What happens to the exposition of the Ludwig Museum in the Russian Museum

The last few days in social networks, information was extended that the exposition of the Ludwig Museum in the Russian Museum will be disbanded. This would mean that we can lose the opportunity to see the only collection of Western modernist art in Russia in its classic head-from pop art to conceptualism. Kira Dolinina I tried to deal with these rumors and console myself with the fact that they are exaggerated.

The mid-1990s in the domestic museum world was associated with two revolutions. The first was the removal from the storerooms of trophy things, the cataloging of part of these funds and display at exhibitions. The second revolution seems to be the gift of the German Chocolate King Peter Ludwig and his wife Irene to the State Russian Museum (Museum), thanks to which the first “Museum of Modern Art” appeared in Russia in its international sense.

For the first time in Russia, on an ongoing basis, the works of Andy Warhol, Tom Wesselman, class of Oldenburg, Roy Liechtenstein, James Rosenquist, George Segal (pop art); Robert Bechtle, Ralph Gohings, Jeff Kuns (American hyperrealism); The great postmodernist Joseph Boyce, German neoexpressionists George Baselitsa, Marcus Lupertz, Anselm Kifer. Plus, inaccessible to Russian museums at the prices of the first domestic names – Ilya Kabakov, Vladimir Yankilevsky, Eric Bulatov. A total of 118 works: the first part of the gift was received in 1995, the second-three years later.

For Russia, this was a breakthrough – from that moment it became possible to see (and not only read about it in textbooks) the classics of Western modernism.

For the Ludwig family, this was an important step, but since eleven institutions (fund, museums of contemporary art, the collection of old art, exhibition halls) in Germany, Hungary, Austria, Spain, Switzerland and China were associated with this name, and the increase in this art empire seemed natural. Why it was the Russian Museum that was chosen, was not announced, but it was known in museum circles that at first Ludwig negotiated from the Mlime, but Irina Antonova would not suffer any museum. The Hermitage, according to rumors, was also not interested in then.

But the Russian museum, rapidly exciting new palaces in the center of St. Petersburg (Stroganovsky and Marble Palaces, Mikhailovsky Castle), accepted the proposal quickly and decisively. The institution under the ridiculous stylistically, but ideal politically the name of the Ludwig Museum in the Russian Museum opened in the marble palace a few months after the start of negotiations. According to the contract, she received a special status – “Museum in the Museum”.

So the Ludwig Museum in St. Petersburg lived for 30 years. In 2008, a voluminous catalog was released; In 2015, they made a reescraction, it became better, more masterpieces and clearer the idea of ​​the history of Izmus.

In 2020 at the exhibition “Artists and Collectors-the Russian Museum. Gifts. 1898–2019. Favorite »The status of Peter and Irene Ludwig and their gift was extremely high. All this time, the Ludwig Museum Foundation helped the timing for this exhibits for this exposition. What was bad? They were somehow lazily: the fact that the real Museum of Modern Art is not Moscow mommy or “garage”, but this very Museum of Ludwig, not everyone knew even in St. Petersburg. But in 2014, the exhibition of this meeting in Brazil came to second place in the world in attendance – more than 1 million spectators.

The thunder struck, from where they did not expect: suddenly a rumor appeared on the Web that after the Life of Wonderful Dogs passing in the marble palace of the huge exhibition, the Ludwig Museum would not return to his halls and his things would remain in the funds.

They referred to unnamed museum employees, while no one directly reported it about this. It was easy to believe in this rumor. The Ludwig Museum in the Russian Museum will really not return, because it is not called in the fall – the name of the constant exposition in the marble palace has disappeared on the site overnight. “The Ludwig Museum in the Russian Museum. The world art of the twentieth century: ideas and directions ”was replaced by“ the art of the second half of the twentieth century: from Picasso to Yankilevsky ”. At the same time, the main picture on the exposition page on the site was and remained a portrait of Peter Ludwig Warhol’s work. That’s certainly the devil laughed at the details.

They ordered to remove the name of the German capitalist from signs or this self -censorship is not so important. It is bad that this is very stupid: we have already passed the disappearance of the names of the philanthropists, it took almost a century to return Schukin and Morozov to the labels. Gratitude is the duty of the museum. After all, the GRM is granted with might and main: for example, one of the main imported exhibitions of the last three years was the “square and space” in the Moscow House of Culture “GES-2”. And where did the Western context come from, if not from Ludwig? They took it there – from Warhol and Baskia to Kifer and Richter.

But whether the institution itself will disappear behind the name (that is, things will be pulled out by other constant exhibitions and funds) – this is not yet confirmed.

The “Kommersant” request in the timing replied that “after the exhibition“ Life of wonderful dogs ”, the works will return to the exposition.” It remains to wait – the dogs reign in the marble palace until November 10.