Obraz Gor'kogo na vystavkach Venecianskogo Biennale [L'immagine di Gor'kij alle esposizioni della Biennale di Venezia]

The text analyzes the perception of Maxim Gorky’s image in form of painterly, graphic and sculptural portraits at the Venice Biennale from 1907 to 1958. The perception was determined by Gorky’s role and position within Russian and Soviet culture: during his exile in Italy he was mostly portrayed as a political refugee by emigré artists or tsarist opponents. After the October Revolution his shifting position towards the Soviet Union is re ected in his portraits of smaller size, displayed in the national pavilion. Only with the post- war return of the Soviet Union to the Biennale in 1956, Gorky’s sculptural portraits occupied a central position in the pavilion. At the same time, the critical af rmation of his image by the Italian press was strongly affected by the relations between the Soviet Union and Italy, and by the socio-political situation of the latter.