History and culture: "Easter Ceremonies" exhibition in Kolomenskoye

“Easter Ceremonies” exhibition will run in the Church of St. George in Kolomenskoye (The Moscow State Integrated Art and Historical Architectural and Natural Landscape Museum-Reserve) until June 19, 2016.

The exhibition features postcards of the early twentieth century, illustrated by the venerable and also by less known artists, working in book and magazine graphics. Among these were B. V. Zworykin, S. I. Yaguzhinskii, I. Y. Bilibin, A. A. Nayden, A. P. Apsit, S. F. Ploshinsky, A. F. Postnov, S. Verov, I. C. Kulikov, A. A. Lavrov, and many others.

As a specific kind of mail the "open letters" became popular almost 150 years ago - from the 1st of October 1869.

The card valued for its convenient form as a postal item, and as a memory of family and friends, but also as a special, unique type of printed art, holding its own against the lithography, prints, and artistic photography.

During the 1914-1917 years, due to the important events of Russian life - the First World War and the February Revolution, a new storyline has appeared in the Easter postcards. The warriors on the battlefields, returning from the front soldiers, wounded soldiers in hospital beds, sisters of the Red Cross, including the Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, nurses and kids, collecting goodies for the army field forces, have taken their places among the depicted scenes. Among a popular there were the postcards portraying Emperor Nicholas II with his Easter greetings on Easter days in the army, or him, giving an Easter egg to an ordinary infantryman during one of his visits to the front.

A great number of postcards with art reproductions was published abroad by efforts of emigrants in 1920-es.

The cards for this exhibition are provided courtesy of private collectors.