Exhibition from France in the Patriarchal Palace of the Kremlin. Patriarchal Palace. Remains of Gothic luxury

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Rare exhibits, many of which are being exhibited for only the second time. Stained glass from the 12th century occupies a special place. For eight centuries, these objects did not leave France, scattered after the revolution in museums and private collections. The twists and turns of history were knocked out gems

from elegant frames, the paints were erased, cracks were painted. In the 21st century, the grace and fragility takes your breath away. The French Middle Ages in Gothic details and images were brought to Moscow.

“If we want to bring and see a wooden sculpture from the 13th century, we need to place it in a special climatic display case. Even the slightest fluctuations in temperature and humidity can cause irreparable damage to the safety of this thing,” says Ekaterina Karavaeva, director of the department of international and exhibition activities of the Moscow Kremlin Museums.

Saint Louis. One of the most beloved rulers. So that we could see all this, the French opened his precious box. This is what Louis called the Sainte-Chapelle chapel in Paris. Under its arches he brought Christian relics - trophies of successful crusades. At the same time, the vaults themselves are a work of art.

You can hang a painting from the Louvre on the wall, but you will have to go to Paris to get the atmosphere of the Louvre. And the organizers of this exhibition brought the atmosphere. The lighting is meticulously chosen to suit almost every shade. And voila - when the clouds clear over Paris, the stained glass windows in the Sainte-Chapelle church look exactly like this.

In the Middle Ages they were like pictures in books. Illiterate people studied the history of faith through stained glass windows. Stories from the Old Testament. Apocalypse. New Testament scene of the baptism of Christ. More than 1,000 stained glass windows in Paris make the chapel soaring in color and light.

Only 12 stained glass windows were brought to Moscow. Representatives of the French side admit that after the plane they unpacked this multi-colored transparency in a cold sweat.

And what is it like for the openwork doors, for example, of a diptych depicting the Passion of Christ to rise into the air, because they are made of Ivory. The French did not dare to undertake such experiments. Therefore, this lace of history was brought from the Hermitage - the Russian contribution to the exhibition.

“This is an amazing impression, because those exhibits that were brought to Moscow are a shock for the Russian viewer, for the Russian art admirer,” noted Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets.

“Special thanks and low bow to our French partners who decided to take such an unprecedented, historical, one might say, step. Merci beaucoup! - said the special representative of the Russian President on environmental issues, ecology and transport Sergei Ivanov.

Beauty was kept in beauty. Vessels, caskets, caskets for relics are also exhibits. A crown of thorns was held in crystal with gilded silver. Louis believed that he was the real one, from the head of Christ. And in this book there are a hundred miniatures, written from the stories of witnesses about good deeds king. Medieval canonization is not an easy procedure. There is no way to become a saint without witnesses.

“We appeal to those who reflect on the culture, history, origins of our roots,” says exhibition curator Olga Dmitrieva.

The soul and heart of France is temporarily in Moscow, in the Patriarchal Palace of the Kremlin. And even if you are not going to Paris, you should definitely come here for the unique feeling of a time in which you did not live, and for which there can be no nostalgia. And this seems to make it even more interesting.

On September 7, 2018, the exhibition “BVLGARI. The charm of femininity. The splendor of Roman jewelry." The retrospective project will introduce viewers to works of high jewelry by the world famous Italian house BVLGARI, whose history goes back more than one hundred and thirty years. In the exhibition halls of the Assumption Belfry and the Patriarchal Palace, visitors will be able to trace changes in the design of jewelry from the very first silver objects created in the neo-Greek tradition in late XIX centuries to the luxurious works of the dolce vita era and the subsequent famous collections of the end of the millennium.

One of the main themes of the exhibition will be the reflection of the ideas of feminism in the works of BVLGARI. This topic will be explored by collections created by the jewelry house in different years XX century, when the destruction of stereotypes about the traditional role of women in society was reflected, among other things, in jewelry. Since the 1920s, the BVLGARI house has created exclusive jewelry and watches in the Art Deco style characteristic of that time with linear and geometric motifs, experimented with volumes, and began to use large round diamonds. In subsequent decades, the style of the jewelry house changed along with the woman's lifestyle. Post-war time brought restraint to BVLGARI's works, often using semi-precious stones instead of precious ones. Then the key role in the creative concept of BVLGARI gradually shifted to color: combinations of stones began to acquire contrast - from blue with green to red with green and blue. In the 60s, volume and color became the hallmark of the BVLGARI style.

The history of BVLGARI is inextricably linked with the names of such legendary actresses as Elizabeth Taylor, who was perceived as an ideological leader of the feminist movement and an ideal free woman, Anna Magnani, Audrey Hepburn, Ingrid Bergman, Gina Lollobrigida, Sofia Loren. By their order, magnificent jewelry was created over the years, which reflected the character and attitude to life of famous customers. Many of them liked to wear their own jewelry on camera. For many years, these things have been the personification of the luxury and freedom of a woman, free to embody her ideas in jewelry. In the exhibition you will be able to see jewelry from the BVLGARI house that belonged to film stars of the 60s of the 20th century, expressing the charismatic image of each of them.

Visitors will find an unusual design of the exhibition space. Original multimedia and lighting solutions specially developed for the project will provide the effect of presence and provide the opportunity to immerse yourself in the inimitable atmosphere of creating a jewelry masterpiece.

The exhibition will include a variety of educational program. The Lecture Hall of the Moscow Kremlin Museums will host a series of lectures “Famous Jewelry Houses. House of BVLGARI”, dedicated to the history of the creation of legendary brands, craftsmen, designers and the jewelry itself. Guests will also enjoy cultural and educational programs with a visit to the exhibition and master classes, where, under the guidance of an art historian, each participant will be able to create their own original sketch of jewelry and its model.

Also, as part of the exhibition, the Moscow Kremlin Museums will host the “Ambassy Gifts” music festival, which this year will be dedicated to Italian music, its richness and stylistic diversity. At one of the concerts, musical works will be performed on the violin of the great master Andrea Guarneri, which is currently kept in the State Collection of unique musical instruments Russia. The final concert of the festival will be dedicated to Italian cinema of the 20th century. Works by Nino Rota, Ennio Morricone, Nicola Piovani will be performed for the best Italian films of great directors - Federico Fellini, Franco Zeffirelli, Roberto Benigni, Vittorio De Sica.

Exhibition hall of the Assumption Belfry, exhibition hall of the Patriarchal Palace.

Bright stained glass windows of the royal chapel of Sainte-Chapelle, shining with a dazzling blue, as if they were not 800 years old... A small wooden sculpture of Saint Louis from the Parisian Museum of Cluny, a crown reliquary from the Louvre, and the will of Saint Louis, dictated by him in February 1270, before leaving for his the second (and last) crusade... Neither the precious stained glass windows, nor the Gospel with the precious frame from the times of the last crusades ever left France... Today they are in Moscow. At the exhibition "Saint Louis and the Relics of Sainte-Chapelle", organized by the Moscow Kremlin Museums together with the French Center of National Monuments, with the support of the French Embassy as part of the cross-year of cultural tourism between Russia and France.

Historians sometimes call the 13th century the “age of Saint Louis” of the Capetian dynasty. And not only in France, but, perhaps, in Europe as well. His life could serve as the outline of an exciting knightly romance... It included a hasty coronation at the age of 12. Just three weeks after the unexpected death of his father and soon after the equally urgent knighting... His mother, the beautiful Spanish woman Blanca of Castile, became the regent for the young king, whose wisdom and diplomatic gift would serve for the benefit of her son and France until her last days. In the life of Louis IX (1214-1270) there were battles with rebellious feudal lords in the south of France... The purchase of nothing less than the Crown of Thorns (and then other relics associated with the Way of the Cross of Christ) from the crusaders who conquered Constantinople, but found themselves in financial trouble ... There was the construction of cathedrals and the collection of a unique royal library... Two crusades to the East... During one, he was captured with his entire army and was ransomed for a huge sum of 400 thousand livres, and the second became fatal for him. Louis IX will die in Tunisia either from the plague or from dysentery...

It would seem that we have before us the ideal hero of a chivalric romance, one of those who could inspire the noble hero of Cervantes’s novel. Already for the inhabitants of the 16th century, the era of the Crusades was lost in the foggy distance of centuries, as now, say, for us - their 16th or later 17th century.

But this knight, warrior, king became the hero not of novels but of lives. This was the king who in his “Teachings” wrote to children (by the way, in French, and not in Latin - which was unusual in that century): “Dear son, I command you to sympathize with all your heart for the poor and for everyone who seems to you to be suffering in soul and body ". This was a king who often wore a hair shirt, slept on a cotton mattress without straw and a silk sheet... Of the most incredible stories- meeting in good friday with a leper on the street in Compiegne, where he was the Royal Castle. The king, walking barefoot, went over to the side of the sick man, having caught up with him, gave alms and kissed his hand. It is not surprising that many of his retinue crossed themselves in fear.

One of the most thorough and brilliant French historians of the twentieth century, Jacques Le Goff, who wrote a book about Saint Louis for fifteen years, consistently separating the hagiographic genre from the historical biography, will note: “He, without a doubt, was the first king of France who erected such a personal trait, like conscience into royal dignity."

But this “anchorite” manages to be a very pragmatic politician (except, of course, for the Crusades), who strengthened royal power, subtly played on the contradictions between the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, diplomat, scribe, creator of a new judicial and administrative system in France…

It is this contradictory king-saint who actually is main character exhibition that opened in the exhibition hall of the Patriarchal Palace. It is all like a magic crystal, allowing us to imagine, through the distance of eight centuries, the age of Gothicism and knightly campaigns and the emerging European monarchies... The century when the water mill in Europe still looked like a delightful technical innovation... The century that still remembered Francis of Assisi - he died in 1226, in the same year when Louis, having lost his father, becomes king.

The exhibition builds a series of “approximations” to its hero. By the way, Jacques Le Goff shares the opinion of those who believe that “we do not know a single reliable portrait of Saint Louis.” It’s just that portraits, autobiographies, and autographs of kings will appear a little later - after the 13th century. However, at the exhibition you can see a small wooden sculpture, which supposedly gives an idea of ​​​​the appearance of Saint Louis, who in his youth is said to have been handsome.

So - the first approximation is the royal chapel of Sainte-Chapelle in Paris. The one that "defies the laws of gravity." The one that was built specifically to store the purchased treasure - the Crown of Thorns, brought from Constantinople - with a stop at Venice - to Paris, and consecrated in 1248. Her stained glass windows are from National Center monuments of France, Limoges enamels of the 13th century and the same time crucifixes and ivory sculptures depicting the Passion of Christ (from the Hermitage collection) - give an idea of ​​the beauty of the frame that the king prepared for the purchased relic. And - about the intelligibility of the political message.

“By that time, there were complexes of stained glass windows in many cathedrals. But usually the selection of scenes from the Old and New Testaments is subordinated to didactic purposes,” says exhibition curator, Doctor of Science Olga Vladimirovna Dmitrieva. “Here, the theme of power runs like a red thread through all the stained glass windows. Old Testament First of all, subjects related to the power of the king were selected. And the last stained glass window, dedicated to the bringing of the Crown of Thorns to France, emphasizes that Louis is not just the heir of these sovereigns, but the heir of Christ himself, because he now possesses his crown. Sainte-Chapelle became a place where the cult of Christian relics merged with the cult of the king. This is the difference between the Sainte-Chapelle program and any other Gothic cathedral."

The second approximation is reliquaries. Among the most precious are the crown-reliquary and the quatrefoil of the reliquary of Francis of Assisi from the Louvre. “This quadrifolium of amazing work by Limoges masters depicts how Francis of Assisi receives the stigmata... The theme of likening Christ is presented here in an amazing jewelry form,” says Olga Vladimirovna. “Francis of Assisi is the saint whom Louis tried to imitate.”

Alas, the precious golden casket, which cost the treasury 100,000 livres de Tours and in which the Crown of Thorns of Christ, brought from Constantinople, was placed (for comparison, it cost 40,000 livres to build the Sainte-Chapelle), disappeared during the Great French Revolution. The Crown of Thorns itself was divided into three parts and kept in the National Library of France. Now - in the Cathedral Notre Dame of Paris. That crystal reliquary, decorated with gilded silver, that was brought to Moscow from Notre Dame Cathedral, was made in 1806. He no longer had to hide the treasure, but demonstrate it. True, it was placed in another reliquary in the form globe, decorated with figures of angels.

The third approximation is documents, manuscripts and books. Among the most impressive are the will of Saint Louis from 1270 and handwritten books from the 14th century. Including the book “The History of the Life of King Saint Louis” by Jean de Joinville, a knight and close courtier of Louis IX. He dictated his memoirs 30 years after the king's death. And he outlived his crowned friend by 47 years. We can say that we learn about the king first-hand - from his good friend.

The optics of the exhibition project are not exhaustive, but varied. This means it allows you to maintain a three-dimensional look.

Direct speech

Elena Gagarina, director of the Moscow Kremlin Museums:

I am glad that, with the help of our French colleagues, we were able to show wonderful examples of medieval Gothic art from different regions of France. This kind of project has never been carried out in Russia. The exhibition provides a unique opportunity to see 78 rarities of the Gothic era from the largest museum collections in France and the Hermitage, manuscripts and documents from the National Library and the National Archives of France.

Louis the Saint is a fundamentally important figure for the history of France and Europe. He was a very interesting, contradictory and multifaceted personality. He was a warrior and participated in a number of campaigns both within the country and abroad. But he did not like war and tried to resolve issues peacefully. A great diplomat, he participated in disputes between the English king and his barons, between the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, finding an opportunity to strengthen the position of France.

Louis IX the Saint was not just a very religious man who considered himself imperfect and thought about improving morals in the state. He was the king under whom the construction of the major Gothic cathedrals in France was completed. He collected a grandiose library. He was very interested in everything that related to the legal and administrative life of the state. For example, the concept of the presumption of innocence, which existed in the Roman Empire, was forgotten in the Middle Ages and reintroduced by him. Since Saint Louis, legal system European laws are based on this concept of the presumption of innocence.

The figure of Saint Louis is not very well known to our public. And it is very symbolic that these unsurpassed masterpieces moved from France to the Kremlin for three months.

By the way

Two concerts of secular and sacred music from the French Middle Ages will be held in the Assumption Cathedral. On April 4th, the Ensenhas ensemble will perform the music of troubadours of the 12th-13th centuries. On April 21 there will be a concert of Easter music by the Labirynthus and Chronos ensembles.

And the first lectures on the era of Saint Louis and French art of the 13th century will start on the fourth of March. Read the details.

Quote

Jacques Le Goff, historian:

“He was, without a doubt, the first king of France who elevated such a personal trait as conscience to a royal dignity.”

Where and when did people not dream of having a righteous man on the throne? The French are confident that in their history there was such a ruler - Louis IX, pious and pious, the author of an unprecedented series of laws that in the 13th century prescribed officials do not blaspheme, steal, drink or commit sexual immorality. During his lifetime they began to call him a saint, and after his death he was completely canonized. To popularize the life and work of such a monarch, no effort, money, or time should be spared. And the Center of National Monuments of France did not spare them.

And for the Moscow Kremlin Museums, in principle, it is very fitting to demonstrate the values ​​associated with the life and deeds of the supreme rulers. And now, through the joint efforts of the Center for National Monuments and the Moscow Kremlin Museums, an exhibition entitled “Saint Louis and the Relics of Sainte-Chapelle” was organized and staged in the Patriarchal Palace of the Kremlin. Yulia Kazyukova has all the details.

The personality of Saint Louis, the fate of the relics he collected and the Sainte-Chapelle church are closely connected. The wise and fair ruler, the ninth king of France, patronized art and contributed to the formation of national identity.

“A lot is known about Saint Louis due to the fact that he was canonized. And a whole series of testimonies about the miracles that occurred after his death were collected and described,” comments Elena Gagarina, director of the Moscow Kremlin Museums.

As a result of the IV Crusade, the Latin crusaders captured Constantinople, where they discovered great amount the most valuable Christian relics.

“Among them were the Crown of Thorns of the Savior, a large fragment of the Life-Giving Cross, there was the spear of the centurion Longinus, with which the crucified God was pierced,” says the deputy general director Moscow Kremlin Museums Olga Dmitrieva.

Saint Louis acquired many shrines, thereby strengthening the authority of France and the throne. And he ordered the construction of the airy, weightless, Gothic chapel of unprecedented beauty with stained glass windows of the Sainte-Chapelle to store the shrines, where they were located until the French Revolution.

"In the XVII - XVIII centuries It was believed that Gothic art was something terrible. But in the 19th century there was a renewed interest in works created in the Middle Ages. This happened, among other things, thanks to the publication of Victor Hugo’s novel “Notre Dame de Paris” in the 1830s. Then they decided to begin the restoration of the cathedral. Unfortunately, some fragments of stained glass have been lost. But what you see is 800 years old. And they were taken out of France for the first time,” says Philippe Belaval, president of the Center for National Monuments of France.

The exhibition presents objects from different periods, but each unique story. Thus, the crown was kept for a long time in the Dominican monastery in Liege, it was considered the regalia of Louis. It was later discovered that this was a reliquary. Behind the crystal plates is a particle of the Crown, fragments of the true Cross and Spear. At the center of the exhibition is a crystal reliquary made in 1806. For the first time, the Crown of Thorns was brought out for worship in the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris.

Next to the reliquary from the Napoleonic era is a document from the 13th century. Saint Louis encountered him when he decided to acquire the Crown of Thorns. He was presented with this act, from which it followed that the shrine had already been pledged to the Venetians. However, Louis IX negotiated for a long time and finally bought the Crown of Thorns for incredible money. They did not dare to take the relic to Moscow. But the exhibits presented fully reveal the personality of Saint Louis, not very well known to the Russian public, and help to better understand French medieval culture.

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