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Post: Finally in Moscow: The Pushkin Museum showcases the blockbuster Morozov

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MOSCOW, June 29 – RIA Novosti, Anna Nekhaeva. The collection of the Morozov brothers – works of impressionists, post-impressionists and domestic masters – is collected for the first time in 100 years at the Pushkin Museum. The exhibition reconstructs the “ideal museum” created by “Russians who do not bargain”. About what Van Gogh’s chameleon painting is shown, about the collector’s talent and Renoir’s love – in the material of RIA Novosti.

long trip

“If you experience a psychological shock after seeing a painting, buy it,” wrote collector Sergei Shchukin.

Masterpieces from his collection were shown at the Pushkin Museum in 2019, following the Paris exhibition in 2016. Now it’s time for the collections of industrialist Ivan Morozov and his brother Mikhail.

Visitors to the Brother Ivan exhibition.  Collections of Mikhail and Ivan Morozov at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow - RIA Novosti, 1920, 28/06/2022
Visitors of the exhibition “Brother Ivan. Collections of Mikhail and Ivan Morozov” at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow

Shchukin and Morozov bought the best of France for a lot of money. Based on its collections, the New Museum of Western Art came into existence after nationalization in 1923. It was later disbanded after the struggle against cosmopolitanism, and most of the work was split between the Hermitage and the Pushkin Museum.

Ninety years later, the Morozov collections were displayed at the Hermitage and at the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris, and now, after a century-long hiatus, they have arrived in Moscow.

Visitors to the Brother Ivan exhibition.  Collections of Mikhail and Ivan Morozov at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow - RIA Novosti, 1920, 28/06/2022
Visitors of the exhibition “Brother Ivan. Collections of Mikhail and Ivan Morozov” at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow

non-traded Russian

“Many of the works acquired by the Morozovs at that time were considered works by “non-artists”: Van Gogh, Gauguin were not masters of the first order,” says Natalya Kortunova, the curator of the exhibition. “Mikhail has a spontaneous approach. when it comes to shopping, Ivan has a more restrained, calm one.

Visitor to the Brother Ivan exhibition.  Collections of Mikhail and Ivan Morozov at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow - RIA Novosti, 1920, 28/06/2022
A visitor to the exhibition “Brother Ivan. Collections of Mikhail and Ivan Morozov” at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow

Ivan developed his own taste: it started with the salon work of once popular but now forgotten painters. Some of his works are more expensive than Picasso’s.

Mikhail bought the paintings of Korovin, who taught painting to both brothers, and later collected everything he liked – from the works of Surikov “Boyarina Morozova” and Vrubel to the Impressionists. Gauguin became the first Russian to bring Van Gogh, Munch to Moscow.

Installation of the Brother Ivan exhibition.  Mikhail and Ivan Morozov Collections
Visitor to the Brother Ivan exhibition.  Collections of Mikhail and Ivan Morozov at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow
Installation of the Brother Ivan exhibition.  Mikhail and Ivan Morozov Collections

Unlike his addicted brother, Ivan could wait years for the right purchase by contacting art dealers. He went to Paris for the salons.

The exhibition includes invoices of paintings from French galleries. You can compare the prices of the tables with those available and once again be surprised by the talent and passion of the patrons.

Ivan not only collected what he loved, he wanted to create an encyclopedia of contemporary art – he overpaid, but found the best. At the same time, the Russian part of the Morozov collection looked eclectic: World of Art, Somov, Benois, Korovin, Levitan, Larionov, Goncharova…

A visitor next to a painting by artist Claude Monet Pond at the Brother Ivan exhibition in Montgeron (1876).  Collections of Mikhail and Ivan Morozov at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow - RIA Novosti, 1920, 28/06/2022
A visitor near the painting “Pond in Montgeron” (1876) by artist Claude Monet at the exhibition “Brother Ivan. Collections of Mikhail and Ivan Morozov” at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow

Ivan chose the French masters especially carefully. Hunted for Sisley, Renoir, Cezanne, he ordered monumental and decorative ensembles Denis, Bonnard and Matisse.

“Morozov’s eye was fixed on a different culture, on the bright multicolored chintz fabrics he produced, and then artistic self-study was added,” says the curator. “Ivan is believed to have been drawn to the exotic à la russe. Russian collectors were attracted by the bright colors of Gauguin, Matisse, Van Gog were not afraid. They were familiar with Russians associated with the textile industry.”

Installation of the Brother Ivan exhibition.  Mikhail and Ivan Morozov Collections
Installation of the exhibition “Brother Ivan. Collections of Mikhail and Ivan Morozov”

Legendary Masterpieces

The project showcases paintings such as Pablo Picasso’s Girl at the Ball that rarely or never leave the walls of the Pushkin Museum because of their fragility.

The date of purchase is not so simple, because Leo and Gertrude Stein competed with the Morozovs for the title of best collectors. The critic and writer were the first to constantly buy Picasso, Matisse, Monet, Renoir and other impressionists.

Artist Pablo Picasso's painting on a ball (1905), at the Brother Ivan exhibition.  Collections of Mikhail and Ivan Morozov at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow - RIA Novosti, 1920, 28/06/2022
Painting “Girl on the Ball” (1905) by artist Pablo Picasso at the exhibition “Brother Ivan. Collections of Mikhail and Ivan Morozov” at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow

But brother and sister weren’t always wise, and eventually had to sell a series of works. Morozov repeatedly visited Stines at home and noticed the “Girl on the Ball”.

The purchase was a rare success: works of Picasso’s “pink period” were already fabulously worth the money. Purchased in 1913, the painting was the last work of a foreign artist’s authorship.

During the First World War and the Revolution, Ivan was unable to visit the French capital and concentrated on Russian masters. But among his new acquisitions were the works of writers like Marc Chagall, who became famous in France in the 1920s.

Visitor to the Brother Ivan exhibition.  Collections of Mikhail and Ivan Morozov at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow - RIA Novosti, 1920, 28/06/2022
A visitor to the exhibition “Brother Ivan. Collections of Mikhail and Ivan Morozov” at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow

Van Gogh’s chameleon painting

“Restricted” for the walls of the Pushkin Museum, Van Gogh’s “Red Vineyards” – one of the few paintings sold during the artist’s lifetime.

In 1888, the master painted the canvas on burlap, primed it himself, applied the paint with a brush and fingers. After he finished, he did not wait for the painting to dry, rolled it up and sent it to his brother Theo in Paris. For this reason, in some places the texture of the canvas is noticeable on the work and small cracks have occurred.

When writing the sun, the master used lead chromate, which darkens when exposed to ultraviolet radiation. Now you can only guess how bright it was in the beginning.

Not a picture, sweet

Installation of the Brother Ivan exhibition.  Mikhail and Ivan Morozov Collections
Installation of the exhibition “Brother Ivan. Collections of Mikhail and Ivan Morozov”

Some of the paintings in the exhibition are in dialogue. For example, two images of Jeanne Samary by Renoir (one from the Hermitage, from the collection of Mikhail, and the second from Ivan). The artist wrote to the actress many times – there is a legend that he fell in love with her.

Kortunova said, “In the example of the works, you can see how different it is. One is a full-length ceremonial portrait in the image where the master first saw him. Mikhail believed that it was one of the best works. From Renoir.”

Reproduction of Renoir's Portrait of the Actress Jeanne Samary - RIA Novosti, 1920, 28.06.2022
Renoir’s painting “Portrait of Actress Jeanne Samary”

In the second picture, Samari on a pink background, in a green dress, with a flower on her shoulder. In the 1910s this color combination was considered a mauvais hue. But Renoir had his own system for choosing colors: if they were not compatible, he “combined” them. In the portrait, a gold bracelet became such a fastener.

Critics disapproved of the work, calling it a “gooseberry-pistachio dessert you can eat with a spoon.”

Installation of the Brother Ivan exhibition.  Mikhail and Ivan Morozov Collections
Installation of the exhibition “Brother Ivan. Collections of Mikhail and Ivan Morozov”

The canvas may not have been included in the Russian collection: artist Vinogradov, who advised Mikhail to buy Renoir, was skeptical of his “sweet” painting. But the collector did not listen to him – and he was right.

Open Final

Ivan Morozov did not have time to finish his meeting, few people saw him – only those who visited the industrialist’s mansion.

Installation of the Brother Ivan exhibition.  Mikhail and Ivan Morozov Collections
Visitor to the Brother Ivan exhibition.  Collections of Mikhail and Ivan Morozov at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow
Visitor to the Brother Ivan exhibition.  Collections of Mikhail and Ivan Morozov at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow

“He wasn’t the kind of person to show off an unfinished project,” says curator Alexei Petukhov.

Installation of the Brother Ivan exhibition.  Mikhail and Ivan Morozov Collections
Installation of the exhibition “Brother Ivan. Collections of Mikhail and Ivan Morozov”

The Pushkin Museum decided to imagine and imagine what would happen if Morozov stayed in Moscow and completed work on the collection. The museum suggested how to place the collection, which was verified by Ivan and arranged in chronological order.

“The concept of the ideal museum is broader,” Petukhov emphasizes.

The exhibition “Brother Ivan. Collections of Mikhail and Ivan Morozov” will remain open until October 30th.

Source: Ria

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