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Pope Francis visits Vatican-hosted exhibition of Russian fine art, says diplomat

The exposition was presented by Zelfira Tregulova, director of the famed State Tretyakov Gallery

Pope Francis Vincenzo Pinto/Pool Photo via AP

Pope Francis

© Vincenzo Pinto/Pool Photo via AP

VATICAN, November 27. /TASS/. Pope Francis visited on Tuesday a major exhibition of Russian fine art entitled "Pilgrimage of Russian Art: From Dionysius to Malevich" that opened at the Vatican a week ago, Russian Ambassador to the Vatican Alexander Avdeyev told TASS.

Zelfira Tregulova, director of the famed State Tretyakov Gallery from where most of the paintings came showed the pontiff the exhibits. Some of them have very rarely or never left Russia. Among the icons are the famous "Trinity", "Birth of Christ", "Crucifixion" and the icon of Vladimir Mother of God, as well as renowned paintings of the 19th century that all Russian people know since childhood, such as the "Bathing of the Red Horse" by Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin, "Unexpected Visitors" by Ilya Repin, "Troika" by Vasily Perov, Mikhail Vrubel’s "Demon", and "Black Square" by Kazimir Malevich". One of the focal points of the exhibition is "The Appearance of Christ to the People" by Alexander Ivanov, a huge canvas he painted in Rome.

The exhibition was organized with the participation of Vatican Museums and with the support of the Art, Science and Sport Charity Foundation founded by Russian businessman and philanthropist Alisher Usmanov.

Dionisius was a leading Moscow icon painter at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries.

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