Opening of the exhibition “Cartier: Passing on Heritage and Savoir-Faire. Masterpieces from the Hermitage Museum and Cartier Collection”

On 20 February 2021, an exhibition devoted to the fifth anniversary of a joint restoration project between the State Hermitage and Maison Cartier, the French jeweller, was formally opened in the Picket Hall of the Winter Palace (Hall 196).

Partnership with the Hermitage began for Cartier almost 30 years ago, in 1992, when the museum held the exhibition “The Art of Cartier”. A new stage of collaboration commenced five years ago, when the jewellery house supported the Hermitage’s restoration programme. Since 2016, with the support of Maison Cartier, staff of the Laboratory for the Scientific Restoration of Precious and Archaeological Metals in the State Hermitage’s Department of Scientific Restoration and Conservation have carried out the restoration of five unique works from the museum’s collection of decorative and applied art.

The exhibition in the Picket Hall is constructed around these five restored masterpieces which are being displayed together with 35 items from the historical Cartier Collection, owned by the firm itself – pieces of jewellery and timepieces that have been selected on the basis of a shared material, style or technique.

Participating in the opening ceremony were Mikhail Piotrovsky, General Director of the State Hermitage; Yanina Novitskaya, Managing Director of Cartier in Russia, Ukraine and the CIS; Olga Kostiuk, head of the Department of Western European Applied Art and exhibition curator, and Pascale Lepeu, Curator of the Cartier Collection.

Opening the exhibition, Mikhail Piotrovsky said:

“Many years ago we held a large historical Cartier exhibition. At that time in the display we reminded people of the poetry, the mystical quality of precious stones. The present exhibition is full of the same notions, as well as having been conceived in an unusual manner. I am very grateful for the idea of combining works from the historical Cartier Collection and masterpieces from the Hermitage’s collection of treasures. It’s not simply the idea of a dialogue. In 2021 we are marking the 120th anniversary of the Maison Cartier jewellery firm and five years of our superb joint project, for which I am particularly grateful – a project for the restoration of objects from the State Hermitage’s Treasure Gallery. A dialogue of cultures has also come about here. The museum is a place for a dialogue of cultures. It is with a dialogue of cultures that we replace the ‘wars of memory’ that are raging around the whole world. This is a dialogue between classic masterpieces from various eras, of the jeweller’s art in East and West from previous centuries, and the classic jeweller’s art of our own time. The dialogue is very attractive and very instructive, a dialogue not only of things, but also, as you will see, of design. In the Picket Hall of the Winter Palace, modern conceptions of beauty chime with modern conceptions of an imperial palace.”

Yanina Novitskaya, Managing Director of Cartier in Russia, Ukraine and the CIS, expressed thanks for the unique opportunity to make the journey of restoration and to participate in the realization of the joint project of Maison Cartier and the Hermitage:

“For the Cartier team in Russia, the joint project with the Hermitage is truly very important, not only for representatives of the Maison Cartier jewellery house, but also for representatives of present-day Russia. Our five-year joint work has given us the opportunity to implement our own process of cultural identification. For us to have the chance to make contact with the heritage and property of the Hermitage, the property of our country is a tremendous piece of good fortune that will remain forever in our memory. Culture and art have always been closely associated with the Maison Cartier, have always remained for us the chief source of inspiration.”

“Today marks the return of the Maison Cartier jewellery house to the State Hermitage almost 30 years since the time when the first exhibition was held,” Pascale Lepeu, Curator of the historical Cartier Collection, observed. “It is with great pride that we open today’s exhibition devoted to our five-year joint restoration project in the course of which five works of the jeweller’s art from the museum collection have been restored, when Maison Cartier acted as sponsor of the project and the talented Hermitage restorers put them back in order. In helping to bring treasures from the past back to life, we are paying a tribute of respect to various world cultures that are a source of inspiration for the Maison Cartier jewellery firm. For us it was also important to pay tribute to the unbroken warm ties between Maison Cartier and Russia and Saint Petersburg, which have had a valuable influence in Cartier’s artistic style. For this exhibition we selected objects that chime with the restored Hermitage items in the exceptional craftsmanship of creators, technique of execution and style.”

“The realization of our joint project has been an embodiment of the main features of museum work,” the exhibition’s curator Olga Kostiuk, head of the State Hermitage’s Department of Western European Applied Art, emphasized. “The first is the restoration process. In the exhibition you will see five first-rate works of the jeweller’s art from the Hermitage collection that have been restored by the Hermitage’s restorers with the support of Maison Cartier. The second, and more visible, part of the work is exhibition activities. The five Hermitage masterpieces are being displayed along with Maison Cartier creations selected with great taste, in keeping with a common artistic idea, stylistic concepts and materials, as well as our creative approach to the organization of this exhibition that is known only to the curators. The third is our activities as keepers, since the staff have the opportunity to study, preserve and show you first-rate works from our museum.”

Also attending the opening were Renaud Litré, Cartier International Commercial Director; Grégoire Blanche, Cartier Regional Managing Director Europe; Arkady Izvekov, Cartier General Director in Saint Petersburg; Igor Malkiel, head of the Hermitage’s Laboratory for the Scientific Restoration of Precious and Archaeological Metals; and Olga Sedina, a researcher in the State Hermitage’s Department of Western European Applied Art and the other exhibition curator.

The exhibition “Cartier: Passing on Heritage and Savoir-Faire. Masterpieces from the Hermitage Museum and Cartier Collection” is timed to mark the fifth anniversary of collaboration and the 120th anniversary of the Maison Cartier’s first arrival in Saint Petersburg. It tells about the importance of the preservation of the jeweller’s craft and heritage for future generations – values that are dear to both the Hermitage Museum and Maison Cartier.

An illustrated catalogue has been prepared for the exhibition with forewords by Mikhail Piotrovsky, General Director of the State Hermitage, and Cyrille Vigneron, President and CEO of Cartier.

The exhibition will run until 18 April 2021. More about the exhibition.

The exhibition curators are Olga Grigoryevna Kostiuk, head of the State Hermitage’s Department of Western European Applied Art, and Olga Vladimirovna Sedina, a researcher in the same department.

The exhibition “Cartier: Passing on Heritage and Savoir-Faire. Masterpieces from the Hermitage Museum and Cartier Collection” can be visited by holders of tickets for either of the two fixed routes around the Main Museum Complex – №1 (entry by the Jordan Staircase) and №2 (entry by the Church Staircase).

It is also possible to purchase a separate ticket for the exhibition: morning time slots at 10.00 am (except Mondays) and evening slots at 6.00 pm on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays and also at 7.00 pm on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. The duration of the visit is 1 hour and a ticket to the exhibition costs 300 roubles. Entry tickets can be purchased in advance through the website.A video of the opening ceremony is available on YouTube.