About freaks without people: when will the exhibits of the Kunstkamera return to the public

The Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera) will expand the exposition of anatomical collections, open storage facilities and reconstruct the facade of the building built under the first Russian emperor. The oldest museum in the country is preparing for major updates and reassures visitors disappointed by the lack of the most famous exhibits — animals and human anomalies (freaks). In the future, they will be shown more voluminously, but for now the area is limited, it was decided to bet on something else. Izvestia learned the details first-hand.

"The face of nations, not freaks"

The name "kunstkamera" translates as "cabinet of curiosities". According to the plan of the founder Peter the Great, the museum was designed to show visitors the achievements of natural science knowledge in almost all fields - from astronomy to anatomy. Today, the Kunstkamera has one of the largest collections in the country: over 1.2 million items. However, for most modern viewers, when mentioning this German word, one association arises: pickled freaks in cans.

Photo: IZVESTIA

These are indeed some of the oldest exhibits, they came to St. Petersburg back in 1717, when Peter bought the collection of the Dutch anatomist Frederic Ruysch. There were about 2 thousand items in it. Of course, there were fewer exhibits in the exhibition, but they still occupied a significant part of it. But in 2022, the museum removed many of the freaks, leaving only a few display cases with them. This caused the displeasure of some visitors who came specifically to look at the anomalies.

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"People who love freaks are very loud," Andrei Golovnev, the museum's director, complains in an interview with Izvestia. But he defends the decision to remove them from the main Imperial Hall, where there is now an exhibition "Multinational Russia" (costumes of various ethnic groups and gifts to the rulers of the state). — The Kunstkamera is the country's first public museum. In a way, her face. And I am convinced that the face of Russia is the face of peoples, not freaks!

Photo: IZVESTIA

However, especially for those who want to look at the anatomical collection, the museum staff created a Ruysch cabinet. And there they placed six dozen exhibits, according to Andrei Golovnev, "the best, the choicest, the brightest."

Abnormal interest

Further — more. Very soon, part of the collection, including objects from the Ruysch collection, will move to a new building on Zapovednaya Street near the Shuvalov quarry. According to the director, a number of anatomical rooms will be created there. The move will take place in the summer, and this, according to the staff, is a test, given the fragility and specifics of the exhibits.

At the same time, the museum seeks to change the perception of the general public and emphasizes that even the very collection of Ruysch consisted of more than just anomalies. The freaks were only one direction, but the main goals of both the collector and Peter were different.

Photo: IZVESTIA

— Initially, the anomalies occupied only two or three cabinets. Everything else was separate organs of the body to show what was inside a person. There has never been such an emphasis on anomalies as in our time. Peter's main task was educational: to show our anatomy, not the freaks," Natalia Kopaneva, chief curator of the Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told Izvestia.

There was another reason why some of the jars with anomalies had to be temporarily removed: some exhibits had been on display for 20 years. It's not very useful for them.

Photo: IZVESTIA

— We must think about how to ensure the safety of objects, many of which are more than three centuries old. Of course, the keepers take care of them — for example, they replenish the solution that evaporates, and so on. But for any museum object, such prolonged exposure can be harmful. Moreover, natural science and anatomical exhibits require special conditions, because they are organic," explains Natalia Kopaneva.

The main exhibit

Nevertheless, the main problem is still in the squares. And when the exhibition occupies the new building, it will be possible to show much more than it is now. Moreover, open storage will be organized there (in other words, some funds will be available to the public).

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Photo: IZVESTIA

But the current building will soon be renovated. The historical facade will be transformed in the summer, and in December it is planned to complete all repair and restoration work. 90.6 million rubles have been allocated for these purposes.

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In general, the famous museum is waiting for big changes both inside and out. Andrey Golovnev talks about this philosophically: "It is difficult for the Kunstkamera to be updated, because it is a museum within a museum. The main exhibit of the Kunstkamera is the Kunstkamera itself." But, the director summarizes, there is a feeling that she herself is striving for renewal. Unlike the freaks, the museum cannot be preserved.