Scholarly record

ITALIAN PAINTING 14TH-16TH CENTURIES IN THE COLLECTION OF THE STATE HERMITAGE (SAINT PETERSBURG, RUSSIA): THE HISTO-RY AND SOLUTIONS OF THE EXHIBITION

A. Tselikova

Abstract

During the past century, the main building of the State Hermitage has undergone signif-icant historical metamorphoses: the fall of the residence of the Russian imperial family, the October Revolution of 1917, World War II, and finally gaining the status of one of the most important Soviet and later Russian museums. A lot of literature has been writ-ten about the history of this place, including scientific works about the extensive collec-tion of this museum, including a magnificent collection of Italian paintings from the 14-16th centuries. However, there is practically no work devoted to museological studies of objects and expositions. The aim of the study to show not only the importance of the beautiful works in the Hermitage, but also the different ways in which the paintings got into the collection of the museum. Attention is also paid to how at the moment the placement of works on the modern exposition is taking place and what exhibitions have accompanied the history of the collection of Italian paintings in the State Hermitage. In the process of researching, a corpus of literature was involved, including official scien-tific publications of the State Hermitage, as well as direct observation of the modern exposition directly in situ. The result is a ready-made analysis of the historical transfor-mations of the collections of Italian works in the Hermitage: from the sale of the Soviet government to cooperation between Russia and Italy in the field of joint exhibitions and respect for the masterpieces of painting. This suggests that the importance of preserving works in museums is justified by the cultural interests of the two countries.

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