Alexander Tyshler. The Theater in Easel Paintings
The exhibition held in the year of the theater in Russia is dedicated to the wonderful, mysterious and strange world of images of Alexander Tyshler (1898–1980). The Russian Museum has an extensive collection of paintings and graphic works by Tyshler, which were donated to the museum by the master and his wife and also by G.M. Levitin, a close friend of many Russian theater scenic artists.
Tyshler gained recognition during the years of participation in the association of Moscow artists OST ("The Society of Easel Artists") in the second half of the 1920s – early 1930s. At the same time Tyshler began to work actively as a theatrical scenic painter. The novelty of the performances, in which the master was involved, was to appeal to the folk forms of the theater, and also in the preservation of national character and in a deep social interpretation of drama. A special sense of theatricality provided Tyshler with productive and equal cooperation with Y. Zavadsky, A. Tairov, S. Radlov, S. Mikhoels, V. Meyerhold, N. Cherkasov and other famous directors and actors. It also greatly assisted in the development of a special genre of easel art in Tyshler's work, which was built on the principles of the theater and became, as experts noted, a real "Theater in easel paintings"...
In the works presented at the exhibition one can always feel the romantic theatrical vision of the master, which allows to discuss the special Tyshler's artistry, a specific refraction of the revolution's mythology. It is fully revealed in the series related to the comprehension of events and images of the Russian Civil War, in which the artist himself took part.
