Russia and Spain celebrate "Dual Year" with art swap

Mikhail Piotrovski, director of the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, was in Madrid on Monday to sign a collaboration agreement with the Prado that will see both leading art galleries exchange exhibitions. The deal, which is part of the "Dual Year" between Russia and Spain, will materialize on February 25, when the heads of state of both nations will inaugurate a Prado exhibition at the Hermitage.

The show comprises 66 works, covering the period from the mid-15th century and the early 19th century, and half of the art on display is by Spanish artists such as Velázquez and Goya. In November, the Russian museum will bring a selection of 170 items to the Prado.

There is no precedent for this type of artistic exchange in the history of either institution. The trucks carrying the Prado paintings will begin arriving on Thursday in Saint Petersburg, where they are being eagerly awaited.

The Hermitage has previously collaborated with the Guggenheim Foundation, although "at a lower level now, because the museums' orientation has changed," said Piotrovski. A joint project in Las Vegas was pulled because it was too "complicated and expensive."

But the setting up of "small Hermitages" across the world is underway. "The holdings are at the great Hermitage, and after that we have a dynamic set of Sputniks that can move across orbits. In London we have a Sputnik that no longer holds exhibitions and instead raises funds for exhibitions. In Italy we have another one doing scientific activities."