Boris Mikhailovich Kustodiev, The Bolshevik (detail), 1920.

Oil on canvas. 101 x 140.5 cm. State Tretyakov Gallery Photo © State Tretyakov Gallery.

Revolução: Arte Russa 1917–1932 

11 de Fevereiro — 17 de Abril de 2017

“Vivida e varieda – e frequentemente visceralmente comovente”

The Times

“Uma viagem de descoberta”

Evening Standard

“Um empreendimento épico e ambicioso… Esta é a história feita ressonante e relevante”

The Telegraph

“uma mostra excitante e arrepiante”

The Financial Times

“um corretivo ao foco estreito que frequentemente temos sobre a arte vanguardista da Rússia revolucionária”

The Guardian

“a primeira vez que nós seremos capaz de ver a arte da Revolução completa.”

The Observer

“…empréstimos obtidos da Rússia que você nunca viu e muitos que você não verá novamente”

The Independent

“fascinante e absorvente”

Time Out

One hundred years on from the Russian Revolution, this powerful exhibition explores one of the most momentous periods in modern world history through the lens of its groundbreaking art.

Renowned artists including Kandinsky, Malevich, Chagall and Rodchenko were among those to live through the fateful events of 1917, which ended centuries of Tsarist rule and shook Russian society to its foundations.

Amidst the tumult, the arts thrived as debates swirled over what form a new “people’s” art should take. But the optimism was not to last: by the end of 1932, Stalin’s brutal suppression had drawn the curtain down on creative freedom.

Taking inspiration from a remarkable exhibition shown in Russia just before Stalin’s clampdown, we will mark the historic centenary by focusing on the 15-year period between 1917 and 1932 when possibilities initially seemed limitless and Russian art flourished across every medium.

This far-ranging exhibition will – for the first time – survey the entire artistic landscape of post-Revolutionary Russia, encompassing Kandinsky’s boldly innovative compositions, the dynamic abstractions of Malevich and the Suprematists, and the emergence of Socialist Realism, which would come to define Communist art as the only style accepted by the regime.

We will also include photography, sculpture, filmmaking by pioneers such as Eisenstein, and evocative propaganda posters from what was a golden era for graphic design. The human experience will be brought to life with a full-scale recreation of an apartment designed for communal living, and with everyday objects ranging from ration coupons and textiles to brilliantly original Soviet porcelain.

Revolutionary in their own right, together these works capture both the idealistic aspirations and the harsh reality of the Revolution and its aftermath.

All ticket prices include £2.50 for a printed gallery guide.

Due to popular demand, we will be open until 10pm this Saturday 25 March.

11 February — 17 April 2017

Saturday – Thursday 10am – 6pm
Friday 10am – 10pm

Main Galleries, Burlington House

£18 (without donation £16). Concessions available. Friends of the RA, and under 16s when with a fee-paying adult, go free.

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  • Video

    Malevich in 60 seconds

    Tim Marlow introduces Kazimir Malevich, the artist whose bold experimentations with form and colour led him to create one of the most radical and influential paintings in the history of art – The Black Square. Malevich painted four versions of this iconic work, one of which is on display in Revolution: Russian Art 1917–1932.

  • Video

    ‘Revolution: Russian Art 1917-1932’

    Get a taste of the exhibition with this teaser video, showing you just some of the photography, porcelain and portraits on display.

 
 
    • Late night openings

      Open till 10pm every Friday, plus special late night weekend openings

      From exhibition-inspired food and drink to free talks inside the shows, there are plenty of reasons to visit the RA after dark. Unwind after a busy week and visit late any Friday, or on:

      Saturday 25 March 10am – 10pm
      Saturday 8 April 10am – 10pm
      Saturday 15 April 10am – 10pm
      Sunday 16 April 10am – 8pm

      Burlington House at dusk
 
 
    • El Lissitzky, Red Wedge

      Design a revolution-inspired RA profile picture

      #profilerevolution

      Taking inspiration from the pioneers of graphic design exhibited in our current blockbuster Revolution: Russian Art 1917-1932, we’re asking you to design a profile picture for the Royal Academy’s social media channels. Draw on geometric shapes and Constructivist typography, or show us your own avant-garde style. For inspiration, take a look at these five graphic design ideas from the Russian Revolution.

      To enter, simply post your image on Instagram or Twitter by midnight on Wednesday 29 March using the hashtag #profilerevolution, mentioning @royalacademyarts on Instagram and @royalacademy on Twitter.Please read the terms and conditions before entering.

 
 
    • Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin, Fantasy

      Revolution: Now!

      Weekend-long art history and theory course

      Running from 25-26 March 2017, this art history and theory course explores the critical and lasting impact of the Russian Revolution on both artistic practice and individual artists, treating the Revolutionary period not as a historical curiosity but as a time of great innovation and lasting change.

      Participants will explore in detail the key works, artists and projects of the Russian avant-garde emerging from the revolutionary period, as well as the underlying ideas, propositions and philosophical foundations that continue to influence artists and their practice up to the present day.

 
    •  Revolution: Russian Art 1917–1932 Exhibition Catalogue

      Revolution: Russian Art 1917–1932 Exhibition Catalogue

      Published to coincide with the centenary of the 1917 October revolution, Revolution: Russian Art 1917–1932 explores the extraordinary flowering of the arts during the first 15 years of the Soviet state up until Stalin’s brutal suppression of the avant-garde in 1932.

      This comprehensive survey takes the reader from renowned artists such as Kandinsky, Rodchenko, Malevich, Chagall to propaganda posters and ephemera revealing everyday Russian lives.

 
    • Print Tutor Simon Oldfield leading a tour of the Summer Exhibition

      Tours

      Get more out of the exhibition

      Exhibition tours

      45-minute introductory tours, free with an exhibition ticket, no booking required.
      Wednesdays at 2.30pm, Fridays at 7pm (until 31 March)

      Meet in the first gallery of the exhibition.

 
 
    • Rabochiy i Kolkhoznitsa (Worker and Kolkhoz Woman), Vera Mukhina, Moscow

      Travel competition

      Win two places on a Cox & Kings luxury tour of St Petersburg and Moscow

      To celebrate Revolution: Russian Art 1917-1932, we’re giving you and a guest the chance to spend eight days and seven nights exploring Russia’s two greatest cities with Cox & Kings.





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