Arte russa in Italia

Research Paper (undergraduate) from the year 2010 in the subject Art - Miscellaneous, University of Venice, language: Italian, abstract: The Russian art items presented here came to light in 2007, at the Milano Antiquity Fair and successively in Stockholm, after their acquisition from a greater private collection by M. Bortolotto, a Venetian antiquity dealer. In that occasion appeared the first version of this catalogue, to which also the results of a more broader research on Russian Silver art, partially published in Weltkunst 2002/3, are joined now. The typological diversity and the undiscussed authenticity of the collection enriches with new precious examples our cognisance on a period in the history of Russian art whose products are between the most widespread in the world but, properly for their dispersion, yet insufficiently documented and studied. Many anonym items of important artistic value - testimonies of less known technical elaborations from the end of 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries are still available on the international antiquity market. Their complex make is not easy to interpret. The realisation of a project in the previewed materials usually ran in collaboration under different experts, sometimes even in different cities.In Russia, the documentation and analysis of the 19th- 20th centuries national artistic production are really in an advanced state, however yet far of being completed. Local as foreign collections continuously bring to light new surprises like, for example, those regarding the ways of the 'occidentalizing' or of the manufacturing innovations. For foreigners, the sophisticated techniques, materials and instruments employed by Russian jewellers (the otkrass, graining, photoengraving etc.) still represent an enigma. Some traits emerged during the iconographical, stylistic, technique and technological analysis of the objects recovered by Bortolotto make relate them to the milieu of the earliest Russian aristocracy settled down in Italy, particularly to the Demidoff and Abamelek-Lazarev, some of the richest people in Imperial Russia, known also for the long lasting contentious between the SU and the government of Mussolini on the possess of their heredity. Thus the present book represents a case study to the dispersed memory of the Russian New Period, which recovering is hindered by a plenty of difficulties due to the loose of names, documentary sources, archives, libraries or collections.

1989: PhD in Byzantine and post Byzantine art history awarded by the University Paris-I Panthéon-Sorbonne/INALCO. 1983-6: PhD fellowship /scientific researcher in Medieval Art History of the Balkans at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. 1982: M.Sc degree in art history from the Academy of Fine Arts - Sofia. Author of three books and 25 publications on orthodox cultural heritage in Russian, French, German, Italian, English and Bulgarian, and of 27 on modern art and industrial design in Bulgarian: http://abilitazione.miur.it/public/viewCvcandidato.php?id_dom=54787 Conferences on the iconographical schools and collections of orthodox art. Lecturer at professional training courses on historic techniques and materials in oriental painting and gilding. Collaboration for the restoration of important Byzantine mosaics, of wall and easel paintings, furniture, Venetian lacquers, casein tempera ceilings, silver covers. Hundreds of expertises on eastern European ancient and modern artefacts. Top market achievement: £ 3 milliards (Venice 1999) for 16 icons by T. Poulakis Field research on the Levantine and Alpine flora on 'Useful plant resources in crafts and industry'. Comments to written sources on chemistry of ancient inks, tanned leather, dyed and printed textiles. Reconstruction of ancient technical recipes and development of materials of plant origin for arts&craft techniques, conservation and restoration: pigments, varnishes, lacquers, adhesives, inks, surface-active agents, solvents, biocides, impregnation and consolidation substances for mortars and paintings on different supports, for conservation of historic textiles, gildings and of gilt leather. Research on the emulsion stabilizers and natural pigments used in Europe and Africa (Ethiopia and Somalia particularly). Hundreds of works realized in varieties of tempera; in encaustic and casein painting; in emulsions, oil or in mixed techniques on different supports. Designs. Lacquers. Paintings and prints on silk. Authentic art copies. Design and realization of furniture. Conservation and restoration of glass, paper, textiles, silver, mosaics, leather. Art expert by the Commercial Chambre and the Court of Venice. Member of CISBI - Ca' Foscari (Venice). Network with COST/COSCH, Art-Conservation.Ru, Orbis Aethiopicus, etc. Awarded the art-con.ru ( 'Best Investigation in Conservation and Restoration (??????????????? ???????)' Prize for the year 2012, http://art-con.ru/node/1469