The Hermitage Museum-Amsterdam, opened in 2009 as a subsidiary of the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, will be called H’ART Museum from September 1, 2023 and will work “in close collaboration with the British Museum , the Center Pompidou and the Smithsonian Museum of American Art.” On this subject reported on its official website.
The press release indicates that the H’ART museum will exhibit collections without partnership programs with the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, which have no connection with Russia. “It’s a new start for the museum on the Amstel (the river that runs through Amsterdam),” the management said.
The museum is housed in the Amstelhof, a 17th century building. Dmitry Medvedev, then President of Russia, was personally present at its opening. Legally, the Hermitage-Amsterdam was an autonomous and independent institution. Nevertheless, for exhibitions, which were held twice a year, he mainly used the collections of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg.
After the start of the military operation in Ukraine, the Hermitage-Amsterdam announced the termination of partnerships with the Russian museum and closed most of its exhibitions to the public. “***** (military operation) destroys everything, even 30 years of cooperation,” said a press release issued by the branch’s management at the time.
The current name change statement does not mention Russia at all, Remarks Le Figaro. At the same time, the first major exhibition at the H’ART museum, scheduled for mid-2024, should be an exhibition of works by the Russian-born artist Wassily Kandinsky. The museum expects to receive exhibits from the Center Pompidou in Paris.
In 2025, the H’ART museum intends to celebrate the 750th anniversary of Amsterdam with an exhibition of paintings from the Leiden Collection, an important private collection of Dutch art. “Never before have 17 Rembrandt paintings from this collection appeared in a single exhibition. This is an exciting new step, this formula for modern and sustainable collaboration,” said museum director Annabelle Birney, promising to “build on experience in the international realm and spread its wings.”
In addition, the “Hermitage-Amsterdam” features a permanent exhibition dedicated to the history of the Amstelhof – the building in which it is located – and the relations between Russia and the Netherlands. There are also exhibits from the collections of other museums – for example, the Amsterdam Museum and the Rijksmuseum.
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