Exhibition "The Knave of Diamonds" in Moscow

February 1 - May 15, 2005

The opening of the "Knave of Diamonds" art exhibition organized jointly by the State Tretjakov Gallery and the Ekaterina Cultural Foundation took place on February, 1, 2005 in the Tretjakov Gallery in Krymsky Val. The exhibition represents the finishing stage of a large project devoted to the "Knave of Diamonds" paintings, already successfully demonstrated in Monte Carlo and St. Petersburg in the State Russian Museum.

The Moscow exhibition took place from February, 1 to May, 15 2005. It was based on a new conception as compared with the previous exhibitions, the one worked out by the State Tretjakov Gallery experts. The name of the exhibition is just the "Knave of Diamonds". Its main aim is to show the creative work of the Group as a specific and singularly impressive school in a variety of themes and modifications. For the first time the exhibition includes the works of western masters who were contemporaries of the "Knave of Diamonds" painters and participated in their exhibitions. This trend was crucial in the development of the esthetic credo of the "Knave of Diamonds" Group. The works of western masters were gratiously made available for the exhibition by the State Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts.

The Moscow painters' canvasses were most fully presented at the exhibition. Besides well known and frequently reproduced masterpieces, such as I. Mashkov's "Self-portrait" and "Peter Konchalovsky's Portrait", there were some forgotten and little known works from the State Tretjakov Gallery collection.

As before, the co-organizer of the exhibition was the State Russian Museum. The project was realized with close participation of regional museums and the State Exhibition Centre ROSISO.