Information Technology and Museums: Western European paintings related to looted art to acquire digital copies

On June 15, 2021, in Moscow, the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts and the Friedenstein Castle Foundation in Gotha (Germany) signed a cooperation agreement. The joint work includes the study and high-quality digital photography of objects from the collections of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, stored in Friedenstein Castle (Germany) until the end of World War II.

The collections of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts features a large collection of old Western European paintings related to looted art. These items arrived in Moscow in 1946 and originate from the collections of the Friedenstein Castle Foundation in Gotha. For the first time, objects of this kind were presented in Moscow in 1995 at the exhibition "Twice Rescued. European Painting of the XIV-XIX Centuries Moved to the Territory of the Soviet Union from Germany after World War II". Some paintings and sculptures from Gotha entered the permanent exhibition in the early 2000s.

The joint work of both museums includes the creation of digital copies of objects stored in Gotha until 1946 and the development of the integrated database. The museum specialists will perform technical photography of the front and back sides of the paintings. Each selected item will get a card with the obtained images and catalogue data, including information on its history, scientific description and a brief conclusion on the current state. The database will be improved depending on the scientific description of objects and the study of their technological features. The results and stages of joint work will be released on a special page on the website of the Department of Restoration and Conservation of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts museumconservation.ru. This project will represent the history of 45 old Western European paintings related to looted art. This international initiative was supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation