Topic: 400th Anniversary
The Museum of Fine Arts in the Siberian city of Omsk will host a major exhibition marking the 400th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty in 2013.
The museum is housed in the former palace of M.A. Vrubel, the former Governor General of the region. It was nationalized by the Bolsheviks in 1924 and today boasts a collection of some 22,000 items.
The curators have confirmed that they have recently discovered more than 50 unique items, many of which belonged to Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich. Known as KR, the former grand duke was a noted poet, musician and artist, and President of the Imperial Academy of Sciences.
Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich
The grand duke visited Omsk on two occasions, visiting the local cadet corps--the oldest military institution in Siberia.
After the Revolution, many items from the grand duke's palace in St. Petersburg were shipped to Omsk. Furniture, ceramics and dozens of paintings were placed into storage at the museum.
After the Bolsheviks seized the properties of the Russian Imperial family and the aristocracy in 1918, the distribution of their personal collections to museums across Russia was a common practice in the 1920s.
© Paul Gilbert @ Royal Russia. 3 November, 2011
Updated: Sunday, 4 December 2011 10:37 AM EST
Permalink | Share This Post