ONCE IN A LIFETIME
Moscow’s State Pushkin Museum of Art comes to LA
 RULERS OF EMPIRES THROUGHOUT THE AGES HAVE ALWAYS KNOWN THAT
amassing objects d’art is one way of proving their power, and those who have shepherded Russia
through the centuries are no different. Russia has a treasure trove of art and collectibles that have
remained hidden from the rest of the world for decades. But now that the iron curtain has turned into
a fluttering piece of gossamer, the scions of power seem eager to display their riches.
One of Russia’s most prestigious institutions is Moscow’s
State Pushkin Museum of Art. The museum, which was established
in 1898, is known for its vast and varied collections, especially
its collection of French masters. A rare international tour
of 76 French masterworks from the Pushkin collection is making
its way around the globe and is currently at the Los Angeles
County Museum of Art — its only West Coast stop. The paint
ings will be on view through October 13.
“Such an extraordinary array of artists and masterworks
comes to Los Angeles once in a generation, and perhaps once in
a lifetime,” says LACMA President and Director Andrea Rich.
“By seeing all these works together in the same place at the same
time, we can experience the evolution of history and culture, and
discover something profound about great paintings.”
 Although many of the masterpieces are
extremely well known and instantly recognizable,
some have never ventured into the United
States, says Patrice Marandel, chief curator for
the Center for European Art at LACMA.
“It’s very exciting.There will be some real
surprises for visitors,” says Marandel, who has
been with the museum since 1993.An expert
in 18thcentury French painting, Marandel
says that curating the exhibit has been just like
Christmas, crackingthe crates of art to
carefully reveal what’s inside.“I’m sure that for
many of the visitors it will be the first time
they have ever seen some of these works.”
The exhibit surveys 250 years of French
painting, featuring artists such as Nicolas
Poussin, Claude Lorrain, JacquesLouis David,
Paul Cezanne, Vincent Van Gogh, Paul
Gauguin, Henri Matisse, Claude Monet, and
Pablo Picasso.
Irana Antonova, director of the Pushkin,
emphasized the importance of presenting
these works to U.S. audiences.“It is gratifying
that now, in our second century as a museum
dedicated to bringing world art treasures to
the public, we are permitting the great paintings
of the Pushkin to be seen by so many
people in America,” she says.
The Pushkin Museum was initially named
the Alexander III Museum of Fine
Arts and was built as a teaching
institute. Originally, the museum’s
collection consisted of plastercast
replicas of sculptural and architectural
monuments, many of them
commissioned exclusively for the
museum. Through various paths
(some a bit unseemly) the Pushkin’s
collection has grown dramatically
from its nascent days.
 According to an essay written by
Antonova, much of the collection
came from the “nationalization” of
private collections after the 1917
revolution — otherwise known as
government theft. Most of the
Pushkin’s collection of 20thcentury
paintings comes from two outstanding
collections formed before the
revolution by Moscow merchants
Ivan Morozov and Sergei Shchukin.
During the revolution, the collections
of Morozov and Sergei were
seized. Among the paintings in
Morozov’s collection to be highlighted
in this show are Pierre
Bonnard’s “Summer in Normandy,”
from 1912. From the Shchukin collection
there will be several canvases
by Picasso, including 1901’s
“Harlequin and His Companion.”
The new communist government
also went about gathering the artwork
from the country’s smaller
museums scattered throughout the
empire, consolidating them at the
Pushkin and creating a master
museum.
The exhibition with Old
Master paintings from the 17th and
18th centuries. Included are Nicolas
Poussin’s “Rinaldo and Armida” from
1630, and Claude Lorrain’s “The
Abduction of Europa,” from 1655.
“So many of these paintings are very
familiar because they have been
reproduced so many times, but to see
them with one’s own eyes is really a
treat,”Marandel says.
The show moves forward with
examples of French Rococo, including
a stunning example by painter
Francois Boucher, “Jupiter and
Callisto,” from 1744.
The exhibition then presents
19thcentury landscape paintings
with several works by the great master
of the subject, JeanBaptiste
Camille Carot, including 1834’s
“Morning in Venice.”
The state Pushkin Museum’s collection
is especially strong in French
painting from the late 19th and early
20th centuries. The exhibition presents
exceptional works by the
Impressionists, including several paintings
by Monet, such as his worldfamous
1899 masterpiece, “White
Water Lilies.”Among the other classic
Impressionist masterpieces are
Renoir’s “In the Garden,” from 1876,
and Degas’s “Dancer Posing for a
Photographer,” from 1875.
 Old Masters, Impressionists, and
Moderns are the highlights of the
State Pushkin Museum’s unique collection.
With such works as Van
Gogh’s rarely seen 1890 piece, “The
Prison Courtyard,” and three canvases
from Gauguin’s Tahiti period,
along with several paintings by
Cezanne, this show is a mustsee.
This is also the first time Cezanne’s
unique, figurative 1888 masterpiece,
“Pierrot and Harlequin,” has been
shown in the United States.
In the end, all involved in this
unique exhibition hope that exposing
more people to the masters will
enrich everyone’s lives. “We believe
the arts and cultural institutions not
only provide unique opportunities
to build bridges between countries
and cultures but also enrich communities,”
says Sandra Blau, the
director of contributions for the
Altria Group, the corporation sponsoring
the exhibition tour.
— Dawnya Pring
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