Hermitage Magazine No. 1 (14). Spring/Summer 2009

Contents

A letter by the Director of the Hermitage Museum
A cat in the golden mask

The two themes reflect principally important sides of the work and life of the Hermitage. One of them is an exhibition devoted to the famous Golden Mask from the tomb of the Bospor king Reskuporid. The second theme is  cats at the paintings of the Hermitage. Both themes are connected with deep layers of the museum’s life and history. The Golden Mask is a reminiscence of the period when Russian archaeologists made a number of sensational discoveries of the ancient artifacts of the Black Sea region. The Emperor Nicholas I himself attended the excavations, and the Hermitage’s collections and exhibitions devoted to the ancient history of Russia got a new dimension.

Thus began a great epoch of the Hermitage archaeology in the Black Sea region that endowed scientists with many fascinating finds. The studies of the finds have been carried out in parallel with the excavations for more than a hundred years. Discoveries have also been made in the museum’s rooms. It appears that the history of the Golden Mask has many secrets: it is not known yet if the owner of the mask was a man or a woman. Or a man in a woman’s dress. Or… For the first time the Hermitage presents all the items from the tomb with a serious attempt to reveal all its secrets. Such scientific exhibitions evoking thoughts and reflections nowadays tend to replace standard and pompous exhibitions of famous, but already studied and no longer provoking items and problems.

The cat theme has another history. The whole world today is aware of the care with which the Hermitage cats are treated. They are discussed in as many articles as any other aspect of the museum’s life. People are not only by the fact that they remain the best guards against the mice, but also by the presence of living beings in the cellars and yards of the Hermitage, which gives the museum a new, almost human dimension. Cats become the main theme of exhibitions, festivals and the so-called Tomcat Day. There is even a walking game organized for adults and children where the participants have to find different images of cats, even the  most unexpected ones, in various rooms of the museum. By means of life and art the museum is trying to teach people how to treat the world that surrounds us with kindness and care.

Mikhail Piotrovsky, Director of the State Hermitage

Events

New Projects for the Hermitage
A Meeting of Friends
Musical Associations
40th Anniversary of Art Basel
Russian Art Fair
53rd Biennale in Venice
The Eternal Return
Stars of the White Nights
A Rare Edition of the Coronation Album

Exhibition
John Varoli about the epoch-making exhibition in the Garage

Name
Amelie Blancar and Oleg Kulik

Studio
Francis Bacon Workshop

Theatre
Giulara Sadykh-zade about the double premiere at Mariinsky Theatre

Place
Zoya Necheporenko about a new sight in Amsterdam

Repositories
Marina Lopato about precious toys

Collection
Nina Tarasova about the tsar court costumes

Music
Alexey Karabinov about military music

Iconography
Maria Haltunen about painted cats of the Hermitage

Books
Olga Zimina about book rarities

Design
Christopher Gordon about Alexandra Fedorovna’s furniture

Terra Incognita
Rimma Shchipina about the secret of the golden mask

Photo session
Alexander Rodchenko’s circus

Art+Money
Jeremy Lewison about the benefits of the crisis
Gloria Velandia about the art of making a perfect collection

Market Review
James Pedersen about the anniversary of London Art Fair

Retrospective
Mikhail Dedinkin about the collection of Brass

In focus
Alexandra Kain about Limouge enamel

Announcements
Calendar of World Exhibitions

My Hermitage
Nikolai Ivanov

Hermitage Magazine No. 1 (14). Spring/Summer 2009