Sale of paintings from the Hermitage collection

Preparation

In the first decade of Soviet power, nationalized works of art sold to the West were mostly ordinary antiques . But in the late 1920s, the Soviet government, lacking the currency to pay for growing debts when buying equipment and building factories, decided to replenish the budget by selling items from museum collections. In February 1928, the Hermitage and the Russian Museum were invited to submit a list of works for export with a total value of 2 million rubles. Under the auspices of the People's Commissariat of Education in Leningrad, a special agency " Antiques " was created. The Hermitage received instructions to sell 250 paintings of at least 5,000 rubles each, as well as engravings , weapons and objects of Scythian gold.

From the memoirs of B. Piotrovsky :

On the same topic, a letter was received from the Glavnauka about the seizure for sale of objects of ancient art , Renaissance , Gothic , mainly products made of gold, precious metals, ivory , etc. The letter was signed by the deputy. Head Glavnaukoy "Comrade Voltaire." First, secretly, and then into the open premises of the museum were examined by special teams on the selection of values ​​of "export value" ^[5] .

As Y. Zhukov writes, “the fate of museum collections was decided not by experienced art professionals, but by people who were very far from saving and studying works of art. The special role of the People's Commissariat of Commerce and Industry and Managing Director of the Antiques, A. M. Ginzburg, authorized in Leningrad — Prostak, in Moscow — N. S. Angarsky, played the leading role. And it was precisely this course of events that Y. E. Rudzutak ^{[4] had} predetermined.

The director of the Hermitage, O. F. Valdgauer, was dismissed and replaced by an official, G. V. Lazaris , who had previously served in the Foreign Affairs Committee . Already on March 10, 1928, the Hermitage staff surrendered 376 items according to an inventory to the Leningrad branch of the Gostorg, valued by its experts at 718 thousand rubles. By October 26, 732 subjects were handed over for a total amount of 1 million 400 thousand rubles ^[4] .

From January 1 to June 7, 1929, “Antiques” managed to receive only 1221 items for export from the Hermitage, including paintings and works of decorative and applied art . After the Berlin and London auctions in July 1929, in just seven weeks, 5,521 items were received from the Hermitage: 19 days in June — 2504 and in July — 3017, that is, more than in the entire previous year.

On February 1, 1930, L. L. Obolensky , who died in September of the same year, was appointed Director of the Hermitage; He was replaced by B. V. Legrand .

Gulbenkian and Mallon

The sale of paintings of the first row was supposed to be held in secret, but the information spread among selected Western traders. The first buyer of the Hermitage’s masterpieces was Galust Gulbenkyan , the founder of the Iraq Petroleum Company , which sold oil to Soviet Russia. G. L. Pyatakov , who had established trade contacts with him, had offered the collector several years to buy some paintings several years before. Gulbenkian gladly responded and sent his list, which included, among others, “ Judith ” Giorgione , “The Return of the Prodigal Son ” by Rembrandt and “Perseus and Andromeda” by Rubens , but the deal did not take place.

The onset of the Great Depression of the 1930s reduced the interest in investing in art around the world. In addition, the active work of "Antiques" overfilled the market and led to dumping . Finally, in 1930, it was decided to continue selling the first-line masterpieces, since they were guaranteed to find a buyer who was able to offer a decent price, which was necessary to fulfill the plan for currency revenues. The commissioners remembered the interest of Gulbenkian. Under the three treaties, he acquired 51 Hermitage exhibits for £ 278,900, by prior arrangement giving up four paintings to Parisian antiquarian Nathan Wildenstein . Most of the items are now in the permanent exhibition of the museum in Lisbon, founded by the Gulbenkian Foundation ^[7] .

Sellers were unhappy with the results of the transaction and began to look for new buyers; Gyulbenkian was also not satisfied with the actions of the Soviet agents, whom he considered stupid and unprofessional, as evidenced by his memorandum letter.

The Soviet government asked Francis Mattison, a young German art dealer, to compile a list of paintings from Russian collections, which in no case can be sold because of their cultural and artistic value. After a while, Mattison was surprised to see some of these canvases in Paris in the Gulbenkian collection. Oilman invited him to be his agent for further purchases, but Mattison chose to form a consortium with the London-based company Colnaghi and Knoedler and Company from New York, who bought 21 paintings from Andrew Mellon in 1930-1931. In subsequent years, Mattison was very proud of the maneuver undertaken by him, which led to the appearance of the Mellon collection.

Andrew Mellon was an American banker, a major government official, a diplomat and art collector. He decided to establish an American gallery on the model of the National Gallery in London . After hearing about the sale of Hermitage masterpieces from his long-time suppliers in the Knoedler and Co gallery, he decided not to miss the chance. The group of paintings he bought for nine deals included the “Annunciation” by Jan van Eyck and Madonna Alba by Raphael , the latter costing $ 1,166,400, which was the largest amount paid for a work of art at that time. By the end of 1931, he paid for all the paintings 6,654,000 dollars. Mellon bequeathed the paintings to the US government; after his death, they, along with other masterpieces from his collection, entered the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington .

Trade Completion

The Hermitage staff managed to defend the silver cancer of Alexander Nevsky , the Sassanian silver (III — VII centuries AD), Scythian gold , “ Benois Madonna ” by Leonardo da Vinci . On April 25, 1931, the Politburo adopted a resolution on the creation of a list of masterpieces not subject to sale ^[4] . In 1932, unsold exhibits returned to the Hermitage from the warehouses of the Antiques.

Information on the trade in masterpieces remained secret until November 4, 1933, when the New York Times published a note about the purchase of several paintings by the Metropolitan Museum (Crucifixion and The Last Judgment by van Eyck). In 1932, it was possible to defend the Sassanian silver for the third time thanks to a letter from Orbeli (deputy director of the Hermitage) to Stalin .

“Since Stalin’s answer to Orbeli was related only to items from the Sector of the East, all Western European exhibits intended to be sent to Antiques were declared to be related to the East (for example, the image of Oriental products on them, in particular, carpets, or distant motives). This ploy helped save them from exporting. ” ^[3]

The consolidation of the Central Committee Plenum - the Central Control Commission of the CPSU (B.), Which took place in mid-January 1933 and promoted the early completion of the first five-year plan , which the funds from the sale of exhibits went to, contributed to stabilization. The Nazis came to power in Germany and closed the German market, which was convenient for the Bolsheviks. “Antiques” because of the lack of professionalism, it was getting worse and worse able to fulfill the plan for the extraction of currency.

In 1933, T. L. Lilovaya, head of the sector of Western European art, also wrote a letter to Stalin. He responded to it, instructing A. I. Stetsky to investigate the situation. Stetsky realized the danger threatening the museum and prepared a draft decision of the Politburo. The decision was approved at a meeting on November 15, 1933:

The decision turned out to be final and really completely stopped the practice of taking museum valuables. "Antiques" left to sell only what is preserved in its warehouses. In 1934, Legrand was dismissed from the post of director of the Hermitage, and Orbeli took his place.

Revenue from sales amounted to no more than one percent of the gross income of the country and did not significantly affect the course of industrialization, causing significant damage to the national cultural heritage and international reputation.

June 4, 1929:

• At the Berlin auction Casting exhibited "Portrait of spouses" Lorenzo Lotto (not sold), "The Tomb" Rubens (not sold), "The head of an old man" Rembrandt (138 thousand marks), "Portrait of an old man" Jos van Kleve (100 thousand marks) , “Portrait of Frederick the Wise” by Lukas Cranach the Younger (28.5 thousand marks), “Saint Jerome” by Titian (26 thousand marks), his “Madonna and Child” (25 thousand marks). The final price of Moroni , Kantarini , Bordone , Bassano , Rober , Canaletto , Vernet paintings was about the same - from 16 to 25 thousand. ^[four]

April 1929:

Gyulbenkyan purchased for a total of 54,150 pounds:

• The “Annunciation” by Dirk Bowts (£ 54,000, attributed today as the work of the artist of the Bowts circle ^[10] ) is the only (as it was thought in those years) Bouts artwork in the Hermitage, besides being in the main exhibition;
• two paintings by Hubert Robert - scenes of putting in order the Versailles park affected by the hurricane;
• 24 pieces of French silver, performed by the greatest French masters of the XVIII century on the orders of Elizaveta Petrovna and Catherine II ;
• the table is the secretary of the Louis XVI epoch by J.-A. Risener .

January 1930:

• Rembrandt , "Portrait of Titus" (purchased by Gulbenkian, now stored in the Louvre as a work attributed to Rembrandt)
• Watteau , “Lyutnist (Metstseten)” (purchased by Gulbenkian, resold to the Metropolitan Museum in 1934)
• Van Dyck , "Portrait of Suzanne Fourman and Daughter" (bought by Mellon, now at the National Gallery of Art, Washington)
• Van Dyck, "Portrait of Philip, Lord Wharton" (bought by Mellon for £ 250,000, now at the National Gallery of Art, Washington)

•  

  Rembrandt (?). "Portrait of Titus"

•  

  Watteau. "Lutnist"

•  

  Van dyke "Portrait of Suzanne Fourman and Daughter"

•  

  Van dyke "Portrait of Philip, Lord Wharton"

May 1930:

• Lancre , "The Bathers" (bought by Gulbenkian, resold to George Vildenstein ; now in a private collection)
• Rembrandt, "Athena Pallas" (now the authorship of Rembrandt is being questioned; located in the Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon)
• Terborch , "Music Lesson" (now at the Toledo Museum, USA)
• J.-A. Houdon , "Diana" (statue) - 20 thousand pounds (now in the Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon)
• Rubens , “Portrait of Helen Furmen” - 55 thousand pounds (now in the Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon)
• 15 silverware - 100 thousand pounds (all purchased by Gulbenkian)

•  

  Houdon "Diana"

•  

  Rembrandt (attributed). "Athena Pallada"

•  

  Terborch. "Music lesson"

•  

  Rubens. "Portrait of Helen Fourman"

June - July 1930:

• Jan Van Eyck, The Annunciation (sold to Mellon for $ 502,899; now at the National Gallery of Art, Washington)
• Van Dyke, "Portrait of Isabella Brandt" (sold to Mellon for $ 223,000; now in the National Gallery of Art, Washington)

•  

  Jan Van Eyck. "Annunciation"

•  

  Van dyke "Portrait of Isabella Brandt"

October - November 1930

• Rembrandt, "Portrait of an Old Man" (sold to Gulbenkian for 30,000 pounds - his last purchase; now at the Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon)
• , "Portrait of Henry, Duke of Gloucester" (purchased by Mellon as the work of Van Dyck; now in the National Gallery of Art, Washington)
• Veronese , Discovery of Moses (bought by Mellon; now at the National Gallery of Art, Washington)

•  

  Rembrandt "Portrait of an old man"

•  

  Hanneman. "Portrait of Henry, Duke of Gloucester"

•  

  Veronese. "Detection of Moses"

• From the doublet fund of the Hermitage numismatic department, 347 gold and 17 platinum coins, a breastplate and a helmet, a full set of knightly armor of German gunsmiths of the 16th century, one hundred and fifty engravings and a large batch of no value for the porcelain museum (Parisian and Orlovsky ceremonial sets) were allocated. , "Saltykovsky"), paintings by Y. Robert, A. Watteau. J. B. Greuse, L. Lagrenet, F. Lemoine, J. Lorrain, F. Van Miris, G. Berkhide , A. Van Ostade, G. Van Honhorst, M. Van Hemskerk, and other famous and little-known painters of the XVII —XVIII centuries.

January 1931

• Rembrandt, “Joseph Accused by Potiphar's Wife ” (bought by Mellon ; now attributed as a workshop, is in the National Gallery of Art, Washington)

February 1931

• Khals , "Portrait of a Young Man"
• Rembrandt, “The Girl with a Whisk” (now attributed as a workshop, presumably by Karel Fabricius) ^[11]
• Rembrandt, "Portrait of a Polish Nobleman"
• Raphael , "St. George and the Dragon"
• Velazquez , "Portrait of Pope Innocent X" (now attributed as the work of an unknown artist of the circle of Velasquez)
• Sandro Botticelli , "Adoration of the Magi" - $ 838 thousand
• Khals, "Portrait of an Officer (Officer) "
• Rembrandt, "Woman with a Carnation" (now attributed as workshop work)
• Chardin , the Card House (all bought by Mellon , now in the National Gallery of Art, Washington)

April 1931:

• Rembrandt, "Portrait of a Turk" (now attributed as workshop work)
• Van Dyck, "Portrait of a Flemish Lady"
• Perugino , “Crucifixion with St. Mary, John, Jerome and Magdalene”
• Rafael, Madonna Alba ($ 1,166,400)
• Titian , " Venus in front of the mirror " (all bought by Mellon , now in the National Gallery of Art, Washington)

May 1931:

• The last auction of Casting, turned out to be a failure. Andrea del Sarto's “Holy Family” , “Portrait of Trieste” by Anthony Van Dyck, “Portrait of Vorontsova with Daughter” by George Romney , “Allegory of Eternity” by Rubens sold for only $ 613,326. Returned to the Hermitage "Portrait of Nicholas Rokoks" and "Portrait of Baltasarins Van Linnik" by Van Dyck, Rembrandt "Christ and the Samaritan Woman at the Well" , Poussin's paintings, Bush, Lorrain, Vizhe-Lebrun, Bern, Robert, Grez, Bellini.

•  

  Van dyke "Portrait of Trieste"

•  

  Rubens. "Allegory of Eternity"

After the decision of the Politburo:

• Tiepolo , " Pier Cleopatra " - sold by Nödler and Kolnaga, now at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne (Australia)
• Poussin , "The Triumph of Amphitrite" - sold to the Art Museum of Philadelphia (USA)
• Van Eyck, “The Crucifixion” and “The Last Judgment” (diptych) - sold to the New York Metropolitan Museum (there are no more works by van Eyck in the Hermitage)
• Rembrandt, "Portrait of Titus in a Monk's Costume" (from the nationalized collection of the Stroganov Palace ) and "Peter's Denial" - sold to the City Museum of Amsterdam (Netherlands),
• Antonio Moro , twin portraits of Sir Thomas Gresham and Ann Fearnley, wife of Sir Thomas Gresham - similarly
• Platzer , "Concert" - sold to the National Museum in Nuremberg (Germany)
• Burgkmair , twin portraits of Hans Schellenberger and Barbara Schellenberger - sold to the Wallraf-Richartz Museum in Cologne (Germany)

•  

  Tiepolo. "Cleopatra's Feast"

•  

  Poussin "Triumph Amphitrite"

•  

  Van Eyck "Last Judgment"

•  

  Van Eyck Crucifixion

•  

  Moro. "Portrait of Sir Thomas Gresham"

•  

  Rembrandt "Peter's denial"

•  

  Rembrandt "Portrait of Titus as a Monk"

•  

  Burgkmire. "Portrait of Hans Schellenberger"

Merchants

• Brothers Armand and Victor Hummer , New York
• M.Knedler and Co. , New York
• Auction " Rudolf Lepke ", Berlin
• Knockers
• Colnaghi , London

• Faberge eggs
• Sinai Codex
• Night cafe (Van Gogh painting)

• Robert C. Williams. Russian Art and American Money, 1900-1940: [ eng ] . - Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press , 1980. - vi, 309 p. - ISBN 0-674-78122-8 .
• A. G. Mosyakin. Sale // Spark . - 1989. No. 6-8, 19.
• A. G. Mosyakin. Antiquarian export fund // Our heritage . - 1991. - № 2–3.
• O. Vasilyeva, P. Knyshevsky. Red conquistadors . - M .: Companion, 1994. - 270, [2] p. - ISBN 5-87883-008-6 .
• Sold treasures of Russia: monograph / Tot. ed. N. Semenova; Preface M. B. Piotrovsky. - M .: RA, Shamrock, 2000. - 295 p. - ISBN 5-89480-027-7 .
• The Hermitage, which we lost: Documents of 1920-1930 / Comments., Footnote. N. M. Serapina. - SPb: Neva magazine publishing house, 2001. - 415 p. - ISBN 5-87516-234-1 .
• State Hermitage. Museum sales 1928-1929 / State. Hermitage ; [comp. E. Yu. Solomaha]. - SPb: State publishing house. Hermitage, 2006. - 530, [1] p. - (Pages of the Hermitage; vol. 2). - ISBN 5-93572-115-5 .
• Piotrovsky B. B. History of the Hermitage: A brief essay. Materials and documents / B. B. Piotrovsky ,; [Int. Art. and total ed. M. B. Piotrovsky; State Hermitage]. - M .: Art, 2000. - 573 p. : il., fax., porr. - Decree. Names: with. 549-568.
• Yuri Zhukov . Stalin: Operation Hermitage. - M .: Vagrius, 2005. - 335 p. - ISBN 5-9697-0026-6 .
• Kopper, Philip. America's National Gallery of Art - A Gift to the Nation: [ eng ] . - New York: Abrams Publishers, 1991.
• E. A. Osokina . On the high road with rembrandta // Motherland . - 2006. - № 9. - P. 95–105.

• List of former Hermitage paintings at the National Gallery, Washington
• hermitage.ru. Lost masterpieces
• Reality and Socialist Realism: the Hermitage in 1917-1941 . Archival documents of the Hermitage (inventory, decrees)
• Documentary tape “Sell the Hermitage. How the masterpieces went. ” - Russia, 2008