When the audacious Peter the Great decided in 1703 that it was time for Russia to put feudalism aside and become more like Western European states, he built a new capital and located it on the Neva River. There it would facilitate trade and make Russia accessible to the West. This year marks St. Petersburg's 300th birthday. As part of the celebration, a limited number of precious works of art from its world-famous Hermitage Museum have been made available to museums outside the mother country.
We are fortunate that the Frye Museum is a venue for 48 of the traveling paintings and sculptures. "An Imperial Collection: Women Artists from the State Hermitage Museum" was organized by the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C. Seattle is the show's only West Coast venue.
The works date from the 16th to 19th centuries, although most were completed between 1760 and 1850. These pieces say much about women's contribution to the cultural history of Russia as patrons, painters and subjects. It's important to remember that Catherine the Great was the first significant art collector in Russia. She believed that Western works of art were important elements in the modernization of her country.
It's an opulent show. Richly carved gilt frames surround elegant portraits and allegorical scenes that are displayed against deeply colored walls. The visitor has the sensation of having walked into a drawing room belonging to a 19th-century Russian nobleman. "Ah," one thinks, "so this is how Anna Karenina lived."
Noblesse oblige
The paintings and sculptures were commissioned by imperial and aristocratic families. They hung in their homes and came, only later, to the Hermitage, which didn't become a public museum until 1922.
European women artists have traditionally been held in lower esteem than their male counterparts. However, for some reason the Russians were quite happy to commission and buy art works created by women. As this show proves, women artists could be just as talented as their brothers. The works here compare well with those of such male contemporaries as Thomas Gainsborough and Gilbert Stuart (whose portrait of George Washington was on view earlier this year at the Seattle Art Museum).
A visitor to the Frye will quickly recognize their remarkable quality. One particularly charming group of paintings is by the 19th-century Scottish artist Christina Robertson, who was commissioned by the Nikolaevna family to paint daughters Olga and Alexandra. A small painting shows the young women at home. Light pours in from a window, illuminating one sister at a writing desk and the other at the piano. It's a sweet genre scene showing the proper activities of Russian noblewomen.
Across the gallery are huge portraits painted by Robertson. More than 8 feet tall, they display the wealth and beauty of a number of Imperial Russian women. Two portray the Grand Duchesses Olga and Alexandra Nikolaevna. Each stands regally, dressed in a sumptuous gown and bedecked with jewels. Although the Frye doesn't alert the visitor to the relationship between the small genre scene and the large portraits, it's delightful to compare them. Look for other connections in that gallery; there are a number of them.
In their own eyes
Self-portraits also deserve extra attention. The earliest was painted by Catharina van Hemessen of the Netherlands in 1548. She depicts herself in front of an easel and canvas. Her brush is in her hand, and she looks out at the world as a determined and proud woman.
Other self-portraits in the exhibit from the 18th and 19th centuries evince the same refinement. One wonders whether the purposefulness and pride radiating from van Hemessen's portrait represents the style of that time, or if it suggests that cultural values and attitudes toward women artists changed over the centuries.
Here's a show to dazzle the eye and stimulate the mind. It's also an opportunity to be introduced to some outstanding artists unknown to most modern audiences.
An Imperial Collection: Women Artists from the State Hermitage Museum continues at the Frye Art Museum, 704 Terry Ave., through Nov. 30. Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursdays till 8 p.m., Sundays noon to 5 p.m. Free admission and parking. Information 622-9250.
Freelance writer Nancy Worssam lives in Magnolia. She can be reached at qanews@nwlink.com
