The Russian Avant-Garde, which brought about an artistic revolution between 1905 and 1934, represents one of the most fascinating chapters in the history of 20th-century art. Artists like Malevich, Kandinsky and Chagall are highly esteemed the world over. But this movement was much more diverse than is generally realised. For the first time this artistic wealth is being presented in a major sequence of pictures. 140 masterpieces of painting demonstrate the parallel development of widely different styles, design principles and aesthetic ideas. The avant-garde artists influenced each other or were sometimes in conflict with each other. At the same time you could find advocates of representational Expressionism and supporters of pure abstraction; styles like Primitivism, Cubo-Futurism and Suprematism followed each other in succession. Surprising contrasts of works by different artists demonstrate the differences, so that the successive conflicting -isms are clearly demonstrated. Through this visual confrontation the picture of all the many different forms of Russian avant-garde come alive.

130 Meisterwerke der Malerei demonstrieren das Nebeneinander gänzlich diverser Stile, Gestaltungsprinzipien und ästhetischer Ideen. Die Avantgarde-Künstler beeinflussten sich gegenseitig und standen zugleich in Konflikt miteinander. Zur gleichen Zeit gab es Verfechter des gegenständlichen Expressionismus und Anhänger der reinen Abstraktion; Stilrichtungen wie Primitivismus, Kubo-Futurismus und Suprematismus folgten in rascher Entwicklung aufeinander. Überraschende Gegenüberstellungen von Werken führen die sich ablösenden und bekämpfenden Ismen vor Augen. Durch diese visuelle Konfrontation wird das Bild der vielen russischen Avantgarden lebendig.