Hermitage to time large exhibitions to G8 summit

March 25 – The State Hermitage is preparing a number of large exhibitions for the G8 summit, Mikhail Piotrovsky, the director of the St. Petersburg-based museum, told the press Saturday.

“Russia is currently getting ready for the G8 summit and we are also preparing a cultural program for participants in and guests of the significant event St. Petersburg will be hosting. Besides politics and economics, there is culture, a common link, and we should remember this,” he said.

According to Piotrovsky, two paintings by famous Italian artist Andrea Mantegnia will be exhibited in the Hermitage for two weeks beginning July 11 and a large exhibition of the great artist will be running next fall.

The agreement was reached with a visiting delegation from Italy with art critics from Bologna University, writers and representatives of the Italian consulate to the northern city.

“Like all the other Russian museums, the Hermitage does not have any of Mantegnia’s paintings. Exhibiting two paintings in the run up to a large exhibition is the way international exhibitions are organized now. In our turn, we are sending two paintings by Italian artists from the Hermitage collection to Italy,” the Hermitage director said.

He said a number of large exhibitions would be held in the Hermitage in summer, including the one called “A Trip Across the Mediterranean,” an exposition of rock crystal and exhibitions of Canadian, Dutch and U.S. art.

“These are the gem exhibitions our museum will prepare for the event,” Piotrovsky said.