The Great Teachers is structured as a thematic journey, guiding visitors through the sections “Joy of Life,” “The City,” “Native Land,” “People and Destinies,” and “The World of Art.” These sections function as conceptual bridges, connecting not only to the work of the students of each featured artist, but also to the broader artistic history of the region—of which the construction and opening of the Kaliningrad branch of the Tretyakov Gallery forms an integral part. The exhibition design reinforces this idea, engaging in a dialogue with the architecture of the gallery spaces themselves. It simultaneously evokes the mass housing developments of the 1960s–1970s and contemporary architectural language, both characterized by laconic forms, simple geometric structures, and the interplay of raw concrete with warm, “living” wood.
The exhibition opens with works by two outstanding “chroniclers of Soviet life,” Alexander Samokhvalov and Yuri Pimenov. Samokhvalov focused on his contemporaries—especially women—depicting sports parades, robust and healthy female athletes and metro builders, conductors, and workers. In the 1930s, Pimenov likewise turned to themes of the modern city and everyday life, later giving them a distinctive resonance during the Khrushchev Thaw, when he created works that became vivid artistic reflections of their time. Also on view in this gallery are sculptural works by Matvey Manizer and Elena Yanson-Manizer. The section “The City” explores the construction of new buildings and the creation of monuments to prominent historical figures.
In the final gallery, three thematic sections unfold in sequence. In “Native Land,” works by Konstantin Korovin, Fyodor Bogorodsky, and Matvey Manizer enter into dialogue. Lyrical landscapes are complemented by sculptural portraits of Alexander Pushkin, the great Russian poet who celebrated the beauty of the Russian landscape, and Konstantin Ushinsky, the renowned educator and founder of scientific pedagogy in Russia. This section is followed by “People and Destinies,”which introduces remarkable individuals from the scientific sphere as well as heroes from among the people, including Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya.
The concluding section, “The World of Art,” is conceived as an improvised artist’s studio, immersing visitors in an atmosphere of creative inspiration. Here, a sequence of portraits unfolds—from intimate, камерные образы to iconic representations of figures of global significance, reflecting the worlds they created through their work.