Moscow Art Theater named after A.P. Chekhov

Main article: Theaters in Russia

Moscow Art Theater School

Main article: Moscow Art Theater School

History

2004

Cover of the program of the play "Tartuffe" by Moliere at the Moscow Art Theater named after A.P. Chekhov, Season 2004-2005 from the funds of the Bakhrushinsky Museum

Oleg Tabakov and Alexander Semchev, "Tartuffe" Moliere Moscow Art Theater named after A.P. Chekhov, 2004

1943: Opening of the Moscow Art Theater School

The studio school opened at the Moscow Art Theater in 1943. The initiator of its creation was Vladimir Ivanovich Nemirovich-Danchenko, one of the founders of the Moscow Art Theater. From the very foundation of the School, leading masters of the Art Theater taught here.

1933

Сооснователь МХТ К.С.Станиславский в жизни. Moscow. 1933 Photo by the Bakhrushin Museum

1913

K.S. Stanislavsky as Argan "Imaginary Sick" Moliere. Moscow Art Theater, 1913. From the funds of the Bakhrushinsky Museum

K.S. Stanislavsky as Argan "Imaginary Sick" Moliere. Moscow Art Theater, 1913. From the funds of the Bakhrushinsky Museum

V.V. Tezavrovsky in the ballet interlude of the apotheosis "Imaginary Patient" by Moliere. Moscow Art Theater, 1913 From the funds of the Bakhrushinsky Museum

1911: Staging of Leo Tolstoy's unfinished play "Living Corpse"

Living Corpse is a play by Leo Tolstoy, written in 1900 and published posthumously. Despite the fact that the plot of the work is brought to a logical denouement, it cannot be considered complete: the author interrupted work on the play, leaving it at the draft stage. This is confirmed by the words from the writer's letter to V. G. Chertkov dated December 12, 1900: "I, joking, or, rather, indulging, wrote it in writing, but not only do I not think to end and print it now, but I really doubt that I will ever do it."

Theaters and filmmakers competed for the right to stage the play, which was reflected in the caricature of the 1910s, which until 2023 did not have an author.

Caricature of Alexander Lyubimov "Not a flock of ravens flew..." (Above "The Living Corpse"). From the collection of the Bakhrushinsky Museum.

Cartoon researcher Alexei Naumov suggested his attribution. Together with a researcher at the Bakhrushinsky Theater Museum, the authorship of the Russian artist, graphic artist Alexander Mikhailovich Lyubimov (1879-1955), who painted portraits, genre and historical compositions, landscapes, and also known for his works in the genre of political caricature, was established.

In the course of the study of the museum object, the name of the caricature "Critics in the form of a pack of crows on the corpse of L.N. Tolstoy" was clarified and changed to "Not a pack of crows flew..." (Above "The Living Corpse"). The updated title more accurately reveals the content of the caricature. The drawing of Alexander Lyubimov in visual satirical language demonstrates the competition of the Art , Alexandrinsky Theater and film entrepreneurs in the struggle for the right to stage L.N. Tolstoy's drama "Living Corpse."

The premiere took place at the Moscow Art Theater on September 23 (October 5), 1911. The main directors were Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko and Konstantin Stanislavsky.

1910: Stanislavsky Theatre Reform

"Stanislavsky was not satisfied with his modern theater and the technique of work of artists," said Elizaveta Vostrikova, an employee of the Bakhrushinsky Theater Museum, in 2023. - Having embarked on a radical path for his era of reforming the theater, Konstantin Stanislavsky (real name Alekseev) inevitably came to the realization of the need to form new principles of the actor's work on the stage and create a stage image. He was looking for completely different methods than those adopted in his time that would allow actors to achieve the most lively existence on the stage, which would be absolutely organic and close to reality. "

K.S. Stanislavsky. Unknown photographer, Bakhrushinsky Museum

The great theater reformer rejected emotions and feeling as a motivator of acting existence in the process of creating an image, since if an actor tries to appeal to emotions, he inevitably comes to a stamp: turning to the unconscious in the process of work evokes a banal, trivial image of any feeling, Stanislavsky said.

This system has been used by artists and directors not only in Russia, but also around the world for more than 100 years. His system is the basis of many other theatrical techniques developed by his followers, precisely because it still remains modern, universal and understandable for artists.

1908

V.E. Egorov Sketch of the mise-en-scene Tiltil and Mytil "Blue Bird" by M. Meterlinka, Moscow Art Theater, 1908 Bakhrushinsky Museum