Marking Alexander Pushkin Memorial Day: Exhibition “The Last Duel” opens in Moscow

On February 10, 2023, an exhibition of works by People’s Artist of Russia D. A. Belyukin The Last Duel opens in the halls of the Pushkin State Museum. The exhibition serves as an announcement of a large project that the artist continues to work on ahead of the preparation and celebration of the 225th anniversary of A. S. Pushkin and which will be completed by the anniversary celebrations of 2024.

The opening of the exhibition And Pushkin falls into the bluish prickly snow… is timed to coincide with the 186th anniversary of the poet’s death. The paintings created by D. A. Belyukin are dedicated to the tragedy on the Chyornaya Rechka and represent a step-by-step story about the events of that fateful day. These traffic events – not only in the life of the poet, but also of the whole country – unfold against the background of the winter landscape and contrast sharply with the intense light of a sunny frosty day, with the last rays of the setting sun coloring the snow and sky.

There is no doubt that there are many images of Pushkin’s duel, but such a large-scale art project was developed and undertaken for the first time. All the works are executed with such a high degree of subject detail and completeness that they make it possible to consider them in the context of historical painting of the second half of the 19th – early 20th century. In addition, D. A. Belyukin managed to create vivid and psychologically authentic images of the poet and his contemporaries. This is the result of the master’s deep knowledge in the field of Russian history and Pushkin studies, as well as of a thorough research of Pushkin’s work, the memories of contemporaries and literary studies.

The exhibition will run until February 26, 2023.