Creativity of artist Max Birshtein at the exhibition "MAX 100. Cat of History"

MOSCOW. "MAX 100. The cat of history." Such an intriguing title was given to the exhibition opened at the Museum of Contemporary History of Russia. This exhibition, representing the work of Max Birshtein, a famous Moscow artist, celebrates his centenary.

Maks Avadevich Birshtein studied painting at the Moscow State Art Institute named after Surikov, where his teachers were such famous artists as Igor Grabar and Dmitry Mochalsky. In 1975, Max Birshtein became a laureate of the All-Union Competition of Artists, and in 2000 the artist was awarded the highest award of the Academy of Arts - the Gold Medal.

The artist was equally willing to paint landscapes and portraits, still lifes and genre paintings. Many landscapes were painted on the impressions of the trips to which he went at the slightest opportunity.

Birshtein had a chance to visit many of the countries, and even sail aboard an exotic route, having traveled Kaliningrad - Vladivostok with a call to Gibraltar and Singapore. Each trip, full of vivid impressions, inspired the artist to new works.

The portraits of the artist most often depicted creative people who were in the circle of his close friends. At the same time, Birshtein used an interesting trick when creating portraits, which allows him to more fully reveal the personality of the hero of the picture - he was portrayed against the background of his work. The artist’s paintings reflected his ability to have no boundaries between the genres of art. He freely included elements of still lifes in portraits and landscapes.

Why do the words “Cat of History” appear in the name of the exhibition? It was also part of the artist’s art world. A collection of cats adorned his workshop, cats were present at Birshtein’s paintings. They are in various forms included in the exhibition, open until February 26th.

Ludmila Trautmane © Gallerix.ru