Date: 20.04.2021
The new exposition of the Readers Museum, ‘Vakhtangovites and the Library—100 Years Together,’ makes it possible to trace the centenary history of the famous Vakhtangov Theatre through the unique materials preserved in the collections of the Russian State Art Library (RSAL).
In the early 1920s, in preparation for premiere performances in the new Moscow theatre, directors, painters, and actors, requiring information for creating scenery, costumes, and stage images turned to the newly created theatre library. The ‘Vakhtangovites’ not only used the library’s collections, but also contributed to them by donating books, scenery and costume sketches, photographs of actors and scenes from performances, theatre programmes, and invitation tickets, which have now become exhibits in the Readers Museum.
For the opening of the exposition, RSAL published a set of postcards with 1920s–1930s caricatures preserved in RSAL’s original graphics collection from the drawings by People’s Artist of the USSR, Boris Shchukin. For some of the caricatures, it was the first time they were exhibited and published.
The exposition ‘The Vakhtangovites and the Library—100 Years Together’ will run at the Readers Museum during 2021.
