Vladimir Medinsky will open in Paris a unique exhibition of Russian icons Automatic translate

Vladimir Medinsky’s official visit to Paris will take place on September 15-16, during which the Minister of Culture of Russia will first meet with the Minister of Culture of France Francoise Nissen, will visit UNESCO and open unique exhibitions of Russian art - “Painting with a Needle” in the Russian Spiritual and Cultural Orthodox Center and “Diplomatic gifts from Peter the Great to the present day” at the Residence of the Russian Ambassador to France.

Transfer of materials “Monuments of Ancient Pskov” to the UNESCO World Heritage List

The official visit of Vladimir Medinsky will begin with a visit to the UNE-SKO Headquarters, during which an official ceremony of transferring the materials “Monuments of Ancient Pskov” to the UNESCO World Heritage List will take place. The meeting will be attended by the governor of the Pskov region Andrei Turchak and the head of the World Heritage and International Cooperation Center of the D. S. Likhachev Russian Research Institute of Cultural and Natural Heritage Nadezhda Filatova.

Unique icons at the Needle Painting Exhibition

The unique exhibition of modern Russian embroidered icons “Painting with a needle” will be opened at 18:00 in the Russian Spiritual and Cultural Orthodox Center. The exposition will feature handmade icons of the Touch workshop, made in the ancient technique of embroidery with precious stones, pearls and the smallest glass tubes. The opening ceremony will be attended by Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation Vladimir Medinsky, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Alexander Orlov, President of the Center for Film Festivals and International Programs Tatyana Shumova and head of the Touch workshop Natalya Gorkovenko.

The face embroidery presented at the exhibition has long been used to create holy images and belongs to such a kind of icon painting as “needle painting”. For 12 years, the Touch workshop has been reviving the traditions of embroidery of the face - in a special mosaic technique, with the smallest beads, it recreates and develops ancient handicraft techniques. Over the years, the workshop has created more than 700 icons, donated 54 icons to churches and monasteries in Russia, the Czech Republic, Germany, the USA, Monaco, St. Athos, England and held more than 30 exhibitions around the world, in particular in the halls of the Trinity St. Sergius Lavra, the Basilica of St. Nicholas in Bari, the Palazzo Visconti in Milan.

During the opening, the artist Natalya Gorkovenko will tell about the history of creating unique icons, presenting catalogs specially prepared for the exhibition to media representatives. And everyone can personally touch one of the icons.

Organizers of the exhibition: Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Patriarchal Council for Culture of the Russian Orthodox Church, Center for Film Festivals and International Programs with the support of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in France, Rossotrudnichestvo, the Russian Center for Science and Culture in Paris and the Arkley Industrial Group. The exhibition runs until October 15, 2017.

Amber cabinet at the Residence of the Ambassador of the Russian Federation in France

Within the framework of European Heritage Days, at 19:00, the exhibition “Diplomatic Gifts from Peter the Great to the Present Day” will open at the Residence of the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to France. The first part of the exhibition is the reconstruction of a unique amber cabinet, which will be presented to the general public for the first time. The Amber Office is a gift from the Prussian monarch Friedrich Wilhelm I to Peter I, created according to the project of the court architect I. -F. Eosander, and at the request of the founder of the Prussian royal dynasty, Frederick I. In the future, the amber office will become the basis for the “eighth wonder of the world” - the amber room.

The second part of the exhibition is devoted to diplomatic gifts: a series of exclusive books intended for handing to the heads of foreign countries and decorated with precious stones, painted with gold, enamel - priceless works of art worthy to be included in the funds of the largest world museums. Of particular note is the detailed description of military and civilian costume from 862 until the reign of Emperor Nicholas I “Historical Description of the Clothing and Arms of the Russian Forces” by A. V. Viskovatov. Each of the 30 volumes is in a wooden walnut case decorated with a solid stone panel insert made in a mixed technique: figures - volumetric carving on solid stone, background - Florentine mosaic.

The idea and implementation of the project belongs to Russian philanthropists Anatoly Strigo and Anzhelika Kalinina. The exhibition runs until October 8

Official meeting of ministers

On September 16, the official meeting of the Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation Vladimir Medinsky with the Minister of Culture of France Francoise Nissen will take place.