[SergeiSK]

Businessman Mikhail Abramov, a huge collection of which formed the foundations of the new museum, in part to its already shown: a few years, a temporary abode exposure were not very suitable for this building in downtown, "Vereiskaya Plaza. Now the icons (as well as some rare works of decorative art, especially medieval church plate) received a first-class space for demonstrations: a museum of restored and adapted two combined Shvivoy mansion on a hill. Light, equipment, exposure conditions - all this is that the mosquito will not undermine the nose, because the owner thought it best collection on all matters to consult with specialists. In the same way, actually, he did, creating the very collection. This is important: let's auctions dedicated to Russian icons, are held regularly, but often there is the proposed level of international buyers of works is not quite such as suggest the announced price and zazyvnye recommendations on the pages of catalogs.

As a result, high-quality, well the dignity of the museum of works of Mikhail Abramov plenty and, according to the museum, they are not as many peaks as the average of his collection: for example, XVI century is represented by abundant, various schools (note the large housing Pskov icons), but there are even earlier stuff, up to the XIV century. And bought it all not only in the West, but also in Russia, the venerable and respected collectors in Moscow and St. Petersburg, collecting icons since the Soviet era.

Interestingly, this is not just a museum of ancient art: Russian icons are supplemented by Greek (pozdnevizantiyskogo and post-Byzantine times), and even Ethiopian. And they sometimes exhibited a rather ingenious: Meeting with Ethiopian art imitates cave church at the Greek iconostasis in the style of Ottoman baroque mounted ersatz altar space with a number of relevant subject in one of the rooms is a real cottage-Old Believer chapel, brought from the Most High Volochek.

In a word, everyone understands that this is not a temporary demonstration of the collection, which is not yet known what will be (the icon - a thing of liquidity), namely that the museum, almost exaggerated "muzeevich museum, which is in the function Kultprosvet, not without reason in a room put an icon painter, who must be at all honest people rubbing pigments, gesso board and answer questions . It's a bit naive, it's an attraction, but, on the other hand, where else to go man on the street, to not only look good level of icon-painting collection, but also get the normal amount of related information? Our museums are mostly prefer to wait for the mountain itself will come to Mohammed. And as a result of this expectation, we have the situation where there are multitudes of people who like and are not rabid fanatics, but quite frankly think that the icon is simply impossible to perceive how a work of art that it must necessarily be in the church and museum workers that keep stolen.

General theme of "storing stolen" purely theoretically could get quite a sharp sound when the Museum of icons. Since this is a private museum, its collection of no relation to the State Museum Fund of the Russian Federation has not, so that the relevant clause in the law on restitution of church property not distributed to him. While no claims to the museum by the church community there, and the catalog of the museum collection, just in case of almost every description is prefaced with the words "the origin is unknown ". On the other hand, private property rights, we also sort of protected by the law, so the collectors of this kind are waiting for is basically a "voluntary donations". Mikhail Abramov, obviously, decided from the outset to express their attitude to the problem: at the opening ceremony of the museum donation actually took place - but the party was benefited by the museum-reserve "Rostov Kremlin", which was returned stolen from him 15 years ago carved altarpiece cross the XVI century.
Vasily Lepskaya
magazine Vlast »№ 4 (908) on 31.01.2011