History of a Book: Exhibition “Livre d’artiste. Exhibition of books from the collection of Mark Bashmakov” in Saint-Petersburg

September 28, 2013 in the Twelve-Column Hall of the New Hermitage Museum (St. Petersburg) opened an exhibition “Livre d'artiste. Exhibition of books from the collection of Mark Bashmakov” which demonstrates rare, limited editions, illustrated by prominent artists of the XX century. The exposition includes 54 editions - made ​​books from the collection of the Russian Academy of Education Mark Ivanovich Bashmakov. This collection is one of the largest in Russia – it has, in total, about five hundred books, and includes the work of leading artists of the XX century. Among them are a lot of famous masterpieces: from “Parallel” by Pierre Bonnard - books that is considered to be a classic example of the first livre d'artiste (literally – “artist’s book”) - to the later works of Salvador Dali. Many of these titles have never been demonstrated in Russia before.

The organizers believe that our task is to provide the most complete variety of livre d'artiste as a complex and heterogeneous phenomenon. The terms of the exhibited works is limited to the works of French artists and artists of the School of Paris. The main emphasis is in the early stages of the history of the “artist's books” and, in particular, on the role of prominent publishers such as A. Vollard, D. A. Kanvayler, A. Skir.