The exhibition hall "DUKHOSKI KRUGLIK" of the State Institution "Center of Culture "VITEBSK" opens the season of creative thematic events
The history of Vitebsk, like that of most large cities of our time, is "striped" – combining periods of ups and downs. Each year, each century carried its own burden, played its own role, but at the same time, looking back, one can clearly see turning points that, no more, no less, changed the course of history. One of these "moments" for Vitebsk was the XIV century.
During this period, many cities similar to ours rapidly faded and lost their former power. Take Turov, for example, once the capital of the rich Turov principality, and later lost its leading status. There are many such examples, and Vitebsk could have become one of them. However, thanks to a number of circumstances, including the active intervention in the fate of the city by the Grand Duke of Lithuania Algirdas and his wife Juliana, our city withstood the storm of turmoil and changes. In the XIV century, Vitebsk became a major trade and economic center and a powerful defensive hub: the strengthening of the Upper Castle and the construction of the Lower Castle as a significant defensive outpost of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania testify to the latter.
In general, the XIV century can be talked about a lot, interestingly and informatively. Therefore, the exhibition hall "DUKHOVSKOY KRUGLIK" of the State Institution "Center of Culture "VITEBSK" opens its season of creative thematic events with a meeting with Vitebsk artist, teacher of the Center for Aesthetic Education "MALADZIK" Igor DUROV, which will take place on October 24 at 16.30 on the upper platform of the branch.
The title "IMAGE OF THE CITY IN SPACE AND TIME. THE 14TH CENTURY" defines the theme of the meeting. Igor DUROV has been engaged in artistic and historical reconstruction for over 15 years. He created a series of portraits of iconic figures of Vitebsk's Middle Ages (paintings depicting Prince Algird, his wife Princess Uliana of Tver, as well as Prince Vasilko Svyatoslavich adorn the walls of "DUKHOVSKOY KRUGLIK"), and is the author of historical reconstructions of Vitebsk castles. It took over 10 years to restore the external appearance of the city in the 14th century. The artist studied a mass of archives, archaeological materials, and documents; the next stage involved studying the architecture of Eastern and Central Europe of that period and drawing relevant analogies. And already in the process of direct project implementation, the artist combined all three components into a single whole – history, analogy, and his own vision, which compensated for the existing gaps and gave the reconstruction artistic integrity. At the same time, Igor Valeryevich notes that the "fantasy" component is minimal.
At the meeting itself, the result of this large-scale work will be presented to the audience – a detailed graphic image of Vitebsk castles in the 14th century. Igor DUROV will talk in more detail about the project, its background, and main stages, and will answer all questions of interest.
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State Institution "Center of Culture "Vitebsk"