The vernissage of the exhibition ‘Moscow of Peter the Great’ was held in the Blue Hall of the Russian State Art Library (RSAL) on 14 March. The exposition presents etchings and one-tone lithography, rare old Russian and foreign books talking about the Moscow period in the life of Peter I, when the Russian emperor began to implement his reforms.

Opening the exhibition, RSAL’s Deputy Director Inna Vaganova thanked the exposition partner, the Central Scientific and Technical Library for Construction and Architecture (TsNTB SiA), which provided its rarities.

Aleksey Golyatin, Acting Director of TsNTB SiA, noted that old books from the library on architecture perfectly complemented the exposition within the walls of ‘Teatralka’.

The exhibition also features original costume sketches for the American TV series Peter the Great (1986) from the RSAL collection. Ekaterina Shumyantseva, Head of the Department of Cultural Programmes, related curious details about the work on them by the People’s Artist of Russia Eleonora Maklakova, a regular and longtime reader of RSAL. Quickly and accurately, using only a simple pencil, Maklakova created costume sketches accurately conveying a portrait of the performer in the role. Eleonora Maklakova’s work was greatly admired by Hollywood actors, many of whom received such portrait sketches as a gift. For her work on the costumes for the series, Eleonora Maklakova became the only American television Emmy Award winner in Russia.