On 4 December 2020, during the Hermitage Days, the exhibition “Dmitry Vinogradov: The Man who Invented Russian Porcelain” was formally opened.
The display marking the 300th anniversary of the birth of the creator of Russian porcelain, Dmitry Ivanovich Vinogradov (1720–1758), presents unique works from the collection of the State Hermitage that were produced by the country’s first porcelain-maker and are extremely valuable examples of Russian art of the 1740s–60s.
The opening ceremony took place in online format and began with a video address from Mikhail Borisovich Piotrovsky, General Director of the State Hermitage:
“Porcelain is one of the Hermitage’s favourite themes, We have the Museum of the Imperial Porcelain Factory. We are connected to the factory by a long-standing friendship. We simply could not overlook such a splendid date – the 300th anniversary of the birth of Dmitry Vinogradov, the inventor of Russian porcelain. Dmitry Vinogradov discovered the secret behind Russian porcelain. That was a tremendous event: a luxury item, a prestige item began to be produced in Russia. That took place in the reign of Empress Elizabeth. Dmitry Vinogradov created not just porcelain, but also the style that we can easily recognize.”
The exhibition in the Moorish Dining-Room of the Winter Palace was opened online by Viacheslav Anatolyevich Feodorov, Head of the State Hermitage’s Department of the History of Russian Culture.
“Dmitry Vinogradov’s name is associated not only with the invention of porcelain, but also with the development of the actual porcelain-making enterprise founded by Empress Elizabeth as the Neva Porcelain Manufactory, which became the Imperial Porcelain Factory, then the Leningrad Factory, and now, once again, the Imperial Porcelain Factory. The history of the porcelain producer has been complex and mixed. Today it is developing actively and is a source of pride for Saint Petersburg and the whole country.”
The showpiece of Vinogradov’s porcelain in the State Hermitage is a bowl decorated with a relief grapevine bearing the maker’s personal blue underglaze mark, a W (the first letter of the German spelling of his surname), and the date 1749.
The display includes items from Empress Elizabeth’s Own Dinner and Dessert Service – the first to be made of Russian porcelain. One of the unique pieces from that ensemble is an openwork basket decorated with little flowers with pale blue petals – a porcelain rarity that the State Hermitage acquired for its collection in 2020.
To mark the round anniversary of the inventor of Russian porcelain’s birth, the State Hermitage in conjunction with the Imperial Porcelain Factory initiated an artistic venture entitled The Image of Dmitry Vinogradov. Its end result was the creation of a porcelain sculpture – a poeticized image of the pioneer of our nation’s porcelain.
“When the Hermitage approached us with a proposal for a collaboration towards the exhibition project devoted to Vinogradov, we supported the idea with great pleasure. Nelli Petrova, the factory’s chief artist drew upon the materials supplied by researchers from the State Hermitage’s Department of the History of Russian Culture to do the painting on the porcelain figurine Dmitry Vinogradov,” Tatiana Alexandrovna Tylevich, General Director of the Imperial Porcelain Factory joint-stock company, said in her message that was read out at the opening ceremony.
The sculpture Dmitry Vinogradov can be seen in the exhibition. It has become a gift to the museum collection and a reminder of the long years of friendly ties between the State Hermitage and the Imperial Porcelain Factory.
After the formal ceremony, Irina Bagdasarova, the exhibition curator conducted online a walk around the new display, a recording of which is available for viewing in the museum’s social media.
The exhibition has been prepared by the State Hermitage’s Department of the History of Russian Culture (headed by Viacheslav Feodorov). The author of the concept and curator of the exhibition is Irina Bagdasarova, Candidate of Art Studies, senior researcher and keeper of porcelain in the Department of the History of Russian Culture.
The staff of the State Hermitage have prepared a film to accompany the exhibition, scripted by Anna Maslova, and a scholarly illustrated publication in Russian – Posviashchenie Dmitriiu Vinogradovu. Rozhdenie farfora “iz zemli rossiiskoi” (State Hermitage publishing house, 2020) with text by Irina Bagdasarova and design by Irina Dalekaya.
The exhibition in the Moorish Dining-Room can be visited during the museum’s opening hours by holders of tickets to the Main Museum Complex for Fixed Route No 2 (entry by the Church Staircase).
Click here to view a recording of the opening ceremony.
The exhibition will run from 5 December 2020 to 4 April 2021.
General sponsor of the exhibition – the VTB bank www.vtb.ru
