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Reflections on Rublev. Two icons by artist-restorer V.O. Kirikov

Exhibition 16 August − 11 December 2022
The exhibition will feature works created by Vasily Osipovich Kirikov (1900-1978), an outstanding restorer of the 20th century. He was one of the first to come to the aid of the newly founded Andrei Rublev Museum in 1954 and was involved in the consolidation and clearing up of the monuments coming to the museum. Among the main exhibits at the exhibition was an exact copy of the icon of the Holy Trinity by Andrei Rublev, which is rightly called the pinnacle of V. O. Kirikov's work as a copyist. According to the evidence of his contemporaries and Vasily Osipovich himself, in it he tried to repeat the creative path of Rublev.

Almost at the same time as Kirikov was copying the Holy Trinity icon, he began to formulate plans for an iconic image of the great painter with a hagiographic narrative in the panels. Work on it was conducted from 1965 to 1972. Since Andrei Rublev's hagiography had not yet been composed (he was canonized only in 1988), the painter was faced with a complicated task: to independently determine the subject composition of the icon and develop the composition of its border scenes. The triptych "Venerable Andrey Rublev, with Life", created by Viktor Kirikov was the result of the restorer's contemplation of the oeuvre of the famous medieval master. The triptych icon will be shown to the public for the first time, accompanied by preparatory watercolor sketches.

The exhibition is part of the anniversary year of the Andrei Rublev Museum, which celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2022, and will be open to visitors free of charge.