An exhibition of graphics by the Leningrad architect Yakov Rubanchik "Drawing a blockade" opened in the Peter and Paul Fortress

ST. PETERSBURG. Until the end of November, visitors to the Peter and Paul Fortress will have a unique opportunity to see the exhibition “Drawing a Blockade”, located in the Neva Curtain. Her exposition presents graphic works created by Leningrad architect Yakov Osipovich Rubanchik.

Yakov Rubanchik together with his family spent the whole blockade in the besieged city. He supervised the architectural workshop, kept the appearance of the Maltese chapel and the Vorontsov Palace in the drawings. In parallel with his work, he made sketches of streets that had been damaged by shelling. Terrible details, noticed by the sharp look of the artist on the streets of the besieged city, appear before the visitors of the exhibition.

Newsreel shots taken during the blockade are widely known, but much remained behind the scenes in them. The drawings made by Yakov Osipovich became yet another evidence of the horrors of the daily life of the besieged Leningrad. This series, received from the author the title "Diary of an Architect", includes more than 140 drawings. They are presented for the first time in full, in a series. These works of the artist are in the storehouse of the Museum of History of St. Petersburg.

In the summer of 1944, Yakov Rubanchik traveled for a long time through the suburbs of Leningrad, making sketches of the destroyed palaces. The author gave the title to this series of drawings “Shot by Rastrelli”. The exposition includes 22 sheets of this cycle, submitted for the exhibition by the KGIOP archive.

The exhibition also demonstrates the work of Yakov Osipovich, created by him in collaboration with other artists. They worked on projects for memorial complexes intended for installation in Piskaryovskoye and Bogoslovsky cemeteries. These projects were not approved, and the works of artists were left to live only on sheets of paper.

Ludmila Trautmane © Gallerix.ru