The residents of Buchach are proud that the legendary Johann Georg Pinzel had lived and worked in their ancient city, which is now more than 750 years old. The Buchach City Hall, the Church of the Dormition of the Mother of God, and the Church of the Holy Intercession were all decorated by Pinzel. But when in the 18th century the “Galician Michelangelo” created his masterpieces in churches for the glory of God, he could not even imagine that one day his works would end up in museums. Art institutions were true salvation during the Soviet atheistic era. Nowadays religious communities in Buchach want to have back Pinzel’s masterpieces, which were once created for the city.
In 2010, during the last days of Yushchenko’s presidency, the Ternopil Art Museum returned the Deacon Gate to the Church of the Holy Intercession. However, this return was arranged for a seven-year period only. But the community accepted even this offer, hoping to obtain a permission to keep the relic in the church during that time. Now the Deacon Gate is on the list of items that are to be exhibited at the Louvre. The sculpture of St. Onuphrius from the church in the village of Rukomysh is also on that list. So, at the end of July restoration specialists and staff of the Ternopil Art Museum came to Buchach intending to take the Deacon Gate. But as they were approaching the church, they encountered the indignant members of the local community and representatives of the local authorities. People just do not believe that the sacred object will be returned to Ukraine, not to speak of Buchach. And the letter of the Minister of Culture of Ukraine, presented by director of the Ternopil Art Museum Ihor Duda, failed to instill trust in the locals. The Buchach Raion Administration Committee on preservation of the historical and cultural values stated that nobody had ever given them any official information on Buchach sacred objects being taken to the Louvre.
By the way, in 2009 the Buchach Raion Administration enacted a resolution that prohibits transporting historical, cultural, and sacral values beyond the district limits. Such measures were taken because the locals have already had bitter experience in this field. Since Soviet time the number of Pinzel’s works here has shrunk significantly, because some of them were simply not returned after restoration or exhibits. A lot of them have just vanished. The citizens of Buchach appealed to MP Vasyl Derevliany, who in turn addressed the Prime Minister of Ukraine Mykola Azarov with a request to investigate the situation and put the transportation of the artworks on hold. And on August 5 the community made a decision to appeal to the president of Ukraine, demanding to provide the execution of Article 17 of the Law of Ukraine “On Freedom of Conscience and Religious Organizations.” The Buchach community remembers the words said by the renowned art expert Borys Voznytsky to Reverend Vasyl Shafran, when the latter invited him to restore the altars at the Church of the Holy Intercession: “Objects of sacral art that were created for temples, should be kept there. This is the way it is done in Europe.”
COMMENTARIES
Olena SURMIAK, deputy director, organization department of the Buchach raion council, chairperson of the Commission for preservation of historical and cultural values in Buchach raion:
“Nine works by Pinzel were removed from the Church of Holy Intercession, including the gold Holy Gate and Deacon Gate from the iconostasis. We were able to find the Deacon Gate. But the Holy Gate, as we know from Voznytsky’s letters, was sent to an exhibit in Europe in 1986. However, we did not find a single document to prove this in the archives. The Holy Gate never came back, and we even don’t know where it is.
“We have had a similar bitter experience with 16 of Pinzel’s stone sculptures from the Buchach City Hall, which were accepted for restoration by the Lviv public enterprise Ukrzakhidproektrestavratsia in 1987. We sent a request, to which now we have an answer to the effect that they tried to make replicas of those sculptures, but everything was lost when the restoration shop moved out. In 2009-10 we appealed to the prosecutor’s office in Ternopil and Lviv, as well as Prosecutor General’s office, only to get a reply that they did not find any criminal offense there.
“When we got back the Deacon Gate, we complied with all the requirements put forward herewith: those concerning the temperature, humidity, alarm systems, security, etc. Today, the Pinzel Museum in Lviv has much worse storage conditions, compared to those in the churches of Buchach, where Pinzel’s works had been stored. Moreover, we had no official information about the Louvre exhibit, and this matter had never been discussed with the local community. We were only able to learn about it from the Internet and media, while recently this question was not discussed whatsoever. So we were very much surprised when Duda came with a letter from the Minister of Culture Kulyniak, which ordered the removal not only of the Deacon Gate, but also of ten other Pinzel pieces, which all come from the churches of Buchach and are now on display in the oblast local history museum and the museum of fine arts in Ternopil.
“These are exactly the sculptures which became the stepping stone in 1995, since when we have been striving to return them. We have not seen a single document which would explain the essence of the agreement between the Ukrainian and French ministries of culture, or the venue where Pinzel’s works will be exhibited, or how long they will be away. Who guarantees the return of the sculptures, and who finances the shipment? What if the French party pays for the transportation one way, and no one will send them back because the passage has not been paid? We have not received answers to any of these questions. When asked who guarantees the return of the sculptures, Ihor Duda, director of the Ternopil Museum of Arts, said ‘Ukrainian state.’ But today this is a very obscure notion.”
Maria SHAFRAN, member of the Commission for preservation of historical and cultural values in Buchach raion, catechist at the Church of the Holy Intercession (Ukrainian Greek Orthodox Church):
“Since 1995 Father Volodymyr has been demanding that Pinzel’s works created for the Church of the Holy Interception should be returned. He addressed the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, and was supported by former head of Ternopil Oblast State Administration Vasyl Kolomyichuk. And when the Deacon Gate was finally brought back, many shed tears of joy. When the gate was consecrated, the public that gathered filled the whole square. This is a sacred artifact, we do not even touch it. The gate is secured by automatic alarm system, while the church itself has an alarm system of its own as well. Concerning the exhibit, civilized countries have already established a certain practice. For example, when Russians took their exposition to the Louvre, they took only two original works, while the rest were replicas. We have been cheated so many times. And if you want to look at Pinzel’s work, come to Buchach, you will enjoy a warm welcome here!”
Ihor KHOMYN, head of the Lviv National Art Gallery’s collection department:
“All the documents necessary for the transfer of Pinzel sculptures to the Lviv Gallery were issued and sent to Buchach with sufficient notice. The matter is that the Deacon Gate from the Buchach Church of Our Lady belongs to the Ternopil Art Museum. Therefore, the contract of transfer of the artifact to the Lviv Gallery, to be displayed at the Louvre, was set up with the Ternopil Art Museum. This is why our staff could not remove the gate from the church, because the Ternopil Museum, in its turn, has a lease contract with Buchach. However, what happened there is that the local community did not allow to remove the gate from the church.
“As far as the village of Rukomysh goes, where St. Onuphrius sculpture now belongs, we have set up a contract with the parish of St. Onuphrius’ Church. For the Lviv party the contract was signed by the director of the Lviv Art Gallery, while Reverend Mykhailo Sukhanets was to sign for Rukomysh. We even drew up a transfer act to document the transfer of the sculpture to our gallery. But in Rukomysh the same story repeated: we could not get St. Onuphrius sculpture. I think the events in Rukomysh were influenced by those in Buchach. So today the matter is still open.
“Overall, we have to take 28 sculptures to the Louvre. Of course, all of them need to be restored. Some require more interference, others less. Whereas restorers from Lviv are taking care of the sculptures that belong to the Lviv Art Gallery, experts from the Kyiv National Restoration Center are taking care of the exhibits brought from Ternopil and Ivano-Frankivsk. They are working almost 24/7.
“The opening of the Pinzel exhibit at the Louvre is scheduled for November 21, but the Louvre wants to get the sculptures before this date, maybe in early October.”
