Notes on From Russia – Royal Academy – Spring 2008

• Huge variety of styles on show, but drawing plenty of influences from Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Symbolism and other schools of the late 19th century.
• Strong conceptulisation of centre and periphry
• Russia as part of a tradition of European painting, excising its Soviet blip. An exhibition was a strong contemporary resonance
• But using Malevich as an end-point – sudden minimalism of Malevich’s Black Squares after all the decorative, colourful work preceeding it. Very good curation of the final part of the exhibit (cf the Citizens exhibition where the cold, clinical Ingres portrait contrasted to the aristocratic grandeur that had preceded it)
• Tatlin’s communism and related art as a non-European phenomen
• Opportunity to rethink Cezanne, Picasso and Matisse in this context.