The Hermitage puts Raphael workshop frescoes up for sale via NFT

The Hermitage museum in St. Petersburg has put 16th century frescoes from its collection up for sale. For 135,000 rubles (approx. $1,400), anyone can now buy the work of Raphael’s workshop… However, not a physical copy, but a digital one – in the form of an NFT token.

‘Venus and Cupid on Dolphins’ before and after restoration

The State Hermitage, 2023

The museum has launched a project to digitize timeless classics and tokens featuring three newly restored frescoes – ‘Venus and Cupid on Dolphins’, ‘Venus Removing a Thorn from Her Foot’ and ‘Venus and Adonis’ – are available for sale today (the latter is already sold out!).

‘Venus and Adonis’ before and after restoration

The State Hermitage, 2023

Hermitage experts spent five years restoring these frescoes, uncovering the author’s colorful layer of paint from the numerous late layers that had distorted the composition of the work and even the meaning of the subject. The uniqueness of these tokens is that they contain images of the frescoes before and after the restoration. Something that cannot be seen physically.

‘Venus Loosening Her Sandal’ (before restoration) and ‘Venus Removing a Thorn from Her Foot’ (after restoration)

The State Hermitage, 2023

“At the Hermitage, we are big fans of innovation,” says Museum Director Mikhail Piotrovsky. “Another project is dedicated to using the latest technologies to develop museum work and create completely unique products. The intermediate states of frescoes, which are recorded only at the stages of restoration and then disappear, are a remarkable story in themselves. And the point of NFT is to make something unique that has not been and will no longer be.”

A limited number of people can purchase tokens and they receive digital rights to NFT art objects. They are considered an investment tool because owners of such unique NFTs can not only buy, but also exchange and sell digital rights.

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