A special project on the third floor of the museum will reveal the phenomenon of the Saratov school of painting, whose representatives followed their own special path and created an original artistic style at the turn of the 20th centuries: in contrast to Vrubel’s ‘demonism’, these artists depicted a world of harmony and peace. The exhibition will include works by Victor Borisov-Musatov, Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin, Pyotr Utkin, Alexander Karyov, and others. 

For many masters of the Saratov school, the city on the Volga where they received their initial art education became the starting point in their professional career. Proximity to the open space of the river and boundless steppes determined characteristic features of their painting: the ghostly silhouettes of heroes and objects appear in the paintings in silver-blue tones reminiscent of a mirage.

Alexander Savinov was one of the first to reflect on special aspects of the manner of painters and sculptors from the Saratov province. In fact the influence of the Saratov school of painting extends far beyond the region. Developing the ideas of symbolism, the artists organized exhibitions for the Blue Rose and Golden Fleece groups that profoundly influenced Russian culture in the early 20th century.

The world of artists of the Saratov school is presented by works from the collections of the State Museum of Fine Arts of the Republic of Tatarstan, the Kramskoy Regional Art Museum in Voronezh, the Radischev State Museum of Fine Arts in Saratov, and private collections.

Curator of the exhibition and special project — Anastasia Vinokurova, Leading Specialist in the Exhibition Department of the Museum of Russian Impressionism.

Official exhibition partner:

Foundation for Support of the National Prize Civil Initiative