"In dialogue with Baudelaire:
Matisse, Rodin, Rouault ..."

The exhibition "In Dialogue with Baudelaire: Matisse, Rodin, Rouault…", timed to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Baudelaire, opens in the Exhibition Hall of the Andrey Cheglakov Foundation. Baudelaire is a French poet, critic and translator, the forerunner of symbolism and the inspirer of decadence, a classic of world literature. The center of the exposition will be "Flowers of Evil" read by Odilon Redon, Henri Matisse, Auguste Rodin, Georges Rouault, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Leonor Fini. The editions will be available for viewing, including on multimedia screens.

"Flowers of Evil" is the most famous work of Baudelaire, the publication of which in 1857 shocked his contemporaries, and the poet was fined for violating the norms of public morality. Six poems from the collection were banned, which was removed only in 1949.

The exhibition will feature books in the livre d’artiste genre, graphics and photography by famous artists inspired by the works of Baudelaire. Some of the works were created specially for the exhibition by contemporary artists Vladimir Klaviho-Telepnev, Vasily Vlasov and Kira Matissen. The project is devoted, first of all, not to illustration, but to the interpretation of images and the expression of artists’ own experiences. Also, for the first time, the exhibition will show 14 illustrations to "Flowers of Evil" by the French artist of Ukrainian origin Serhiy Chepik. A publication with his illustrations will be prepared for the exhibition, reviving the traditions of the classic livre d’artiste.

“It was in connection with these drawings that the idea of the exhibition was born. Since the release of "Flowers of Evil" more than two hundred artists have made illustrations, or rather interpretations, to the poems from this collection. We tried to select the most famous and present them to the audience, ”says Maya Avelicheva, President of the Andrey Cheglakov Foundation.

Within the framework of the exhibition, it is planned to conduct lectures, excursions, literary and musical evenings.

The project will be presented in the Exhibition Hall of the Andrey Cheglakov Foundation from October 20, 2021 to January 16, 2022 at the address: Prechistenka Street, house 40/2, building 2. Admission is free.