Boris Legran
Encyclopedia
Boris Vasilyevich Legran or Legrand (Russian: Борис Васильевич Легран, 18841936) was a Bolshevik
revolutionary and Soviet
official who represented the interests of the Russian SFSR in Armenia
and Transcaucasia, during the 1920s and worked as a consular official in China
during the 1920s.
He also was the director of the State Hermitage Museum in Leningrad
in 1931-1934.
in 1901. He took part in the October Revolution
in Petrograd as a Bolshevik
after service in the Russian Imperial Army in World War I
and, in the ensuing civil war
, was appointed Deputy People's Commissar of Naval Affairs in 1918. He represented the interests of the Russian SFSR in Armenia
and Transcaucasia, beginning in 1920.
Legrand was appointed head of the Soviet consulate in Harbin
in 1926, but was recalled the following year, after being reprimanded for his performance at the consulate by the Central Committee
.
In 1931 Legran was appointed director of the State Hermitage Museum in Leningrad
, and was replaced by Joseph Orbeli
in 1934.
Legran died in Leningrad in 1936 at fifty-two.
. During his time at the helm, Legran was busy with the "Socialist Reconstruction" of the museum. In other words, he oversaw that the works on display were being presented "in keeping with the new principles of the country's life and new policies". This transformation was launched in 1932, during the 2nd "Five Year Plan" of the USSR. Legran supported the creation of an "exhibition imbued with ideology", that modern observers consider to have been vulgar. His goal was to turn objets d'art (for instance, the Fabergé
jewelry) into a kind of "evidence to the oppression of peoples under the Tsarist regime".
Legran's three years in office are remembered for the scandalous sale of the highlights of the museum's collection to the West, primarily to Andrew W. Mellon
. With his connivance, clandestine auctions were held abroad, so as to raise additional money for the ongoing industrialization of the Soviet Union. Legran believed that antique furniture, magnificent jewelry, and paintings on religious subjects were of little interest to the Soviet people. Accordingly, about 2,880 "ecclesiastic" paintings were sent from the Hermitage to be auctioned. Of these, 250 were seen as being major works, and 50 are now recognised as priceless masterpieces (e.g., Raphael
's Madonna Alba and Jan Van Eyck
's Annunciation
). (See Soviet sale of Hermitage paintings
.)
During his time, some innovations were adopted. For instance, he introduced the so-called music exhibitions, a product of his work with S. Ginzburg. Also, in 1934, he provided for the development and transfer to the Hermitage museum of methodologies for restoring especially complicated metal objects. This was done through an agreement signed with the "State Academy of the History of Material Culture". A dedicated laboratory was provided and fully equipped for this purpose - the forerunner of today's restaurational laboratory for works of applied art.
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
revolutionary and Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
official who represented the interests of the Russian SFSR in Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
and Transcaucasia, during the 1920s and worked as a consular official in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
during the 1920s.
He also was the director of the State Hermitage Museum in Leningrad
Leningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
in 1931-1934.
Biography
Legran was born into the family of a civil servant in 1884 and joined the Russian Social Democratic Labour PartyRussian Social Democratic Labour Party
The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party , also known as Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party or Russian Social Democratic Party, was a revolutionary socialist Russian political party formed in 1898 in Minsk to unite the various revolutionary organizations into one party...
in 1901. He took part in the October Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
in Petrograd as a Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
after service in the Russian Imperial Army in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and, in the ensuing civil war
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
, was appointed Deputy People's Commissar of Naval Affairs in 1918. He represented the interests of the Russian SFSR in Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
and Transcaucasia, beginning in 1920.
Legrand was appointed head of the Soviet consulate in Harbin
Harbin
Harbin ; Manchu language: , Harbin; Russian: Харби́н Kharbin ), is the capital and largest city of Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China, lying on the southern bank of the Songhua River...
in 1926, but was recalled the following year, after being reprimanded for his performance at the consulate by the Central Committee
Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union , abbreviated in Russian as ЦК, "Tse-ka", earlier was also called as the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party ...
.
In 1931 Legran was appointed director of the State Hermitage Museum in Leningrad
Leningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
, and was replaced by Joseph Orbeli
Joseph Orbeli
Joseph Orbeli , 1887 – February 2, 1961) was a renowned Soviet orientalist and academician of Armenian descent who specialized in medieval history of Southern Caucasus and administered the State Hermitage Museum in Leningrad from 1934 to 1951...
in 1934.
Legran died in Leningrad in 1936 at fifty-two.
State Hermitage Museum
In 1931 Legran was appointed to run the State Hermitage Museum in LeningradLeningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
. During his time at the helm, Legran was busy with the "Socialist Reconstruction" of the museum. In other words, he oversaw that the works on display were being presented "in keeping with the new principles of the country's life and new policies". This transformation was launched in 1932, during the 2nd "Five Year Plan" of the USSR. Legran supported the creation of an "exhibition imbued with ideology", that modern observers consider to have been vulgar. His goal was to turn objets d'art (for instance, the Fabergé
Fabergé
Fabergé may refer to:*House of Fabergé, a Russian jewelry firm founded by Gustav Faberge in 1842*Fabergé workmaster, goldsmiths who produced jewelry for the House of Fabergé*Fabergé eggs, the most famous works of the House of Faberge...
jewelry) into a kind of "evidence to the oppression of peoples under the Tsarist regime".
Legran's three years in office are remembered for the scandalous sale of the highlights of the museum's collection to the West, primarily to Andrew W. Mellon
Andrew W. Mellon
Andrew William Mellon was an American banker, industrialist, philanthropist, art collector and Secretary of the Treasury from March 4, 1921 until February 12, 1932.-Early life:...
. With his connivance, clandestine auctions were held abroad, so as to raise additional money for the ongoing industrialization of the Soviet Union. Legran believed that antique furniture, magnificent jewelry, and paintings on religious subjects were of little interest to the Soviet people. Accordingly, about 2,880 "ecclesiastic" paintings were sent from the Hermitage to be auctioned. Of these, 250 were seen as being major works, and 50 are now recognised as priceless masterpieces (e.g., Raphael
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino , better known simply as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form and ease of composition and for its visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur...
's Madonna Alba and Jan Van Eyck
Jan van Eyck
Jan van Eyck was a Flemish painter active in Bruges and considered one of the best Northern European painters of the 15th century....
's Annunciation
Annunciation (van Eyck, Washington)
The Annunciation is an oil painting by the Early Netherlandish master Jan van Eyck, from around 1434-1436. It is in the National Gallery of Art, in Washington D.C. It was originally on panel but has been transferred to canvas. It is thought that it was the left wing of a triptych; there has...
). (See Soviet sale of Hermitage paintings
Soviet sale of Hermitage paintings
The Soviet sale of Hermitage paintings in 1930 and 1931 resulted in the departure of some of the most valuable paintings from the collection of the State Hermitage Museum in Leningrad to western museums. Several of the paintings had been in the Hermitage Collection since its creation by Empress...
.)
During his time, some innovations were adopted. For instance, he introduced the so-called music exhibitions, a product of his work with S. Ginzburg. Also, in 1934, he provided for the development and transfer to the Hermitage museum of methodologies for restoring especially complicated metal objects. This was done through an agreement signed with the "State Academy of the History of Material Culture". A dedicated laboratory was provided and fully equipped for this purpose - the forerunner of today's restaurational laboratory for works of applied art.