What do you think of such a combination? This is not about the artist's library, but about the books he wrote and illustrated.
The exhibition is being held at the "Petersburg" gallery on Nevsky Prospect. There is a remarkable place located in the very center of St. Petersburg, closer to the metro than the Hermitage, with three large windows onto the avenue displaying posters; rare exhibitions are often held there, but there is almost never anyone around. Always keep this gallery in mind when visiting the northern capital.
What's the exhibition about today? Kuzma Sergeyevich Petrov-Vodkin, already a recognized artist, wrote an adventure story about the journey of two children. He provided a variety of illustrations for the work and had it published in 1914.
But the year was difficult — wartime — and its distribution went unnoticed, so in 1922 the author returned to the work, made new graphic illustrations and tried again to submit the book for printing. But it was not published. A portfolio of wonderful ink illustrations — very lively, emotional, yet light and transparent — remained "in the drawer." Later the works ended up in a writers' bookshop, and in 1954 the Institute of Literature bought them and has kept them carefully to this day.
The "Petersburg" gallery did an important artistic service by showing us these illustrations. You can form a complete impression of an artist only by seeing him from different angles. Petrov-Vodkin's graphic art is shown fairly often at regular exhibitions, but I had never had the chance to see his book illustration.
Moreover, this story is a vivid illustration of the difficult path of a creative person. Such a large-scale work, which required a lot of time and effort, ended in nothing. And this was not a student or a novice. In 1922 the artist was already 42. It's useful for young people to realize this, so they can take their creative failures more calmly. Success cannot await an artist at every turn.
I would also like to note that the exhibition space consists of two small rooms, but is always arranged harmoniously. The furniture and interior items are themed to the exhibition, and there are convenient display cases which this time contain the author's manuscripts.
