The big change

de Sjeng Scheijen, John E. Bowlt

In the last twenty years before the 1917 revolution was a period of drastic change in the Tsardom. A bourgeois elite spread a wave of enlightenment throughout the still conservative society. And painting played a vital role in this cultural explosion. Unfortunately, this fascinating period is not well known in the West. The standard idea of a sleepy art world that was shaken awake by the Impressionists, for example, must be revised. There were innovative art scenes in St. Petersburg and Moscow long before the time of the 'modern revolution' of artists like Malevich and Kandinsky. In this tumult, there was no single overriding concept, but rather an incredibly lively debate on many different aspects. Exhibition: Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht, the Netherlands (12.3.-11.8.2013).