The Hermitage in the Russian Diamond Capital, Smolensk 2006: A Program

On 9 February 2006, an exhibition of works from the collection of the celebrated Petersburg museum opened in the Exhibition Rooms of the Kristall House of Culture in Smolensk. The exhibition forms part of the program entitled The Hermitage in the Russian Diamond Capital, Smolensk 2006.

The State Hermitage, the Smolensk State Museum-Park, the Kristall Production Association OJSC and the Kristall Jewelry Center Ltd, with support from the Administration of the Smolensk Oblast were united in a common desire to assist residents of Smolensk and the Smolensk Oblast to get to know monuments of history, culture and art better. Accordingly they presented to the public the program The Hermitage in the Russian Diamond Capital, Smolensk 2006.

The foundation of this multifaceted program is the exhibition entitled Russia. A View Over the Centuries. Works of Jewelry and Paintings from the Collection of the State Hermitage. The exhibition includes more than 100 items divided among three sections. The largest section familiarizes visitors with Russian portrait paintings of the 19th century. The two other sections present examples of jewelry production dating from the 10th and 11th centuries discovered in the largest archeological complex of its type in Eastern Europe found at Gnezdovo (near Smolensk) as well as works dating from the 17th to 19th centuries made by Russians and foreign masters working in Russia. These all come from the Treasure Rooms of the Hermitage.

An illustrated catalogue to the exhibition has been issued by the Slavia Publishing House (St Petersburg, 2006). The authors of the articles are the chief curator of applied art in the Department of Western European Art O.G. Kostiuk, leading researcher in the Department of Archeology of Eastern Europe and Siberia R.S. Minasyan, and senior researcher of the Department of History of Russian Culture Yu.Yu. Gudymenko.

The program includes a lecture series entitled Russian Culture in the Hermitage. A View Over the Centuries, which deals with the following topics: "Russia's Heritage. The Hermitage: Collections, Buildings, History," "Jewelry in the Hermitage Collection," and "The Portrait in Russia. From the Collection of the Hermitage." Lectures on the theme "Russia's Heritage. The Hermitage: Collections, Buildings, History" will also be delivered in cities of the region including Vyazma, Demidovo, Dorogobuzh, Yelnya, Pochinok, Rudnya, Safonovo, Yartsevo.

The program features concerts by the State Hermitage Orchestra in Smolensk and Vyazma, public lessons by musicians for students in the local music schools, and other events for the general public based on cooperation between the Petersburg museum and the leading cultural institutions of Smolensk and the Smolensk Oblast.

On the day the program was presented to public, Director of the State Hermitage Mikhail Piotrovsky met with the professorial and teaching staff of Smolensk educational institutions. He also held a press conference devoted to the opening of the exhibition.

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The catalogue