BORN TO FLY... AND CRAWL

The exhibition is devoted to the embodiment of images of representatives of the world of nature - birds and insects in the Russian art of the 18^th - beginning of 21th centuries, including the works that are created by contemporary artists in non-traditional techniques. Exposition that includes about 200 work is supplemented with video supplement.

Exposition includes the section that presents the history of Class of Animals and Birds led by Johann Friedrich Grooth (1717-1801), the German artist who worked in Russia from 1743 to 1801 and created with his pupils a lot of paintings depicting birds and animals. The significant part of these works was created for the pavilion Monbidzu in Tsarskoe Selo. There are presented the works from the collection of Russian Museum, State Museum Preserve Tsarskoe Selo State Museum Preserve, Gatchina State Museum Preserve and Peterhof State Museum Preserve. This section is supplemented with the stuffed animals and birds that were used as models for the paintings presenting animalistic genre, and also the articles of applied art which decorum includes the motives of birds and insects. The following section brings together the works of artists of 20^th century and examples of contemporary art. Alongside with the sculptures by S.Lebedeva there are presented, silhouettes by E.Bem, book illustrations by G.Narbut, Y.Vasnetsov, V.Ermolayeva, E.Kondiain that creates the bright and dynamic panorama of mysterious, freakish or funny life of birds and insects. Alongside with the works by classics of Russian and Soviet animalistic genre the significant part in exposition belongs to the works of contemporary artists. The forms of wild life are regarded by these artists as the instrument of plastic inspiration and fantasies or the peculiar catalogue of signs, metaphors or allegories. Many works from this section are presented from collection of the Russian Museum and private collections from Moscow and St. Petersburg.