Russia! Exhibit

Irina and I escaped from the dreary humid Friday afternoon by going to the Guggenheim to see the Russia! exhibit.  It's almost too much at once, the selected paintings, icons, and tapestries that the museum has borrowed to display from the rich history of Russia (13th century to present).  Doubly better since Irina was there to explain to me the back stories for the paintings.  She also gave her perspective/memories on her favorites.  It's much better to listen to her childhood in Kiev and visits to her grandmother in the countryside than to hear a robotic recording yammer on about years and techniques. 

Used to Italian and French styles, the Russian themes and characterizations were strange at first, but gradually, I got a chance to see the whimsy and affection behind the images.  Landscapes bathed in moonlight, the pale winter sun shining on peasant workers, a battlefield covered with dead bodies, like hay strewn for feed, and sculptures and interactive art – they pierced my impression of stern Communists and oppressed workers.  I think there was some truth in those stereotypes, but the paintings also conveyed a sense of wonderment and affection that the Russian people had for their homeland, amid all the difficulties. There was also a lot of humor, dark sometimes, in the pieces that you can't help but chuckle at the wry fellow who decided to paint that after a couple swigs out of the vodka bottle.

One of my favorite, and one of the largest paintings, was the 9th Wave, by Ivan Aivazovsky: