Museums: Exhibition “Heavenly and earthly in Italian art” from the Museum of History of Religion in St. Petersburg

On November 28th 2011 the State Museum of History of Religion (St. Petersburg) is opening an exhibit “Heavenly and earthly in Italian art” (religious art of Italy of 14th-20th centuries from the Museum of History of Religion).

The exhibition showcases over 70 exhibits – paintings, sculptures, graphic works, works of decorative and applied arts by Italian masters of 14th-20th cc. from the collection of the Museum of History of Religion. Among them a particular place occupies a pearl of the museum collection – “Crucifixion with Mary and John the Apostle” of Giotto’s school (“Maestro di Verucchio” or Giuliano da Rimini), which has no counterparts in the museums of Russia.

On show are also paintings of Trecento and Early Renaissance periods completed by Florentine masters.

The highlight of the museum collection and the exhibition is the art of the epoch of Counter-Reformation and baroque.

A rather small collection of sculptures features a genuine constellation of eminent sculptors of 18th-19th cc., who fulfilled orders of pontiffs, aristocrats, and the royalty across Europe.

Study of museum’s collections has helped to determine the origin of many works, which used to be pearls of best Russian and European collections: Dukes of Leuchtenberg, N. B. Yusupov, A. S. Stroganov, Vyazemsky-Sheremetyev etc. Restoration of these monuments often not only brings them back to life but also helps to determine names of real creators of previously anonymous works.