Museums of Russia: Moscow unveils Boris Kustodiev’s “Portrait of Feodor Shalyapin”

Moscow has put on display a picture by Boris Kustodiev “Portrait of Feodor Shalyapin” dated 1921 from the collection of St. Petersburg State Museum of Theatre and Music. The picture has been put on show in the Memorial Estate of Shalyapin on Novinsky Blvd.

It took Kustodiev several years to complete the portrait by making numerous sketches and variants. The portrait was finished in 1921 and was immediately bought by Shalyapin. In 1922 the artist took it abroad. The same year Kustodiev created the author’s copy of the picture for himself and did not part with it until his death. Now it is displayed at the State Russian Museum. The original which belonged to Shalyapin, was kept in his Paris apartment, Avenue d'Eylan. In March 1968 by request of daughters of Shalyapin Marpha and Marina Kustodiev’s portrait was transferred to Leningrad State Theatre Museum, while in April 1985 it was put on display in the Grand Living room of the Memorial Museum-Estate of Shalyapin in St. Petersburg. For Kustodiyev the portrait of Shalyapin - is the first and the last address to the personality of an artist.

Another present for residents of Moscow and guests of the city will become display of theatre sketches of Boris Kustodiyev to the opera of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov “The Tsar’s Bride”. This collection from holdings of the Glinka Museum has been displayed for the first time. The exhibition will run up to September 26, 2011.

Famous portrait of Shalyapin has arrived to Moscow as a part of the inter-museum project “From Petersburg to Moscow and back” within the framework of the First festival of music museums TERRA MUSICALE, conducted by the Association of Music Museums.