Decorative and applied art of the XVIII - the first third of the XIX century

As part of the celebration of the 35th anniversary of the All-Russian Museum of Decorative, Applied and Folk Art, an updated permanent exhibition "Decorative and Applied Art of Russia of the 18th - the First Third of the 19th Century" opens.

“Peter the Great challenged Russia, and she answered him with Pushkin,” the catch phrase of A. N. Herzen most accurately defines the meaning and boundaries of the era to which the exposition of these halls is devoted. The objects presented here are living milestones that marked the emergence and flourishing of Russian culture in the bosom of the European cultural tradition of the New Age. They capture changes in lifestyle and artistic guidelines, the transformation of old and the emergence of new subject forms, techniques and even types of decorative and applied art.

The design of the new exposition is based on the principle of demonstrating exhibits as unique art objects that are combined into thematic, stylistic and typological blocks. Such a solution allows us to evaluate the value of each subject from the point of view of time, style, development of a separate type of decorative and applied art, and focuses on its artistic value.

The inspection scenario is built on the basis of the spatial solution of the exposition, not only informatively (by typology, theme, style and chronology), but also visually - from Peter’s time to Biedermeier.

Terrina (tureen) with a lid of 1795

The central themes of the new exhibition are: “The era of change: the turn of the 17th – 18th centuries”, which are adjoined by the so-called “18th century primitives”, which shifted the realities of modern times in the forms of traditional art; "Classics of the Russian XVIII century", representing the era from Peter to Paul in high examples of court art, as well as "Russian Empire" and "In the rooms", showing two facets of Russian culture in the first third of the XIX century - a brilliant imperial style and the formation of a culture of private life, correlated with the German Biedermeier phenomenon. At the same time, the exposition allows us to examine the works in the usual way - by type of art, highlighting furniture, art metal, glass, porcelain, ceramics, stone-cutting art, bone and beads.

Of particular interest are such unique church items as Reliquary Cross and Panagia, which date back to the 17th century. They are made in expensive at that time technique - filigree enamel. Among the earliest exhibits are chests with metal forging and decorative trim, inkwells, Ural brass dishes of the 17th - early 18th centuries. A striking example of ceremonial representative metal utensils for table setting are brass mugs of the Demidov factory in the Urals.

Tableware and tray items were then performed in different techniques. For example, two glass, dark blue cups with monograms "EML" and "WGS", produced by the Imperial Glass Factory, are a rare example of painted products from the late XVIII - early XIX centuries. The Latin cup monograms belong to the Swedish envoy to Russia in 1793, Werner Gottlob von Schwenir - “WGS” - and his mother Ebbe Maria Lagerbring - “EML”. The cups were stored for more than two centuries in the Skarhult castle, Skane (Sweden), being a family property.

The exhibition will feature unique examples of Russian palace furniture from the 18th-19th centuries, among which chess and ombre tables using marquetry technique are of particular interest. Among the exhibits of furniture characteristic of the first half of the 19th century, two rare-quality slides in the Jacob style draw attention. The same time belonged to two chairs, designed by Osip Ivanovich Beauvais. Of interest are the mantel clock "Minin and Pozharsky" made by the Parisian bronze-piercer Pierre-Philippe Tomir and reproducing in the interior format the famous monument of Ivan Martos, standing on Red Square.

Beauva I.O. Armchair First quarter of the 19th century

A special place in the exposition is occupied by the “Fishermen’s Rescue” trellis, which was made in Flanders in an unknown workshop in the second half of the 17th and early 18th centuries. She entered VMDPNI in 1999 with the collection of the Museum of Folk Art. S.T. Morozova. The plot of the trellis is borrowed from the Bible: in the center of the composition one of the miracles is depicted - “Walking on the waters”. The trellis was restored in several stages - it was partially restored by the specialists of the Museum of Folk Art named after S.T. Morozova, and, already in 2014, the full restoration was completed by restoration specialists of the All-Russian Museum of Decorative, Applied and Folk Art. Thus, the trellis has found a new life and will be presented at the exposition for the first time.

In the relevant thematic sections, lighting fixtures made of glass and crystal, interior products from porcelain and bronze of the late XVIII-XIX centuries are presented. Each exhibit is a reference example of a particular style, captures the spirit of its time and represents the possibilities of artistic and technical skill.

Such a spatial solution of the exposition will allow the museum to organize excursions and special programs most effectively and interestingly. The most interesting and significant exhibits will be presented with extended annotations, as well as accompaniment with QR codes, thanks to which, visitors can get more detailed information. The exposition is equipped with a modern system of lighting equipment. Due to its high interactivity, the new exhibition promises to be more lively and interesting, as well as to promote a creative dialogue with visitors, especially with children and youth audiences.