By way of tradition, I’m about to wish all of us a very happy new year ahead. It’s got to be good now that we survived the End of the World frenzy, don’t you think?
My 2012 has been rich in many an experience, so in no particular order here’s what I did and learnt in the passing year:
– went on a press-tour to Ivanovo Region;
– visited Kaluga region several times;
– did a 4-month practical course in Film Making;
– did a 2-month practical course in Literary Translation (prose) with two of the best working Russian translators;
– visited Pskov Region;
– a book I translated in 2011 has been released in August 2012;
– was published, nominated, and been asked for a permission for publication as a translator;
– many photos were published in a Russian Metro newspaper;
– attended many events;
– as a journalist, helped the Artist charitable fund, founded by the Russian actors Evgeny Mironov and Maria Mironova (not related) to help elderly actors. A branch headed by Natalia Shaginyan-Needham looks after children with moving disabilities.
I cannot mention all the acquaintances I made, and I’m exceptionally grateful for having some great friends with me, including Nadya, two Svetlanas, Elena, Alexandra, Anastasia, Galina, and a few others. And my biggest gratitude goes to my parents.
Last but not least, 2012 has brought a realization that I’m a typical Mad Catter, to paraphrase Carroll. I used to have pets since I was 12, but never did I think I’d end up having 5 cats. Actually, as of October 2012 I’ve got 6 cats, the latest being just 3 months old and sleeping next to me as I’m writing the post. Cats aren’t related, they were all foundlings, and I’m glad we’ve helped them to find a home. Needless to say, this is written by a Russian Bardot in the making, as far as pets are concerned.
As to my plans for 2013, they are rather obvious: building on what I’ve done in the past two years (or even 6 years). I’ll try to keep you updated 😉
Happy New Year! С Новым Годом! (S novym godom!)
Your Julia
PS – you might know that a 20th c. Russian tradition has been to have tangerines for New Year. Hence the picture with mandarins says: “Ready for the New Year”.
I don’t really now how many cats Francesco Petrarca had in his lifetime. Neither do I know much about the cat that was embalmed and put to stay in his house-museum in Italy. I did read his letters, and some passages were referenced in the story. It started in one notebook on a bus on my way home and finished in another book, when I was living on my own in Manchester. It was originally written in Russian in 2008 and appeared in print in early 2011. I finished the translation in 2012, of which I can say I am quite happy with it.
This is the poem I shall be working on translating, most likely, in 2013. 2012 has resulted in a few good translations of poems, as well as some prose pieces. Among them – translations from Robert Burns, George Orwell, Vita Sackville-West, Omar Khayyam, and W. H. Auden, and a poem by contemporary poet and author Adrian Slatcher.
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.
I have to say, Moscow City government seems in no big hurry this year to decorate the city centre for the festive season. New Year trees have already sprung up in and around some public places, particularly shopping centres. The Mayor’s house was also decorated in advance. However, some of the places (like The Russian State Library) didn’t have any decorations even on December 20, and Tverskaya St was only being planted with real Xmas trees on the same day. The decision to use real, not artificial, fir trees was not bad as such, but as it happens the execution of such decision has left a lot to be desired. You can see that toys were taken straight from the shop and hung on the branches – even labels were not taken off.
My short walk down Tverskaya St on that terribly frosty and cold winter evening brought yet another gem of a bizarre coincidence. Similar to a project that once toon place in York (UK), Tverskaya and some adjacent streets are decorated with reproductions of well-known paintings by Russian artist. For the purpose of this post I suggest to contemplate this photo. A beautiful naked lady brushes her black hair in a painting by Karl Brullov. It’s minus 15, as a matter of fact, and just looking at her makes one shiver with cold. One would’ve thought that these paintings could be at least complementary to the season. Alas, it seems this thought hasn’t crossed the minds of those behind the project.
We wish you a very merry and happy Christmas. Let this season bring you peace, joy, quietude, and faith. With best wishes from Moscow to wherever you are, Julia.
One of the highlights of the 33rd Antique Salon in Moscow in October 2012 was a showcase of German medieval and Renaissance paintings, generously offered by Russian private collectors one time only. The significance of this cannot be underestimated: when Russian collectors of the 18th c. began to acquire Western paintings, these were mostly by the renowned French and Italian masters. German painters, including the Cranachs, the Breugels, Duerer and Aldorfer, were practically neglected. As a result, at the Hermitage you can admire Leonardo’s Madonna Litta and Madonna Benoit, but it’s no small feat to find a German master.
Contemporary private collectors in Russia fill in the gap, albeit unless they bequest their paintings to one of the Russian museums, it is unlikely that people will ever see these beautiful artworks. We would agree, however, that this Nativity scene is a splendid example of German Late Medieval painting.
Workshop of Hans II Strigel, Nativity (1450-147980)
(Matth. 2: 1-12, Luc. 2: 1-7. Wood, oils)
The curators noted that this Schwabian painting follows the traditional depictions of Nativity that had been current throughout the 15th c. A 1504 scene of Adoration of the Magi by Albrecht Duerer puts Madonna in the bottom left corner, with the stables behind. Not only do the stables have the same triangular roof, but the cattle also make a part of the scene. The Schwabian painting dates back to the second half of the 15th c. and belongs to the workshop of Hans II Strigel from Moemmingen, Upper Schwabia. It is loosely inspired by the Revelations of St. Brigitta whereby the Nativity scene consists not merely of Madonna, Joseph and the Child at the stables, but also by three angels and two shepherds. The painting belongs to the collection of M. Kocherov.
To add to the funny moments here is a rather blurry photograph (sorry!) taken at the Antique Salon in October 2012. When wandering through the splendid displays I caught the shelf where an antique bookend stood. To indicate the way it should be used, the owner of the stand, not thinking much, stuffed a DVD there instead of a book. Maybe he’d forgotten to bring a book, but so better for our story. So it came out that two warriors used their shields to support a DVD with a TV miniseries “Likvidatsia” (Liquidation) starring the world-known Russian actor Vladimir Mashkov. This was a serialised story of the crime fighting in the Ukraine in the post-war period, and Mashkov’s character was a chief of criminal investigations.
Just another proof of how popular this series has been since 2007 – the DVD even graced the Antique Salon.
It is an historical anecdote that around the year 1000 the pious medieval Christians willingly gave up their possessions to the Church, fully expecting the world to end the moment the clock struck 12am on the first day of the year 1000.
A thousand years later nobody seems to be donating their goods to either Church, or state, or any cause or person. Instead there was this burgeoning curiosity – will the Mayans be correct or will they be wrong. I suppose we know the answer, although a Russian newspaper printed an article claiming that one Russian scholar deciphered the Mayan prophecy “correctly”, and the real end of the world is looming on December 23.
Considering that December 23 is the last day for buying Christmas gifts, it’s safe to predict that in certain parts of the world the traffic will be collapsing thanks to all late shoppers.
In the meantime, here is a Someecard on the subject:
Alexandre Benois’s costume design
from The Art I’ve Lived With
(more highlights at ABA Gallery)
New York’s ABA Gallery hosts the first-ever public display of the private art collection of Mikhail Baryshnikov, the world-famous Russian ballet danser. Titled “The Art I’ve Lived With“, it offers a generous insight into the artistic taste and inner world of one of the greatest men-of-arts of the second half of the 20th c. In 1975, soon after leaving the USSR behind, Baryshnikov purchased the “1917 Jean Cocteau drawing of impresario Serge Diaghilev, founder of the Ballets Russes, and Christian Berard’s design for George Balanchine’s ballet “Mozartiana””, Bloomberg reports.
Initially, Baryshnikov was interested in the Russian artistic scene of the fin de siecle, and particularly the Ballets Russes, so his choice gravitated towards the works of Leo Bakst, Alexandre Benois, and Sergei Sudeikin: “I knew the names of those artists from the tender age, from textbooks. They are people who worked in the imperial theater in Russia. They left Russia with Diaghilev and did costumes for Vaslav Nijinsky and Mikhail Fokin“.
Later the scope of collection grew bigger, but the focus has remained on drawings. Baryshnikov’s collection of drawings now includes Valentine Gross’s portrait of Nijinsky in the ballet “Le Spectre de la Rose”, a costume design for “Carmen” by Antoni Clave featuring the French dancer and choreographer Roland Petit, and a 1903 pencil drawing of a woman by Ilya Repin, Bloomberg states.
The exhibition has opened on December 4, 2012 and is expected to migrate to Moscow in 2013, to let Baryshnikov’s native compatriots study the more private side of Mikhail. He says, however, that he is unlikely to ever sell his collection; he’d like to bequest it entirely to his own foundation.
Until May 10, 2012 an exhibition of rarely seen artwork of Salvador Dali was exhibited in Paris. All objects on display belonged to one-time secretary of the great artist, Enrique Sabater. The video from PressTVGlobalNews is a fair introduction to the kind of artwork that went on display. And below is my translation (from French) of an interview with Mr Sabater, conducted by Nathalie d’Allincourt for L’Objet d’Art edition (April 2012).
In the privacy of Salvador Dali
Nathalie d’Allincourt
A personal secterary to Salvador Dali, the Catalan Enrique Sabater lived for over ten years next to the master and his muse, Gala. After the Musee de Cadaques l’Espace Dali exhibited an anthology of 120 works that the master had given him and often dedicated: drawings, watercolours, photographs, objects…
The photos that underpin the exhibition were made throughout the years passed close to Dali. Were they intended to be art or merely a matter-of-fact?
I adore photography that I have practised since childhood. Near Mr Dali there was no restriction, I could photograph at any moment. In 2004 I presented the scores of my photographs at the exhibition in Barcelona marking Dali’s centenary. Almost always these photos show the artist in an intimate atmosphere.
People are aware of the theatrical aspect of Dali’s personality. Was he really different in private life?
He had two personas. When we were all three together with Gala (we had a breakfast together every morning), it was one person, absolutely normal. He was very intelligent, passionate about science and had many scientists as his friends. But when he appeared in public, he acted in a very theatrical manner, to the point of changing his voice.
How did you live all those years next to Dali?
Every year we spent summer in Catalonia, at the house of Portlligat. Mr Dali worked in the morning and in the afternoon, after a short siesta. After 6pm he often received visits from young artists who came to show him their work. After that there were 15 days in Paris, at the hotel Meurice, then in New York where we stayed for 4 or 5 months at the hotel Saint Regis. In New York every Sunday Andy Warhol came to have a dinner with three of us. We always stayed at the same hotels, in the same rooms. Twice a year we spent a few years at the Ritz in Barcelona for familial reasons. Likewise, we visited Madrid and stayed at the Palace Hotel, to see the Prince Juan Carlos, the future king.
Did Dali visit other museums or artists of his generation?
The master knew all the museums and collections, but he did not feel the necessity to put himself vis-a-vis the work of other artists. The only museum that we did visit was the Centre Pompidou because we collaborated with them a lot. Since our stays in Paris were short, we particularly loved visiting certain streets, like Rue Jacob. Throughout his life Dali upheld the connection with Picasso. It is often considered that the two had been enemies for political reasons: Picasso was a Communist, of course, but Dali was not at all a Fascist! They maintained the distance without ever breaking the connection: the word was sent by trumpet. Each one in their own way was acutely aware of what they had to say to another, and so they did. In April 1973 Dali was immediately informed about Picasso’s death, and we left for Mougins. Picasso treasured his trumpets, which his son Claude inherited from him.
You hold the academic sword of Dali in your possession…
Yes, he gave it to me the next day after receiving it, and this is the first time I am showing it to the public. On the sword a polished space was prepared for a gravure, a dedication created by Dali for the paper letters of Gala. The object was not leave Paris without being engraved! I am also showing a preparatory drawing.
You met Dali in 1968 during an interview and you never left until 1981. What was it that made you leave him?
In 1972, Dali and Gala charged me with commecialisation of the master’s work. But in 1981 Gala went mad. Dali, ennerved, could no longer make enough to satisfy the enormous want of money this woman had had. Behind my back Gala began to deal with real gangsters, and the market got flooded with forged lihographs. I ended up infoming the Spanish government. A New-Yorkean solicitor of Dali came to try and explain to Gala that she needed to stop. I left, despite the master’s insisting on me staying.
Are you going to write the memoirs of this exciting time?
They have already been written, it only remains to publish them…
