Mykolaiv Museum receives a gift of an exhibition from Paris

The Mykolaiv Regional Museum of Local Lore received a gift from France to its collection. The work is "Temple of Zeus Olympian in Athens" by Leonid Inglesi, an artist with close ties to Mykolaiv in the early twentieth century.

This was reported by the Mykolaiv Museum of Local Lore.

The watercolor was donated to the museum by the painter's granddaughter Anna Khrystoforova and came all the way from Paris, where she lives.

Leonid Inglesi, a resident of Mykolaiv, was at the origin of two leading museums in Mykolaiv: The Regional Museum of Local Lore and the Vereshchagin Museum of Art. In addition to his artistic activity, he actively worked with the public: in 1913-1917 he was elected to the Mykolaiv City Council, worked as a teacher at the school of painting, drawing, and modeling that worked at the Vereshchahin Museum, and was a patron of the arts. In 1928, the artist emigrated to France, where he collaborated with the theater and art studio of Borys Anrep.

Leonid Inglesi. Photo: Archive of Anna Khrystoforova

Leonid Inglesi's family had Greek roots and came from the island of Kefalonia, which significantly influenced his works - some of them were painted under the influence of Hellenic culture.The donated watercolor depicts the Olympion, the temple of Zeus Olympian in Athens, which is considered one of the largest sacred complexes in ancient Greece. It once had 104 columns 17 meters high, and inside stood a statue of Zeus made of ivory and gold.

A donated watercolor. Photo: Mykolaiv Museum of Local Lore

It is worth mentioning that the Mykolaiv Regional Museum of Local Lore suffered the most from Russian shelling. Since the beginning of the full-scale war, the museum has been assisted in the preparation of exhibits by the MY ART platform: it provided the necessary packaging materials and equipment to protect the storage facilities in case of emergency evacuation. In particular, the MY ART team helped to digitize the exhibits, which helps with preservation.

The museum has repeatedly received exhibits from the Armed Forces of Ukraine: last year, the 3rd separate assault brigade donated gifts. The parcel sent by the soldiers included 12 items from the village of Sudzha, Kursk region, Russia. This year, the soldiers of the 123rd Brigade of the terrorist defense came across an ancient necropolis during the construction of fortifications. The artifacts were transferred to the museum.

Катерина Глушко