Russia & URSS. Arte, letteratura, teatro 1905-1940

This aim of this publication is to analyse - in a multi-faceted way - the social and aesthetic events of Russia in the first part of the twentieth century, by looking closely at the creative relations of art, literature and theatre at the time, which together created a unique aesthetic, social and political climate. The year 1905, which marked the attempt at revolution, is an ideal starting point to illustrate a period in which strong unrest led intellectuals on the one hand to stress social needs, and on the other hand to develop a radical aesthetic change, which gave rise to extraordinary avant-garde movements. It must not be forgotten that at the same time, some writers and artists, though committed to social and aesthetic debate, were continuing to create works in the great Russian realist tradition of the nineteenth century. "Styles" pitted against each other, giving rise to an authentic war of expression. It was the period in which Larionov, Goncharova, Tatlin, Popova, Rodchenko, Malevich - to name the then emerging figures - faced the "traditionalists" such as Kustodiev, Korovin and many others, who continued to paint as though avant-garde winds did not reach them.

What was happening in Moscow and Saint Petersburg with great vitality reflected the great aesthetic battles being fought out in the rest of Europe. It was also the period in which, as a result of greater social awareness, the ground was being prepared for the great revolution that would undermine the entire country. There was no clear separation between the various artistic expressions and in the Russian sphere the boundary between painting and literature, in some cases, seemed blurred. In literature, the various symbolist tendencies very quickly developed into some extreme avant-garde forms.

The catalogue examines figures such as Blok, Belij Kamenskij, Krucenych, Majakovskij, Acmatova, Cvetaeva and the multitude of friends and collaborators who moved around them. The theatre is also taken into consideration, as it was the point where literature and the visual arts met; hence it was the amalgam of various expressive mediums. There is discussion of Diaghilev's Russian Ballet, and the artists who in one way or another participated in the theatre by creating sets or costumes: Bakst, Serov, Benois, Exter, Larionov, Goncharova, Tatlin, Malevich and, finally, the innovatory theatre of Meirechold and Majakovskij.