The State Hermitage Museum and the Binance cryptocurrency exchange have announced the release and auction of tokenized works of art on the Binance NFT marketplace.
The Hermitage released the first NFTs with digital copies of works of art from its collection: Madonna Litta by Leonardo da Vinci, Judith by Giorgione, Lilac Bush by Vincent Van Gogh, Composition VI by Wassily Kandinsky, Corner of the Garden at Montgeron by Claude Monet. Each tokenized picture corresponds to two digital copies and, accordingly, two copies of the NFT. One copy of the token will remain in the Hermitage, the other will be auctioned off on the Binance NFT marketplace.
The main idea of the project is to provide a new level of accessibility to the Hermitage’s collections, and in addition, to emphasize the importance of digitalization as a new stage in the world of collecting works of art.
“The Hermitage is not going to make money. Our financial issues are in the billions. It’s ridiculous to solve financial issues with tokens. We have no market expectations for the NFT release. This is an element that is measured in money, but we have it not for money. For now, we want to see how this form is perceived. This is one of the new areas where the Hermitage will test its capabilities, ”said Mikhail Piotrovsky, director of the museum, in
interview Forbes Life.
Piotrovsky is sure that the use of NFT will not in any way affect the development of art, since it is a market instrument.
“New technologies, in particular blockchain, have opened a new chapter in the development of the art market, led by the possession and the guarantee of this possession. This is an important stage in the development of relations between man and money, man and thing, ”said the Director General of the Hermitage. “NFT is a way that gives democracy, makes luxury more affordable, but at the same time exceptional and exclusive. We will expand other opportunities, in particular digital ones, which will introduce the collections and the palace. We will build new experiments based on new technologies ”.
It remains unclear if the tokens are subject to existing legislation. The Law on Digital Financial Assets, the main piece of legislation currently regulating the Russian crypto space, came into force on January 1, 2021, but it does not cover all aspects of the crypto industry.
In order for the Hermitage to issue its tokens, Russian legislation regulating this sector may require some clarification. Marina Tsyguleva, head of the museum’s legal department, said this type of token could be excluded from the scope of digital asset regulation, as suggested by the Central Bank of Russia.
The NFTs created by the Hermitage will be presented at the NFT art exhibition, which will be held at the museum in the fall of 2021.
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