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Abstract:

Museums dedicated to the life and work of Fyodor Dostoevsky often delegate the task of creating a visual representation of his novels for visitors to illustrators of his works. However, the more expressive the illustrations are, and the more strongly they impact the viewer, the more confidently one can say that we are dealing with the artist’s self-expression through— and often at the expense of—the writer’s work. So, what can be done, and how can the visual narrative in a writer’s museum be constructed differently? This article, using the example of the 2012 exhibition held in Rimini (Italy) “Christ Lives in You.” Dostoevsky: The Image of the World and of Man: The Icon and the Painting, shows how, instead of presenting the usual collection of subjective interpretations of the novels’ external plots, a museum can introduce visitors to the visual sources that influenced Dostoevsky. These sources make it possible to see the structure of images in his novels and to understand the writer’s creative method. The approach of this exhibition can also serve as valuable material for lessons on Dostoevsky’s work, offering a concise and visual way to identify his most fundamental ideas.

Keywords: Dostoevsky, Christian art, exhibition, principles of museum space design, structure of the image, image of the world and the human being.