The Russian Academy Of Arts

The “Holy Russia” landmark exhibition opened in the Musee du Louvre on March 2 by the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and President of France Nicolas Sarcozy provides a grand-scale survey of  Russian art from the Beginnings to Peter the Great.  The show is one of the major events in honor of the Year of France in Russia and the Year of Russia in France. 

 

The exposition showcases masterpieces of Old Russian Art from the collections of major Russian museums including the Moscow Kremlin, the State History Museum, the Hermitage,  museums of Vladimir, Suzdal and Novgorod. On display are also exhibits from the Academy Research Museum in St. Petersburg. These are a unique model of the Smolny Convent in St. Petersburg designed by Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli in 1748-1764 and a model of the Spasskaya Tower (Savior Tower) in Moscow built in 1485-1495.

 

The first one was created by the architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli in about 1750 at the very beginning of the Smolny Convent construction to demonstrate the design to Empress Elizabeth. The model (265x518x501cm) of painted and gilded wood, executed in the scale 1:62,  has 95 elements and  about 500 kg in weight.

The model of the Spasskaya Tower, the main tower of the Moscow Kremlin, represents its western and eastern facades and hipped dome.

 

The involvement of the Russian Academy of Arts in the “Holy Russia” exhibition is a part of the Academy’s large-scale exhibition project including expositions to be shown both in Russia and France. 




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