Mir Iskusstva:
Russia's Age of Elegance, a collection of paintings
and costumes by artists affiliated with the Mir Iskusstva (World of
Art) movement between 1898 and the early 1920s, in collaboration with
the State Russian Museum.
Portrait
of Anna Akhmatova, Nathan Altman
©State
Russian Museum
Mir Iskusstva (The World
of Art)
The Foundation was extremely fortunate
that the State Russian Museum gave us the opportunity to present the
quintessential St. Petersburg exhibit, Mir Iskusstva: Russia's Age of
Elegance (The World of Art). We are extremely excited about this exhibition
and have been pleased that it has attracted the interest it deserves.
As the 19th century came to an end,
the cream of St. Petersburg culture came together to transform the arts
-- bringing music and opera, dance and theater, and painting closer
together. While previous eras of Russia’s cultural history were
dotted with foreign artists and architects working in Russia, this new
movement sought to develop a distinctive Russian flavor. While not nearly
as well known in the West today as the avant-garde painters who followed
them, the World of Art movement had an immediate and profound effect
on Russian and European culture. The works of Bakst, Benois and others
decorated the work of Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes that took Europe
by storm. The painters became set designers, the costumes works of art.
The unified vision of “art for art’s sake” was realized
throughout Russian culture by the cooperative efforts of these artists.
Boys,
Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin
©
State Russian Museum
In 1898, the artists of Mir Iskusstva
gathered in St. Petersburg for an inaugural exhibit that marked the
opening of the State Russian Museum. One hundred years later, the State
Russian Museum produced an exhibit of nearly 500 objects to commemorate
both the era and its own centennial. This show would include approximately
50 paintings, several bronze works and ceramics pieces, and about 30
works on paper which will change in every city. The power of these works
presents a tremendous opportunity for American museums to call attention
to a lesser-known, but equally vibrant period of Russian culture.
The exhibit's tour includes Joslyn Art
Museum in Omaha, NE, the Weisman Art Museum in Minneapolis, MN, and
the Princeton Art Museum in Princeton, NJ. The exhibit is tour the United
States for a year.
Fair Booths,
Boris Kustodiev
© State Russian
Museum
