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   Internet meeting with Mikhail Borisovich Piotrovsky
in the Hermitage's CafeMax -Dear Mikhail Borisovich: A campaign has begun in the Hermitage to collect funds for the restoration of the General Staff building. Did the recent events surrounding the theft in the Hermitage have any impact on this campaign? Thanks and best of luck to you. - It had almost no impact, and what impact there was - was all in our favor. We had a big theft. It turned out that there are internal problems at the Hermitage. The world can evaluate what the Hermitage itself has said about these events. We have spoken about everything openly. Now a big internal inspection is going on. Many people understand that this event will not spoil the image of the Hermitage. The prestige of the Hermitage suffered somewhat, but we corrected the damage. The collection of funds is going ahead at full speed and many people are ready to join us in the near future. - How can someone help the museum in the course of the campaign to raise funds for the restoration of the General Staff building and creation of a museum of 19th-20th century art? Where should we send money? - Money should be sent via the Club of Hermitage Friends. When you join the Club of Friends, you can transfer money, but if you have in mind a large sum then you should contact us first. The donor can be either a private person or a legal entity - absolutely anyone. We need a lot of money and we welcome all assistance. - Why isn't the Hermitage open in the evening? Do you plan once again to open the museum at night the way you did for the 300th anniversary of Petersburg? - When people say the Hermitage is open at night and everyone will come, that isn't right. Not everyone comes. The Hermitage will be open at night for special occasions. The Hermitage's staying open at night for Petersburg's 300th anniversary was one of the main events of that time. The Hermitage was also open at night on Rembrandt's birthday. The life of the Hermitage is about being as accessible as possible. - Thank you for the splendid idea of celebrating Rembrandt's birthday in the Hermitage. I was unable to come to your museum when St Petersburg celebrated its 300th anniversary, but the evening "As a Guest of Rembrandt" was amazing. The special atmosphere of cordiality, the sounds of magical music, the unexpected surprises! - That's the sort of thing we will do in evenings. Of course, there will be repeat opportunities: we will choose special events; there will be special evening programs to be remembered. - Every year the Hermitage shows its exhibitions around Russia. What interesting projects did your museum have this year and what are you planning for 2007? What are the prospects for new exhibitions in the regions of Russia? - There is a huge problem with exhibitions in all the regions of Russia. We have completed a large program of exhibitions in various regions around the country. We constantly open exhibitions - not long ago there was one in Kazan and plans are underway for an exhibition in Lipetsk. We have many programs. There are educational programs for universities and public schools - these can also be considered as part of the exhibitions. As regards the Hermitage itself, there will be a large exhibition devoted to Alexander the Great. There will also be an exhibition together with German specialists in which we display exhibit items on loan from Germany. - We very much liked and remember the exhibition the Hermitage organized in our city, Krasnodar, and also the get-together with you and Alexander Sokurov. Are you planning other programs in our area? - Thank you. This is pleasant to hear. It especially attracted my attention that in the Krasnodar Museum there are things that once were transferred from the Hermitage. And it is pleasant to see that these things are "working," as well they should. - Does the Hermitage engage in charitable activities? - The Hermitage does carry out charitable activities. Everything that we do - free tours, free school programs, the entire system of entrance tickets to the museum - is charitable. No one forces us to make tickets available free of charge to many categories of citizens. We have special programs for handicapped children, together with a charitable foundation. - Which of Rembrandt's canvases in the Hermitage are originals? - All of the canvases by Rembrandt which bear his name are originals. There is a big dispute over this, but the dispute misses the point. Masters participated in the creation of art treasures together with their students. This was a kind of "mass production" method. All the paintings by Rembrandt in the Hermitage have a precise biography and their provenance has been traced from the beginning. Very careful research was carried out. - Were there any incidents associated with paintings by Rembrandt? - Thank Heavens, there have been no incidents. We have protected the canvases very carefully. - What is the condition of the Rembrandt canvases? How much money is needed to restore one painting? - There is no need to restore the paintings. They are constantly undergoing conservation work paid for by the Hermitage's own funds. The famous restoration of the painting of 'Danae' following an attack took a long time. We performed a cleaning on 'The Prodigal Son.' This is permanent work for us. One other project bears mention: we are doing new frames for the Dutch paintings and the cost is roughly the same as restoring a painting. - How long has the Rembrandt collection existed in the Hermitage? - The first Rembrandt appeared in Russia under Peter the Great and the others were purchased by Catherine the Great. There was a scandal when she bought the best collection in France for Russia. - What is the approximate value of the Rembrandt collection? - I cannot and really it is impossible to appraise the collection. When people say that it is priceless, that is not an empty expression. These paintings should not be sold on the market. - Mikhail Borisovich: I heard that the Hermitage is planning to open one more center, this time in Italy. Which city did you choose and what are the criteria used in selecting these centers? - The Hermitage has a whole system of making our collection accessible, and within this there is the idea of Hermitage centers, in order that exhibitions not be held on "alien" territory. In Italy we selected Ferrara. This center will be different from the one in Amsterdam. Here we are planning to arrange exhibitions once a year or once in two years. This center also will be a place where museum staff can come and do research on Italian works and art. - Mikhail Borisovich: Please tell me whether there is a unified system for exchange of experience and coordinating work on receiving visitors between the world's largest museums? Thank you. - We have a whole system of exchanges, as, for example, with London. From time to time, we exchange experience at the international level, but this does not go on regularly, because, for example, a large part of the visitors to the Hermitage are Russian citizens and not tourists, as is the case with the Louvre. We have many problems receiving visitors. People have lost the habit of waiting in lines and many do not understand that museums are not elastic, expandable. - Dear Mikhail Borisovich: Is there a cultural competition between Moscow and Petersburg museums? - There is no cultural competition. Museums of the world do compete for who does the most interesting things. Therefore we always watch to see what is interesting in the Louvre or the Metropolitan and in other museums as well. Here, for example, we had several meetings to discuss how best to exhibit Islamic art. This is not a competition - quite the contrary. One other typical feature bears mention: Many museums share with us things they don't share with other museums. We are not in competition; instead we are one big family. - Does the country, and in particular does Moscow need more museums of the size of the Hermitage? - As regards museums like the Hermitage - there will be no more like this. This is a universal museum which arose in another age, and like other very large museums around the world, this type of museum has ceased to appear. - Would you like to stage a huge exhibition under the "open" sky? - We will have an exhibition under the open sky - the show of ice sculptures. You can exhibit certain sculptures outdoors. But as regards exhibitions of photography, we have no such plans. -Are you planning any traveling exhibitions? If so, when? To which cities? And what is the planned theme? - I already spoke about our center in Kazan, where we are planning several exhibitions about Russian culture. We are also planning exhibitions in Lipetsk. Recently we opened an exhibition in Japan - "Nature and Man." In Amsterdam there is an exhibition devoted to four Petersburg collectors. - ? - When we speak about a cathedral located in Kiev, I wouldn't use the term "Ukrainian" frescoes. These are frescoes from Medieval Russia (Rus). Almost everything has been handed over to the Ukraine. Many people know about the history of the return of these frescoes after the war. They came to the Hermitage by mistake. This work is continuing. - ? - We have the huge threat of skyscrapers being built that will disfigure Petersburg. People come to Petersburg in order to be inspired by its atmosphere, by the beauty of the city. This will be spoiled by the construction of the skyscraper. But this is not a matter for UNESCO, not a matter for Moscow. This is Petersburg's affair. I think that if the skyscraper is built, it will disfigure the city. - Hello, Mikhail Borisovich: Is the profession of museum employee a calling? How does the Hermitage choose its staff? What are the criteria? - Indeed, the profession of 'museum employee' is a calling, and a difficult one at that. Not every person can perform this difficult work with satisfaction. After receiving his education, a museum worker has to come to the museum for several years and show that he can do what the museum needs. Training for this profession also takes place on site, along with other employees. On the other hand, there are demands made on curators, especially after the recent events in the Hermitage. This is difficult work which does not bring much money but does bring the satisfaction and the honor of being a party to art. - Can young people work in the museum or are there basically people of a certain age? - From time to time we recruit young people and we are surprised how many candidates there are. Several exhibitions were done mostly by young people and they were exhibitions on a world class level. They undergo a trial period and by no means do all make it. On the other hand, we have a lot of older employees. They are the very "salt" and valued assets of the Hermitage. These people hand over their work of safeguarding art to others, but they remain in the Hermitage and share their experience with other workers. -Does the Hermitage offer employment only to staff with a higher education? If I am still a student but very much want to work in the Hermitage, is this possible and what should I do? - We hire people with a higher education. We have a whole system of work in the Hermitage for students. They come to us via their university departments and carry out a program of practical work here. Several remain to work in the Hermitage. We have a certain "reserve" group of people who can and will be taken. We also have groups of young people who help the museum as volunteers. There are many different ways of 'getting together with' the Hermitage. - Where do you prepare future staff of the museum? Are there special institutions of higher learning or are there simply specialized courses to take? - There are many people who could be Hermitage employees. They may be graduates of history departments. Moreover, we have people with a technical education. All kinds of people can find their place in the Hermitage. - Hello, Mikhail Borisovich: I would like to know if the Hermitage buys paintings by contemporary artists? and in what proportion to overall acquisitions? After all, it was the idea of the founders of the Hermitage to invest in paintings of their contemporaries... - The idea of the founders of the Hermitage was to acquire the best works of art on the market. But Catherine also purchased works by contemporaries, and she chose well - since many of them were not very famous. As regards modern art, we have a plan to expand our collection of modern art that will be located in the General Staff building. This is not a quick process and we are getting help from many of our friends around the world. -Mikhail Borisovich: How do you feel about modern, "non-classical" art associated with photography, electronics, computers, the internet? Does the museum have any plans to exhibit or, to be more precise, to present to the public such non-standard works? - There's nothing non-standard in this. Photography is graphics, and the others are reproduction art of one form or another. There are several technologies which help us to see a great deal and when we do our planning for what we will show in the General Staff building, we also choose video installations, which will round out our works of art. - Are new technologies used for information in the museum and if so what are they? - As with everything else, the Hermitage is one of the most advanced museums in terms of technology. We have an excellent site where there is a large digital collection. We have information kiosks to help you choose your itinerary around the museum. At many exhibitions we have information stands. And in our electronic store you can buy a great many things - from books on art to replicas and copies of art works which are kept in the Hermitage. Very good reproductions are being produced. - Does the Hermitage have electronic interpreters into other languages similar to what many other large museums around Europe have? - I don't know about the existence of such interpreters in other museums around the world. In the Hermitage we have guides in several languages, therefore language problems are more or less solved. - Are you planning to use new style sms services to popularize art and the Hermitage in particular? - When we decided to place images of Hermitage pictures on mobile telephones, we were among the first to do something of this sort. As regards sms for information, I don't think we will be using this. - To what extent has the Hermitage developed electronic libraries, educational portals, electronic help desk systems? - We have several systems. On the museum site there is an electronic library which is constantly being added to. We have a digitized collection which is constantly expanding. We have arranged lectures which tell the reader about the Hermitage in electronic form. We have a variety of gradations for all, including for the museum's own needs. - ? - The majority of our visitors (2.5 million per year) are Russians. About 500,000 visitors are foreigners. We have people who constantly visit the Hermitage on the first Thursday of the month when entrance to the museum is free. These are "gourmets" who permanently come to see us. We also have a lot of young people and a lot of what we intend to do is oriented to the younger generation whom we will bring up not only with classical but also with contemporary art. In Great Britain, our friends decided to arrange an "early breakfast" before the opening of an exhibition. I thought no one would come, but a lot of people showed up who would not come in the evening - directors of museums, journalists, and many people who simply are busy in the evening. Thank you. The questions were splendid. |
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