History of Moscow: The exhibition dedicated to the Moscow Metro opened

The exhibition From Sokolniki to Park by metro… Moscow metro in works of Russian artists has been opened at the State Central Museum of Contemporary History of Russia (Moscow).

The exhibition invites residents and guests of Moscow to see the fabulous underground city through the eyes of Russian artists. Visitors will have an opportunity to learn about the process of the construction of the most beautiful metro in the world and the main stages of the establishment of the lines and stations in the capital by exploring the paintings and graphics from the collections of the Museum of Contemporary History of Russia.

90 years ago, in 1932, the resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR On the construction of the metro in Moscow was adopted. Already in 1935, the first metro line was founded - from Sokolniki station to Park of Culture. The success of the construction was achieved thanks to the selfless work of the metro builders. Now there are 250 stations, and more stations are put into operation every year. Moreover, "Metro and Muscovites" has since become one of the favorite themes of graphic artists and painters.

Artists have been inspired by the striking construction work in Moscow for many years. They celebrate the heroic everyday life of the first metro builders, the beauty of underground stations that look more like palaces, the changed toponymy of the city associated with the construction of the metro. Even such luminaries of Russian graphics as Vladimir Favorsky and Yevgeny Lancere could not stay away from this topic. Favorsky depicted Okhotny Ryad metro station, and Lancer made a sketch of Komsomolskaya metro station majolica panel.

Paintings and graphics reveal that for “the residents and guests of the capital" Moscow metro is primarily the way to quickly move from one point of the metropolis to another. Nevertheless, it is also the introduction to one of the most interesting styles in architecture and monumental painting - the luxurious "Stalin Empire" and simply a lovely place to meet at.

The exhibition will run until July 24, 2022.