National Historical Museum of the Republic of Belarus



Modern Belarusian Ex–libris

  • 08.02.2019

On February 8 the National Historical Museum of the Republic of Belarus will open the “Modern Belarusian Ex–libris” exhibition.

Among the authors are Yuri Yakovenko, Andrey Yaroshevich, Fedor Shurmelev, Alexander Ulybin, Yevgeniy Timoshenko and many others.

The word "ex–libris" means "from books", i. e. a book sign. Initially, it consisted of the initials of the library owner and was glued or printed on the front flyleaf of the book to designate its owner. With the course of time, exlibris turned into an exquisite artistic genre and became a collector's item.

Belarusian graphic artists, that work in this genre, have long become widely known in the international arena. Belarusian ex–libris appear in the collections of libraries and connoisseurs from various countries: Japan, Australia, Great Britain, China, USA, Belgium. The works of artists are varied in composition and style, but all of them are united by the highest artistic level and masterly technique of printed graphics. The plots of the presented works are impressive in their complexity and abundance of topics. They provide an opportunity to get acquainted with the mythology of different nations, take a fresh look at Bible themes, immerse the viewer in the world of a children's fairy tale and, of course, cause admiration for the imagination and skill of the authors.

Artists working in the ex–libris genre are in high demand in their profession. There are numerous awards and diplomas of the most prestigious international exhibitions–contests of the ex–libris in the treasury of Belarusian authors. Their names are well known both in Belarus and abroad.The exhibition project was implemented jointly with the Palace of Arts and with the support of the Ministry of Information of the Republic of Belarus.

The curator of the exhibition is the graphic artist, member of the Belarusian Union of Artists – Olga Krupenkova (+375 29 368–55–06).

Museum address: Karl Marx str., 12