Сonservation of André Derain's Saturday

Research and conservation of André Derain's Saturday (1914) has recently started in the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts.

This large painting is one of the most renowned masterpieces of the Museum's collection and is a main piece of the artist's 'gothic' period. Dated 1911-1914 this period is reflecting Derain's fascination with the Old Masters he developed at the time. The world's cultural heritage influence coexisted in his works with his own unique vision. Saturday is the most striking example of such a synthesis.

It is known that Derain had worked on the painting for a very long time, constantly making changes. This is one of the reasons why this painting is so fascinating to the researchers: underneath the surface the original image stayed intact.

Saturday along with other works of the artist was acquired by Sergey Schukin for his Moscow collection in the first half of 1914, and later became a part of the Pushkin Museum's collection.

Find out more about this on channel TV Center (Russia).