On March 27, the Bakhrushin Theater Museum’s exhibition “The Magician of the Imperial Theaters: Alexander Golovin” opens at the Russian House in Brussels. This exhibition, for the first time on such a scale abroad, presents the theatrical legacy of the brilliant Russian painter and stage designer Alexander Golovin (1863–1930). The project is organized with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and the Russian World Foundation.
“Today, the Bakhrushin Museum collection includes more than 1,300 works by Alexander Golovin, including items from his personal archive. The uniqueness of this collection lies in the fact that, in addition to the artist’s large and diverse collection of theater sketches, it also includes his easel works, drafts, sketches, and photographs of the performances he designed. This combination of exhibits allows for the most comprehensive presentation of Golovin’s period in Russian theater and stage design art,” said Kristina Trubinova, General Director of the Bakhrushin Theater Museum.
The founder of the Bakhrushin Museum, Alexey Bakhrushin, was a great admirer of Golovin. He acquired entire series of the artist’s sketches for the most striking productions staged at renowned Russian theaters. Visitors to the exhibition will see set and costume sketches for the operas The Maid of Pskov (Bolshoi Theater, 1901), Ruslan and Lyudmila (Mariinsky Theater, 1902), Carmen (Mariinsky Theater, 1908), the ballet Swan Lake (Mariinsky Theater, 1903), and many others.
Golovin’s first major international success was his participation in Sergei Diaghilev’s Russian Seasons. Alongside K. Korovin, I. Bilibin, and A. Benois, in 1908, Golovin worked on the production of Mussorgsky’s opera Boris Godunov for the first Russian Season in Paris. In 1910, he designed Stravinsky’s ballet The Firebird for Russian Seasons.
Golovin’s collaboration with Vsevolod Meyerhold began when the director joined the St. Petersburg Imperial Theaters in 1908 and continued until 1918. The pinnacle of their joint work was the play Masquerade, which was in preparation for six years. The artist created more than 4,000 sketches for it! The premiere of Masquerade took place on February 25, 1917 – the day the February Revolution began – marking the final production of the Imperial Alexandrinsky Theater and the end of the Beautiful Era of the Silver Age.
Exhibits related to Alexander Golovin’s collaboration with Vsevolod Meyerhold hold a significant place in the exhibition. In total, nearly 150 theater sketches and programs, portraits of Golovin, and photographs of performances staged with his participation are on display.
The exhibition “The Magician of the Imperial Theaters: Alexander Golovin” will be open at the Russian House in Brussels from March 28 to April 24.
