Press releases

MINSK, 1 September (BelTA) - Works of Belarusian artists of the School of Paris will be on display in Vilnius from 11 September to 9 November, BelTA learned from Belgazprombank.

The exhibition is an integral part of Belgazprombank’s corporate project "Art Belarus". It includes 69 paintings, graphic and sculptural works from the collections of Belgazprombank, the National Art Museum and private collections. In fact, it is a concentrated presentation of the works by artists of the Paris School (d’Ecole de Paris) of the early 20th century who were born in Belarus and who subsequently became world famous. This is the first time that the exhibition will be shown outside Belarus.

The exhibition covers a wide range of trends of classical modernism of the 20th century: fauvism, cubism, suprematism and expressionism. The works of the Belarusian artists are distinguished by their particular worldview, a combination of drama and melancholy, emotional coloring and pronounced visual expression.

“Vilnius had a special place in the fates of many Belarusian artists. Many of them attended the Vilnius Trutnev’s School of Drawing led by Russian painter Ivan Trutnev, including Chaim Soutine, Pinchus Kremegne, Sam Zarfin, Leon Indenbaum, Robert Genin and Michel Kikoine. It was in Vilnius that the future artists received the first ideas about modern art; it was from here that they left for Paris. Artists from Eastern Europe gave the new trend in art – d’Ecole de Paris - restraint and elegance, rich colors and extraordinary expressiveness," the organizers said.

The exhibition provides an opportunity to not only see the original paintings of works of the Paris School artists kept in Belarus but also helps understand the connection between modern European art and artistic processes taking place in Belarus and Lithuania.

The exhibition has been organized by Belgazprombank, the National Art Museum of Belarus together with the Art Museum of Lithuania and the Lithuanian Embassy in Belarus.