Pilgrimage of Russian art : from Dionysus to Malevich : masterpieces from the collection of the Tretyakov Gallery and museums of Russia

272 pages : illustrations (some coloured) ; 29 cm. An evocative itinerary of Russian pictorial art through the works of its most representative exponents, celebrated in this catalogue, available in Italian and English, published concurrently with the exhibition of the same name in the Braccio di Carlo Magno in the Vatican, the outcome of a collaboration between the Vatican Museums and the Tret jakov Gallery. Indeed, the book presents a large series of Russian masterpieces on a Gospel theme 54 works from the collections of the Tret jakov Gallery which show and explore the parallelism between fifteenth century icon painting and the realistic painting of the nineteenth century. An art-historical introduction to the tradition of the icons and a study of the cultural movements of the nineteenth century, and realist figurative art in particular, is followed by a focus on the most important artists of Russian painting, retracing their story and iconography. The photographic catalogue of the works offers splendid colour reproductions and essential captions with basic information - pictorial technique, measurements, iconographic theme and location. This is followed by in-depth technical notes on each work, analysing styles and themes, and highlighting their special characteristics, with periodical comparisons with related literature.