PERI in Ferapontovo or Billionaire helps Museum of Dionisy’s Frescoes!

Ziyavudin Magomedov, establisher of the PERI Foundation, who is on the 63rd place in the Forbes global ranking, is interested not only in the construction of the ESPO pipeline and the stadium in Kazan for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia, in the reconstruction of the Bolshoi Theatre, but also in the project in the Museum of Dionisy’s Frescoes!

He implements educational and cultural projects together with his team of the Peri Innovation Foundation that was called “Plug & Play” later: they build new kindergartens, schools, restore museums the work of which is connected with preservation of the cultural and historical heritage. For instance, they took on a project and erected the Peter the Great Museum in Derbent. Ziyavudin Magomedov reported to the website “Forbes.ru”, “At present we are implementing the project that gives a chance to digitalize the most ancient manuscripts using state-of-the-art equipment and new solutions – 500 micron. We have done it in Derbent, then – in Vologda (in the Ferapontov Monastery). Everything that is connected with preservation of the cultural and historical heritage of Russia is also a part of our strategy”.

M.N. Sharomazov, director of the Kirillo-Belozersky Museum-Reserve, is sure, “All programs and projects implemented by the Charitable Peri Foundation are logic and they lead to quality and complex changes. We have been cooperating with the foundation since last year, since that time when they carried out pilot scanning of the frescoes in Ferapontovo. This year we have concluded an agreement in accordance with which specialists of the Peri Foundation have worked in the Museum of Dionisy’s Frescoes from May 11 to July 18”.

Using advanced technologies and equipment, they have copied digitally 300 ancient frescoes, over 600 square metres of the painting created by the famous artist Dionisy and his sons! This work has been carried out by Alexandra Smirnova and Fyodor Komlev, talented photographers of the Vologda region who became winners of the contest held by the Peri Foundation and got a chance to participate in the digitalization project of Dionisy’s frescoes.

“The Peri Foundation announced the contest for photographers in winter – its winners were trained photogrammetry and panoramic shooting. One more resident of Vologda and I were selected on a competitive basis for training in Dagestan”, said Alexandra Smirnova. “A very interesting team worked in Ferapontovo. It consisted of representatives of Spain, photographers from Moscow and Dagestan, representatives of the Peri Foundation and us, residents of Vologda. We would like to thank the employees of the Museum of Dionisy’s Frescoes for their assistance. They met our needs and regarded photographers’ work with favour.  

The shooting process was rather difficult because we had a heavy responsibility. We were to photograph every part of the frescoes competently – this work demanded a lot of concentration. Besides, the equipment was very expensive and rather heavy. In spite of all difficulties, we have met the deadline and have carried out the work at a proper level”.

Soon thanks to the activity of the Peri Foundation, everybody will be able to see the unique extant frescoes painted by the outstanding artist Dionisy and his disciples from August 6 till September 8, 1502, not only in the Nativity of the Virgin Cathedral in the Ferapontov Monastery, buts also in the Internet space: the 3D model of the church interior is destined to attract attention to the monument of universal importance. It is intended that it will promote preservation and research of the Old Russian painting listed by UNESCO. The employees of the Museum of Dionisy’s Frescoes put high hopes on the digitalization: it will serve for further study of the frescoes and will be used as some material for monitoring their state. The short-term plans of the Peri Foundation are to process all materials and to place the digitalized frescoes in the Internet where everybody will have free access to them.

Soon everybody will be able to see the frescoes of Dionisy painted in the Nativity of the Virgin Cathedral not only in the Museum of Dionisy’s Frescoes in Ferapontovo, but anywhere in the world!