FA: $5.00 Moscow : Treasures and Traditions (Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service)
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Moscow : Treasures and Traditions (Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service)
by W. Bruce Lincoln, Mikhail M. Allenov
Soft Cover, Univ of Washigton/Smithsonian, Contributing Member Edition, 1990
Used, slight water damage (faint stain, and warping of right page edges)
At the confluence of the Neglinnaya and Moskva rivers, in the heartland of Russia, sits the
ancient city. of Moscow. Beloved by its people for its simplicity and spontaneity,
chosen by its kings and rulers as the "New Jerusalem," Moscow was the center of power both
secular and sacred. "It shines like Jerusalem from with out," wrote one
16th-century diplomat, "but is like Bethlehem inside."
In this city dominated by the domes and tow ers of the ancient Kremlin, Moscow artists have for
centuries created a legacy of fine art and craftsmanship. The Kremlin
workshops pro duced jeweled vessels and rich clothing for court and church, arms and armor to
honor and pro tect those who served the state.
Moscow is distinguished from other Russian cities by the contrast between the formal panoply of
power and the cultivation of intimate life. By the 11th century, when
Moscow was no longer the capital, its artists rediscovered the hearth and home as a source of
inspiration. Moscow artists bbrrowed from ancient folk traditions to create a
new art for the present; peasants pursued their vanishing traditional crafts with encouragement
from leading Moscow painters. The juxtaposi tion of ancient splendor with
the rich intimacy of private life—these are the hallmarks of Moscow and its art.
Moscow: Treasures and Traditions reflects five hundred years of Russian history—from the
arms and armor of the medieval kings to the ge ometric abstractions of
the Russian avant garde. Yet even in the most abstract work there is a fa miliar
duality—an homage to the importance of
everyday life and a recognition of the geometric form as a kind of sacred object. There is also
in these artifacts something that is distinctively Russian. Although Muscovite
artists adopted western innovations and technology from time to time, they seldom allowed them
to over whelm the Byzantine legacy and traditions, the values upon which
Russian life and culture were based. As a result, an inseparable part of Russia's spiritual
wealth and cultural heritage has been shaped by Moscow's artists.
More than 180 color photographs illustrate twelve essays by Soviet and American scholars. This
stunning book is published on the occasion of a major exhibition organized
by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and the USSR Ministry of Culture in
association with the Seattle Organizing Committee of the 1990 Goodwill
Games and the Seattle Art Mu seum.
From the FOREWORD
"And now at last the goal is in sight: in the shimmer Of the white walls gleaming near,
In the glory of the golden domes,
Moscow lies great and splendid before us!
Moscow--how deeply the name resounds in the Russian heart!"
Alexander Pushkin
Pushkin's words serve as a distinctive epigraph for the exhibition Moscow: Treasures and Tradi
tions, which presents to the American public a wondrous survey of the art
of Moscow from the fifteenth century to the present day.
The museums of the USSR, renowned for their artistic treasures, have made their collec tions
available for this special presentation. Rep resented in this exhibition are
selections from the State Museums of the Moscow Kremlin, State Tretyakov Gallery, State
Historical Mu seum, State Russian Museum, State Museum of Ceramics and
18th-Century Estate of Kuscovo, Museum of History of Moscow, Ostankino Pal ace-Museum, the
Apartment-Museum of 1.1. Brodsky in Leningrad, Museum of Graphic
Arts of the Tatar People in Kazan, State Art Museum of Belorussia in Minsk, and Saratov State Mu
seum named after Radishchev. In addition, pri vate individuals have
kindly agreed to place works from their collections in the exhibition.
Visitors to Moscow: Treasures and Traditions and readers of this book have the unique oppor
tunity to view icons from the city's celebrated cathedrals and monasteries.
The secular and sacred objects created by the gifted masters of the silver and gold workshops in
the Kremlin Armory include arms and armor, firearms, cere monial vessels,
clerical vestments, orders, and heroic medals—the majority of which belonged at one time
to Russian tsars, patriarchs, and important historical figures. The porcelain
of the Moscow-area firms of Gardner, Popov, and Kuznetsov—and in the post-Revolution
years, the Dmitrov and Dulevo state porcelain
factories—is distinguished by its remarkable perfection and subtlety of execution. The
world- renowned Moscow firms of Khlebnikov, Ovchinnikov, and Faberge, as
well as others that sprang up from the second half of the nineteenth century to the beginning of
the twentieth, cre ated beautiful works in silver and gold reflecting the
traditions of native Russia. The clothing of village folk, urban dwellers, and the military
provide insight into the wearer as well as the manufacturer. And, finally, the
paintings, graphics, and sculpture of Moscow's artists attest to a brilliant range of talent
little known to American audiences.
Through this selection, we have endeavored to recreate the phenomenon of Moscow art, life, and
events in diverse historical periods. We offer you a fascinating journey far
into the past centu ries, an opportunity to encounter not only the masterworks of Russian art,
but also the virtu oso artists who made them.
We hope that this exhibition, organized by the Ministry of Culture of the USSR in associa tion
with the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, will strengthen
cultural ties between our countries. Its showing in the United States, through the efforts of
the Smith sonian Institution and the Goodwill Games, will surely promote a
greater mutual understanding of the peoples of our two great nations.
Genrikh P Popov
Head of the Main Administration of Art
Ministry of Culture, USSR