Greek plot. Pages of the life and art collections of Prince N.B. Yusupova

Ancient culture laid the foundation for modern European civilization. The interest of Prince N.B. Yusupov (1751–1831) in Ancient Greece, its language and culture, shown during his studies at Leiden University, surprised not only his acquaintances, but also delighted the Hellenistic scholars of that time. The exhibition allows you to take an imaginary journey into the past and look at the history of ancient civilization through the “eyes” of a prince.

Thanks to the taste, knowledge, and wealth of the organizer of the Arkhangelskoye estate, Prince N.B. Yusupov, and his descendants, classical images of art from the recognized cradle of European civilization appeared and are stored in Russia. They are all objects of admiration and serve as excellent role models. Antique subjects were embodied in the works of French and Italian artists of the 18th century: Francois Lemoine “Apollo Pursuing Daphne”, Louis Goffier “Orpheus”, Jacopo Amigoni “Bacchus and Ariadne”. The painting “The Destruction of Troy” by the Dutchman Gerard de Leresse is dedicated to the tragic end of the legendary Trojan War, the legends of which were composed by the ancient Greeks back in the pre-Homeric era.

In the 1790s, the prince served as director of the Imperial Porcelain Factory, and later opened his own porcelain establishment in Arkhangelskoye. It is not surprising that his interest in ancient history was reflected in the artistic search of the masters - the “Jupiter and Juno” plate is an excellent example of painting done in the estate’s workshop. Around the same time, porcelain works by Meissen (glass and saucer “Jupiter, Juno and Io”) and the Vienna Manufactory (plate “Jupiter and Juno”) on the same theme appeared in the prince’s collection.

Sculpture was a special form of art for the ancient Greeks, the main artistic language of the era. An entire portrait gallery, made from ancient examples in the 18th – 19th centuries, constituted a significant collection of Prince N. B. Yusupov: busts of Apollo Belvedere and Melpomene, Homer and Euripides, the torso of Aphrodite - make it possible to at least partially reconstruct the public spaces that were so important for the ancient world order. This is a reference to the “golden age” of civilization, a dream of a lost ideal world, where sculpture sang a hymn to beauty, man and his lofty aspirations.

Beauty surrounded the prince in everything - empire-style caryatid candlesticks, marble amphorae vases, urns with bronze handles and garlands of flowers, bowls decorated with acanthus leaves, elegant aroma vases. The exhibition features a rare majolica dish from Urbino, “Jupiter slaying a giant with lightning,” from the 16th century.

The philosophical and aesthetic ideas of antiquity formed the basis of the culture of the Middle Ages and flourished magnificently during the Renaissance. The creations of the ancient genius were recognized as classics that can be repeated, but impossible to surpass. In fact, all the key ideas of European culture were expressed and embodied in antiquity. N. B. Yusupov’s ardent interest in the literature and philosophy of Ancient Greece was reflected in his library, unique in size and significance. The prince not only read Greek fluently, but also engaged in analytical comparison of various translations of Homer’s Iliad, corresponded with leading scientists such as L. K. Valkenar, and met and read ancient manuscripts with J. B. Villoizon.

During his first trip to Europe, N. B. Yusupov visited various libraries, where he became familiar with their structure and acquired special manuals - guides for organizing book collections and catalogues. The prince’s library contained the “Cabinet of the Library of St. Genevieve" by Claude du Molineux (1692), catalogs of the collection of manuscripts of the library of the Moscow Holy Synod and the Synodal Printing House (1776, 1805), etc. A rare exhibit - the catalog of Prince Yusupov’s own library (Catalogue De La Bibliotheque du Prince Youssoupoff), presented at the exhibition, contains information about 10,859 books, divided into 16 thematic sections, indicating the author, title, year, place of publication and format. Books devoted to numismatics and travel, architecture and the arts, theater and history, atlases, maps, drawings - many of them have owner’s notes - show how versatile the interests of Prince N.B. Yusupov were.

A logical continuation of his passion for antiquity was the collection of casts from carved stones, which were kept in the prince’s estate library. Among them: the Lippert Dactyliothek, created between 1805–1817 by the Dresden master G. B. Rabenstein. Collections of casts from carved stones (gems) appeared in the 18th century and were called “dactyliotheca” (casket). Systematized collections of casts, equipped with special catalogs, served as an excellent encyclopedic guide and unique visual material for studying the mythology and art of Ancient Greece and Rome. They were very popular among collectors and lovers of antiquity both in Western Europe and in Russia.

The surge of interest in ancient history did not bypass England in the 18th century. It was there that two rare oak sideboards were made, decorated by the famous J. Wedgwood with layers of jasper mass with mythological subjects.

The exhibition presents more than 200 objects from the art collections of the Arkhangelskoye State Museum-Reserve, almost a third are being shown for the first time. The exhibition does not contain actual antique items, but generally covers the period of the 16th – 19th centuries and is based on works of art and literature of the 18th century, one way or another connected with the subjects of ancient Greek mythology, history and literature.

Various objects and interesting stories from the life of the famous owner of the Arkhangelskoye estate have formed an intricate labyrinth that is worth going through several times. A gift for curious visitors will be the opportunity to read some pages of the publications on display. For everyone who wants to continue their acquaintance with the monuments of ancient Greek culture, special printed publications have been prepared.