Society and Book Culture: The image of St. Petersburg in the works of A. S. Pushkin presented at the exhibition of book illustrations in the Peter and Paul Fortress

An exhibition entitled the "Scenic Suite Based on the Introduction to the "The Bronze Horseman" St. Petersburg’s novel by Pushkin. Dedicated to the Heroic Defenders of the City" opened in the Peter and Poul Fortress (St. Petersburg).

The exhibition features over 90 works by Yuri Lavrukhin - master of book illustration, working in the genre of thematic painting, portrait, landscape and still life. Paintings, drawings and pictures are all united by the theme of the image of St. Petersburg in the works of the famous poet: the cityscapes, historical sketches, an individuality of Peter the Great, Pushkin places, portraits of the poet and illustrated quotes in the story "The Bronze Horseman".

Yuri Lavrukhin worked from 1994 to 2013 on the picturesque suite based on the introduction to the St. Petersburg’s story of Pushkin "The Bronze Horseman". It consists of subject compositions and independent works, painted in a similar manner and linked through one conception. Yuri Lavrukhin reveals to the audience the history of St. Petersburg and the identity of its creator in historical paintings and portraits of Peter I. Contemporary landscapes of Pushkin places of Petersburg depicted through the prism of personality of the artist and the poet. The image of Pushkin appears in the portraits of a singer of North Palmira and show through the picturesque city landscapes, entitled with quotations from "The Bronze Horseman".

Part of the exhibition is devoted to images of the war and the siege of Leningrad - "On the Road of Life", "Son of the Regiment" and "On the Old Trenches", the portraits of war veterans, a portrait of artist's wife Mary (who awarded the medal "For the Defense of Leningrad") and writer Viktor Nekrasov, a participant of the Battle of Stalingrad. The portraits of the artist Alexei Batalov and theater director G. A. Tovstonogov are shown in the exposition as well.