Leningrad Center and Petersburg Antique Gallery present the second part of a trilogy of exhibitions celebrating 120 years since foundation of artistic association “Mir Iskusstva”. More than fifty landscapes, genre paintings and drawings by famous Russian artists who lived and worked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries will be shown in the Leningrad Center gallery. The exhibition will include masterpieces by Alexander Benois, Boris Kustodiev, Lev Bakst, Konstantin Somov and other artists whose oeuvre is rightfully considered as a gem of Silver Age art.

Participants of “Mir Iskusstva” in the late 19th and early 20th centuries served as the main driving force of renewal in Russian art. This renewal was manifested predominately in blurring of the strict lines between genres as well as in artists' efforts aimed to create synthetic work of art. As a result, genre and landscape features merged in painting and graphics, with a complex classification of landscapes appeared: historical, modern urban landscape, architectural and theatricalised landscapes.

All the art works included in the exhibition were created in the 1890s–1920s by the leading Russian artists of their time. In the mysterious, even mystical landscapes by Alexander Benois, the overall manner of the artist and his dramatic expression are combined with his deep knowledge of history of art and grand styles, in particular, the grandiose palace and park ensembles that he painted. The other leader of “Mir Iskusstva”, Mikhail Dobuzhinsky, is mostly known today for his drawings that depict the city of Saint Petersburg of the artist’s age. At the end of the 19th century, the artists of “Mir Iskusstva” were the first to enunciate poetics of Saint Petersburg daily life in their works, while the city, before them, had been seen by contemporaries mostly as a “bland,” “bureaucratic” place. On the contrary, Boris Kustodiev's genre compositions resurrect pictures of the past: ancient historically Russian cities with their traditional holidays and colourful merchant lifestyle.

All diversity of styles and artistic approaches will be presented by “Artists of Mir Iskusstva. Historical Promenades” curators. The remarkable exposition consists of the art works only from private collections. The project has been organized by the Leningrad Center in cooperation with Petersburg Antique Gallery. The original author of the project is Igor Poltorak, President of Saint-Petersburg Association of Antique and Art Dealers and General Director of Petersburg Antique Gallery.

This long-term cooperation between Petersburg Antique Gallery and Leningrad Center is an important initiative for the city, as it seeks to develop public shows of masterpieces from Russian private collections. These art works are equally valuable to the pieces from the best museum collections, and the general public will get the unique chance to see these works. Exhibitions of art pieces from private collections are also of considerable research interest as they complement large public museum projects and permanent exhibitions, in addition to being an important factor in the development of the antiques market in St. Petersburg and Russia.

October 18 – December 1, 2019

Entrance ticket – RUB 300; discount category ticket – RUB 100

Exhibition Hours:

From 12:00 to 20:00 daily (schedule is subject to change on holidays and days of various events).

On show days the exhibition is open until 22:00.