Culture as scandal: the hermitage story

The Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg is one of the greatest museums in the world, with a history stretching back over 300 years and vast, wide-ranging collections of superb quality. It's also an institution which has endured the tumultuous events of Russian history, surviving two Revolutions a...

Ausführliche Beschreibung

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Bibliographische Detailangaben
Hauptverfasser: Norman, Geraldine (VerfasserIn), Piotrovsky, Mikhail (VerfasserIn)
Format: Buch
Sprache:English
Veröffentlicht: London Lund Humphries Publishers 2023
Schlagworte:
Zusammenfassung:The Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg is one of the greatest museums in the world, with a history stretching back over 300 years and vast, wide-ranging collections of superb quality. It's also an institution which has endured the tumultuous events of Russian history, surviving two Revolutions and two World Wars as well as the forced sales from its collections under Stalin in the 1930s. Largely inaccessible to Western visitors during the Soviet period, the Museum's inner workings have remained hidden from view in the intervening years.00Now, for the first time, the longstanding Director of the Hermitage Mikhail Piotrovsky and journalist Geraldine Norman lift the lid on the scandals of different kinds (both real and invented) which have beset the Hermitage during its fascinating history, from the era of the Museum's founder Catherine the Great (and before her that of Peter the Great, the builder of St Petersburg) to the present. Through the lens of scandal, the book seeks to draw parallels between the recent problems of the Museum and earlier periods of its rich history.00Covering restitution issues, controversial sales and purchases, thefts, fluctuating attributions, the fight over new art, corruption associated with the construction of the Museum?s buildings, politically motivated scandals, and the ?scandal? of the Covid-19 pandemic, the book provides unique insight into the challenges of managing a world-famous institution in a country which has undergone huge political upheavals in the modern period. It will appeal to Russophiles, art lovers, museum curators and directors, and all visitors to this extraordinary museum
Beschreibung:240 S. Illustrationen 24 cm
ISBN:9781848225633