The exhibition dwells on the story of the Rumyantsev Museum — the first public museum in Moscow. In the whirlwind of the Revolution its curators and attendants managed to save the collection from damage or pillage — even at the risk of their own lives. The exhibition’s storytelling is based on authentic documents: photographs, newspapers, journals, posters, leaflets and postcards.
Our main challenge was the reconstruction of museum interiors. The exposition is divided in two; the first part is the Rumyantsev Museum in miniature. We recreated in details the art gallery interiors, the Council Chamber, the director’s office and even the staff room. The Council Chamber is both architectural and symbolical centre of the exposition. This is where the museum’s destiny was decided back in 1917; the visitors can immerse themselves in those heated debates via audio guides.
Another part of the exhibition recreates the revolutionary events outside museum’s walls. Looking down from the first floor, one may take a glance at Moscow in the midst of the revolution. All photographs and posters here are covered in red — the color of rage, communism and bloodshed.