From Russia

A wonderful exhibition currently at the Royal Academy. There was a very difficult lead up to the opening to this exhibition, and for a while the Russian authorities seemed likely to withdraw permission for the wealth of artworks to be brought to London. This is a truly remarkable collection in broadly four sections.

The first section portraysRussian art and French influences in Russia between 1870 and 1900. In the first part of the C19th Russian art was dominated by biblical and mythological representaions - and this seemed inappropriate to the reality of Russian life. So towards the end of the century we see a depiction of Tolstoy as a barefoot peasant. The picture entitled 17th October 1905 seems to predict the kinds of heroic art of the Stalinist era however.

The second section concentrates on the two major Russian collectors of the late C19th/early C20th, Shchukin and Morozov. Here you have a swathe of great French art, including Gauguin, Monet, Manet and Picasso combined with great Russian contemporary artists, many heavily influenced by these artists.

The third section looks at the World of Art demonstrating the influence of the Russian greats in other areas of culture - especially the dance. Here you have Diaghilev, most famous as founder of the Ballet Russes, but also organiser of eleven exhibitions between 1897 and 1906, introducing French art to Russia. He used these influences in his theatrical designs.

The fourth section looks at the innovations of the first two decades of the C20th. Neo-Primitivism through Cubo-Futurism, transforming into Abstraction, and Constructivism, but always with a distinctively Russian feel. Some remarkable art came out of the darkest period of the First World War and the Russian Revolution.

A truly remarkable exhibition - Rating: 9/10