An exhibition of one painting "Volkov N. N." The mechanization pavilion at VDNH ""

On May 15, in the Kaluga Museum of Fine Arts (104 Lenin St., the main exposition), an exhibition of one painting “Volkov N.N. "Pavilion of mechanization at the Exhibition of Economic Achievements".

On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Exhibition of Achievements of National Economy, the Kaluga Museum of Fine Arts presents the work “Mechanization Pavilion at VDNKh” by Nikolai Nikolaevich Volkov (1897-1974). Doctor of pedagogical sciences, a talented art theorist and author of fundamental works on the theory of composition and color in painting, NN Volkov is no less famous for his highly professional watercolor graphics.

In the picture presented, the artist captured the view of the pavilion "Mechanization" of the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition of 1939 (the ensemble will receive the name VDNH in 1959). The pavilion was developed by architects V. S. Andreev and spouses I. G. Taranov and N. A. Bykov. It was a huge boathouse - a hangar with a cylindrical arch designed for the construction and repair of airships and balloons. The boathouse height was 24 meters, which is comparable with an 8-story residential building, its length is 150 meters, which is one and a half times more than a football field! The main facade of this building made of steel, glass and concrete overlooked the Mechanization Square. The design was decorated with bas-reliefs on the theme of labor with motifs of ears, stars, sickles and hammers made by Merkurov’s workshop. Agricultural machinery was located along the alley on two tiers and was clearly visible from many points of the ensemble of the exhibition.

The work of the exhibition, suspended during the Great Patriotic War, was resumed in 1954. Architects supplemented the pavilion with a two-story domed hall. The facade from the side of the square is made of mirror glass and complemented by a monumental arch with two faceted towers, on which the 8-meter-high sculptures “Tractor driver” and “Combine” rise. Against the backdrop of success in space exploration, in 1967 the Cosmos exposition opened in the pavilion. Despite the difficult years for VDNH, the elimination of many pavilions and the loss of valuable exhibits of the space exposition, in April 2018, after a large-scale restoration, the Cosmos pavilion reopened for visitors, where the Cosmonautics and Aviation center is located.

The exhibition runs until June 16th.