Alexey Shchusev. 150

Museum of Architecture named after. A.V. Shchusev, the Tavolga Foundation for the Development of Science and Culture, with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, together with the Fine Arts Gallery of Uzbekistan and the Elisabeth-Sergius Educational Society Foundation for Promoting the Revival of Traditions of Mercy and Charity, present an exhibition dedicated to the work of the outstanding architect Alexei Viktorovich Shchusev (1873 - 1949 ) – “Alexey Shchusev. 150. Usto memor” dedicated to his 150th anniversary

Alexey Shchusev is an architect of unique talent, who brilliantly demonstrated himself in various architectural styles and directions of the late 19th – first half of the 20th centuries. Consisting of two thematic sections, the exhibition “Alexey Shchusev. 150. Usto memor” presents to the public about 50 architectural projects created by Shchusev during his more than half a century of career. The exhibition includes 350 items: design graphic sheets are supplemented by the master’s student and artistic works, archival photographs, documents, and newsreels. The exhibition will allow you to look at the architect as a great master, in demand throughout his career.

For the Museum of Architecture, the exhibition “Alexey Shchusev. 150. Usto memor” is the largest foreign project in recent decades. It occupies two exhibition halls of the Gallery of Fine Arts of Uzbekistan: the first part shows the entire creative path of the master, the second part is devoted to the work of the architect in the union republics, including Uzbekistan.

The exhibition in the first hall reveals the history of the formation of the great architect. It shows early independent creations and important orders of the imperial family, work on temple buildings. It was temple construction that became the main theme of the pre-revolutionary period of Shchusev’s work, and this experience prepared him for future large and organizationally complex orders. One of them was the Kazansky railway station in Moscow - Shchusev’s beloved and most difficult project, work on which took 38 years. Using the example of the All-Russian Agricultural and Handicraft-Industrial Exhibition and the reconstruction plan for the Soviet capital “New Moscow”, Shchusev’s work in the first post-revolutionary years is shown. The history of the construction of the Mausoleum of V.I. occupies a special place. Lenin is one of the key and world-famous buildings not only in the creative heritage of Shchusev, but also in the history of Russian architecture of the 20th century as a whole. The sections “Constructivism” and “Return to the Classics” use examples of outstanding buildings of the Soviet period to reveal the architect’s excellent ability to adapt to rapidly changing artistic trends.

At the exhibition, special attention is paid to the activities of Alexei Shchusev during the Great Patriotic War, when, under his leadership, work was carried out to restore destroyed cities, and the restoration of damaged monuments of ancient Russian architecture began. Projects for buildings of scientific institutions across the country are also shown at the exhibition - the legacy of the Akademproekt workshop of the 1940s, headed by Shchusev. At the end of the first part of the exhibition, visitors will be able to learn about the last and main brainchild of the master - the Museum of Russian Architecture in Moscow, created on his initiative in 1945.