Canvases painted by world-famed pianist Richter shown at Prague presentation

Canvases painted by the great Russian pianist Svyatoslav Richter were for the first time displayed at a function devoted to the musician's memory in the RIA Novosti office in Prague, at the Teresa villa.

The Czech political and artistic elite was shown six pictures by Svyatoslav Richter, painted in Moscow in the late 1950s: "New Housing", "A Windy Day", "During a Festival", "Potylikha, Moscow", "After the Shift", and "Kuzminki".

Besides, on view were 19 unique photographs of the Russian pianist, with 18 of them linked to Prague and one to Moscow -- "Richter After the Concert".

According to an honoured artist of Russia, Professor Andrei Zolotov, "a combination of photographs and canvases has created a special artistic and documentary atmosphere. Which, in turn, generated an air of authenticity. That is the real Svyatoslav Richter".

Guests at the function were Russia's ambassador to the Czech Republic Igor Savolsky, Czech politicians and diplomats, Russian artists working in Prague, creative intellectuals, and journalists.

The Russian ambassador had words of praise for "the enlightening and analytic mission of RIA Novosti, which acted in Prague as a cultural institution".

Few know that Richter was also an artist: he was excellent at drawing, and painted landscapes mainly in pastel. The talent of Richter the artist was highly valued by the outstanding artist Robert Falk. It was from Falk that Richter took drawing lessons, and it was Falk who left a beautiful, if incomplete, portrait of the young Richter.