Russian Revolution: Hope, Tragedy, Myths

Fascinating exhibition at the British Library marking the centenary of the Russian Revolution and looking at its causes and consequences.

The show told the story really well using the objects and books to illustrate it rather than letting the story be driven by the objects. The commentary was clear and interesting. It felt a bit wordy in places but this was needed as so many of the books and posters were in Russian so they couldn’t explain themselves. I loved the entrance hall with opulent red velvet curtains and chandeliers but with a copy of the Communist Manifesto displayed in it.

The section on the Tsar and the period before the Revolution was wonderful and packed full of stories. There was a good section on the coronation and the stampede following it to get free souvenirs which was rumoured to have killed 1389 people. They had one of the original tin souvenir mugs nicknamed since the “Cup of Sorrows”. It was a lovely touch to include Lenin’s application form for the British Museum Reading Room, issued under a false name.

I thought is was a shame there was so little on the events in October 1917 but I guess they were so swift and short that they didn’t leave much behind. There were just a couple of objects and photographs then we seemed to be in the midst of the Civil War. The show was good at leading you to realise that the Bolsheviks were trying to set up a new style of government while also fighting a war. Artefacts included a Red Flag now ironically faded to white and some good examples of constructivism art.

It was a nice touch to have the displays on the deaths of the Tsar and of Lenin in back to back cases.

There were good sections on how the events affected the rest of the world. The British Museum library was given a sack of Bolshevik literature in 1921 but initially denied access to it. Also a good display of books written about the revolution both factual such as John Reed’s “Ten Days that Shook the World” and fictional including of course “Dr Zhivago”.

This was a good historic overview of this period which complimented earlier shows I’d seen on the art and design of the period. It’s a shame it won’t still be on for the anniversary.

Closes on 29 August 2017

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Thomas Becket: Murder and Making of a Saint

Image
Stunning exhibition at the British Museum on the life and afterlife of Thomas Becket. I studied Becket both at A Level and at university so I was really looking forward to this show and it did not disappoint. From walking in to see an old friend, the early Limoges casket showing the murder from the Victoria and Albert Museum, I was gripped. The show told the story well using fantastic objects and led you through his life, the murder, the political aftermath, his sainthood and miracles, and how Canterbury became a major pilgrimage site. It is hard to pick out the best objects as so many were wonderful. I loved that they had early copies of some of the five eyewitness accounts of the murder which made you fell you were almost touching the event. I liked the manuscript on his time in exile which was almost like a comic strip. How wonderful to get a 13th century font from Sweden which shows how far and how quickly the news that Henry II had integrated the murder spread. I think my
Read more

Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year Exhibition 2019

Image
Delightful exhibition at Clarendon Fine Art showing pictures from the Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year TV series. I had loved the series which had set nine artists, both professional and amateur, to paint one of three celebrities. It then had a semi-final and final with them all looking at one sitter and in the final they also took on a commission. I loved the way you watched a picture build and how some were then made or spoiled by one stroke of paint.   Finding these pictures I knew so well in the flesh was therefore fascinating. None of them disappointed. My favourite artist from the final, Tom Mead, works looked just as good in real life if not better as you could see the detail. The show included his impressive self-portrait which he submitted to enter the competition, a wonderful fragmented picture of his reflection in a mirror giving a sense of movement. I loved that it included a large version of him and a miniature. His commission for the final of Jazzie B was
Read more

The Renaissance Nude

Image
Beautiful exhibition at the Royal Academy looking at the nude in Renaissance art. The show was gently themed but mainly let the pictures speak for themselves. It began by looking at the subjects, both religious and secular, which include nude figures then examined techniques and models used in these works, finishing by looking at more personal pictures. This is a period I’ve studied a lot so there were a lot of old friends and it was quite fun predicting what might appear. There were a few surprises too such as the rather surprising drawing of the Ecstatic Christ. I liked the fact the show included lots of different art forms not just paintings including sculpture, etchings, drawings and illuminated manuscripts. There were some fascinating hangs to draw comparisons particularly two sets of pictures by Giovanni Bellini and Hand Memling from almost exactly the same date. These were shown back to back in a display cabinet down the middle of one room. My favourite work was
Read more