CASPER
New member
msterdam – The Russian satellite about to debut on the banks of the Amstel River this month will never take flight: its mission is cultural and its structure includes massive stone blocks.
But the launch of Hermitage Amsterdam culminates years of cooperation between cultural leaders in St. Petersburg, Russia, and Amsterdam and represents a new kind of takeoff for one of the art world's giants: The State Hermitage Museum, which holds about 3 million works of art in its vaults on the Neva River.
"These days we've got a lot of adrenaline, in a positive way, because a dream becomes reality," says Ernst Veen, director of Hermitage Amsterdam. The Hermitage "belongs to the world, and we must open it to the world."
The opening Saturday of Hermitage Amsterdam reinforces ties that are as old as St. Petersburg's founding some 300 years ago.
Tale of two cities
The museum will be the first independent institution west of St. Petersburg to bear the name of the Hermitage. Set within the Amstelhof, a hulking 300-year-old former nursing home, the institution will hold exhibitions from the collections of the Hermitage. Spaces for performances, study, and lectures will focus on Russia's artistic heritage.
"The Dutch public are hungry to see more about collections from Russia," Mr. Veen says.
The ties are profound: Czar Peter the Great visited Amsterdam in 1697 seeking inspiration for his new city, which he founded in 1703. Dutch entrepreneurs set up shop in St. Petersburg after its founding and stayed there until revolution exploded in 1917. Grand Duchess Anna Pavlovna, born in St. Petersburg in 1795, became queen of the Netherlands through marriage.
The Hermitage has long collected works from Dutch Masters. Its collection includes the largest holding of paintings by Rembrandt Van Rijn outside the Netherlands.
Hermitage embraces the world
That common history helped draw the Hermitage to Amsterdam in the years following perestroika, or reform. Under director Mikhail Piotrovsky, the Hermitage expanded its presence abroad through collaborations and exhibits, and looked into the possibility of establishing satellites in the West.
"We have established relationships with many museums throughout the world. We've been all around the world, except in Antarctica," says Vladimir Matveev, director of exhibitions and development at the Hermitage.
The efforts include cooperation with other Russian museums worldwide, including the Guggenheim Hermitage in Las Vegas, which closed in 2008 after a seven-year run.
But the relationship with Amsterdam's Nieuwe Kerk stood out. Veen has been its director since the Nieuwe Kerk opened in 1981. In the early 1990s, he began working with the Hermitage on a series of exhibitions of the museum's collections.
By the time Veen was invited to propose a new purpose for the Amstelhof, in the latter part of the past decade, the Nieuwe Kerk and the Hermitage had forged a relationship that made the next step seem natural.
"We know them like we know our own family," Mr. Matveev says.
Veen invited Mr. Piotrovsky to see the complex.
"We were standing in the courtyard, and I said, 'Mikhail, what do you think about the idea to realize a satellite museum of the Hermitage?' " recalls Veen.
Old becomes Nieuwe again
Architect Hans Van Heeswijk, whose firm led the conversion project, says the building's layout made it ideal for public use.
"There are long views throughout the building, with daylight coming in on all sides," Mr. Van Heeswijk says. "It looks much bigger on the inside than it does on the outside. It's very flexible, very solid in its materials."
But the launch of Hermitage Amsterdam culminates years of cooperation between cultural leaders in St. Petersburg, Russia, and Amsterdam and represents a new kind of takeoff for one of the art world's giants: The State Hermitage Museum, which holds about 3 million works of art in its vaults on the Neva River.
"These days we've got a lot of adrenaline, in a positive way, because a dream becomes reality," says Ernst Veen, director of Hermitage Amsterdam. The Hermitage "belongs to the world, and we must open it to the world."
The opening Saturday of Hermitage Amsterdam reinforces ties that are as old as St. Petersburg's founding some 300 years ago.
Tale of two cities
The museum will be the first independent institution west of St. Petersburg to bear the name of the Hermitage. Set within the Amstelhof, a hulking 300-year-old former nursing home, the institution will hold exhibitions from the collections of the Hermitage. Spaces for performances, study, and lectures will focus on Russia's artistic heritage.
"The Dutch public are hungry to see more about collections from Russia," Mr. Veen says.
The ties are profound: Czar Peter the Great visited Amsterdam in 1697 seeking inspiration for his new city, which he founded in 1703. Dutch entrepreneurs set up shop in St. Petersburg after its founding and stayed there until revolution exploded in 1917. Grand Duchess Anna Pavlovna, born in St. Petersburg in 1795, became queen of the Netherlands through marriage.
The Hermitage has long collected works from Dutch Masters. Its collection includes the largest holding of paintings by Rembrandt Van Rijn outside the Netherlands.
Hermitage embraces the world
That common history helped draw the Hermitage to Amsterdam in the years following perestroika, or reform. Under director Mikhail Piotrovsky, the Hermitage expanded its presence abroad through collaborations and exhibits, and looked into the possibility of establishing satellites in the West.
"We have established relationships with many museums throughout the world. We've been all around the world, except in Antarctica," says Vladimir Matveev, director of exhibitions and development at the Hermitage.
The efforts include cooperation with other Russian museums worldwide, including the Guggenheim Hermitage in Las Vegas, which closed in 2008 after a seven-year run.
But the relationship with Amsterdam's Nieuwe Kerk stood out. Veen has been its director since the Nieuwe Kerk opened in 1981. In the early 1990s, he began working with the Hermitage on a series of exhibitions of the museum's collections.
By the time Veen was invited to propose a new purpose for the Amstelhof, in the latter part of the past decade, the Nieuwe Kerk and the Hermitage had forged a relationship that made the next step seem natural.
"We know them like we know our own family," Mr. Matveev says.
Veen invited Mr. Piotrovsky to see the complex.
"We were standing in the courtyard, and I said, 'Mikhail, what do you think about the idea to realize a satellite museum of the Hermitage?' " recalls Veen.
Old becomes Nieuwe again
Architect Hans Van Heeswijk, whose firm led the conversion project, says the building's layout made it ideal for public use.
"There are long views throughout the building, with daylight coming in on all sides," Mr. Van Heeswijk says. "It looks much bigger on the inside than it does on the outside. It's very flexible, very solid in its materials."