"Our army. Our victories. The Russian army in the works of artists and sculptors of the XIX – XX centuries."

From May 6 to July 3, 2017, the exhibition “Our Army. The Army. Our victories. The Russian army in the works of artists and sculptors XIX – XX centuries. ". The exposition includes more than 115 military-themed works from private collections of A. G. Egorov and K. V. Zhuromsky.

The exhibition of works from the collections of two large contemporary Russian collectors of domestic and Western European graphics, painting and sculpture - Alexei Georgievich Egorov and Konstantin Vladislavovich Zhuromsky - is an entirely outstanding event. Only in recent years, their collections have been exhibited in the State Russian Museum, the State Historical Museum, the Central House of Artists, as well as in the Vologda Art Gallery, Cherepovets Museum Association. And, of course, in the museum halls of the Sergey Andriyaka School of Watercolors, where monographic displays of the work of the remarkable animal sculptor N. I. Liberich, watercolors S. A. Dilaktorsky and T. A. Kafengauz, resulting in three “white spots ”in the history of Russian art has become less.

A special role is played by the new project of A. G. Egorov and K. V. Zhuromsky, devoted to artistic military-historical problems. The exhibition “For the Benefit and Glory of Russia” (State Historical Museum, Moscow, 2016), prepared by collectors, was accompanied by a beautifully published catalog, “The Russian Army in the Works of Artist Officers and Sculptors of the 19th - Early 20th Centuries. ". The collected scientific material and the corpus of literary works with undoubted completeness revealed a topic that previously practically "fell out" of the attention of specialists in the history of the artistic culture of Russia. This plan was continued in the exposition “Our Army. Our Victories, ”presented today in the museum and exhibition halls of the School of Watercolor.

The exhibition united the works of both masters of domestic art and foreign artists who, like Desnaia, Kruger or Gorshelt, turned in their work to the personalities and themes of Russian military life. The portrait of A. P. Ermolov (collection by K. V. Zhuromsky) is appropriately adjacent to the beautiful drawing by I. Ye. Repin “Terek Cossack (Undermate Krotov)”, with the painting “Gangut. Russian galley on patrol ", with a painting by F. A. Roubaud" Russian cuirassier. Sketch for the panorama "Battle of Borodino", with a sketch on the theme of the Patriotic War of 1812 by F. I. Boykov and with the work "Old Soldier" of an unknown schedule of the 1st half of the 19th century. The magnificent lithography (with tinted watercolors) stands out: “Nicholas I, Emperor and Autocrat of All Russia, Heir Cesarevich, Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich, Prince I. F. Paskevich Erivansky, Prince P. M. Volkonsky, Count A. I. Chernyshov, Count A. H. Benckendorf ”from the collection of K. V. Zhuromsky.

The attention of visitors to the exhibition will undoubtedly be attracted by the quick watercolor sketch by G. K. Savitsky “The First World War. Cossacks ”(1915), depicting a baby perched on the bow of a Cossack horse. “And high, and scary, but I’m going!” - clearly read in his eyes. In the same exposition is a sheet of the corresponding member of the USSR Academy of Arts L. V. Soifertis “Our units occupied the city” (collection by A. G. Egorov). The schedule of the Soviet era captures the delight of the guys who got the opportunity to ride on the gun carriage of the Red Army gun. Times are different, but the spontaneity of life and artistic experience of the two masters is the same. Both noticed a living everyday conflict.

The materials collected by the catalog authors revive and pretty forgotten pages of the country’s artistic life. For example, shortly after the outbreak of the First World War, a group of young artists was created from among students of the Higher Art School at the Imperial Academy of Arts, designed to capture the brightest pages of military operations for history. Under the leadership of Nikolai Semyonovich Samokish (he received the rank of colonel), this detachment was sent to the front, in units that differed in offensive or stubborn defense. The collected materials were combined into exhibitions sponsored by the Board of Trustees under the direction of Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna. In this work, a significant role was played by the activity of the artist L. R. Sologub (1884–1956), 1916–1918. who performed many drawings on the themes of the fighting of the Russian infantry and artillery. A severe stroke in its graphic characteristics, the absence of any embellishment of what is happening is a noticeable merit of these several sheets from the collection of A. G. Egorov.

A number of drawings of the collections are made in an emphasized realistic manner. This was especially pronounced in works of art illustrating the events of World War II. Front-line artist G.V. Khrapak (1922–1974) was at the theater of operations from the first months of the war. A recent student, he participated in battles on the Western Front, freed Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Austria from fascism, and was in Germany. Honored Artist of Russia, the author has contributed a lot of valuable to the treasury of the artistic annals of the Great Patriotic War. Skillfully executed sheets from the collection of K. V. Zhuromsky: “Fighters”, “In the Sky”, “May 9, 1944 Sevastopol”, “Communication of Sevastopol, 1944” and other graphic works in a laconic plastic form captured the military work of Soviet soldiers. K. V. Zhuromsky also collected drawings by the artist N. I. Lapshin (1905 - 2003) “In the cabin”, “Mail has arrived”; “Tank T-34” by V. Ya. Konovalov (1912–1995) and others.

In the collection of A. G. Egorov, a series of cartoons by the national artist of Russia Ya. V. Titov (1906–2000) is extremely interesting. During the war, he, a major in the Soviet army, fought near Leningrad, Novgorod, on the Volkhov front. Real combat experience, professional skills helped to find concise and clear forms of frontline graphics of a bright satirical orientation. None of the figures show indications of the nature of the typographical set: “5 squares”, other notes of editors and typesetters of the military press. But it is precisely these sheets that are of interest to them because they preserved the lively breath of war and intense art work.

Next to these works are in the collection of the collector “Portrait of Jalat Khachaturian” by the full member of the USSR Academy of Arts P. P. Sokolov-Skal (1899–1961), works by V. V. Scheglov (1901–1984). One of the ornaments of the collection of A. G. Egorov is interesting - a sketch for the painting “Three Ivanes”, made by the People’s Artist of the RSFSR, full holder of the Order of Glory F.V. Antonov (1904–1984). Among the works of the collection of A. G. Egorov there is another unique exhibit - a full-scale sketch of Stalin at the walls of the Mausoleum. The drawing was executed in 1947 by the People’s Artist of the USSR, full member of the USSR Academy of Arts, Hero of Socialist Labor D. A. Nalbandyan (1906–1993).

The landscape often plays a significant role in drawings. In the sheet “Bakhchisaray” (collection of K. V. Zhuromsky) by G. V. Khrapak over the broken military equipment of the enemy, the full-bloom of living nature almost triumphantly rises to the heavenly breadth. In it, the colors of the sky, the green of deciduous brocade, seem reinforced. The stroke is accurate, concise, able to capture the most important and significant in what he saw. The specificity of the work also caused the clarity of professional decisions. It is no coincidence that the poet Nikolai Rylenkov will say much later: "From the words of the learned and unleavened // We turned away during the days of war." Some sheets in the collections are the memory of people who did not return from the war. Such is the drawing of the younger political instructor A. D. Zhalikov (collection of A. G. Egorov), who died at the front.

Exhibition “Our Army. Our victories ”will undoubtedly attract the attention of both history buffs and everyone interested in military history. It is interesting, diverse, accompanied by carefully selected reference historical materials. In a complex, this is both a contribution to historical and artistic science, and the preservation of the memory of the people about their past, their history, and a lesson for present life. You can rightly recall the lines of the poet Anatoly Zhigulin: “But the difficult experience of the bitter truth // It is doubly remembered over the years // That which is suitable for parades, // Not everything is suitable for war”. The exhibition, two parts of a single catalog (“For the Benefit and Glory of Russia”, “Our Army. Our Victories”) are dedicated to the military theme. But their deepest destiny is to remember the world and protect it.

9. Liberich. Portrait of Emperor Alexander II with setter Milord, circa 1870. Bronze, casting, chasing, patting. 29.4x26.0x8.5

Aivazovsky I.K. Sailboat at sea on a moonlit night, 1874. Oil on wood. 14.5x21.7

Antonov F.V. Three Ivan. Sketch for the painting of the same name, 1942. Boom., Pencil, gouache. 87.5x63.4

Balashov P.I. Officers and lower ranks of the First Grenadier Division, 1874. Boom., Watercolor, pencil. 41.2x33.5

Bunin N.N. Morning of the cavalrymen, 1892. Boom., Inc. on cardboard, watercolor, white. 19.2 x 28.9 cm