In an atrocious moment of blood and war like the one that is taking place between Russia and Ukraine, the words of the director general of the Hermitage Michail Piotrovsky light up a small but precious light of hope. “The bridges of culture are blown up last,” he said in a message announcing that the St. Petersburg museum – over 3 million works on nearly 400 rooms, one of the most prestigious and visited in the world – has reached a agreement with the Russian Ministry of Culture: the request for an immediate withdrawal of the works on loan made in recent days is attenuated.
Ukraine: Picasso’s “Young Woman” on display in Rome returns to Russia
Emanuela Minucci
«The paintings of Titian and Picasso – says Piotrovsky – therefore continue to hang on the walls of Italian museums for several weeks. The same also applies to the works of the Hermitage that are part of the ‘Grand Tour’ exhibition which, upon agreement with the organizers, will be withdrawn immediately at the official closing ». “We are very sorry that cultural relations between our countries have collapsed in such ‘darkness’. We can only get out of it if we keep the atmosphere of goodwill and benevolence. We always say that the bridges of culture are blown up last. Now the time has come to protect them. And we will try to show how it is done, ”adds Piotrovsky.
To report the good news Maurizio Cecconi, general secretary of Ermitage Italia, who for many days has been dealing with the curators and the protagonists of the cultural life of the Hermitage of the loans made by the Russian Museum to Bodies and Institutions of our country. “Today, after several contacts and discussions – says Cecconi – we can say that we have obtained a first and significant result”. «We must clearly agree – says the director of the Russian museum – on when and above all how the works will return to the Hermitage. We keep the Centro Ermitage Italia informed, even if its operational activities have been suspended, and our Italian partners. I hope that Italy can contribute to creating a new mechanism of interaction between cultural institutions given a long national tradition of love and respect for culture, art and museums ».
«Today’s museum situation must show a way of solving serious problems in a very complicated world in order not to become an instrument of political struggle. We need new approaches and agreements without a return to Cold War rhetoric, ”concludes Piotrovsky. In particular, the paintings cited by Piotrovsky are Picasso’s ‘Young woman’, exhibited for the first time in Italy until May 15 at Palazzo Rhinoceros, headquarters of the Alda Fendi Foundation, and Titian’s ‘Young woman with a plumed hat’, exhibited at the exhibition of Palazzo Reale ‘(Titian and the figure of the Venetian woman in the’ 500 ‘until 5 June). The 25 works of the exhibition dedicated to the Grand Tour at the Gallerie d’Italia, also in Milan, remain in Italy until the close of the exhibition (March 27).