The Tretyakov Gallery has quite an impressive collection of Malyavin’s and Arkhipov’s art; yet it has never arranged their personal exhibitions. Both artists are outstanding representatives of Russian impressionism; central in their artwork was depiction of a Russian peasant woman, which was associated with the image of Russia in the early XX century.
Philip Malyavin (1869–1940) graduated from the Imperial Academy of Arts in Petersburg and participated in the exhibitions arranged by Mir Iskusstva and the Union of Russian Artists. His large scale canvas Whirlwind from the Tretyakov Gallery’s collection will take up the central place in the exposition. The life of Abram Arkhipov (1862–1930) was connected with Moscow. He was a teacher in the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, an active participant of the Society of Travelling Art Exhibitions and the Union of Russian Artists, developing traditions of the Russian realistic school.
The exhibition will be arranged according to the principle of monographic personal expositions: one part of the exposition will be devoted to Abram Arkhipov's landscapes, genre paintings and peasant images while the second one will display Philip Malyavin's portraits and peasant cycle.
The comparison of the two artists’ works will allow analyzing the role of the red color in the art of the first third of the XX century, feminine component of Russian culture, the influence of folklore on high art, differences between Moscow and Saint-Petersburg art schools, and a number of other aspects.
The exposition will include paintings from the State Russian Museum, Scientific Research Museum of the Russian Academy of Arts, Ryazan I.P. Pozhalostin State Regional Art Museum, Khanty-Mansiysk State Art Museum, Nizhny Novgorod State Art Museum, Saratov A.N. Radishchev Art Museum, other museums and private collections.