Paintings from the Spanish branch in Malaga restored in the Russian Museum May 19, 2022 — The evidence was abroad at the time the special operation began – Afisha Plus – Saint-Petersburg News
314 paintings returned to the Russian Museum from the Spanish branch in Malaga. On May 19, Fontanka was informed about this in the press service of the museum.
Among the returned works are masterpieces by Kazimir Malevich, Pavel Filonov, Wassily Kandinsky, Marc Chagall, David Burliuk, Nathan Altman, Natalia Goncharova, Mikhail Larionov, Viktor Vasnetsov, Vasily Vereshchagin, George Dow, Orest Kiprensky, Boris Kustodiev, Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin, Arkady Plastov, Vasily Polenov, Franz Roubaud, Alexander Samokhvalov and other outstanding masters from the collection of the Russian Museum. The works were exhibited in Spain within four editions: “War and Peace in Russian Art”, “Avant-Gardes in Russian Art of the First Half of the 20th Century”, “Dostoevsky from the Russian Museum” and “Mayakovsky – Artist and Poet”. All expositions opened in Malaga last year.
“Returning things to the museum is always a joy,” commented Vladimir Gusev, General Director of the State Russian Museum. “But now it is a special joy, because a lot had to be endured in order for the paintings to return. The insurance valuation was so high that there was a fear that they might be regarded by customs as a luxury item. There are new restrictions due to sanctions.”
According to information Art newspaper, the decision to close the branch was made by the Malaga City Council at the end of April. It was previously established that the museum would be “in hibernation” until the end of the special operation, but later the council decided not to resume cultural events due to the inability to get a new job from Russia and to close bank transfers.
The press service of the Russian Museum did not confirm the closure of the branch to Fontanka, suggesting that it could only be the impossibility of accepting Russian exhibits. Vladimir Gusev raised the hope that the work in Malaga will continue in the future.
Branch of the Russian Museum in Spain was opened in 2015. With the exception of the exposition, it was assumed that two temporary exhibitions take place here during the year.
