The exhibition continues the cycle devoted to the drawing materials and techniques in Russia. The reason for the rare exposition of the above is special vulnerability of “loose powder” pastel works.

The exposition covers the key stages of this peculiar technique development: from the very early pieces by first Russian pastelists to bold experiments of artists at the turn of the centuries. The viewer will be able to see rare examples of mastership shown by such guides of the European tradition in Russia as Georg Friedrich Schmidt and Vigilius Eriksen, as well as classic pieces by Orest Kiprensky and Alexey Venetsianov.

A common strife for the conveyance of impressions from nature and recording of changeable natural states characteristic for the turn of the XIX-XX centuries are reflected by Ivan Kramskoy, Isaac Levitan, Valentin Serov, Maria Yakunchikova and Elena Polenova. One may get to know the elements of stylization and even imitation of old masters’ manner thanks to works by Alexander Benoit, Konstantin Somov, Zinaida Serebryakova, Mstislav Dobuzhinsky and Mikhail Vrubel. Mikhail Vrubel’s turn to pastel was very short; all the more valuable are his rare works, which open the way for the experiments to a new generation of artists.