Exhibition: Masterpieces of Egyptian Art

Masterpieces of Egyptian portrait. From the Egyptian Museum in Berlin
16 June 2009 - 20 September 2009

The four busts presented at the exhibition were removed from Germany during the Second World War and were stored in the State Hermitage Museum until 1958, when they were returned to the Egyptian Museum in Berlin.

The curator of the exhibition, Andrey Bolshakov, Doctor of Science in History, says: "There lies a gulf of centuries between modern people and ancient Egyptians; we are divided by a principally different life and historical background, and it is utterly difficult to build a bridge between our two worlds, even a very fragile one. We are trying to do it by studying its indirect displays in texts and in the material culture; however, we do realize the futility of our attempts to come close to the perception of a person that lived in another country in a different time. Only sometimes the very realistic depictions of people or nature give us an opportunity of seeing the reality that has gone with the eyes of its creators. Thirty three centuries ago the artist that lived in Akhetaton adored Nefertiti and gave life to his adoration by means of stone. We admire his works, and our admiration of the model’s beauty and the beauty of the work allows us to approach each other as close as it can possibly be. It is no use discussing these works of art, one should look at them for a long time, in calmness, turning away from the vanity of life, and the Beautiful one will definitely come".