Exhibition of graphics in the Literary Museum of Moscow - on the anniversary of the war of 1812

Within the framework of the events dedicated to the anniversary, two hundred years have passed since when the Russian soldiers became the winners of the Patriotic War in the distant 1812, an art exhibition began to work in the Literary Museum. The basis of the exhibition is a collection of engravings made in the genre of satire. Therefore, its name repeats the words of Napoleon - "From the great to the ridiculous…".

All engravings, authored by both Russian and European artists, are part of the collection of the Literary Museum.

The exhibition begins with a hall in which portraits of heroes who distinguished themselves in the war with Napoleonic troops are placed.

The design of the following exhibition halls is made in a different style. Each hall represents the masters of caricatures of one of the countries - Russian artists, English, German and French.

It is obvious that national features are noticeable in the works of artists of each country.

Caricatures belonging to the masters of Britain ridicule the appearance of the French emperor, portraying him as small, funny, almost invisible under a huge hat. The British had significant reasons for this attitude - everyone knew about Napoleon’s dream of destroying England.

The works of Russian artists with now famous surnames, the main themes have plots in which the French army is ridiculed together with its leader and glorified the heroism of the Russian army.

German cartoonists are characterized by a portrait similarity of their works, they can always be recognized by Napoleon, and the main plots are devoted to the emperor as the ruler of the islands where he lived in exile. The works of French artists show the course of history - the satire in the images of Alexander I is replaced by banter on the former idol.

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