MEIERKHOLD, Vsevolod Emilevich (1874-1940). Vs. M

MEIERKHOLD, Vsevolod Emilevich (1874-1940). Vs. Meierkholda Revizor N. V. Gogola [Vsevolod Meierkhold's "The Inspector General" by N. V. Gogol].1926. Two color lithograph (1080 x 730 mm). Framed. POSTER FOR HIS LANDMARK PRODUCTION OF GOGOL'S FIERCE SATIRE. Meierkhold was a revolutionary figure in the Russian avant-garde theater. For his early productions at Imperial theatres of St. Petersburg, he secured designs by Alexander Golovin, Léon Bakst, Mstislav Dobuzhinsky, Sergei Sudeikin and other members of the Mir iskusstva [World of Art] group. Both Golovin and Boris Grigoriev painted his portrait. He demanded a "conditional theater" in opposition to naturalism. Among the many people whom he profoundly influenced was the great filmmaker Sergei Eisentstein who studied with him. Meierkhold's stubborn opposition to Social Realism led to his demise. His experimental theater was closed in 1938 and the next year he was arrested, imprisoned, tortured and finally executed by firing squad in 1940. It was not until 1955 that he was officially "rehabilitated" during the first wave of Krushchev's anti-Stalin campaign.