The future of virtual museums in the light of the need for cultural property insurance

In 1985, later recognized as mentally ill, Bronius Maygis doused the painting of Rembrandt’s "Danae", which is still in the Hermitage, with sulfuric acid. After 12 years of restoration work, the painting again took its place in the exposition of the St. Petersburg museum behind armored glass, and the paint layer was almost invisible (mediated by a glass partition) for visitors who wanted to see the famous Dutch master “from nature” (technique).

A copy of the painting “Danae” is on display at the Omsk Museum of Fine Arts named after Vrubel. And, from the point of view of art history, there is almost no difference where to look at the picture: in the Hermitage, in the Omsk Museum or on the screen of a widescreen monitor, by opening one of the virtual galleries, the appearance of which, according to many experts, will extend the life of the originals of the cultural heritage and save substantial insurance for insurance of paintings or sculptures transported to exhibitions.

With the advent of full-fledged virtual galleries, museums will no longer need to own specialized vehicles that require maintenance and insurance. Calculate CTP online everyone can be convinced that the “auto citizen” is not such a costly expense item for museums. But in addition to compulsory motor third-party liability insurance, there is comprehensive auto insurance. Casco policy (many times more expensive than CTP) is often purchased by museums.

By organizing virtual 3D galleries, one could leave the same casco calculator out of work and spend the freed money on the restoration of paintings or museum premises. According to experts, in the near future, museums located in old mansions will have to reduce the number of visitors in order to avoid the destruction of buildings. For example, the curfew staircase in the Hermitage was in a deplorable state until the last restoration. How much “enough” this time is unknown.

Insurance of cultural property itself is mandatory for the duration of the transportation. The Accounts Chamber of Russia repeatedly reminded of this, in particular, to the leadership of the same Hermitage, until in 2000 the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation concluded a general insurance policy for all cultural property displayed at exhibitions in Russia or abroad.

The price of the issue reaches, according to various estimates, one billion dollars. In comparison, the numbers on the hull calculator, not to mention the services that allow you to calculate CTP online, are ridiculous. The total cost of insurance would allow Russia to develop the latest forms of virtual museums, while not reducing the income of ordinary museums.

The income of the exhibition galleries would hardly be reduced due to the uniqueness of the collections and tactile and “natural” perception methods. Perfect copies on 3D printers will allow you to touch the exhibits, odor modulators will create the atmosphere of an art workshop, and the development of “cultural” tourism would help not only our museums, but also the country as a whole.

Note that Russian insurers are unlikely to support the massive refusal of museums from visiting exhibitions. Insurers lose a very solid jackpot. But an analysis of the situation on the Russian insurance market allows us to draw other conclusions. Insurance of cultural property in Russia does not exceed 1% of the total premiums of all insurers for the year. The figure is more than modest.

In addition, according to Art Consulting, Russian insurers do not have the opportunity to “tightly” engage in cultural property insurance: there are no personnel able to distinguish a fake from the original or calculate quantitative risk indicators. So, in the world the percentage of fake paintings, for example, Aivazovsky reaches 20%, while Somov is already 60%. Expensive examinations, often, simply do not suit either insurers or policyholders.

In 2006, financier Rustam Tariko spent more than $ 90 million on Picasso’s Dora Maar with a Cat and, according to some, was unable to insure the canvas in Russia. The location of the painting is unknown and it, like many other art objects from private collections, can now be observed only in virtual exhibition halls, which, however, can easily replace the original with a high-resolution photograph and rich accompanying materials.