One of Our Own. Vladimir Gilyarovsky

The Museum of Russian Impressionism and the Polytechnic Museum invite you on a journey through Moscow with the "king of reporters," Vladimir Gilyarovsky. From a provincial merchant town of the 1880s to the dynamic capital of the 1930s — that’s how the journalist and writer saw Moscow, and that’s how visitors to the exhibition "The Insider. Vladimir Gilyarovsky" will see it, too, through works by Ilya Repin and Wassily Kandinsky, Konstantin Korovin and Natalia Goncharova, and other painters and graphic artists. The artistic portion of the exhibition at the Museum of Russian Impressionism will be complemented by witnesses to the era of scientific and technological progress — objects from the collection of the Polytechnic Museum, a co-organizer of the project.

It might seem as if Vladimir Gilyarovsky lived several lives — a pictorial novel dedicated to the writer’s anniversary will unfold across three floors of the museum. The story of the hero begins on the second floor: sections of the exhibition will introduce Gilyarovsky’s biography, his wanderings, and his circle. Works by Vladimir Makovsky, Abram Arkhipov, and Vasily Vereshchagin will reveal the path that Uncle Gilyarovsky took — from a Volga barge hauler to a sensational reporter — before becoming an insider for all Muscovites: from the city’s underworld to the upper crust, and even the artistic elite. The portrait gallery will introduce some of them — Fyodor Chaliapin, Anton Chekhov, Maxim Gorky, and, of course, Gilyarovsky himself. Visitors will be greeted by one of the most famous images of the reporter, painted by Sergei Malyutin, so praised by Ilya Repin. This work from the P. M. Dogadin Astrakhan State Art Gallery will be shown in Moscow for the first time.

The exhibition’s second focus will be the rapidly changing Moscow of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its elegant squares and quiet alleys, parks and taverns, merchants and the workers who replaced them — the builders of the new capital. The image of "Moscow and Muscovites" known and loved by Vladimir Gilyarovsky will be illustrated on the museum’s -1 floor by works by artists who worked in the city: adherents of the realist tradition, primarily teachers and graduates of the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (MUZhVZ) — Valentin Serov, Illarion Pryanishnikov, and Konstantin Yuon — and young avant-garde artists Ilya Mashkov, Wassily Kandinsky, and Olga Rozanova, whom the reporter described with "abusive language." The installations of contemporary artist Mikhail Rubankov will help you feel the pulse of the coming 20th century. They embody both the dynamism and the fundamental swiftness of the "flying reporter" and his characteristic marginality — that is, the ability to find a place for oneself on the border of different spheres.

The image of a vibrant city at the junction of eras will be illustrated by 241 works, including Vladimir Alekseevich’s favorite work, "The Migrant Woman" by Sergei Ivanov. Visitors will see paintings and graphic works from 53 museum and 10 private collections, including those from the State Russian Museum, the State Historical Museum, the Museum of Moscow, the State Central Museum of Contemporary History of Russia, the Samara Regional Art Museum, the Perm State Art Gallery, the State Art Museum of the Altai Territory, and others.

The exhibition’s protagonist captures a remarkable era marked by scientific and technological progress. The special project "Technology Space" explores the bold technological discoveries and inventions that impacted people’s lives a hundred years ago, and the new breakthroughs that are changing our lives today.

Along with the Polytechnic Museum, the third floor will feature an open display of technological innovations created during this period — achievements of the time that became an integral part of everyday life. Gilyarovsky frequently visited the Polytechnic Museum and noted in one article: "Yesterday, an electricity exhibition opened at the Polytechnic Museum. The public is gaping at these ’miracles’ — telephones, phonographs, incandescent lamps. Children point at these strange machines, merchants cross themselves, and engineers smile indulgently." At the exhibition at the Museum of Russian Impressionism, visitors will see Bell’s telephone, the portable Kodak cameras that Gilyarovsky never parted with in his search for exciting subjects, a compact telegraph apparatus of the Ukhin system, a model of a Yablochkov electric candle lamp, a gramophone with a membrane from the Elektropribor plant, bicycles, movie cameras, writing pens, inkwells, typographic type, and other items.

The theme of scientific and technological progress will be continued by the exhibition’s technology partner, the Alice neural network, and Yandex smart devices. The smart devices on display in the hall will allow visitors to see how technology is changing everyday life, leisure, and work today. Using the Alice neural network, visitors will be able to create an image of pre-revolutionary Moscow, co-author the collection "Moscow and Muscovites 2.0," and share their stories. The Yandex Museum will also host a series of discussions, "People. Technologies. Time," where participants will discuss whether modern life has truly changed so much over the past century.

Deaf visitors can learn more about Gilyarovsky’s Moscow on tours in Russian Sign Language, while blind and partially sighted guests can enjoy free tours with audio description. To provide a more detailed introduction to the exhibition, four works by Natalia Goncharova, Vasily Rozhdestvensky, Alexey Korin, and Nikolay Kasatkin will be accompanied by tactile stations, created in collaboration with the inclusive program partner, the Art, Science, and Sport Charitable Foundation, as part of the "Special View" support program for people with visual impairments. The 3D models will be complemented by fragrances inspired by the paintings from the Flame Moscow perfume studio. The olfactory compositions will allow visitors to imagine the scents that might have surrounded Vladimir Gilyarovsky at different periods of his life. Upon completion of the project, the tactile exhibits will travel to museums in Rostov, Ryazan, and Kazan.

The archival photographs of Moscow collected in the catalog will continue the portrait of the city created in the exhibition. The image of the "flying correspondent" will be revealed through articles: curator Anastasia Vinokurova’s piece will introduce Vladimir Alekseevich’s artistic preferences and his relationships with painters, graphic artists, and caricaturists; art historian Sofia Bagdasarova will explain how he built his personal brand as an "insider"; and local historian Alexei Dedushkin will describe Gilyarovsky’s Moscow. Vladimir Gilyarovsky himself will co-author the publication — page after page, readers will encounter quotes from his works and notes.

Curator: Anastasia Vinokurova, leading specialist in the exhibition department of the Museum of Russian Impressionism.

The museum thanks Vladimir Voronin, Chairman of the Museum’s Board of Trustees and a shareholder of the FSK Group of Companies, for his support.

Age limit for the exhibition: 6+.