World Culture: Exhibition “China in the Works of the Russian Diaspora Artists. The First Half of the 20th Century” opened in Moscow

The exhibition China in the Works of the Russian Diaspora Artists. The First Half of the 20th Century has opened in the Alexander Solzhenitsyn House of the Russian Diaspora (Moscow).

Chinese civilization has long attracted the attention of representatives of Russian culture, including artists of the late 19th – early 20th century. For example, Vasily Vereshchyagin, Nikolai Kravchenko, Yevgeny Lansere, Nicholas Roerich, Andrey Avinov, who were amazed by the uniqueness and vividness of the culture of the great Far Eastern neighbour.

The exodus of emigrants from Russia to China in the 1920s-1930s became a major milestone in the Russian creative understanding and representation of China.

Researchers believe there are over 300 prominent figures of artistic culture from Russia in China, who were engaged in painting, graphics, sculpture, church design, scenography, art photography, etc. This cultural layer of the Russian artistic intelligentsia, both formed in Russia and educated in China, is presented at the exhibition China in the Works of the Russian Diaspora Artists. The First Half of the 20th Century.

For the first time, it became possible to collect the works of the most remarkable representatives of the artistic diaspora in China at one specialized exhibition. There, one has an opportunity to see over 70 original works by 28 famous representatives of one of the most fruitful and talented Russian diasporas. The book illustrative editions of the exhibition complement the picture of the life and creativity of the Russian population in China during this period.

In terms of the plot content, the exhibition presents various aspects of life in China – rich nature, colorful Confucian and Taoist temples, idols, peasant fangzis, colorful portraits, as well as theatrical scenography as part of the life of the Russian community in China. With their skillful hands, Russian artists used oil, gouache, watercolor, pastel, ink. Despite all the material difficulties, the beauty of nature and images of people’s life, the uniqueness and diversity of the traditional culture of China made this country a promised land for artists.

The rich material presented at the exhibition reveals the view of the Russian creative intelligentsia on Chinese life, creates a wonderful basis for the development of further in-depth mutual understanding for the two great civilizations – Russia and China, and the strengthening of friendly relations between the creative circles of these two countries.

The exhibition will run until March 13, 2023.