Peterhof, lower park. Photo credit: Alex 'Florstein' Fedorov / commons.wikimedia.org (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Over 400 items belonging to the famous family of St. Petersburg architects and artists, Benois, have been donated to the Peterhof State museum-reserve. The transfer of rarities that were part of a private collection took place on May, 31, Interfax reports.
Deputy Minister of Culture of Russia Andrey Malyshev thanked the Italian Pietro Pittaro for the valuable gift.
The museum experts noted the significance of the rarities received. Acting General Director of the Museum Roman Kovrikov said that Peterhof had not previously had physical evidence and documents from that period of Nikolai Benois' lifetime. He noted that the gift will give impetus to the continuation of research into the history of the unique Russian family.
The Italian collector recalled that he had previously donated a number of exhibits to museums in Moscow and St. Petersburg. According to him, he is driven by the conviction that "things should come home."
As part of the donation, the Peterhof collection was replenished with Nicholas Benois' tuxedo, family photographs and documents, including the passports of Nicholas Benois and his wife Dizma de Cecco, which confirm the dates of their foreign travels. In addition, the museum acquired letters and works of the artist.
Russkiy Mir
