An exhibition under the title "Karl Marx Forever?" opened in the State Museum of Russia in Leningrad (now St.Petersburg) on October 17, featuring various art pieces and documents, thus being the first display in honor of the great revolutionary thinker since the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
The exhibition is organized on the occasion of Karl Marx's 200th birth anniversary. According to the State Museum it "offers a comprehensive overview of images of the influential thinker in Russian culture and everyday life from the beginning of the 20th century till nowadays. The display includes over 100 works of fine art, household items, and archival records."
A statement by the State Museum writes that "Karl Marx never visited Russia, and none of the artists whose works are presented in the exhibition ever saw him in person. Nevertheless, Russian artists have created an extensive iconography of this person. At the beginning of the 20th century, when the Russian revolutionary movement was on the rise, Marx’s personality and ideas evoked interest and hopes of the creative intelligentsia. A spectacular example here is the portrait of Marx created by Anna Golubkina in 1905. Soon after the October revolution, many outstanding Russian artists turned to the image of Marx, Nikolay Feshin among them."
The exhibition includes works from the collections of State Russian Museum, State Museum of Political History, Russian State Archive of Social and Political History (Moscow), State Museum of Political History and from private collections and studios of contemporary artists.
The exhibit in honor of Marx will remain at the museum until January 14, 2019.