“Legend and Reality”

The exhibition of works by sculptor of the 18th century, representative of the late Baroque and Rococo, the initiator of the Lviv school of sculptors Johann Georg Pinzel will open on March 28 in exhibition halls of the Art Gallery on Stefanyka Street 3. The Day learned about the exhibition from the Lviv Art Gallery. It will continue until the repair work of the museum “Lviv Baroque Sculpture of the 18th Century. Pinzel” (former Church of Poor Clares, built in 1607) will be completed.

Pinzel’s sculptures have recently returned from the Louvre, where they were exhibited for two months. Exhibition of 27 sculptures of the master were presented in the Hall de la Chapelle (Chapel Hall). The great guardian of Pinzel’s heritage was the director of the Lviv Art Gallery Borys Voznytsky, who discovered and returned from oblivion the name of the great master in the 20th century. Voznytsky did everything possible to preserve the works of genius sculptor, he opened the museum “Lviv Baroque Sculpture of the 18th Century. Pinzel,” researched his creative heritage, organized exhibitions in Ukraine and abroad.

The staff of the gallery say that “today Master Pinzel and his museum on Mytna Square need caring people, who not in words but in real actions would help to create appropriate conditions for storing and displaying his works.” The museum premises are in extremely poor condition. The last time it was repaired in 2008 but the works were not completed. “The situation with this sight is very bad,” said Vasyl Kosiv, Deputy City Mayor for Humanitarian Affairs of Lviv. “The condition of the roof is catastrophic.” The official also added that the restoration of the museum requires considerable funding. City Council has asked the central government to allot funds for the repair works, since “Pinzel Museum is not simply a sight of Lviv or even Ukraine – it’s a sight of world importance.”