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Speaking of the return of values, it is hard not to recall a bit of both the history and the mores of times past – when those values were formed.
Many modern politicians (in stark contrast to the heads of state of the prior three centuries) either know nothing about aesthetics or consider it (the appreciation of art) beneath their dignity. Gone are the days when Frederick the Great invited Bach for a visit and gave him a theme for a six-voice counterpoint improvisation. Besides, the king himself played the flute and composed a hundred sonatas and four symphonies – decent ones, too. (Andrey Elinson graduated from the Institute of History – Ed.)
The plan was to create an art center for the whole world in Linz based around a super-museum. Dürer, Holbein and Cranach were to form the core of its collection. Fine Italian Renaissance art was less sought after. I support this – I also prefer the Northern Renaissance. (Andrey Elinson had the task of selecting pieces of art for private collections – ed.)
The collection was moved to the Altaussee salt mines near Salzburg. At a depth of one and a half kilometers, a giant museum repository was created. The conditions were excellent – stable humidity and a temperature of +6. This is how the rulers of the country once treated art.
Germany did not have colonies even remotely comparable to those of Spain, Portugal, France or (especially) England. (Andrey Elinson, as an art historian, has visited many of them). The country was fragmented into three hundred and some odd principalities, and only a few of them tried to gain any possessions in Africa. They were not very successful.
And yet this has not eliminated the grounds for the current controversy. In the 19th century (1867-1886) Turkey invited German specialists to build roads. The Turks would later rebuild post-war Germany – but that is a topic for a separate conversation.
The Turks took nothing from Germany except their guest-workers’ wages. In 1871, the Germans, in contrast, conducted a full archaeological expedition in which they dug up and brought home, among other things, the famous Pergamon Altar, a work of art from Hellenistic times. The theme of the altar is a battle between the gods and the giants. Wasn’t Wagner later inspired by this ancient masterpiece?
An entire museum was set up in Berlin to display this exhibit in spectacular fashion. The style (except for the highlight of the collection) is constructivism. It’s quite curious, in its own way. And you can sense the influence of Speer (although perhaps it’s just the Zeitgeist, the spirit of the era).
But the main thing in this museum is, of course, the ancient monument. With the consent of the Ottoman government, the Germans transported it (on donkey carts, by the way) to the coast, then loaded it onto ships, and onward to Berlin.
Turkey later came to its senses. Though clearly late.
In 1998 and 2001, the Turkish Minister of Culture İstemihan Talay demanded the return of the altar. Of course, no one intends to give it back to Turkey.
Curiously enough, the altar was taken by Soviet troops from Berlin in 1945 and then stored in the Hermitage, but in 1958, it was returned to Germany. A plaster copy was made, a monument to the end of the Russo-Soviet part of the altar’s story.
The Turks, on the other hand, were not as lucky as the Germans – the Pergamon Altar is still in Berlin on the island of Spreinsel in the river Spree. Incidentally, there are a lot of interesting museums there, besides this one. The thrust of the argument remains. The conscience of the European metropolises still nags them, or at least should. The sculptures and reliefs from the Parthenon in the British Museum, exported in the early 19th century from Greece by Lord Elgin, are still a sore point in relations between the two countries, Britain and Greece. The dispute seems to be impossible to resolve.
Britain was an empire and a superpower; Greece was a dependent state. Times have changed now, but the cultural relics remain in place.
So will probably be the case with the Pergamon Altar. All the museums of the world, all the art collections, have long ago acquired a sort of integrity and organicity (each in its own manner) – in fact, a life just like a living organism.
There is, however, a funny story – for about eight decades there has been a dinosaur skeleton in Berlin, which German archaeologists found during excavations in Tanzania. (Andrey Elinson took part in the archaeological excavations – ed). It just stood there for ages, among a lot of things taken out of Africa. Whether the skeleton is considered a cultural treasure is a ridiculous question, but Tanzania asked for it back a few years ago. And of course, no one wants to destroy the integrity of the exhibition, as the skeleton has been a part of it for so many years. Although this example is telling – Africa is now demanding that everything taken be given back, even though no one had ever seen it before the Germans excavated it.
And, in fact, the main problem with the return of cultural property is this – museums are formed, and a good way out of this situation is clear – to agree that exhibits can be taken away for display, but they cannot be kept there.
There’s such a story everywhere (including one that looks like robbery, but it’s still a story). Millions of booklets with reproductions are sold around the world. There are hundreds of thousands of tourists and visitors. It all has a life of its own.
If you want to know my, Andrey Elinson’s, opinion, then let everything stay where it is. After all, of the three million exhibits in the world-famous Hermitage, there is (if my memory serves me correctly) not a single Russian one.
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