Press releases

MINSK, 8 December (BelTA) - Belarus National Art Museum will run an exhibition of Belarusian icons of the 17th -18th centuries in Spain, BelTA learned from Yelena Karpenko, the head of ancient Belarusian art at the National Art Museum.

These are the masterpieces of the ancient Belarusian art that have not left Belarus before. The exhibition entitled “The Mystery of Time and Spirit” (the Apostles and Prophets. Belarusian icons of the 17th -18th centuries) will open in the El Greco Museum in Toledo on 16 December. This is the day when the Belarusian Embassy will open there.

The twelve Orthodox icons, which will go on a journey through several European countries, have been insured for about $30 million. The idea of organizing the exhibition was put forward by Vladimir Prokoptsov, the Director General of the National Art Museum of Belarus. The project took nearly two years. The museum in Toledo keeps a lot of El Greco’s works that depict Orthodox saints: Peter, Paul, Nicholas. Vladimir Prokoptsov suggested placing similar Belarusian icons alongside with the works of the artist.

The Belarusian icons in Toledo will be on display through 12 March 2017.

It is expected that a number of paintings, including Saint Peter and Saint Paul, from the El Greco Museum, will be later showcased in Minsk.