Artful Politics
Now that just seems downright silly that Russia seems, in a fit of pique over its tit-for-tat diplomatic-political spat with Britain - to have exercised its option to deny a long-awaited art loan for a London-based exhibition of paintings. Conciliation through scientific and scholarly exchanges as well as art and culture exchanges can do wonders for mending broken fences.
But the Kremlin decided, in its great wisdom and annoyance with Britain's accusations of human-rights abuses against Russia, to pull out of the art loan. Artwork by Van Gogh and Kandinsky are part of the over 120 paintings that were scheduled to arrive in London from state collections held at the Pushkin Museum, the Tretyakov Gallery, the Hermitage and the Russian Museums.
The Kremlin didn't stop there, having ordered the British council to close its offices in St.Petersburg and Ekaterinburg. So much for the exchange of culture. The verbal spitting and diplomatic impasse has resulted from Russian's refusal to isolate and hold responsible the killer of a former KGB officer living in Britain, dissident Alexander Litvinenko. In the wake of which Britain expelled the Russian ambassador, and Russia returned the compliment.
Of course there's another little untidy element here as well. The long-planned exhibit, From Russia, might conceivably have posed a threat to the return of all the loaned artwork. Many of these great pieces of world art are claimed to have been taken from private collections in 1917 during the early days of Communist rule. Legal claims are outstanding on some of these art works, by descendants of the original collectors.
Russia has an official policy of refusing to lend works of art to those countries who have enacted anti-seizure laws in the wake of some 55 paintings from the Pushkin Museum which were briefly impounded in 2005, on loan in Switzerland. These are, after all, state treasures, despite the murky reality of their past ownership. And Britain is just on the cusp of seeing an anti-seizure law through Parliament.
So the two countries are in the deep freeze, relation-wise. Pity, that.
But the Kremlin decided, in its great wisdom and annoyance with Britain's accusations of human-rights abuses against Russia, to pull out of the art loan. Artwork by Van Gogh and Kandinsky are part of the over 120 paintings that were scheduled to arrive in London from state collections held at the Pushkin Museum, the Tretyakov Gallery, the Hermitage and the Russian Museums.
The Kremlin didn't stop there, having ordered the British council to close its offices in St.Petersburg and Ekaterinburg. So much for the exchange of culture. The verbal spitting and diplomatic impasse has resulted from Russian's refusal to isolate and hold responsible the killer of a former KGB officer living in Britain, dissident Alexander Litvinenko. In the wake of which Britain expelled the Russian ambassador, and Russia returned the compliment.
Of course there's another little untidy element here as well. The long-planned exhibit, From Russia, might conceivably have posed a threat to the return of all the loaned artwork. Many of these great pieces of world art are claimed to have been taken from private collections in 1917 during the early days of Communist rule. Legal claims are outstanding on some of these art works, by descendants of the original collectors.
Russia has an official policy of refusing to lend works of art to those countries who have enacted anti-seizure laws in the wake of some 55 paintings from the Pushkin Museum which were briefly impounded in 2005, on loan in Switzerland. These are, after all, state treasures, despite the murky reality of their past ownership. And Britain is just on the cusp of seeing an anti-seizure law through Parliament.
So the two countries are in the deep freeze, relation-wise. Pity, that.
Labels: Life's Like That, Politics of Convenience
posted by Pieface | 7:03 PM
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