The exhibition of the Irbit State Museum of Fine Arts features “Enlightenment” by Mikhail Verkholantsev from the artist’s eponymous series of prints.
In the center of the composition, a magnificent woman walks through the dark, illuminating her path with an ancient-style oil lamp. This is an allegory of the Enlightenment. The flickering light from the lamp symbolizes the power of knowledge breaking through the darkness. Darkness represents a lack or complete absence of energy. In Russian, an uneducated person can be described as “plunged into darkness”.
Mikhail Mikhailovich Verkholantsev comes from an ancient dynasty of Siberian merchants — the Basnin family. He was born in Moscow, where he has lived most of his life. His prints, illustrations, and watercolors have been displayed at solo shows in cities across Siberia, including Irkutsk, Tobolsk, Tyumen, and Khanty-Mansiysk. Working with a complicated and rather rare woodcut technique, Mikhail Verkholantsev has developed his own distinct style that combines perfect technical skill with an expressive and energetic composition. He enjoys working with both end grain woodcuts (wood slices) and longitudinal woodcuts. End grain woodcut has revolutionized book illustration. Its hard and even surface allows for greater precision in the cutting of lines and complex tonal and color combinations. In this style, Mikhail Verkholantsev is second to none, both in Russia and abroad.
