The Washington herald., 1922-11-26

the restoration, and rearranee-
ment Of the collections. New dis
coveries have been made. for ex-
ample. a Vatican Madonna"
hanging in the chamber Of
maid in one Of the imperial resi-
dences.
More than 10000 are visiting
the galleries Of the Hermitage
each month, including smany
groups Of students. who listen 20
the explanations Of their mas
ters. Education is an important
factor Of the Soviet regime. Who
ever cares to do 50 many read
much more about present condi-
lions. not only In the art eal-
leries Of Russia, but throughout
the educational system. in Andre
Morizet's recent report, -chez
Lenine ct Trotzld." q personal
account published 1921 In Paris.
And one may also find in
America Q very excellent review
OF Art Under the Proletariat."
by jacques Mesnil: in Soviet
Russia" for May 1. 1921. and the
succeeding number. Except IN
fsroslav. no art monuments have
been seriously damaged in Rus
sia. There u nothing there to
compare with Rheims. and other
ravaged cities OF France and Bel
GUM
In Petrograd. where they
opened to the public in 1918 the
palaces OF Tsarskoye Selo. Paw
lovsk. Gatchina and Peterhof.
two or three days each week, i'm
mense crowds flocked to see
them More than 5000 persons
came on Sunday at Tsarkoye.
and in order to save the floors
the directors had slippers made
out OF old mating. large enough
TO fit over any size shoes. Both
the soldiers and the public &C
cepted these willingly. and thev
nearly stampeded one man who
at first refused to put them on.
VISITORS ARE RESPECTFUL.
The visitors were always I'm
bued with respect for the sur
roundings. and there were NJ
cases Of vandalism. They mai
only to be reminded that thcv
must not touch objects or fur.
nishings. and they complied. Often
such exclamaI ions were heard =
these: That's the way IN
lived. or: Il can see that tn,
life must have been a snap here
But they also asked many Ia
telligent questions. and excr =
sions were often arranged o.
teachers congresses, art histoi
courses, and other organization.
The Russian revolution shoy
itself quite distinct from Il
character OF the French revolu-
ton in an important particular:
That. is, the tolerant attitude to-
ward the clergy. The church
remain open and have retained
all their ancient splendor. and ths
priests continue. their functions in
rich vestments. And the objects
OF worship are preserved in a
nation that could today no doubt
barter with foreign countries
many Of these religious and art
treasures.
The directors Of the museums.
and the general personnel. con-
tinue almost unchanged. In Mos
COW, at the .Tretyakov Museum.
devoted to Russian painting. the
first historian OF Russian art,
the painter Igor Grabsr, is sta
toned. in charge Of the whole
museum. At the Hermitage Mu-
scum, Petrograd. Count Tolstoy.
who managed the museum under
Csarism, has been replaced by
Troinitsky. the custodian Of Cers-
mics and Goldsmith Work.
The painter Alexandra Benois
has also been added to the staff
Of the Hermitage. Unrecognised
under the Csarist regime. Benois
now becomes the head OF the Sec
ton Of painting, Count zuboy.
who founded an institute for the
history OF art IN 1911. remains at
the head of his Socialist insti.
tute.
The owners Of collections who
have remained IN Russia have not
been driven from their homes. but
have stayed as custodiAns Of
their collections on condition that
they make them accessible 90 the
public at regular intervals. They
have, however. been limited 90 q
smaller number OF dwelling rooms.
The population Of Petrograd has
decreased more than cne-haif. and
the Hermitage Gallery 10 now
open only twice q week. Instead
Of sin times ~ before the war.
yet the number Of visitors b To-.