The Romanovs Collect: European Art from the Hermitage (exhibition)
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The Romanovs Collect: European Art from the Hermitage was an art exhibition at the University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA), on display from September 21 to November 23, 2003.[1][2][3] It was part of the festival "Celebrating St. Petersburg: 300 Years of Cultural Brilliance."[1][4][5]
Background[edit]
The traveling exhibition included 142 objects from the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia.[5] UMMA was the only North American venue to host it, and a team of curators from the Hermitage traveled to Ann Arbor for the duration of the show.[1][6][7][8] It was the first large-scale partnership between the Hermitage and a North American university museum, and negotiations took about three years to complete.[1] The exhibition was sponsored by the Ford Motor Company.[1] James Christen Steward (a professor of art history) was UMMA's director at the time.[1][8][9][10][11]
Description[edit]
The exhibition was organized chronologically by the Romanov tsars who collected the pieces, all the way from the founding of St. Petersburg in 1703 through the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917.[1][9][5] A large percentage of pieces were collected by Catherine the Great. It also included seven pieces collected by Nicholas II, the last Romanov tsar.[1]
Steward said of the exhibition, "The uneasy tension within the royal family grew out of a desire to be of their time and acknowledgment of democratic values amidst a fundamental distrust of the people. Nonetheless, this exhibit seeks to humanize a complex and tragic family history."[12]
Art and objects on display[edit]
The show included 142 objects, by approximately 80 different European (including French, English, Dutch, and German) artists and artisans.[9][1][12] It include paintings, sculptures, ceramics, porcelain, tapestry, and furniture.[12]
Each piece included was accompanied by a label explaining the lineage of the piece, including information about who acquired it and often some context about his or her reign.[13]
Notable pieces included:
Decorative art[edit]
- Elizabeth of Russia's Meissen porcelain tureen with the Order of St. Andrew[6]
- a Meissen candlestick, cup and saucer, plate and sauce boat[6]
- an album of allegorical prints by Marten Heemskerk[6][13]
- furniture by David Roentgen[6]
- pieces from the "Cameo" dinner and dessert service made for Catherine the Great by the royal Sèvres Porcelain Factory[1]
- a jeweled cane[6]
- cream vases with covers by Josiah Wedgewood[6]
Paintings[edit]
- Moonrise by Caspar David Friedrich (circa 1835)[6]
- Ancient Ruins Serving as a Public Bath by Hubert Robert (1796)[6]
- Allegory of Spring by Hans Bol[1][8]
- Portrait of a Young Man in a Hat by Jean-Baptiste Greuze[1]
- Annunciation by Anton Raphael Mengs[1]
- a painting of ships (acquired by Tsar Peter)[13]
- Entrée du port de Palerme au clair de lune by Joseph Vernet[14][8]
Sculptures[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "News | Museum of Art (UMMA) | U-M". umma.umich.edu. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
- ^ Mather, Frank Jewett; Sherman, Frederic Fairchild (July 2003). Art in America. Brandt Art Publications.
- ^ The Michigan Alumnus. UM Libraries. 2002.
- ^ Michigan Ensian. Senior literary, law, and engineering classes.
- ^ a b c Kennedy, Michael D. (2014-12-10). Globalizing Knowledge: Intellectuals, Universities, and Publics in Transformation. Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-9344-5.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Moonan, Wendy (2003-09-19). "ANTIQUES; Opulence Is Power, For a Romanov". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
- ^ "Spirit of St. Petersburg". The Michigan Daily. 17 September 2003. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
- ^ a b c d Steward, James Christen, ed. (2003). The collections of the Romanovs : European art from the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg. Sergey Androsov. London: Merrell. ISBN 1858942217. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
- ^ a b c "UMMA scores exclusive exhibition of Romanov art". ur.umich.edu. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
- ^ "Steward named director of Princeton University Art Museum - 2/2/2009 - Princeton Weekly Bulletin". pr.princeton.edu. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
- ^ "September 26, 2003 (vol. 114, iss. 19) - Image 3". Michigan Daily Digital Archives. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
- ^ a b c "September 26, 2003 (vol. 114, iss. 19) - Image 5". Michigan Daily Digital Archives. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
- ^ a b c d "Peter and Catherine were Great, but their taste in art was greater". old.post-gazette.com. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
- ^ "Entrée du port de Palerme au clair de lune", Wikipédia (in French), 2020-01-31, retrieved 2020-09-25