Engravings of Old Masters From the Collection of the Russian State Library. The West-European Engravings of the XVI-XVII Century: Exhibition in Tsereteli Art Gallery
Tsereteli Art Gallery presents an exhibition of prints of the West-European masters of the 16th-17th century from the collection of the Russian State Library totaling about 1.500.000 artworks. On show is a small but a significant part of the Library’s collection of prints that numbers over 130000 sheets and is one of the biggest in Russia.
In 2012 the collection of prints of the Russian State Library will mark its 150th anniversary. In 1862 in Moscow was opened the Moscow Public and Rumyantsev Museum comprising a department of fine arts, which included a collection of engravings. In 1865 there was the Museum’s first exhibition of engravings by masters from Germany, Italy, Netherlands, France and England.
After the Revolution of 1917, in 1924 the Moscow Rumyantsev Museum was closed and became a foundation for the establishment of V. Lenin USSR State Library (now – the Russian State Library). A major part of the prints and drawings was transferred to A. Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, where it formed a nucleus for a Room of Engravings. However, some works from the collection of prints of the Rumyantsev Museum remained in the Library and were augmented by valuable acquisitions and bequests starting from 1924-1925. The most active purchases were made in the 1960s - 1980s, when were obtained collections by A.S. Petrovsky, A.A. Sidorov, A.I. Markushevich and others. Famous scientists-researchers of prints and books such as N.P. Kiselev, A.S. Petrovsky, S.A. Klepikov took part in the formation of the Library’s collection of prints.
The show in Tsereteli Art Gallery features works by Italian, French, German and Netherlandian masters including masterpieces by Martin Schongauer, Albrecht Durer, Markantonio Raimondi, Harmens Rembrandt, Jacques Callot and works by lesser known artists.
Many prints on display are from the collection of the Library’s worker, researcher of prints, translator Alexey Petrovsky (1881-1958) purchased by the Library in 1968. It numbers more than 2000 European prints of the 15th - 20th century. Of major interest are sheets from the collections of the antiquarian and collector Pavel Shibanov (1864-1935); sociologist and researcher of prints S.A. Klepikov (1895-1978); Lieutenant General, participant of the Patriotic War of 1812, war historian A.N. Marin (1783-1873); official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, writer A.I. Dolivo-Dobrovolsky (1866-1932); diplomat, Postmaster General in Bavaria and Berlin Karl Ferdinand Friedrich von Nagler (1770-1846); antique dealer from Zurich G. Fussly (1755-1829) and other collections.
print version