Prado at the Hermitage

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In the world there are a dozen, if not more, very rich museums. They are huge, comprehensive, in one way or another encyclopedic, full of masterpieces. Some of them belong to the state, others - private. Some are behind a long and rich pedigree, the others do not and ages of their own history, but a venerable history. It may seem that a lot of money to create a sumptuous art museum can now. Alas, when all desire is impossible. American nouveaux riches have tried - but neither exquisite Frick collection in New York, nor so successfully mined by the U.S. government for the Washington National Gallery's collection of Mellon, in his time quick to buy up the masterpieces of the Hermitage, could not do something that makes your time and perfect background.

The main inhabitants of heaven Museum of Olympus are museums of royal blood. Those who are even a lot of words in the title have no need: the Louvre, the Prado, the Hermitage. To them as modern institutions can be a lot of questions and complaints, criticism of their abuse at the tail and mane, snobs willing to give up going to them for a more refined and much less popular among tourists assembly, but the quality of their collections for sure. And it's not only and not for money, which the kings and emperors do not always have more than some of their subjects, but in the system of patronage, which, in fact, she brought all the old European art. The great of this world can satisfy their passion for the collecting much smaller than ordinary rich, price. Administrative resources is not an invention of the century.

The exhibition at the Hermitage not seem to be about this: we just show 66 first-class masterpieces from one of the greatest museums in the world. Ceremonial portraits, religious and mythological scenes, still lifes, portraits parade again. Titian, Raphael, Bosch, Velazquez, Rubens, Goya, Mengs, Zurbaran, El Greco . The first person of European art, which served as one of the most powerful monarchies of the Old World. Luxury gift - and that is exactly gift: Exhibition open year Spain and Russia, and the Prado will fall back donation from the Hermitage in the form of a similar collection of the museum's headliners.

But there is this inter-state exchange and a separate subject: both the exhibition tells us not only about art but about the people who collected it. Masterpieces from the Prado are willing to talk about bring in artists from Flanders and Revel Isabella of Castile, on virtually monopolized by Titian Holy Roman Emperor Charles V; of Catholic fanatics Philip II, sucked her own inspiration from the artist's sunny Italian frescoes and dark fantasies of Bosch, the Spanish recluse Philip IV, whose subjects knew perfectly well that a good picture of their master is ready to shower their grace, and under whose roof Velazquez spent almost 40 years of the accident freak-epileptic Carlos II, the last monarch of the Habsburg dynasty, which remained in the history of the Prado, buying the best cloths Spanish Golden Age ... Replaced Habsburg Bourbon will bring French names and tastes, but the Spanish court will still be flickering international stars Anton Raphael Mengs and Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, not to mention the top of the Spanish school - 40 years of service at the court of Francisco de Goya.

Prado, rightly named Theophile Gautier "more museum artists than the art museum, is able to tell lots of stories. And most exciting of them - an endless chain of citations and association games, which covered almost all the major masters, who visited Madrid: Velazquez from his worship of Titian to Manet and Picasso, the paintings are reflections of the Prado have survived in abundance. But this time the Spanish treasury pays tribute to his collectors. Nice gesture and relevance: if you want to stay in the memory of future generations - collect art.
St. Petersburg, from February 26 to May 29
Cyrus Dolinina
Magazine «Weekend» № 5 (3601) on 18.02.2011

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Few images from the exhibition.

Photos of Michael Chulya

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