Reliquary crown. Valley of the Meuse (Liège?). 1260-1280. Paris, Louvre RMN-Grand Palais (musée du Louvre)/Martine Beck-Coppola
For more than ten years, the main driver of the exhibition success of the Kremlin Museums has been the cycle “Imperial and Royal Treasuries of the World in the Kremlin”. It seems that during this time the cycle was honestly exhausted. Or nearly exhausted. In the Kremlin's plans for the next 12 months, for example, there is already a second appeal to Japanese subjects. And there is a rather exotic twist on the topic - the treasures of the Portuguese crown, which makes sense from a historical point of view, since the Portuguese colonial empire was once the richest territorial conglomerate in the world. But still, this is a somewhat local item next to the treasures of the Tudors, Habsburgs or hoarding Saxon Wettins - and they have already played their glorious roles in the cycle.
"Double engagement". Stained glass from the Sainte-Chapelle. 1230-1248. France, Center of National Monuments Patrick Cadet/Centre des monuments nationaux
Moreover, the treasures of the French kings were already on tour in the Kremlin as part of the exhibition series: precious medieval, Renaissance and Baroque vessels from the personal collection of Louis XIV were brought from the Louvre in 2004. And yet, it is the current exhibition about St. Louis at the end of the “treasure series” (even though it does not seem to formally belong to it) fits perfectly into its context. You just need to remember that this is happening in the Kremlin, which, with all its diamond, gold, icon, fresco and white stone funds, is also a repository of symbolic images of power. And about power, especially medieval power with its sacred and mystical overtones, the humanities of the last 50 years love to talk methodologically based on the famous works on the ritual aura around the French crown: Mark Blok's Miracle-Working Kings, Ernst Kantorovich's Two Bodies of the King and so on.
Reliquary of the Crown of Thorns. 1806. Gilded silver, crystal. Cathedral of Notre Dame Сathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris/Pascal Lemaître
Louis IX, who ruled France in 1226-1270 (that is, during the time of our Alexander Nevsky and his son Daniil Alexandrovich, the first appanage prince of Moscow), was an exemplary embodiment of this extremely exalted idea of kingship. A devout Christian who wore a sackcloth under purple. A wise and powerful ruler who made France the pan-European center of both political authority and cultural superiority. A strict guardian of justice, who personally judged the litigation of his subjects of all ranks; some of his actions in this capacity (the extermination of blasphemers, usurers, players, prostitutes) out of the context of time may not look like the height of justice, but the very principles of the supremacy of the national judiciary, the presumption of innocence, reliance on the system of Roman law and the ban on barbaric remnants like ordeals and court fights are actually not bad in any context. A knight without fear and reproach, and therefore a crusader: Louis personally participated in the Seventh and Eighth Crusades. Which for him, with all his zeal and heroism, turned into continuous disasters: defeats, captivity, forced concessions to the Saracens, camp diseases (especially dysentery, which killed the king - of course, not romantic, but what to do!). But they also gave extra shine to his crown.
"Madonna and Child". France, late 13th - early 14th century. Ivory, wood, traces of green and red paint and gilding. Height 34 cm. State Hermitage Museum. Photo: A.M. Koksharov
Not all great rulers manage to create an ideal and eloquent architectural manifesto, but Saint Louis succeeded. His Sainte-Chapelle, Holy Chapel, is not just a textbook example of High Gothic. First, it is a sign of royal greatness. In Sainte-Chapelle, in fact, two temples, located one above the other. The squat lower one was for royal servants, the upper one, dazzlingly beautiful, flooded with multi-colored light, refracted in stained-glass windows, of which there are so many that the material tectonics of the walls disappear, was intended for the monarch.
Fold of a diptych depicting the Passion of Christ. Northern France, mid-13th century Ivory, traces of coloring. State Hermitage. Photo: A.M. Koksharov
Casanova, I remember, proudly wrote about the Venetian Basilica of St. Mark, that not a single sovereign in the world can boast of such a palace chapel. There really was no one to boast of such as San Marco, except for the doges, but the Sainte-Chapelle of Louis IX was still out of competition, and not only due to unthinkable architectural perfection. It was a sacred space of a special status, a unique grandiose reliquary for storing the most important shrines of the Christian world.
In this collection, which sanctified and exalted the power of Louis, there were not only regular particles of the Cross of the Lord and the Bethlehem manger. According to medieval sources, there was, for example, an Image Not Made by Hands (the very same “mandylion”, Holy Ubrus - a towel with a miraculously imprinted face of Christ). There was the Spear of Longinus - a relic of the Calvary drama, which caused a special thrill in the medieval mind. And there was the alleged Crown of Thorns of the Savior, this is already known for sure.
"Louis IX administers justice." Miniature from the handwritten book of Guillaume de Saint-Patu "The Life and Miracles of Saint Louis". 1330-1340, France. National Library of France (BNF)
Louis did not find these treasures miraculously in an abandoned temple, did not receive them as a gift from a magnanimous foreign ruler, did not conquer them in battle. Everything is much more pragmatic. The unlucky Latin emperor Baldwin II of Flanders, who ruled in Constantinople, captured by the Crusaders, was forced, in order to somehow make ends meet, to lay to the Venetians the shrines belonging to his sovereign Byzantine predecessors, including the Crown of Thorns. Saint Louis bought them for 135,000 livres. For comparison: it took 40 thousand to build the Sainte-Chapelle in a record short period of seven years for those times. And another 100 thousand cost the king to create a huge, three-meter high, precious ark where the relics were placed. This ark has not been preserved; it was melted down during the French Revolution. But many items have been preserved related to the biography of Louis IX himself and his posthumous veneration (including documents of the canonization process), with the liturgical practice of Sainte-Chapelle, his favorite temple brainchild, and in general things that reflected that era in all its Gothic splendor and with all the strange interweaving: the dazzling ideal of power and everyday feudal atrocities, scholastic learning and neoplatonic mysticism, asceticism and courtly court culture.
"Saint Louis". Wooden sculpture. Paris, National Museum of the Middle Ages (Cluny Museum) RMN-Grand Palais (musée de Cluny - musée national du Moyen-Âge)/Franck Raux
These things are shown by the Kremlin Museums at their exhibition. Most of the 75 exhibits were brought from France: from the Louvre, the National Museum of the Middle Ages (Cluny), the National Library. A number of particularly fragile works of the 13th century (carved bone, Limoges enamels) that could not endure long-distance voyages were released to Moscow by the State Hermitage Museum. But the most sensational exhibits were provided by the French side. In the artistic sense, the main decoration of the exhibition is fragments of the original stained-glass windows of Sainte-Chapelle. In the sacred sense, it is a reliquary for storing the Crown of Thorns, though not medieval, but post-revolutionary, of Napoleonic times, modest, but a reminder of the pious ambitions of St. Louis, who in his collection of shrines considered himself the successor of the emperors of Byzantium. As well as the sovereigns of Moscow who lived in the Kremlin.
Especially for The Art Newspaper Russia, the head of the culture department of Kommersant
Museums of the Moscow Kremlin
Saint Louis and relics of the Sainte-Chapelle
March 3 - June 4
From Venetian art to artists of the thaw period, from Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin to Salvador Dali, here are 14 important exhibitions of the year to add to your calendar.
"Caprichos". Goya and Dali
Francisco Goya.«
caprichos»
. Series of 80 etchings. The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters, 1799
The State Museum of Fine Arts continues to combine contemporary art with classical art: this time, not only the Japanese artist Yasumasa Morimura appeared in this perspective, but also the Spaniards Francisco Goya and Salvador Dali. A small exhibition in the main building presents etchings from the Caprichos series by both authors. However, if Goya's series is a satirical reflection on the crisis of contemporary Spain, then Dali cruelly sneers at Goya's existing plots, adding new characters to the compositions and changing the names of the etchings. The era of romanticism and postmodernism of the twentieth century collide in a dialogue, visual and literary.
Triennial of Contemporary Art
When: March 2017
On the anniversary of the October Revolution, the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art is launching a revolutionary program introducing Muscovites to contemporary artists from all over Russia, from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok. The first triennial will feature more than 60 artists selected by curators across the country. They also identified seven trends that have become common to all regions, as well as the main masters, whose influence goes far beyond the boundaries of their native city or region. The theme of the exhibition will be the spirit of the times and social trends that determine regional artistic processes. “Our idea is to show the current cross-section of Russian contemporary art and start interacting with the regions,” Garage director Anton Belov commented on the triennial.
"Thaw»
Vladimir Gavrilov. "Cafe. Autumn day", 1962
The arrival of spring is met in Moscow with the onset of the "Thaw" - at the exhibition in the Tretyakov Gallery they will show the traditional for the turn of the 50s-60s artists - Pimenov, Gavrilov, Salakhov, Popkov. The exposition presents several thematic sections - from "The Best City on Earth" to "Atom - Space" - and tells not only about the achievements of the Khrushchev era, but also about the conflicts of this historical period. “This was the most important era not just of art, but of human worldview and its embodiment in all possible artistic forms,” Zelfira Tregulova, director of the Tretyakov Gallery, talks about the thaw era.
“Facing the future. Art of Europe 1945–1968»
Where: Pushkin Museum im. A. S. Pushkin; st. Volkhonka, 12
Yves Klein."Blue Globe (RP 7)”, 1988. Copy from the original in 1957, made after the death of the artist
The thaw will come not only to the Tretyakov Gallery, but also to the whole of Moscow - the Pushkin Museum, Gorky Park and the Museum of Moscow, where, in addition to exhibitions, lectures, master classes and discussions will be held. And if the Tretyakov Gallery will show Russian art of the Khrushchev era, then the Pushkin Gallery will show European post-war artists who fought for peace after the overthrow of totalitarian dictatorships and invented new utopias. Two hundred masters from Western and Eastern Europe are presented at the exhibition in a variety of art forms, from paintings and photographs to media art and actionism.
Ugo Rondinone "Your age and my age and the age of the rainbow"
Where: Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, st. Krymsky Val, 9, building 32
One of the most hype contemporary artists of recent years, successfully conquering fairs and biennials, the Swiss Ugo Rondinone will present a special exhibition at the Garage Museum of Contemporary Art as part of Garage Square Commissions. Hugo specially recorded a video message to the children, in which he asked them to draw a rainbow - a symbol of love, fearlessness and the joy of life. Children from 4 to 10 years old, participants of Garage educational programs and children from orphanages, will become full co-authors of Rondinone - their works will be shown on the wall along the museum.
Saint Louis and the relics of the Sainte-Chapelle»
Where: Moscow Kremlin Museums, One-Pillar Chamber of the Patriarchal Palace
"The Baptism of Christ". stained glass from Sainte Chapelle, Paris, circa 1270-1280
Fans of medieval art can rejoice: in the spring, the Kremlin will show monuments from the era of the French king Louis Saint - stained glass windows and relics of the Sainte-Chapelle chapel, as well as works from the Louvre collection, the Cluny Museum of Medieval Art, the National Library and the National Archives. Many works are truly unique and leave France for the first time, among them are Limoges enamels and high Gothic jewelry, as well as the reliquary of the Crown of Thorns from the early 19th century, which will become one of the main exhibits. The exhibition is accompanied by a large-scale educational program, more about which can be found on the website dedicated to the exhibition.
"De Chirico. Nostalgia for infinity»
Where: State Tretyakov Gallery, st. Krymsky Val, 10
Giorgio de Chirico. "Song of Love", 1914
The Tretyakov Gallery continues to acquaint the Moscow audience with the work of Italian masters. Not as large as at the Vatican, but no less spectacular, the Giorgio de Chirico exhibition, prepared together with the Giorgio and Isa de Chirico Foundation, will open here. Such a retrospective is taking place for the first time, before that the paintings of the Italian metaphysician were exhibited in 1929, and the etchings - in the 1930s.
Giorgio Morandi
Where: Pushkin Museum im. A. S. Pushkin, st. Volkhonka, 14
Giorgio Morandi. Still life, 1948
If the Tretyakov Gallery shows the surrealistic de Chirico, then the Pushkin Museum will present an anthology of the work of another master of the first half of the 20th century - Giorgio Morandi. More than 40 years after the Morandi exhibition in 1973, the museum will present a retrospective that includes all stages of the master's work from early metaphysics and avant-garde works to the classic Morandi still lifes, thanks to which he received recognition. In addition, the exhibition presents the artist's graphics, including etchings and engraving boards.
"Anselm Kiefer - Velimir Khlebnikov"
Where: State Hermitage
Anselm Kiefer. "Osiris and Isis", 1985
Anselm Kiefer's first solo exhibition will open at the Hermitage at the end of spring. However, it will not be just a retrospective, but a dedication of the German artist to the Russian poet Velimir Khlebnikov. Both are united by the theme of war: in Khlebnikov it is expressed in a cycle that occurs on water and land once every 317 years, while in Kiefer it is expressed in reflections on the theme of Nazism and the Holocaust. “I think in pictures. Poems help me with this. They are like lighthouses. I swim towards them, from one to the other. I was lost without them,” Kiefer says of poetry.
Titian, Veronese, Tintoretto. The Golden Age of Venetian Painting"
Where: Pushkin Museum im. A. S. Pushkin, st. Volkhonka, 12
When: June - end of August
Paolo Veronese. Apollo and Marsyas, second half of the 16th century
Although it is difficult to surprise a sophisticated viewer with Venetian art, it is impossible not to captivate them. Reaching its heyday in the 16th century in the works of Titian, Veronese and Tintoretto, the Venetian school is considered one of the pinnacles of the development of Italian painting in the entire history of art. It is these artists who will be presented at the exhibition, where you can see about 40 paintings.
« Someone 1917»
Where: State Tretyakov Gallery, st. Krymsky Val, 10
Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin. "In Petrograd", 1918
Although the centenary of the revolution will not be the main leitmotif of this year's exhibitions, the curators of the State Tretyakov Gallery will still pay considerable attention to it. The exhibition is dedicated primarily to the artists who experienced the revolution, and presents two sections - figurative peacemakers and non-objective utopians. Nesterov, Kandinsky, Serebryakova, Petrov-Vodkin, Klyun, Malevich - all of them can be seen at the exhibition "Someone 1917".
Takashi Murakami
Where: Garage Museum of Contemporary Art
Takashi Murakami,Kaikai. 2000-2005
A lover of bright colors and recognizable labels Takashi Murakami will be exhibited in Moscow for the first time - Garage is preparing a large exposition, which will also include graphics and animation and works by Japanese masters from the collections of the Pushkin Museum im. A. S. Pushkin and the State Museum of Oriental Art. Five sections of the exhibition will be devoted to the master's work since the 90s and will touch upon various phenomena of Japanese culture, embodied in the work of Murakami. The artist is called the Japanese Andy Warhol, he can also be compared with Yayoi Kusama - both artists have their own, very specific style and collaborate with fashion brands.
Drawings by Klimt and Schiele from the collection of the Albertina Museum, Vienna
Where: Pushkin Museum im. A. S. Pushkin, st. Volkhonka, 12
Egon Schiele. Youth in purple cassock with folded hands, 1914
Although Italian exhibitions make up the majority of this year's program, in fact it is under the banner of cultural cooperation between Austria and Russia. At the end of the year, the Pushkin Museum will open an exhibition of two of the most famous artists of the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries - Klimt and his follower, no less famous Schiele. The main emphasis is on graphics - both masters are not only good painters, but also excellent draftsmen, and the collection of the Vienna Albertina is one of the best graphic collections in the world.
"Salvador Dali. Surrealist and classic"
Where: Faberge Museum in St. Petersburg, Embankment of the Fontanka River, 21
Salvador Dali. "Atomic Leda", 1949.
The first large-scale exhibition “Salvador Dali. Surrealist and Classic” will open at the Faberge Museum on April 1 and will run until July 2. The exposition will present works from the Spanish fund "Gala - Salvador Dali", private and museum collections. In total, the exhibition will feature more than 150 graphic and pictorial works of the artist. Tickets for Salvador Dali. Surrealist and Classic” are already on sale.
From the Palace of Justice in Paris through the arched passage you can get to the Holy Chapel, Sainte Chapelle, - the pearl of Gothic architecture. It was built by King Louis IX of France (Saint) in 1242-1248. as a monumental reliquary for the greatest shrines of the Christian world, and above all the Crown of Thorns of the Savior.
Consisting of two churches located one above the other, the chapel crowned with lancet turrets resembles a precious box. Filled with streams of colored light, the upper temple is an ensemble of stained-glass windows 15 meters high.
opening in One-pillar chamber of the Patriarchal Palace The exhibition as part of the cross year of cultural tourism between Russia and France will focus on three major topics: the personality of Saint Louis, the relics of the Passion of Christ and Sainte-Chapelle, created by the King of France as a worthy place to store the relics he acquired.
« The idea of a joint project largely came from our French colleagues from the Center of National Monuments, - clarifies the curator of the exhibition, Doctor of Historical Sciences Olga Dmitrieva. - They were inspired by their own experiences. In 2014, France celebrated the 800th anniversary of the birth of Louis with a large-scale exhibition at the ConciergerieIX. The emphasis then was on the figure of one of the most famous and beloved kings of France, whom our public knows much less. Therefore, in Moscow, it was decided not to literally repeat the concept of the Paris project.».
Exhibition curator Olga Dmitrieva
Photo: Valentin Overchenko/Moscow Kremlin Museums
An exciting story awaits the viewer, concerning the curious pages of world history, one of which is dedicated to the fate of relics.
Crown of Thorns Savior Saint Louis acquired in 1239, along with other relics of the Passion of Christ, which turned the French monarch from the Capetian dynasty into "the most Christian king."
« During the Fourth Crusade (1202–1204), the crusader army captured Constantinople, the capital of the Christian state, having at their disposal not only the city, but also the Grand Palace, the main residence of the Byzantine emperors, where relics were kept in the chapel for many centuries: the Crown of Thorns, a fragment of the True Cross, the stone of the Holy Sepulcher, the spear of the centurion Longinus, the sponge on which Jesus was served vinegar with gall. The crusaders were fully aware of the value of the acquired shrines says the curator. - However, the new authorities of the Latin Empire, being in a deplorable state, deprived of resources, begin to sell and pawn relics, which in itself is shocking. Latin emperor Baldwin II goes to France for negotiations. Moreover, by that time the Crown had already been laid to the Venetians. Louis, a man of sincere faith, decides to save the shrines».
Of course, in France, this event caused a huge resonance. When the Crown, acquired for a lot of money, arrived from Venice, the king and his brother went out barefoot to meet him and carried the reliquary on their shoulders. The chapel of Sainte-Chapelle, built soon, becomes the center of the formation of a new national identity, while the king of France is perceived as the direct heir of the Byzantine emperors. On the lancet stained-glass windows of the chapel, a biblical line is consistently unfolded, while one theme is singled out - the genesis of power. The composition, starting with the history of biblical kings, ends with a window dedicated to Louis himself.
Twelve stained-glass windows from Sainte-Chapelle, dismantled in the 19th century and now stored in the Center for National Monuments, will leave France for the first time to take center stage in an exhibition at the Moscow Kremlin Museums.
"Double Engagement"
Stained glass from the Sainte-Chapelle
1230-1248
© Patrick Cadet / Center des monuments nationaux
« Stained glass is a fragile material. The first attempts to restore or replace them were made already in the 14th century, when the glass production technique was the same as inXIIIcentury, - Olga Dmitrieva continues the story. - Even the Great French Revolution did not cause much damage to glass. Excited masses of the people more encroached on sculptures and knocked royal lilies off the walls. Subsequently, after the restoration of the monarchy, an archive was arranged in Sainte-Chapelle, and light openings were bricked up to install cabinets. The dismantled glasses that ended up on the antique market ended up in museum collections over time.».
Among the seventy-five exhibits of the future exhibition - a lot of interesting artifacts that will arrive from the Louvre, the Museum of the Middle Ages (Cluny), the National Archives of France, the National Library. But not all things are transportable. The State Hermitage has shared fragile masterpieces. We are talking about Limoges enamels of the 13th century, altars and folds of ivory.
Casket with the image of Christ in glory, crucifixion and saints
France, Limoges
first decade of the thirteenth century.
State Hermitage
Photo: S.V. Suetova, K.V. Sinyavsky
"Madonna and Child", late XIII - early XIV century. State Hermitage. Photo: A. M. Koksharov
The head of a staff depicting the scene of the Annunciation, second quarter of the 13th century. State Hermitage. Photo: S. V. Suetova, K. V. Sinyavsky
Door of a diptych depicting the Passion of Christ
middle of the thirteenth century
State Hermitage
Photo: A.M. Koksharov
The reign of Saint Louis was the heyday of the book business. The curator of the exhibition pays special attention to manuscripts and illuminated manuscripts. Quite curious are the documents related to the veneration of Louis himself and the process of his canonization, including manuscripts describing the inquiry into his holiness conducted by the Roman curia.
« The exhibition will also include portraits of Louis himself. Very rare polychrome wooden sculpture from the town of Poissy, where he comes from and where the necropolis of his six children, including his beloved daughter Isabella, is located", - continues Olga Dmitrieva.
"The Miracle of Saint Louis". Miniature from the handwritten book of Guillaume de Saint Pathu "The Life and Miracles of Saint Louis", 1330-1340,
"Louis IX administers justice." Miniature from the handwritten book of Guillaume de Saint Pathu "The Life and Miracles of Saint Louis", 1330-1340, National Library of France (BNF)
"Louis IX and Marguerite of Provence enter the ship." Miniature from the handwritten "Book of the Acts of His Majesty St. Louis", 1401-1500, National Library of France (BNF)
Bottom cover of Sainte-Chapelle Gospels, 1260-1270?, National Library of France (BNF)
In connection with the repair and restoration work, the entrance of visitors to the territory of the Kremlin is carried out through the Trinity Gates, the exit - through the Borovitsky Gates. Passage of visitors to the Armory and exit is through the Borovitsky Gate.
From 15:00 January 7 to 15:00 January 8
Assumption Cathedral is closed to the public.
From October 1st to May 14th
The Moscow Kremlin Museums are switching to winter mode. The architectural ensemble is open to the public from 10:00 to 17:00, the Armory is open from 10:00 to 18:00. Tickets are sold at the box office from 9:30 to 16:30. Day off - Thursday. The exchange of electronic tickets is made in accordance with the terms of the User Agreement.
From October 1st to May 14th
the exposition of the bell tower "Ivan the Great" is closed to the public.
In order to ensure the preservation of monuments under adverse weather conditions, access to some museum-cathedrals may be temporarily limited.
We apologize for any inconvenience caused.
On April 17, the exhibition "Ming Dynasty: The Radiance of Scholarship" will open. The exposition will unfold in the halls of the Patriarchal Palace and the Assumption Belfry. It will be devoted to one of the brightest pages in the history of China - the culture of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Passion for art, literature, music, deep knowledge of philosophical and historical treatises became a real cult at that time. This is what in medieval China was invested in the concept of "scholarship".
“The exhibition continues the tradition of cooperation between the Moscow Kremlin Museums and the Shanghai Museum, which began in 2012 with the showing of the Faberge collection in Shanghai. In 2015, we presented the Armory Treasury of Russian Autocrats project, which was visited by 642,948 people in three months - this is a huge figure even for China. In April, a return exhibition dedicated to the culture of the Ming Dynasty, the most important period in the history of the Celestial Empire, will open in Moscow. All the things that the guests of the museum will see will be shown in Russia for the first time and will allow them to get acquainted with the most diverse areas of art, feel the charm of the times,” said Elena Gagarina, Director General of the Moscow Kremlin Museums.
One of the main exhibits will be a magnificent procession - a set of 66 porcelain figures of an honorary escort: scientists, soldiers, musicians - horse and foot, young and old, dressed according to their rank and social status. The group was found in the burial of representatives of the imperial family, but its exact affiliation is unknown. The fact that such an escort was placed in a tomb meant that even after death a person would occupy high positions, enjoy the same benefits as during life. The richly decorated set is well preserved and executed with amazing attention to detail.
The exhibition highlights that the intellectuals of medieval China were keen connoisseurs of works of art. It will show objects made of jade, bronze, carved varnishes and cloisonné enamels. They served not only as interior or clothing decorations, but were also collectibles.
Visitors will see unique furniture from the Ming Dynasty with characteristic lines and noble wood carvings: part of the exhibition space will recreate the interior of an intellectual's office.
The visiting card of the Ming Dynasty is porcelain, which experts rightly consider to be the pinnacle in the production of "white gold" and are highly valued. It was at this time that masters developed colored glazes and created the technology of overglaze painting. Guests of the exhibition will be able to admire the exquisite products made by ceramists of this period.
