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Kuprin is a Source of Inspiration

On November, 12, 2010, a new exhibition “Kuprin is a Source of Inspiration” was opened in the Excursion-Exhibition Centre of the State M.A. Sholokhov Museum-Reserve. It displays over 200 unique exhibits from the collection of the Union of the State literary and memorial museums of the Penza Region.

The State M.A. Sholokhov Museum-Reserve has been on long friendly and creative terms with the  Union of the Penza Region Museums. In 2003, in Penza, in the literary museum, housed in an old XVIII century mansion, an exhibition “In the Country of the Quiet Don” was displayed, which helped the residents and guests of Penza to learn many interesting things about the life and work of Sholokhov and the unique Don region.

And now the guest of Sholokhov’s countrymen is the famous Russian writer Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin. He was born in 1870 in a town of Narovchat the Penza Region. In his early childhood after his father deceased the Kuprins moved to Moscow. In 1919 he emigrated from Russia, but for all his life he had kept his love and affection for his native places. The country of Penza and its people were reflected in the work of Kuprin, in the plots of many of his stories.

Kuprin is a unique writer. He is loved, read, reread, his wonderful works make a source of inspiration for many talented people. The exhibition lays out 80 illustrations for the works of A.I. Kuprin, and, in fact, the artists are the co-authors of his books: they made the ideas and images of the writer vibrant, thus helping a better comprehension of the plot of his works, the age, everyday life, environment of the personages.

The exhibition opens with the works of a Penza native Gherman Mazurin. According to his recollections, he read his first book at the age of 9, and, as there were no pictures in it, he drew them himself. It was the novel “And Quiet Flows the Don”! It was in 1941. Reading books became his life’s passion, next was drawing.

The illustrations of G. Mazurin for the stories “An Elephant” and “A Wonderful Doctor” are truthful, graphically precise and accurate in rendering the author’s intonation. The artist makes the reader, viewer live the life of the personages.

The wonderful illustrations for the story “The Garnet Bracelet” and the tale “Olesya” are made by the Petersburg artist Serghey Rudakov and his daughter Inna. The works are peculiar for a subtle revealing of the images, charm and lyricism. Especially nice are the women images which are clear, tender, captivating.

The works of the Moscow drawing artist Yury Ignatiyev illustrate the stories “Mechanical Justice”, “Staff Captain Rybnikov”, “Brave Fugitives”, “Damask Violet”, “The Tsar’s Clerk”, “How I was an Actor”.

All the illustrations exhibited are permeated with light, love for children, the woman, animals, life itself. Those were the very things important in the work of A.I. Kuprin, whose humaneness, love for people were inherent.

We wish the visitors to view the exhibition attentively and thoughtfully. Let the unique works of the masters inspirit you for reading the works of A.I. Kuprin.

The exhibition will work till March, 1, 2011.

Elena Tolstopyatenko