Odesa Museum of Fine Arts Damaged in Bombing
On Monday the Odesa Fine Arts Museum suffered extensive damage from aerial strikes that cracked walls, blew out windows, did harm to art works and left an enormous crater in front of the building. The museum has one of the most extensive collections of art from Ukraine, Russia and other countries and regions.
The collection of more than 12,000 pieces of art was evacuated to a safe place as soon as the war began in February 2022, using a protocol developed by the Prado Museum during the Spanish Civil War.
The collection of more than 12,000 pieces of art was evacuated to a safe place as soon as the war began in February 2022, using a protocol developed by the Prado Museum during the Spanish Civil War.
Odesa National Fine Arts Museum
Debris litter a street around a crater outside an art museum, following a late strike the day before in Odesa on November 6, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Oleksandr Gimanov / AFP
At present the museum has been exhibiting largely works of young Ukrainian artists.
Odesa National Fine Arts Museum
The building is one of the most famous in Odesa. It was originally the Potocki Palace, named after a Polish nobleman who swore allegiance to the Tsar after the partition of Poland. It was begun in 1805 under the supervision of the celebrated Italian architect Francisco Boffo, but only completed in 1828.
Ivan Strakhov / Odesa National Fine Arts Museum
A daughter of Potocki married into the noble Naryshkin family, but the palace did not stay as personal property for many generations. In 1892 it was sold to the Odesa Society of Fine Arts. The Odesa Fine Arts Museum was opened in 1899.
On the day of the bombardment, the museum was celebrating its 124th anniversary.
Ivan Strakhov / Odesa National Fine Arts Museum
The Museum collection includes virtually all forms of art: paintings, drawing, sculpture and decorative arts. They were displayed in 26 halls.
The museum has a particularly rich collection of works from the late 19th and early 20th century, including paintings by Ivan Aivazovsky, Arkhip Kuindzhi, Ilya Repin, Vasily Surikov, Alexandre Benois, Ivan Kramskoi, Isaac Levian, and Ivan Shishkin.
Visitors could also see works by Mikhail Vrubel, Nicholas Roerich and Boris Kustodiev.
Ivan Strakhov / Odesa National Fine Arts Museum
The collection also had an important collection of Soviet-era art, from socialist realism to dissident works.
Ivan Strakhov / Odesa National Fine Arts Museum
This was not the first time the museum was under threat. During WWII an extensive network of catacombs were excavated under the museum to protect art and citizens from Nazi bombing.
These catacombs have been used as bomb shelters during the current war.
Ivan Strakhov / Odesa National Fine Arts Museum
The museum has been closed to assess damage and make repairs. At present it is not clear when it will open.
Ivan Strakhov / Odesa National Fine Arts Museum
