Harlequins of the Silver age. K. A. Somov, N. N. Sapunov, S. Y. Sudeikin
ARTinvestment.RU   20 ноября 2018

New graphic exhibition of the Tretyakov gallery presents more than 200 exhibits — watercolor, pastel, drawing, painting, porcelain, book and magazine graphics

the State Tretyakov gallery
23 November 2018 — may 19 2019
Moscow, Lavrushinsky lane, 10, halls 49-54

the Exhibition is timed to the upcoming 150-летию painter and graphic belonging to the pleiad of the most prominent figures of the Silver age, — Konstantin Somov (1869-1939). The originality of this exhibition lies in the fact that it is constructed as a three chamber solo exhibitions of famous artists — K. A. Somova, N. N. Sapunov, S. Y. Sudeykin, United by the theme of harlequin. It is in their destiny and work "elecentury" Silver age found the most consistent and committed to the incarnation and work of these artists is practically exhausted.

For the era the figure of the harlequin — metaphor, embodied the spirit of the time, heady and bitter irony of the culture of the fin de siècle (FR. "end of century"). Artists and poets not only created new images of the characters of the Commedia Dell'arte (Commedia dell'arte), but also identified with them. The image and appearance of the harlequin each of the exhibited artists your. For each of them, mask of harlequin as a particular important attribute that shape his work as a marker of personal and artistic positions. They often depicted themselves and each other in the image of harlequin.

Nikolai Sapunov (1880-1912), whom contemporaries called "restless homeless, wandering artist-арлекином", an important permeability boundaries of the real and the fictional world — Harlequinade spills into the present urban space, following the Declaration Blok harlequin: "...greatly to breathe in and out in the world!". The characters of Commedia dell'arte becoming an artist national characteristics — Columbine with the faces of the dolls, "Russified Harlequins".

Sergei Sudeikin (1882-1946) in their works have always assumed the role of harlequin. His very life is similar to Commedia dell'arte — fascinating improvisation, with many incredible twists of fate.

the Theme of arlekinada in the work of Konstantin Somov incorporates multi-layered historical memory, it appeals more to the French, more aristocratic, editorial Сommedia Dell'arte. Carnival gallant scene Luba — a way to soar above the reality, to escape from the present. Many believe in a fantasy, he explores the nature of visual illusion, the border of possibilities of the artist.

In most of the exhibition space are presented portrait and landscape genres. The image of man and space at Luba always painted as the "echo of the past tense". Originating from the family of the Keeper of the Hermitage collection, he took first hand the history of art, was sensitive to the era, versed in the techniques and methods of drawing. Maybe that is why so sophisticated in his portraits of mechanisms for the incorporation of the "time machine". The exhibition presents a variety of options "games with time". At one extreme exposure — "pure history": "the Lady in the pink dress" (1903) and "Sleeping woman in a blue dress" (1903). On the opposite — famous series of portraits of his contemporaries: poets, artists, leadersculture (1906-1915). Catfish picks up the old papers, and sample specific, dispassionate manner of performance appeals to the French portrait in the technique of the "three pencils" of the Renaissance. The center of the portrait hall is a famous work "Lady in blue dress" (1897-1900) — portrait of the artist E. M. Martynova. Past and present it is blended in such harmonious proportions and strictly in accordance with the aesthetic requirements of the "World of art" that makes the canvas a symbol of the era.

Tretyakov gallery has the largest collection of graphics Somov, which allows you to appreciate the uniqueness of his landscape concepts, its mastery. The artist masterfully works in pencil, watercolors, but especially interesting they used a mixed technique: he turns pastel and wax crayons, pencil or perovymi touches of gouache dense clumps of trees that leads to the layered crowns. Som loves odd camera angles, the effect of the granular compositions, the installation of several points of view, different lighting effects.

a Kind of rivalry between the presented at the exhibition by the artists of the happening and in the Silver age fine art, as printing graphics. Luba all strictly "on a formation" — in the composition of his vignettes, ending, cutscenes are always laid their estimated location on the page. Sketches of the covers and titles of the Luba, as a rule, it is possible to predict the content of the publication, even in the absence of the text component. Sapunova, using modern terminology, could be called the designer of the book. His "book decoration" don't have frames, they are fundamentally open, naturally revealed in the space of the page, go to the fields, invade the text. Sudeikin, with its incredible relevance to book and magazine graphics, rather, not Illustrator. He created the design elements of the book is eloquent, wordy and, as a rule, do not correspond to the content. This is jewelry that surprisingly accurately convey the spirit of the era, the direction of the magazine, his artistic vision.

the exhibition collection of graphic works by Nikolay Sapunov consists of two sections reflecting the two directions of his work — theatrical and real. And if in the beginning of Sapunova these elements were integral,United world of the artist, by the early 1910s between them is denoted by the abyss. Than more colorful, more fun and frankly becomes uslovnoe theatrical world Sapunov — "Princess Turandot" (1912), "Tradesman-дворянин" (1911), the tragic dark-colored and powerful element — "Comedy of life": the expressive drawings of brothels, Inns, "happy homes," grotesque, "almost germanovskiy" characters.

the Exhibition allows us to trace the evolution of the creative manner Sudeikin, to feel like "the theater is fully mastered his artistic world Outlook." Under the influence of the theatre is changing the plastic language Sudeikin in place a shaky hazy tones of colors, spider webs, dotted lines, miniature scale strokes ("phantoms early magical dreams" (Soloviev) — forced lapidary contours, monumental bright color spots, causing memory boldly painted scenery, designed to look from afar, from the auditorium. Like once the exaggerating, grotesque exaggerated forms, the poster-the language will become a corporate style of Sudeikin.

Implementation of the graphics exhibition of works by the most important artists of the Silver age was made possible thanks to gifts to the Museum. The Tretyakov gallery is the custodian of the largest and best quality collection of works by S. Y. Sudeikin, representing the entire panorama of the master — from the early works of the period "the Blue rose" before the time of emigration. The collection of graphic sheets of artists of the Silver age, representatives of the World of art and symbolism in the collections of the Tretyakov gallery which has exclusive quality and artistic value due to the fact that the first selection of these works was carried out by the Moscow collectors — friends artists, from whose works and collections came to the Museum. The overwhelming number of works by K. A. Somov, N. N. Sapunov and S. Y. Sudeikin from the collections of the Museum managed to present the exhibition "the Lass of the Silver age".

the curator of the exhibition Irina Shumanova, head of Department of graphics of the XVIII — beginning of the XX century.

Source: press-релиз the State Tretyakov gallery