On 19 May, the Russian House in Brussels hosted an online session of the “Hermitage Evening” series dedicated to 20th-century art. Participants explored the exhibition of the General Staff Building of the State Hermitage Museum and took a virtual tour through the halls of the second floor, where the collection of 20th-century Italian sculpture is displayed.

Viewers learned about the history of the collection, which is largely based on works donated to the museum by the artists themselves. Special attention was paid to the work of outstanding Italian masters whose creations reflected the complex artistic and historical processes of the 20th century. Participants discovered how the events of Italy’s so-called “Black Twenty Years” influenced the sculptors’ art, as well as how post-war European art sought new forms of artistic expression.

During the virtual tour, works by artists striving to create their own plastic language and reinterpret the traditions of European sculpture were presented. Their works reflect the heritage of Antiquity and the Renaissance, as well as the influence of Baroque, Impressionism and Abstractionism. Through sculptural form, the artists conveyed a philosophical vision of the world, a search for harmony between humanity and nature, and the unique poetic character of their artistic perspective.

The online tour was conducted by Marina Chekmaryova, methodologist of the Scientific and Educational Department of the State Hermitage Museum. Answering viewers’ questions, she spoke about the connections between the collection and other exhibitions of the General Staff Building, and also shared interesting facts about the artists’ creative activities beyond sculpture and how these are represented in the Hermitage collection.