History of Russia: The exhibition, dedicated to the image of Russian manor in photographs of 1860-1920s, in Moscow

The State Historical Museum (Moscow) presents the exhibition ""Eyes of Memory". The image of Russian manor in the photographs. 1860-1920s". The exposition allows us to trace the evolution of the manor theme in the domestic photographic art, to identify its main themes and interpretations. The exhibition features 170 works from the collection of the Museum of History, supplemented by photographs of the Multimedia Art Museum and the A. V. Shchusev Museum of Architecture.

Manor as the basis of a noble life, the economy and culture of the Russian Empire was a vivid expression of the national genius and the place of contact of elite and popular cultures. Vanished world of the Russian manor left many literary and documentary evidence. Equivalent, from a historical point of view, though not equal in artistic value, photographs recreate the poetic world of departed family nest and pictures of privacy and large noble merchant families. Manor appears on display in several aspects: from the ceremonial types of large estates and amateur snapshots from family albums to feature images of old parks and abandoned estates. 

The exposition is opened with ceremonial custom types of estates, the masters of the major studios. The photographs depict architectural complexes and landscapes, owners in their estates.

Documentary photos reflect the incurred in 1890-1910s a great interest in the study and preservation of the Russian Country Estate, with its artistic and historical artifacts. The manor began to be perceived as a unique phenomenon of synthetic art and the place of ancestral memory. Photographers fixed features of the architectural ensemble and the interior of the complex estates.

At the beginning of the XX century literary and artistically was formed the myth of Russian manor, there was the idea of ​​it as a symbol of the outgoing aristocratic culture. The main objects of the image - the nature and the manor park - have become spiritual, emotionally evocative. Most of the works come from the Russian Photographic Society Fund - pearl of the photo collection of the Historical Museum.

1920 - the last significant period of development of estate topics. Interest in the study of the manor heritage and poetry ruined nests attracted leading Soviet photographers. Becoming the only phenomenon of the past, the manor acquired the possibility of new treatments. Most of the photos were on display at the famous exhibition "The Soviet photography during 10 years" 1928. In the future the disappearance of estate culture as a living and powerful tradition has led to the absence of the estate's image in Soviet photography.