Artistic life of Moscow periodically pleases with big events and very often their initiator is the Tretyakov Gallery on Krymsky Val. Serov's exhibition is one of those events that should not be missed by anyone.
Artist V. Serov
Serov’s new, grandiose exhibition on Krymsky Val is an occasion to recall the creative path of this artist. Valentin Serov belongs to a group of prominent Russian realists. In his works, the traditions of the old school and the latest trends of the Art Nouveau era were brilliantly synthesized. With his work, Serov anticipated the entire Russian avant-garde, it was always innovative, combining realism with impressionistic principles.
Valentin Serov grew up professionally under the influence of the academic school of realism, he studied painting in Germany, visited museums of old masters in Europe and Russia. The second wave of influence that shaped Serov’s manner is the Wanderers, with whom, in particular, with I. Repin, he collaborated. This influence is especially noticeable in the works “Girl with Peaches” and “Girl Illuminated by the Sun.” Another direction that had an impact on Serov’s manner was modernism in the person of M. Vrubel and K. Korovin, with whom the artist was very friendly. The peak of modernism in his work are considered to be "Portrait of Ida Rubinstein" and "The Abduction of Europe."
Valentin Serov became famous as a brilliant portrait painter. He always knew how to convey the character and mood of the hero. His portraits are always full of emotions and freshness. But the artist also successfully works in the landscape genre, his lyrical sketches show how subtly he felt the mood of nature and was able to convey emotion.
Serov was also an exceptional graphic artist; researchers even say that the artist is more genius in drawings than in painting.
The significance of the work of V. Serov
The ongoing exhibition of Serov’s works on Krymsky Val allows you to see the full depth and evaluate the artist’s contribution to Russian culture. Valentin Serov became a key figure in the Russian creative process at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. In his legacy all the aesthetic trends of that period were interwoven, in his paintings you can see the interaction and struggle of academism, realism, impressionism and modernism. But Serov is significant not only for fine art, his figure and work were an integral aesthetic phenomenon of the entire culture of the Silver Age. He embodied the philosophy and creative search of the era. His work vividly illustrates the characteristics of the transition period when cultural paradigms change. The role of Serov’s work is to capture the subtlest trends in the environment of that time in order to better understand the era of the Silver Age, to understand the origins of 20th-century art. Serov was the formative artist for Russian art, he introduced innovative ideas into the development of the traditional genres of portraiture, landscape, genre sketching.
Exhibition Features
Today's Serov exhibition on Krymsky Val is a unique phenomenon. Its peculiarity lies in the fact that there are collected works of all periods of creativity, all genres in which the artist worked. The uniqueness of the project lies in the fact that the viewer is given the opportunity to see many works that have not been exhibited in Russia for a long time. In addition, the exposition presents 17 memorial photographs from the posthumous exhibition of V. Serov in Moscow in 1914. The peculiarity of the exhibition is its planning and concept, which was preceded by a large research work. It is striking in its scale, the exposition consists of 250 works, includes 19 sections and covers three floors of the exhibition space.
Exhibition Concept
Serov’s large exhibition on Krymsky Val was created not just as a retrospective, but as a special, author’s view of the artist’s work. Entering the large bright hall, the viewer immediately sees several different works by Serov, which allows him to see the versatility of the artist. This is the essence of the exposition; museum workers wanted to surprise even the most sophisticated visitor. Museum workers are sure that Serov is an underrated artist, and they want to correct this injustice. The visitor gets the opportunity to see the artist in development, to discover the complex influence of the aesthetic situation on the contemporary artist’s creative method, to identify creative finds that influenced the development of Russian fine art in the 20th century.
Exhibition History
Serov's unique exhibition on Krymsky Val presents works from 25 museums of Russia, 4 museums of foreign countries and from 9 private collections. Of course, such a scale required a lot of preparatory work. The main core of the exhibition was 50 works from the funds of the Tretyakov Gallery. But many surprises await the audience: for example, for the first time the “Portrait of Alexander the Third” from the collection of the Royal Danish Royal Guard Guard Officer’s collection, “Portrait of Maria Akimova” from the National Gallery of Armenia, “Portrait of Maria Yakovlevna Lvova” from the Orsay Museum in Paris are shown. Getting work for the exhibition is always difficult, sometimes negotiations last for years and sometimes end in failure. So, the museum workers were not able to get the picture "The Abduction of Europe." At one time, the museum did not have enough money to buy it out, and the current owner refused to provide it for the exhibition. It was not possible to get portraits of Maria Tsetlin and Praskovya Mamontova from private collections, which could present the artist’s work more voluminously.
The work on preparing the exhibition was huge, because it was necessary to create a large help desk for the convenience of visitors. Comments have been compiled for almost every work, which help the viewer understand what is shown on the canvas and what should be paid attention to.
What not to miss at the exhibition
To help understand what Valentin Serov represents as an artist, the exhibition on Krymsky Val offers serious navigation and an excursion program. For the convenience of visitors, an audio guide program has been created that helps to see all the most important at the exhibition. There is a mobile application "Excursion to the exhibition", which can be downloaded for free and use it as a guide. A unique album “Valentin Serov” has also been released. The exhibition on Krymsky Val is located on three floors of the building and in order not to get lost, it is worth paying attention to the layout of the expositions, which is presented at the end of the first section. Be sure to see a real sensation - the curtain for the ballet "Scheherazade" by N. Rimsky-Korsakov directed by Sergei Diaghilev. Be sure to look at the schedule, which is rarely set.
Visiting and opening hours of the Serov exhibition on Krymsky Val
On Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday, the opening hours of the Serov exhibition on Krymsky Val are from 10 to 18. The cash desk is open until 17 hours. Monday at the museum day off.
On Thursday, Friday and Saturday, the opening hours of the Serov exhibition on Krymsky Val are from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tickets can be bought online, but they will need to be exchanged for a paper ticket at the box office.