An exhibition of drawings by a forgotten artist Vladimir Orlov opened at the Museum of Christian Art

The works of Vladimir Orlov have never been exhibited before in such a big quantity. His personality is also a mystery. The idea to show Vladimir Orlov’s watercolors came to the curator Oksana Ivanovna Zaritskaya. Working in the funds, she discovered 185 sheets with amazing landscapes dedicated to Russian church architecture. Each item is signed by the author and framed in a passe-partout.

Using the signatures, the museum staff were able to reconstruct the geography of his works. At the beginning of the XX century, Orlov sketcjed northern cities like Novgorod, Pskov, and churches in Uglich. 1920-1930 marked the views of Rostov the Great, Kostroma, Yaroslavl, Vologda. The last works, dated 1959, with views of the Holy Trinity St. Sergius Lavra. 

The Bishop of Zvenigorod Kirill, Rector of the Moscow Theological Academy, visited the exhibition and noted the high artistic level of Vladimir Orlov's works. 

Art historian Oksana Ivanovna Zaritskaya said that the drawings were probably received by the museum in the early 1960s from an unknown donator. An investigation conducted by the staff of the Museum of Christian Art led to an unexpected result. It showed there were three different authors with a name "Vladimir Orlov", who worked at the same time, but were completely different in their artistic style.

The identity of the artist is still a mystery, but the search for information about the author continues. The current exhibition at the Museum of Christian Art is a good chance to announce an unfairly forgotten master. 

The works of Vladimir Orlov are alive and bright. He shares his impressions from small churches and big monasteries with such love and attention, that the viewer seems to feel the freshness and transparency of the air, touched by the beauty of Russian landscape. Many of the architectural monuments depicted by Orlov have not survived to this day. 

The exhibition “From the Forgotten… Russian Architecture in Vladimir Orlov’s drawings” will be on display at the Museum of Christian Art “Church and Archaeological Cabinet” until August 31, 2023.

MThA Press Office