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Еmpress that is remembered...
The jubilee exhibition “Catherine the Great in the memory of the descendants” devoted to the 280th anniversary of Catherine II When the girl was born she was given the name of Sophia Augusta Frederica (German: Sophie Friederike Auguste von Anhalt-Zerbst-Dornburg). Catherine’s father Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst, belonged to a ruling family of Anhalt, but entered the service of Prussia and held the rank of a Prussian general in his capacity as Governor of the city of Stettin where the prospective Empress was born. Her mother — Joanna Elizabeth of Holstein-Gottorp was the second aunt of the future Emperor Peter III. Ancestry of Catherine’s went back to Christian I, the King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, the first Duke Schlezwig-Golstein, the founder of the Oldenburg Dynasty. Sofia Frederica came to Russia being a sixteen-year-old girl. She was baptized and the Russian Orthodox Church received Princess Sofia as a member with a new name of Yeakaterina (Catherine) Alekseyevna. In 1745 she was married to the heir of the Russian throne Petr Fedorovich, her second cousin. In 1762 Catherine took power after a conspiracy deposed her husband, was crowned in Moscow and declared the Empress of all Russia. The period when she was on the throne is very often referred to as the “Golden Age” of the Russian Emporia. As a rule, at the jubilee exhibitions the visitors could see a lot of life portraits, archive autographs, personal belongings that are provided with definitely scientific comments. This exhibition in Tsaritsyno — is an innovative one. For the first time in the history of museum business the famous relics of XVIII century are exhibited! To be more precise, these relics were presented “reformatted” and “modernized”. So, the well-known portraits of Catherine the Great by F.S. Rokotov, D.G. Levistsky, V.L. Boroviskovsky are shown as engraved replicas of XIX century, postcards of XX century, stamps, matreshkas and other folk crafts products and articles, including different packing materials and magnets for fridges.
The exhibition “Catherine the Great in the memory of the descendants” is opened in the “Bead House” — one of the most impressive construction in Tsaritsyno, situated near Oranzhereinhy Most (Conservatory Bridge) on the board of the scenery park and architectural ensemble. You can see the most unbelievable images of the Empress — from huge tall sculptures to wax figures up to 5 centimeter-high tin statuettes. “Glory of Catherine”, one of the first Black sea sailing boats is demonstrated as a miniature model in a wine bottle. This exhibition is not only about Catherine the Great. It demonstrates how the historical memory about the Empress is reflected in our every day life — in a very wide range — from serious to funny. We are serious, for example, when we compare the portraits of Catherine and other rulers and leaders of Russia (from Prince Rurik up to Dmitry Medvedev) and think over which “national leader” suits our country most of all. We could be serious when we hold crowded meetings to celebrate the Empress’s anniversary in Simferopol and Odessa, argue on renaming of Krasodar into Ekaterinodar. And it looks funny when we name vodka and other spirits, chocolate and tea, artificial New Year trees and fireworks, portieres, cabinet fountains, sofas, chairs and even nail polish after Catherine... The exhibition in Tsaritsyno — is a kind of a museum “blockbuster”: 77 participants (museums, theaters, artists, collectors, public and commercial organizations) and more than 3000 artifacts dated between the beginning of XIX century up to XXI century, displayed in 22 halls. Films about Catherine the Great and her epoch are being shown. Even some famous advertising clips — for example, “The Star to Alexander Vasilievich” devoted to a long “deceased” bank “Imperial” — were not forgotten. Novelty of this exhibition — questioning of the visitors about Catherine, her person and her deeds, followed by a written voting. Themes that make one thinks could be found in each of 16 sections. And there is plenty of time for meditation ahead — the exhibition will be opened till 11 April 2010.
Another exposition closely connected with the name of Catherine the Great will be working in Tsaritsyno simultaneously with the mentioned one till 23 May 2010 — the first exhibition in the history of Russia devoted to the life and activity of Grigori Aleksandrovich Potemkin The exposition is displayed in eleven halls and reflects the milestones of Potemkin’s life and work — beginning with his study in a boarding school of Moscow University till the peak of his glory and creation activity as Empress’s devoted comrade-in-arms. More than four hundred items are displayed in the halls of Bolshoy Palace. Many of them have never been exhibited to the public before. Paintings and drawings showing the Prince in the different periods of his life were brought together for the first time. Memorial things, articles of palace interior, paintings of the best artists of XVIII century — battle-pieces, genre paintings, portraits of beauties, as well as love letters, orders, unique books, medals and regalia, rare samples of weapon and uniform, Russian army trophy reconstruct the atmosphere of the Catherine’s epoch. * Based on the materials of the State Historical, Architectural, Art and Landscape Museum-Reserve “Tsaritsyno”.
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© 2010 Department of Foreign Economic |