Life and creative heritage of a researcher of the Christian values P. I. Sevastyanov — at the exhibition of the Presidential Library

An official opening of multimedia exhibition entitled “The heritage of P. I. Sevastyanov: a work on the saving, protection and studying of the Athos antiquities,” dedicated to the accomplishments of a well-known archaeologist, a philanthropist, a traveler, a collector and a researcher, took place in the Presidential Library. The event was held within the framework of the VI St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum.

As it was mentioned, it is not a coincidence that the exposition opened on 3 Senate Square: it was here, in the historic building of the Most Holy Governing Synod, where the first photography exhibition in the Russian Empire showing the famous pictures taken by P. I. Sevastyanov on Mount Athos. In addition, Sevastyanov was not just a photographer, but also an outstanding diplomat, talking care of the most important state tasks; and the history of Russian statehood today is one of the keynote priorities in the activities of the Presidential Library.

The head of the Committee for External Relations of St. Petersburg E. D. Grigoriev stated in his address to the participants of the event: 160 years ago Peter Ivanovich Sevastyanov thought about keeping and protecting for the descendants the historical, cultural and, in the first place, the religious heritage of the Athos land. Having foresight and a broad view of the contemporary world, he carried through generations many important artifacts that would have never made it to us, if there were no his photographs and drawings.

On screens in the multimedia gallery the guests of the event had a chance to see the photographs of Sevastyanov from his expeditions, documents, personal letters, as well as unique materials telling about the Sevastyanov family, courtesy of the descendants of the famous archaeologist, who for many years conducted painstaking work on collecting archival data. It stands to mention, that these exhibits were handed for digitizing into the Presidential Library and have been already added into the electronic stock.

The guests learned more details about the history of the Sevastyanov family and his scientific work during public video lecturing, conducted after the ceremony of opening of the multimedia exhibition. The co-organizer of the exhibition, lawyer and a prominent public figure Elena Bayer told more about her famous ancestor.

In 1857—1860, Peter Ivanovich Sevastyanov (1811—1867) attempted three expeditions to Athos, the results of which helped to lead the national study of the heritage of the Holy Mountain and laid the foundation for collections of Byzantine antiquities in various assemblages across the country. In 1858, P. I. Sevastyanov appeared in the Paris Academy of Inscriptions and Elegant Literature with his famous speech about the possibilities of photography in copying, saving and distributing hand-written book monuments. The large-scale photography plan for Athos and other serious repositories of book antiquities turned out to be revolutionary for its time: the principles of protective photocopying of documents were recognized the decades later.

“The heritage of P. I. Sevastyanov: a work on the saving, protection and studying of the Athos antiquities” will remain open till November 30, 2017. The multimedia exposition can be visited independently during the regular business hours of the electronic reading room of the Presidential Library (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday from 11 am to 6:30 pm), as well as in course of sightseeing tour around the Presidential Library (please, make an appointment over the phone (812) 334 2514 or email: excursion@prlib.ru).