Musée national d'histoire et d'art
Exposition from 29.04.2022 until 16.10.2022
This Midi de l'Art will exceptionally start at 12.00 !
Welcome by Michel Polfer, director of the MNHA, followed by a guided visit in English by Maxim Kantor.
Since 24 February 2022, Russian aggression and the murderous war against the Ukrainian people take us back to the darkest times in European history. Tens of thousands dead, cities partially razed, millions of Ukrainian refugees wandering across Europe. How to react, as a museum, how to show a sign of solidarity with those under attack when direct cooperation with a Ukrainian museum is currently proving impossible and our own collections contain almost no objects related to this country?
By pure coincidence, MNHA was already long before the start of hostilities in contact with Russian born artist Maxim Kantor, well known for his very critical attitude towards the Putin regime and recent developments in Russia. Kantor spontaneously agreed to show more than sixty of his works that unmask the totalitarian and aggressive character of the current Russian regime.
In solidarity with Ukraine
The show also includes a painting specially created for the exhibition and which gave it its title: "The Rape of Europe. Several rooms on the 4th floor happened to be completely empty while waiting for the parquet to be refurbished. In consultation with the artist, we decided to leave them in their current raw state. We present this exceptional exhibition in order to support those impacted by the conflict in Ukraine.
"Russia — the country where I lived for many years before becoming a citizen of Europe — has been a laboratory for inhumane social projects all through the 20th and 21st centuries." - Maxim Kantor
Admission to the exhibition The Rape of Europe – Maxim Kantor on Putin’s Russia (Works 1992-2022) is free; however, visitors are invited to join the Luxembourg Red Cross in providing emergency aid to all the people and victims affected by the ongoing armed conflict in Ukraine.
Elvire Geiben will welcome the Amis des Musées for this visit.
In order to participate in the activities organised by the Amis des Musées it is mandatory to be member of the assocation.
