London hosts unique exhibition celebrating great figures of Russian culture

Come face-to-face with key players from the golden age of Russian art with Russia and the Arts: The Age of Tolstoy and Tchaikovsky at the National Portrait Gallery in London.

Marking 160 years since the foundation of both galleries, Russian portraits from the State Tretyakov Gallery’s permanent collection go on display in London, while portraits of British icons from the National Portrait Gallery are exhibited in Moscow, in a unique cultural exchange between the two capital cities.

See the faces that changed the cultural scene in Russia between 1867 and 1914, from writers and artists, to musicians and actors, including Tchaikovsky, Tolstoy, Ermolova, Morozov, Rubinstein, Akhmatova, Mussorgsky, Chekhov and Dostoevsky.

Painted by celebrated Russian artists such as Ivan Kramskoy, Nikolai Ge, Ilia Repin and Vasily Perov, these portraits also highlight the development of Russian art from Realism into brighter and bolder styles with Russian Impressionism and Symbolist painting.

The exhibition is on display until June 26.