A brief history of the Martinoff Drawings, and the exhibition that never was

This blog post has been informed by an article in vol. 160 of The Burlington Magazine, by Louise Hardiman, entitled ‘The ‘Martinoff Drawings’: a quest for Russian Art in the South Kensington Museum.’

In 1882, the V&A (then the South Kensington Museum), acquired 60 drawings of ‘Russian Ecclesiastical Art’ from the painter Nikolai Avenirovich Martynov (1842-1913) in Moscow.

Due to an old, incorrect, anglicisation of Martynov’s name when the drawings were commissioned, they have become known as the Martinoff Drawings. This is because Henry Cole and others referred to Nikolai as ‘Nicholas Martinoff’, and that is largely how his name appears in V&A paperwork.

All sixty of the drawings display pre-Petrine (i.e. before the reign of Peter the Great) instruments of religion. Nine of them are of views of (mostly) Moscow city architecture, eight are of copies of ornament from manuscripts, and the rest are depictions of religious textiles and implements, many of which can now be found in the Kremlin museums. Although the entry of these drawings into the collection may seem unremarkable, it was part of Henry Cole‘s broader ambition to acquire all kinds of copies and reproductions of fine artworks.

Martynov was a graduate of the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, and over the course of his life, taught in different Gymnasia across Moscow, worked as a private tutor and an artist. He taught artists who would become a part of the next generation of the Russian art historical canon, and was one of the first to implement free evening classes for the education and artistic learning of adults. His work appears to be almost exclusively held in Museums in Russia or in private collections.

In 1867, early in his career, Martynov won a bronze medal for his watercolour copies of the Nereditsa Church frescoes at the Exposition Universelle in Paris (these frescoes, along with the church itself, were destroyed in World War II; the church has since been rebuilt, but Martynov’s copies, along with some pre-war photographs, are all that remain of the frescoes). At the same exposition, the V&A’s first director Henry Cole (1808-1882) and other representatives from the South Kensington Museum attended to promote the treaty known as the ‘Convention for Promoting Universally Reproduction of Works of Art for the Benefit of All Countries.’ The most successful realisation of this treaty can be seen in the Cast Courts, which display reproductions of world-famous sculptures and monuments. Fifteen countries signed the treaty, including Russia. It is likely that this event marked the early formation of the ideas that would eventually lead to the creation of the Martinoff Drawings.

By 1880, one trip to Russia had already been undertaken by the second director of the V&A, Philip Cunliffe-Owen (1828-1894), and several other members of staff. Cunliffe-Owen had marked Russia as a country of high priority, given the South Kensington museum’s desire to gain copies of the English Silver Plate in the Kremlin collections, given as a gift through previous monarchs on state visits. During the visit, a ‘reconnaissance mission’ was also carried out to identify additional works that could be copied for a subsequent trip. It is believed that this is when the subjects of the Martinoff Drawings were first selected. By the time of the next trip – led by art historian Alfred Maskell (1845-1912) – Martynov had been selected to produce the watercolour copies. This was likely due to his success at the 1867 exposition, as well as his later achievement of completing 2,000 drawings of artworks in Russian churches and museums as a part of a national project. His efforts on this project closely aligned with Henry Cole’s aims for the South Kensington Museum.

Maskell led the expedition to Moscow and stayed for five months, undoubtedly helping inform his work Russian Art and Art Objects in Russia, published in 1884. While the drawings were a part of the trip, copies were made of other works, such as of the statue of Louis XIV that stood outside the Hermitage, and of the Jerningham wine cooler, at that time a part of the Hermitage’s collections, which can still be seen in the Silver Galleries at South Kensington today.

In 1881, the expedition returned to Britain. While the purchase of the 60 drawings from Martynov was secured, the other aim of acquiring 1,100 of his drawings for a proposed exhibition in London was not. There were no further trips to Russia in relation to the drawings, and indeed no such exhibition ever took place.

It is unknown whether the Martinoff Drawings were ever exhibited. By 1916, when leading Russian art expert Rosa Newmarch (1857-1940) asked the V&A if it had anything it might contribute to an exhibition on the subject, although the drawings were found from storage and considered, they were not sent. The reasoning for this is unclear, certainly from an aesthetic perspective. It is difficult to disagree with Maskell’s observation of the drawings: ‘It would be difficult, short of actual reproduction, to give a better idea of such objects, their materials and textures.’ The drawings are meticulously detailed – one can clearly see the threads used in the embroidered textiles, their condition immediately apparent. Although one of the regrets of the trip may have been that no photographs of the original objects were taken for comparison, I don’t believe this comes as a detriment to the appreciation of the drawings. By contrast, it is a testament to the talent of Martynov that photographs are not needed to find an accurate recording of the original objects.

If you would like to see the drawings for yourself, they are viewable through bookable appointments in the Prints and Drawings Study Room.

HARDIMAN, LOUISE. The ‘Martinoff Drawings’: A Quest for Russian Art at the South Kensington Museum.  The Burlington Magazine 160, no. 1389 (2018): 1006–15.