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The Hermitage 2002 Annual Report In May 2003, the Hermitage published its 2002 Annual Report (Slaviya Publishing House), which opened with an article by museum director Mikhail B. Piotrovsky entitled "The Year of Black Square." This year, the Hermitage added a masterpiece of world painting to its collection for the first time in a many decades: Black Square by Kazimir Malevich. This was another step towards the creation of an exhibition of 20th century art, in which Malevich would be displayed side by side with Matisse's Dance and Music, Picasso's Three Women, and Kandinsky's Composition No. 6. The history of the acquisition was noteworthy in itself. Previously in the possession of a bank that had gone into bankruptcy, the painting was put up for auction along with the bank's entire art collection. The Ministry of Culture resorted to its right to cancel the sale of Malevich's masterpiece to allow it to remain in Russia. Philanthropist Vladimir Potanin provided $1 million for the purchase of the painting. These events are signs of the times. We are grateful to those who bring these signs into being and make them a reality. Like attracts like. Mr. and Mrs. Melosi from Italy purchased two exquisite miniature portraits of Princess Dashkova and A. Balashov, Alexander the First's Minister of Police, for the Hermitage. Following these gifts, the museum itself purchased a rare Byzantine plate with a depiction of Calvary and the Four Rivers of Paradise, silver vessel from the time of Omar Khayyam, and painted glass tableware dating from the Mamluk period in Egypt. There were other gifts... One of this year's exhibitions in the Hermitage was dedicated to G. D. Dushin, who presented an excellent collection of Russian portraits to the museum. In addition to the exhibit on Dushin, the museum commemorated the contributions of the imperial collector who both purchased works of art, and opened the Hermitage to the public for the first time, even constructing a special museum hall for this purpose: the New Hermitage. The exhibition Nicholas I and the New Hermitage displayed many of this Emperor's acquisitions. Titian's Venus with Mirror, sold by the Soviets, was brought back from Washington for a short time, while Maria Magdalene was displayed in the newly restored frame in which it was bought by Nicholas I. The celebration of the 150th anniversary of the New Hermitage was reflected in many events this year. For a long time, the friezes of the famed Altar of Pergamum, taken from Berlin, were preserved in the Hermitage. Many years ago, the Hermitage returned them to Germany, retaining masterfully executed copies. This year, these were transferred to the Baron Stieglitz School of Arts. The authentic stained glass from Marienkirche in Frankfurt an der Oder, which was also kept at the Hermitage for a few decades, was returned to Germany in accordance with a decision by the State Duma. Prior to this, the Hermitage organized an exhibition of some of the pieces and published a catalogue. This show was followed by an exhibition of stained glass and designs from the Hermitage's own collection. Stained glass and its restoration will be one of the museum's priorities in the coming years. The Hermitage prepared gifts to honor the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg. A monument was erected to its first Governor, Alexander Menshikov. The Imperial Throne was restored and reinstalled in the St. George Hall. An architectural plan for reconstructing the eastern wing of the General Staff have was begun by Studio 44 of St. Petersburg and Rem Kolhaas. Hermitage archeologists undertook an extensive excavation in Palace Square. Together with the Hermitage architecture team, they carried out historical and architectural research on the Constantine Palace in Strelna and drew up a project for its restoration. In the General Staff building, a church was restored and an exhibition dedicated to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia opened. Large-scale exhibitions were mounted by the Hermitage in London, Kazan, Las Vegas, Lipetsk, Toronto, Bilbao, Kaliningrad, Paris and Amsterdam, drawing the attention of the world to St. Petersburg, and to its own contribution to the city. The Hermitage revived the popularity of a neglected work by Rubens, displayed an outstanding collection of Friedrich, who is absent from English collections, in the United Kingdom, and brought part of the famous collection of Walpole purchased by Catherine the Great to London. Two exhibitions demonstrated to the world our respect and love for the great collectors and art patrons, the Stroganoffs. In two other exhibitions, the Hermitage set out to explore humanity's relations with the supernatural. Man and Animal displayed many archeological artifacts dating back to early epochs of man, when he animated his surroundings with spirits. The spectacular exhibition Mexico: Journey to the Country of Gods, drawing on collections of many Mexican museums, presented an amazing and enigmatic picture of a world of high art, secret rituals, human sacrifices, mystical trances and strange kinds of games and sports. The international Claude Monet exhibit, the enormous success of which was predictable, took place in the new interiors of the General Staff building. This made it truly an exhibition for St. Petersburg residents, who are sometimes intimidated by crowds of tourists thronging the museum's main buildings. The Hermitage's strategic partnership with the Guggenheim Museum and Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna brought about the simultaneous exhibition of masterpieces in the Connecting Museums project, and a show dedicated to the history of European painting displayed in the Hermitage-Guggenheim Exhibition Center in Las Vegas. To the list of individual masterpieces displayed in the Hermitage have been added Caravaggio's Love Victorious from Berlin, Lorenzo Lotto's Holy Family from Bergamo, Constable's Mill at Gillingham and Stubbs' Ortho with Jockey Up from Yale, Kokoschka's Knight Errant from the Guggenheim, Mystic Betrothal from Vienna, and others. Art of the 20th century art was represented by an exhibition of George Segal and a succession of seminars and meetings of modern art enthusiasts. The ongoing work on the Hermitage website has resulted in the creation of the Hermitage virtual store, followed by the establishment of a real counterpart in the Hermitage itself. For the first time, the Hermitage itself will decide what products should be sold within its walls. This year saw the publication of important books by N.Yu. Biryukova, B.I. Marshak, L.A. Dukelskaya, Ye.S. Shchukina and others, which confirm the status of the Hermitage as a major international academic center. The year drew to a close with the birth of a new tradition, which is an offshoot of an old one. The old tradition was that an artist whose works were represented in the Hermitage would present one of them to the museum. This year, the tradition was carried on by Pierre Soulage, who gave the museum his black triptych, inspired like all of his paintings by Malevich's Black Square. The official display of the gift on December 31, 2002 inaugurated a new tradition. Now, on the morning of the last day of every year, we will present one of our new acquisitions; this will be, ideally, a gift. |
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