Press releases

MOGILEV, 26 July (BelTA) – The 22nd international plein air “The image of the motherland in fine art” dedicated to the 145th anniversary of People's Artist of Belarus and Russia Vitold Byalynitsky-Birulya will open in mid-August, BelTA learned from Svetlana Strogina, Deputy Director of the Maslenikov Mogilev Oblast Art Museum.

The first part of the Belarusian-Russian project will be held in Tula Oblast of Russia. On 14 August Belarusian artists will go to work to the Vasily Polenov State Memorial History, Art and Natural Museum Reserve. “It has become a good tradition to open the plein air in Russia,” Svetlana Strogina said. “The program will be diverse. Besides working in the museum-reserve, the participants will go to Yasnaya Polyana, Tarussu, and Melikhovo,” she said.

On 24 August the event will be hosted by Mogilev Oblast of Belarus. The Belarusian artists will be joined by talented painters from Russia, India, Israel, Armenia, Lithuania, China and Ukraine. The list of participants will be refreshed by 90%. But one thing will remain unchanged - traditional, realistic, academic painting which was typical of Vitold Byalynitsky-Birulya, Vasily Polenov, Isaac Levitan and other artists who we celebrated in previous plein airs,” Svetlana Strogina noted.

The event in Mogilev Oblast will feature 22 artists, both beginners and well-established names, including Honored Artist of Russia Aleksei Shalayev and Honored Artist of Ukraine Evgeny Smirnov. It is expected that during the plein air they will give master classes for young artists.

The event in Mogilev Oblast will begin with a trip to the village of Krynki, the birthplace of Vitold Byalynitsky-Birulya, and the village of Lyskovshchina in Krugloye District where Russian painter Nikolai Nevrev worked. The artists will also come over to Slavgorod where famous portraitist Fyodor Tulov worked and where he died. “The artist’s grave was found at the town cemetery with the help of local historians last year. It was cleaned up and a tombstone was set up. A commemorative plaque in honor of Tulov was attached to the building of the local history museum,” Svetlana Strogina said.

She pointed out that the program is meant to familiarize the artists with the local nature, architecture, and citizens and to help them explore the history of the plein air movement.

They will capture their impressions on canvas and will also make some sketches on paper. It is too soon now to tell how many paintings they will make. “Every artist is an unique individual. Some draw thirty sketches, some draw just one over the same period of time. For instance, Belarusian painter Feliks Gumen managed to hold workshops en plein air and to create over forty pieces of art within ten days he spent in Russia,” Svetlana Strogina remarked.

The event will finish with an exhibition at the Mogilev Oblast Art Museum on 6 September. It will feature two best paintings of every author. The exhibition will run in Mogilev till October. Then it is expected to travel around the oblast, making the first stop in Belynichi District.

This is not the only exhibition to be held by the organizers of the plein air. A retrospective exhibition will open at the Mogilev Oblast Art Museum on 24 August. It will showcase the works painted en plein air and timed to different anniversaries, for instance, the 125th and the 130th anniversary of Vitold Byalynitsky-Birulya.

The plein air movement emerged in Mogilev Oblast in 1996. Since then, over 2,000 works by modern artists have been donated to the Mogilev Oblast Art Museum.