The long-awaited exhibition of photographs inspired by one of the greatest novels of the 20th century, The Master and Margarita, has opened in Moscow after a successful premiere in Paris.

Fifty artworks feature French actress Isabelle Adjani as Margarita, and Russian actor Vladimir Koshevoi as the Master. According to one of France’s most experienced and established photographers, author of the exhibition Jean-Daniel Laurieux, the idea was “to explain Mikhail Bulgakov’s famous novel in Europe”.

As Laurieux explains, the challenge for him was to make something different. “I’m a fashion photographer, I’ve worked with Carla Bruni and Claudia Schiffer. This time, I was involved in real culture. It was easy because I had a wonderful team of 60 professionals.”

Shooting took place in Moscow, and lasted two weeks. The blockbuster exhibition was financed by Russian art lover, billionaire Evgeny Yakovlev whose favorite book is, of course, The Master and Margarita.

“I consider this novel as a novel of my life. I first read it when I was 15 years old, and have since then re-read it many times. Every time I found a new meaning in it which helped me understand certain things going on in my life.”

With the budget of over $5 million, Yakovlev could possibly have made a full-length movie, but he chose photography. “There have been a number of attempts to make films based on Bulgakov’s novel. But unlike films which all have their own emotional tempo and rhythm, photography enables you to make a stop over and think about the novel quite deeply. And the point is that everyone has an opportunity to shape their own opinion about this or that scene in the book by just looking on the photo.”

The exhibition in Moscow drew hundreds of art lovers, including legendary French actor Alain Delon. However, the star, Queen Margot Isabelle Adjani couldn’t make it to Moscow, as she’s reportedly working on her new film in France.