Riassunto:
This abundantly illustrated oversize volume presents the definitive account of the sale of Russia's cultural patrimony by the Soviet government in the interwar years
Selling Russia's Treasures documents one of the great cultural dramas of the twentieth century: the sale, by a cash-hungry Soviet government, of the artistic treasures accumulated by the Russian aristocracy over the centuries and nationalized after the October 1917 revolution. An astonishing variety of objects, from icons and illuminated manuscripts to Fabergé eggs and Old Master paintings, entered the collections of wealthy Westerners like Andrew Mellon and Armand Hammer in the 1920s and 30s.
Written by the leading experts in the field and long regarded as the definitive book on the subject, the original Russian edition of Selling Russia's Treasures is sought after scholars and laymen alike. Now, for the first time, it is made available in English, in a revised and expanded edition that includes a new chapter on the secret files of the Hermitage, previously considered lost, as well as new research on the sale of religious art, and of twentieth-century French masterworks from the Museum of New Western Art.
Numerous color plates reunite long-dispersed works in a virtual museum that illustrates the powerful blow inflicted on Russia's cultural heritage by these secretive sales, and rare photographs and archival documents help bring this buried history to light.
Distributed for the M.T. Abraham Center for the Visual Arts Foundation
Recensione:
With precision and passion, the authors take measure of the irreparable damage done to Russia’s heritage for pitifully inadequate financial returns. An avidly researched, magnificently illustrated, and thought-provoking history of a country’s once glorious artistic splendor squandered.”
Booklist
"This lavishly illustrated tome highlights what Soviet culture lost, including historic Russian icons and masterpieces by Rembrandt and Van Gogh. It also points out the cruel irony” of a revolution-ravaged USSR looking to the capitalist West for art purchasers. Among the buyers: American billionaire Andrew Mellon, who wound up donating his Russian-bought holdings to the National Art Gallery. A book for art lovers and history buffs alike."
The Seattle Times, gift guide selection
"The plates are wonderful, each listing the work, the artist, the date of sale and the purchaser. The accompanying text adds much more context.
Yes, you may be thinking, we know some of this but not all, not in such detail, not so comprehensively discussed and documented. It would make a wonderful gift to someone this Christmas season."
Judith H. Dobrzynski, Real Clear Arts blog
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