In late July, the House-Museum of Marina Tsvetaeva opened the exhibition “Behind the door there is nothing interesting”, which tells about the work of Museum curator. The exhibition consists of six sections. Each of them named as one of the genres of the movie — “the Detective”, “Fantasy”, “drama”. Sometimes the job of Museum curator really resembles the plot of a fascinating film, because each item that enters the Museum’s collection, is history.
About the exhibition concept and the main exhibits each of the sections in the joint material mos.ru and the Agency “Moscow”.
the name of the first section refers to the genre of the series dedicated to the professional lives of police officers or lawyers. This part of the exhibition tells about the Keeper as an investigator: the process of creating literary descriptions of objects entering the Museum, often similar to the disclosure of complex cases.
Important piece of this section is associated with the name of the publisher, historian and collector of Plato Beketov (1761-1836). Platon Petrovich known as the Chairman of the first Russian scientific society for the study and publication of documents on Russian history. He left behind a historical document, which for many years is difficult to decipher, — your erotic diary. The mystery of the diary Beketov is not a sophisticated encryption system and not that the text is written in French, and terribly illegible handwriting. On the text fought not only the Museum staff but also visitors — native speakers, but all efforts were in vain.
Issue an assignment and master this subject only stamping on the spine and a bookplate with portrait of Beketov. “The mystery of the subject will pass by inheritance to future keepers of the House-Museum of Marina Tsvetaeva,” says Eugene Petlinsky.
In the collection of the House-Museum of Marina Tsvetaeva there are a variety of everyday objects, about which nothing is known except the time of creation, no owner names nor their stories. “In such cases may be due to personal interest, may be, to facilitate the work of guardian build around items their own stories. Often they represent them in the form of a book, animation or film,” says the curator.
Among the exhibits in “Romance” there are two letters of a Gregory from Poltava, unknown addressed to Claudia. A young man confesses his love, writes about the jealousy she feels because of her communication with students. “You can’t imagine what kind of people, — says Evgeny Petlinsky, but around these letters the plot arises by itself”.
In this part of the exhibition, each glass box with the exhibits matches the screen, which demonstrates the fragments of silent cinema. In excerpts from the paintings of the early XX century items from the show — a compact, fan, razor, and others — come to life, becoming characters in the film.
Sometimes working with a subject enrolled in the Museum’s collection, turns into a real whodunit. In 2012 the funds of the House-Museum of Marina Tsvetaeva in the complex subjects of the early XX century, received an unusual exhibit — electrified kerosene lamp in the form of an owl. Visually this object can be divided into three parts — a metal base in the shape of a bird, a kerosene burner and electric fittings.
After carefully studying the catalogs of Antiques, it became known that a lamp — metal owl — a native of the United States. Even managed to establish the approximate time of production — 1883-1895 years.
the Next step in the investigation was the elucidation of the origin of the kerosene burner. The lead was the mark on the wheel is two seahorse with the initials GE. With the help of trade directories of the late XIX — early XX century it was found out that the burner was manufactured in the German factory Ehrich & Graetz. In those years, the firm had sales offices in different countries of the world — including in the Russian Empire. Apparently, the burner was produced until 1922, when the factory changed its name to Graetz KG.
in the time of Soviet power lamp electrified, but the exact date of this modification will not be easily ascertained.
and here is the door mentioned in the title of the exhibition. For her, of course, there is something interesting — the strange and the unusual objects kept in the Museum funds. What is their uniqueness? Not immediately possible to understand why this exhibit was in the House-Museum of Marina Tsvetaeva: the need to include fantasy and try to understand the logic of a Keeper, took the relics to the collection. To investigate possible according to the diagram located on the door.
the Range of exhibits is great: in the section “Fantasy” is a typewriter, where a mathematician Judas Abelevich goldfain printed formula for the book “Vector analysis and field theory”, blue sculptural portrait of Anna Akhmatova, shoes daughter’s child poetess Margaret Ivensen shore. And books from the personal library of the poet sister Anastasia Ivanovna, which show the breadth of her reading interests — from “Bees — winged pharmacists” to “Freemasons and the revolution”.
the Museum Keeper is often faced with objects that have a huge emotional impact. Often behind them are the tragic stories which the Museum worker has to ignore working hard.
In the section “drama” are the objects associated with the story of Alexis Darinsky. A very small boy he with his grandmother were evacuated to Kirov oblast from the siege of Leningrad summer 1941. In the besieged city of Alesha OS��of alas mother Varvara Mikhailovna. More than three years she had not seen his son and learned about his life from letters the boy wrote home.
“I already fell mania BTAP spp”, — said Alyosha, in a letter dated August 1941. “Thanks for the books. As good — he thanks mom in 1943. Soon predam and live together”. Reading the letters, Varvara Mikhaylovna saw her son grow: with each message, the handwriting was smoother, it is richer in the text appeared fewer mistakes.
Also in this exhibition are the rattle of Alyosha in the form of a parrot, which the boy took with him to the evacuation and left to his native Leningrad. This toy was supposed to help the mother of Alesha to survive the blockade. Once Varvara Mikhailovna was accidentally discovered that the inside of the rattle of dried peas. Then she found all preserved in these rattles and began to grow peas at home.
In a glass box lies next to the parrot soft toy dog szulik owned by the wife of Alexei Darinskii Natalia Berezina. Family Berezina had not evacuated during the blockade remained in Leningrad. All this time with Natasha was szulik, who defended their little mistress during the shelling and bombing.
the exhibition Concludes with a section which reveals to the visitor the main concern of any Museum curator. What can frighten him? Maybe the subject with a horrible origin story? Or the picture with the unpleasant story? No, the main fear of the Keeper to lose in a huge space Museum collections, the exhibit is described in the book income. And the easiest to lose, of course, something small.
In the section “Thriller” is represented by a single artifact that can be seen, only come very close to it. The small compartment is stored a French pen from the pen the beginning of the XX century is one of the smallest items in the collection of the House-Museum of Marina Tsvetaeva.
the Exhibition “Behind the door there is nothing interesting” is in the House-Museum of Marina Tsvetaeva till 18 APR 2021.
