The Khanenko Museum Of Art, Kyiv, Ukraine (Also, and Incorrectly, Known As "The Museum Of Western And Oriental Art")
... "The Khanenkos lived for some time in Moscow, then in St. Petersburg and in Warsaw where Khanenko occupied a high position in the regional court of justice. They traveled widely all around Europe. It is not clear what motivated the very successful lawyer and his wife, the daughter of a millionaire, to move from the capital of the Russian Empire [Petersburg] to the provincial town of Kyiv (at that time it was provincial)...
By the end of the nineteenth century the Khanenkos had amassed a vast art collection whose individual pieces had been purchased in Paris, Madrid, Venice, Rome, Brussels and Warsaw [and Moscow]. The well-known Russian collector Tretyakov gave Khanenko advice where to look for outstanding works of art in the Russian collections. It was from the Khanenkos' collection that the Museum later sprang up. But it must be admitted that their collection was wider in scope and the variety of exhibits was more extensive and was not limited to Western and Oriental art as it is now [sic]. There were archaeological pieces dating to the times of Kyivan-Rus-Ukraine, as well as Russian and Ukrainian paintings of much later times...
Bohdan Khanenko had "his own", very personal, view on art and its history and development. He wanted to bring together under one roof works of art of different cultures but of the same epoch and thus show the underlying unity of the world art, and also create a special atmosphere in which these pieces of art would reveal all their qualities to their best advantage...
Bohdan Khanenko, a great patron of art and refined intellectual, did not live to see the ruinous results of the Bolshevik revolution and almost total destruction of culture. His wife [Varvara ~ Barbara] was not as lucky. In his will he bequeathed his art collection and many thousands of his books to the city of Kyiv he loved so much. His only condition was: both the art works and the books must be accessible to the public. His wife was appointed to carry out the terms of his will (the Khanenkos had no children and Varvara was the sole executrix)....
The Bolshevik authorities showed "a great benevolence" towards Mrs Khanenko: she was allowed to stay in her house and live in a tiny room that previously had been occupied by her parlor maid. But at the same time she was strictly forbidden even to have a look at her art collection, already not hers, but "the state's." She was a courageous woman and at night she stealthily crept downstairs and walked through the rooms with her art treasures. Varvara Khanenko died in 1922 and a faithful servant had her buried next to her husband at the cemetery of the Vydubetsky Monastery [in Kyiv]...
In 1941, shortly before the Nazi German troops occupied the city of Kyiv, a considerable part of the Khanenko collection was evacuated, and not a day too soon. During the German occupation quite a few items from the collection were taken away to Germany. But the mansion itself survived the fires, bombings, and shellings. The eminent scholar and art historian Hylyarov stayed in Kyiv all through the three terrible years of German occupation and took care of the Museum in the best way he could. After the Red Army recaptured the city from the Germans, the Soviet power "honored" Hylyarov for saving the Museum from being totally gutted and despoiled by arresting him and putting him into prison for "collaboration with the Nazi German invaders." ...
After the war the Museum was brought back to life but by the end of the [nineteen]-eighties it became clear that it must be closed for urgent repairs. The Museum was closed down just at the time the Soviet Union was disintegrating. There was not enough money allocated for the renovation, and inflation was so high it was impossible to keep up with it. All the Museum items were carefully preserved in the basement."...
*
The Khanenko Museum of Art is now open; and its magnificent and beautiful rooms restored to their original 19th century conditions.
"Khanenko's cultural heritage is the core of the museum's collection. There are Egyptian statues and bronze sculptures, antic terracotta and glassware, Roman and Greek sculptures, Byzantine exhibits, ivory, church stained-glass, icons, fabrics, jewelry of Kievan Russia. With time the collection was enriched and formed, thanks to the efforts of many famous people. The famous patron of art from Saint Petersburg, V. Shavinskiy, donated about 200 priceless masterpieces of Flemish, Netherlands and Dutch painting schools. The museum's stock was enriched with unique Chinese paintings of the 16th-20th centuries. Taisia Jasparre, native Ukrainian wife of French ambassador in Peking Andre Stephen Jasparre, presented 400 scrolls of paintings to the museum. The collection of the museum consists of about 25,000 exhibits and is considered to be the biggest foreign art collection in Ukraine. "
Opening text source and photo credit: Andriy Hlazovy http://www.wumag.kiev.ua/wumag_old/archiv/2_98/muzey.htm
With thanks.
Also see: http://www.kiev.info/culture/western_oriental.htm
Diego Velasquez. Portrait of Infanta Margaret. Circa 1659-1660.
Collection of The Khanenko Museum of Art, Kyiv, Ukraine.
By the end of the nineteenth century the Khanenkos had amassed a vast art collection whose individual pieces had been purchased in Paris, Madrid, Venice, Rome, Brussels and Warsaw [and Moscow]. The well-known Russian collector Tretyakov gave Khanenko advice where to look for outstanding works of art in the Russian collections. It was from the Khanenkos' collection that the Museum later sprang up. But it must be admitted that their collection was wider in scope and the variety of exhibits was more extensive and was not limited to Western and Oriental art as it is now [sic]. There were archaeological pieces dating to the times of Kyivan-Rus-Ukraine, as well as Russian and Ukrainian paintings of much later times...
Bohdan Khanenko had "his own", very personal, view on art and its history and development. He wanted to bring together under one roof works of art of different cultures but of the same epoch and thus show the underlying unity of the world art, and also create a special atmosphere in which these pieces of art would reveal all their qualities to their best advantage...
Bohdan Khanenko, a great patron of art and refined intellectual, did not live to see the ruinous results of the Bolshevik revolution and almost total destruction of culture. His wife [Varvara ~ Barbara] was not as lucky. In his will he bequeathed his art collection and many thousands of his books to the city of Kyiv he loved so much. His only condition was: both the art works and the books must be accessible to the public. His wife was appointed to carry out the terms of his will (the Khanenkos had no children and Varvara was the sole executrix)....
The Bolshevik authorities showed "a great benevolence" towards Mrs Khanenko: she was allowed to stay in her house and live in a tiny room that previously had been occupied by her parlor maid. But at the same time she was strictly forbidden even to have a look at her art collection, already not hers, but "the state's." She was a courageous woman and at night she stealthily crept downstairs and walked through the rooms with her art treasures. Varvara Khanenko died in 1922 and a faithful servant had her buried next to her husband at the cemetery of the Vydubetsky Monastery [in Kyiv]...
In 1941, shortly before the Nazi German troops occupied the city of Kyiv, a considerable part of the Khanenko collection was evacuated, and not a day too soon. During the German occupation quite a few items from the collection were taken away to Germany. But the mansion itself survived the fires, bombings, and shellings. The eminent scholar and art historian Hylyarov stayed in Kyiv all through the three terrible years of German occupation and took care of the Museum in the best way he could. After the Red Army recaptured the city from the Germans, the Soviet power "honored" Hylyarov for saving the Museum from being totally gutted and despoiled by arresting him and putting him into prison for "collaboration with the Nazi German invaders." ...
After the war the Museum was brought back to life but by the end of the [nineteen]-eighties it became clear that it must be closed for urgent repairs. The Museum was closed down just at the time the Soviet Union was disintegrating. There was not enough money allocated for the renovation, and inflation was so high it was impossible to keep up with it. All the Museum items were carefully preserved in the basement."...
*
The Khanenko Museum of Art is now open; and its magnificent and beautiful rooms restored to their original 19th century conditions.
"Khanenko's cultural heritage is the core of the museum's collection. There are Egyptian statues and bronze sculptures, antic terracotta and glassware, Roman and Greek sculptures, Byzantine exhibits, ivory, church stained-glass, icons, fabrics, jewelry of Kievan Russia. With time the collection was enriched and formed, thanks to the efforts of many famous people. The famous patron of art from Saint Petersburg, V. Shavinskiy, donated about 200 priceless masterpieces of Flemish, Netherlands and Dutch painting schools. The museum's stock was enriched with unique Chinese paintings of the 16th-20th centuries. Taisia Jasparre, native Ukrainian wife of French ambassador in Peking Andre Stephen Jasparre, presented 400 scrolls of paintings to the museum. The collection of the museum consists of about 25,000 exhibits and is considered to be the biggest foreign art collection in Ukraine. "
Opening text source and photo credit: Andriy Hlazovy http://www.wumag.kiev.ua/wumag_old/archiv/2_98/muzey.htm
With thanks.
Also see: http://www.kiev.info/culture/western_oriental.htm
Diego Velasquez. Portrait of Infanta Margaret. Circa 1659-1660.
Collection of The Khanenko Museum of Art, Kyiv, Ukraine.
posted by Garth Trinkl at 7:04 AM
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