Comment | Ateneum decided that Ilja Repin will henceforth be a Ukrainian artist, not a Russian one – similar decisions have been made elsewhere

Athenaeum has joined the ranks of museums in the world that have decided to re-evaluate the nationality of artists previously considered Russian. HS reported on Thursdaythat the Ateneum Art Museum's decision to present the artist from now on Ilja Repin (1844–1930) as a Ukrainian and not a Russian caused the Russian embassy in Finland to flee.

Ateneum's decision exceeded on Thursday

even the international news threshold

. Athenaeum justified his decision on Friday.

The background to the decision – contacts the museum received from Ukrainian activists and new information about Repin's parentage – was the first to open Suomen Kuvalehti.

The main works of his production Ilja Repin, who painted in Russia, lived in Finland for a long time and died in Kuokkala on Terijoki in 1930, was born in Chuhujiv, Kharkiv, in the region of present-day Ukraine, and spent part of his life there.

Russia, of course, wants to hold on to Repin's Russianness with all its teeth, after all, Repin is one of the most famous Russian artists – or, in other words, the artists who have been considered Russian until now.

The Metropolitan Museum In New York, at least three artists previously declared to be Russian have changed their origin to Ukrainian. They are with Repin Ivan Aivazovsky and Arhip Kuindži. As for Aivazovsky, it was decided, after the Armenians protested, to refine the definition: He was born into an Armenian family in the Crimean port city of Feodosia, reports for example a British newspaper The Guardian.

In many others too the world's museums have recently reassessed the nationality of famous artists previously considered Russian. For example, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam announced last March that it belongs to the avant-garde Kazimir Malevich (1878–1935) will henceforth be marked as Ukrainian and not Russian in the museum's information. The issue has been reported on, among other things, by the art magazine The Art Newspaper.

From his black square (1915) the well-known Malevich was born in Kiev in 1879 to Polish parents. At the time of Malevich's birth, Kiev, the capital of the now independent Ukrai
ne, was part of the Russian Empire. If you look at Wikipedia, for example, in the different language versions the artist is (at the time of writing) either Ukrainian-Russian (Finnish Wikipedia), Polish-Ukrainian Soviet (Swedish) or Russian (English).

Malevich, who revolutionized art, had a difficult time Stalin's during, but since then the master of abstract art has been celebrated in Russia and specifically as a Russian, in Moscow for example in 2017 more spectacular than ever.

Nationality disputes there is more going on in the background.

The war of aggression started by Russia in Ukraine has effectively destroyed the old cultural relations of the Russians. This is tragic for the artists, as well as for the culture-loving public. Geographically, it is a short distance from Finland to St. Petersburg, but the spiritual distance has been torn to shreds. The historic metropolis with its museums, concerts and ballets has been wiped off the travel map.

At the same time, Russia is looking for new friends to replace the lost ones, also in art.

After European and American relations have frozen, they are looking for them in the same direction as new partners in the economy and in politics: Africa.

in St. Petersburg was on display in the summer Reverse Safari – exhibition that presented hundreds of works by about 50 African and 14 Russian artists. Other viewings of African art have been organized recently, which gave The Art Newspaper reason to ask in his article published on Thursdaywhat is behind Russia's recent love for Africa.

And that's where great power politics looms, Vladimir Putin with haystacks With Russia-Africa summits. For example, the Russian museum director has announced plans to open an exhibition space dedicated to African culture in Moscow, according to Art Newspaper.

At the same time, Russia is establishing cultural institutes in Africa.

Young energy Africa in full swing is full of many different cultural potentials. It can be seen in music, for example as the afrobeats phenomenonand in the visual arts, for example, in the fact that he just announced his software Venice Biennale strongly highlights continental factors. In the 2024 Biennale, the giant Nigeria will have its own country pavilion for the second time (only!), Morocco and Benin will participate for the first time.

Ilja Repin's breakthrough work Volga lautturit (1870–1873) was on display at th
e big Ateneum exhibition in 2021. – The work was on loan from the Museum of Russian Art in St. Petersburg. Picture: Museum of Russian Art

St. Petersburg and the immeasurable treasures in the Moscow museums, already accumulated during the imperial era, with European masterpieces, all those works by Tretyakov or Morozov's collections Matisses, The Gauguins, the van Goghs and so on, rest out of sight of the western world because of the war, who knows how long.

Before the war in Ukraine, Repin's exhibition organized in Ateneum in 2021 collected exceptional queues. Now it would be impossible to bring it to Finland.

Time will tell how significant collections of African art Russia manages to acquire.

Read more: Ateneum opened its doors after a five-month hiatus: The most significant art exhibition of the year awaits visitors inside, i.e. almost 130 works by Ilja Repin