Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
More 20th-Century Art
MikhailVrubel:
The modern art wing kicks off with Vrubel's
Bogatyr
(1898), painted on
the cusp of the new century. A massive, ogre-like knight errant sits on a fantastically fat
horse. The decorative style borrows from the Art Nouveau movement, the theme echoes
Russian myths and stories, and the surrealistic presentation anticipates expressionist paint-
ing.
• Go through the door to the right of the ogre, and proceed straight through rooms 67-69
to reach room 70.
Valentin Serov:
Serov made his name as the best Russian portrait painter of his day.
Many Russian celebrities sat for him, eager for one of his freely brushed, technically adept
portraits. He departed from his usual approach for his 1910 nude portrait of Ida Rubinstein,
a famous Russian ballerina. Daring in its simplicity and starkness, the painting has the flat-
ness and sharp outlines of Art Nouveau. This was one of the last paintings Serov completed
before his death.
• Continue into room 71.
Boris Kustodiev:
Although his bread and butter was book illustration, Kustodiev was
also known for his colorful paintings, such as
Shrovetide
(1916). Here you see the inescap-
ably recurrent theme in Russian painting of winter: sleigh rides, snow-covered roofs, fest-
ivals, and fairy-tale churches, all under an achingly beautiful winter sky of swirling pink-
and-blue pastels.
• Continue around this wing, passing through rooms 72-79, to reach rooms 80-85 and...
