Painter. Restorer. Art critic

A book-illustrative exhibition “Painter. Restorer. Art critic" is on show in the Fine Arts Reading Room (room 306) from March 25 to April 20. The exhibition dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the birth of Igor Grabar (1871-1960).

“... Art, art, art. From childhood until now, for me it is almost the only source of joy and grief, delight and suffering, admiration and indignation, the only true content of life!” Wrote Igor Grabar, a man of extraordinary intelligence, bright talent and inexhaustible efficiency.

The creative range of the master is unusually wide: he was a universal, multifacetedly gifted personality, combining in himself a painter, architect, scientist, versatile art critic, art critic, teacher, museum worker, writer, possessing an excellent palette of Russian speech. The activity of I. Grabar as a restorer is of particular importance for the history of Russian culture. So, he was the first to lay the foundations for the scientific study and conservation of works of art in the USSR; with his participation, ancient Russian monuments were discovered and restored, including icons and frescoes in Novgorod, Pskov, Vladimir. Grabar was the head of the Tretyakov Gallery, where he spent a lot of work on the systematization of works of art and compiled the first catalog of scientific value, wrote a number of monographs on the work of Russian artists. It is no coincidence that Igor Grabar was compared to the geniuses of the Renaissance due to the all-encompassing activity and incredible erudition of Igor Grabar.

Russian impressionist artist left a rich pictorial heritage. The exhibition features reproductions of his paintings. Admiring the beauty of nature at different times of the year will be possible thanks to the landscapes "Luxurious frost", "White winter. Rook's nests ”,“ March snow ”,“ Birches in summer ”,“ Ryabinka ”,“ On the lake ”,“ Golden leaves ”,“ September snow ”. Visitors will be delighted with one of the most significant works of the master, "February Azure" - "the embodiment of an unprecedented holiday - the holiday of the azure sky, pearl birches, coral branches and sapphire shadows on the lilac snow." Noteworthy are still lifes by I. Grabar "Chrysanthemums", "Untidy Table", "Pears on a Green Drapery", "Delphinium" and others. The portraits created by the artist will surprise you with the depth of psychological characteristics.

The exposition presents the multifaceted heritage of Grabar as an art critic. These are valuable lifetime publications of the scientist: the fundamental multivolume work "History of Russian Art", the monographs "Valentin Aleksandrovich Serov: Life and Work", "Why it is necessary to protect and collect the treasures of art and antiquity", "Repin", "Newly discovered Rembrandt", a number of scientific collections published under his editorship. Particularly noteworthy are the letters of the artist of different years presented at the exhibition, as well as the auto-monograph "My Life", which contains the master's memoirs and his essays about Russian artists.

The exposition is complemented by articles about Igor Emmanuilovich, studies by the historian V. Roslavsky about the little-studied period in the development of Russian restoration in 1917–1921. and the role of I. Grabar in the restoration business, as well as the works of art critics O. Podobedova, N. Egorova, dedicated to various aspects of the artist's multifaceted activity.

The opening hours of the exhibition correspond to the library's opening hours.
Entrance - with a library card or a ticket for a socio-cultural center.

For more info: (+375 17) 293 27 53.

Special Collections Service Department