana" Museum-заповедника A. S. Pushkin "Mikhailovskoye" State Museum-заповедника M. A. Sholokhov, United Orlowski public literary Museum I. S. Turgenev State Museum-выставочного center "ROSIZO".

For the artist Boris Scherbakov V. (1916-1995), the unraveling of the concept of genius loci (genius loci) was one of the main creative task of a lifetime. For several decades, beginning with 1930-х and ending with 1970-ми, Boris Shcherbakov traveled to the places associated with the names of great writers — Pushkin, Tolstoy, Lermontov, Turgenev and Sholokhov. In the cycles of their landscapes of Yasnaya Polyana, Michael, etc., he tried to answer the question about the origins of the great Russian literature.

Boris Shcherbakov was born in the family of a Professor of painting, graduated from the Kazan art school of V. S. Shcherbakov (1880-1957) and a teacher of Philology and history. Studied painting at the Imperial Academy of arts in St.-Петербурге — in classes, I. E. Repin and F. A. Rubo.

In the pre-1930-е years, came to the Pushkin reserve Mikhailovskoye, Boris Shcherbakov first wanted through the landscape to try to convey the invisible dialogue genius and places of Pushkin and of the nature of the Mikhailovsky.

In 1959 the theme was continued a cycle of landscapes of Yasnaya Polyana Tolstoy. "The nature of Yasnaya Polyana was the inspiration for the great artist, and description of many parts of her we meet in the pages of "War and peace", "Anna Karenina" and other works. The nature of Yasnaya Polyana brought me closer to great writers, much of it explained, and I conceived the idea: a language of lines and colours to try to convey those sentiments and feelings which prompted the nature of Yasnaya Polyana, quietly, but imprinted on my heart and each time more and more charming me" — wrote to the artist.

In 1962-1965 Shcherbakov creates a "cycle Turgenev" Spassky-Лутовинове in the Orel region.

1973-1974 — deep and active Hobbies Sholokhov: "the"Quiet don" for me was not only the key to understanding the nature of the region, but also helped me to addicted to love "mounds in the wise silence of the guard buried the Cossack glory". And then, in 1970-х he turned to the works of M. Y. Lermontov and the places associated with his life — visited the village of Tarkhany Penza province and the Caucasus.

Paintings of Boris Shcherbakov adorn the collections of many Russian museums — from the Tretyakov gallery to the wonderful meeting in Rostov-на-Дону, Krasnodar, Irkutsk, Pskov, Krasnoyarsk, Orenburg, Tyumen, Bryansk, Vladimir, Kazan, Kemerovo and other cities. There are some in private collections.

Source: press-релиз of the exhibition