Since its founding in 2006 by Maxim and Denis Artsinovich, the Maximilian Art Foundation has played a pivotal role in the preservation and advancement of Russian gemstone carving. This refined artistic discipline remains a highly specialised field, hindered by the scarcity of dedicated institutions, expert curators, exhibitions, educational initiatives, and knowledgeable art dealers. In the absence of robust infrastructure to support it, the Foundation has taken it upon itself to assume this vital mission. Without its efforts, this unique form of artistic expression would have remained virtually unknown, both in Russia and internationally.
Today, the Foundation’s permanent collection includes approximately 60 exemplary works by some of the most talented and forward-thinking artists from Saint Petersburg, Irkutsk, Idar-Oberstein, and Nizhny Tagil. Notable names include Evgeny Morozov, Gennady Pylin, Sergey Chestunin, Sergey Falkin, Eduard Vinogradov, Vladimir Putrin, Vyacheslav Ivanov, Gerd Dreher, Anton Ananyev, Maksim Morozov, Alexey Kuznetsov, among others.
Russia has become a nucleus for innovation in gemstone artistry, producing works that rightfully belong in the world’s leading museums and private collections. From 2008 to 2024, the Maximilian Art Foundation has donated and offered for charity auction more than 75 exceptional pieces by leading contemporary lapidary artists. During this period, the Foundation has also published three seminal volumes dedicated to the field:
- Artsinovich M., Artsinovich D., Lopato M. Post-Fabergé 2020. St. Petersburg, Artindex Publishing House, 2020. ISBN 978-5-903733-79-8
- Artsinovich M., Lopato M. Post-Fabergé. St. Petersburg, Artindex Publishing House, 2015. ISBN 978-5-903733-38-5
- Artsinovich M. The Petersburg Style in Gemstone Carving. St. Petersburg, Artindex Publishing House, 2013. ISBN 978-5-903733-26-2
Exhibition catalogues include:
- The Jade Collection from Maximilian Art Foundation: Exhibition Catalogue / D.A. Artsinovich, Yu.G. Ilyina, I.A. Antonio; Maximilian Art Foundation, Museum of the History of Gemstone and Jewellery Art, Yekaterinburg: AMB Publishing, 2023. (Download)
- GEMSTONE CARVING ART of Saint-Petersburg school. Maximilian’s private collection. Printed in St. Petersburg, 2009.
The Foundation has also sponsored the printing of notable literature in the field, such as:
- Sculpture in Metal and Stone. Works by Contemporary Masters: Exhibition Catalogue / The State Hermitage Museum. St. Petersburg: Hermitage Publishing House, 2014. ISBN 978-5-93572-592-1
- Grinin W.M. Carved Treasures. Precious stone carving from St. Petersburg and Idar-Oberstein at the German Gemstone Museum. Idar-Oberstein: PRINZ-DRUCK Print Media GmbH & Co KG, 2012. ISBN 978-3-00-038198-0
Lapidary artworks from the Foundation have been featured in prestigious exhibition catalogues, including:
- RUSSIA – MY LOVE! JEWELRY ART OF RUSSIA: Exhibition Catalogue / Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, Gokhran of Russia, Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, State Historical Museum – Moscow, 2024.
- HANDCRAFTED CONNECTION OF TIMES. The Art of Russian Jewellers of the 19th–21st Century: Exhibition Catalogue / Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, Gokhran of Russia – Moscow, 2022.
Additionally, the Foundation contributed to academic discourse with the publication of conference proceedings:
- Jewelry and Gemstone Art: Traditions, Innovations, Challenges: Proceedings of the 11th Scientific-Practical Conference held as part of the 24th All-Russian Competition named after A.K. Denisov-Uralsky – Yekaterinburg, Oct 26–27, 2023 / Compiled by Yu.G. Ilyina et al. – Yekaterinburg: AMB Publishing, 2023. ISBN 987-5-6051163-6-3
Among the institutions that have received gemstone carvings from the Foundation are the Moscow Kremlin Museums, The State Hermitage Museum, MMOMA, Gokhran of Russia, the Fersman Mineralogical Museum, the All-Russian Museum of Decorative, Applied and Folk Art, the Museum of the History of Stone Carving and Jewellery Art in Yekaterinburg, the GIA Gemological Institute of America (California, USA), and the Foundation Louis Vuitton (Paris, France).
In Russia, authoritative expertise in gemstone carving is exceedingly rare. Among the most respected connoisseurs are Galina Nikolaevna Gabriel (St Petersburg), Tatiana Nikolaevna Muntyan (Kremlin Museums, Moscow), and Yulia Ilyina, Director of the Museum of the History of Stone Carving and Jewellery Art in Yekaterinburg. And – if one may be forgiven the immodesty – the Artsinovich brothers themselves. The Foundation brings together deep knowledge of the market, extensive practical experience in collecting and connoisseurship, long-standing relationships with artists, and the financial and organisational capabilities necessary to realise ambitious exhibition projects on an international scale.
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THE MARTIAN RHINOCEROS
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MOEBIUS RIBBON MADE OF AUTUMN LEAVES
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QUEEN OF THE ALIENS
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ON THE WAVES OF AESTHETICS
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YEAR OF THE MONKEY
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THE WOLFMAN
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SKULL OF FATE OF RUSSIA
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ELEPHANT AND PUG
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SEX WITH AN ALIEN AT SUNSET
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MUKHA QI AND TAO
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RUSSIAN SPHINX
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ARGONAUT
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KITSUNE
Author: Jaroslav Xenophonov
The founder of the Creative Union "TERRA FABERUS", who united the masters working in the technique of the blocked stone-cutting miniature, where he becomes the leader in this direction of creativity. Since 2010 actively works with a monochrome stone, preferring to create sophisticated in plastic and semantic overtones of the work. Repeated prize-winner and diploma of the International Jeweler Olympus stone-cutting art competition. Y. Xenofontov's works are in the collection of the State Hermitage Museum, the contemporary art museum Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, the Mineralogical Museum RAS. Fersman, private collections in Russia, the United States, Great Britain, Japan, New Zealand, Australia.
About work
This work was exhibited at an exhibition during the Faberge Conference in October 2015 at the Fabergé Museum in St. Petersburg, as well as at an exhibition at the Fersman Mineralogical Museum A.E. from November 2016 to the present. Published in the catalog - Best Russian Artists Decoratively Applied Art - 2017.
Collection: Maximilian Art Foundation
The Maximilian Art Foundation's collection of stone-cut works is among the most magnificent and significant in Russia, with more than 80 sculptures collected over 25 years. It includes the foremost masters of the St. Petersburg and German schools.
Details
Author: Vyacheslav Leontiev
St. Petersburg stone-cutter, works in this form of creativity relatively recently, but already managed to win the reputation of a first-class master in the professional community.
About work
This work won a distinguished award at the International Stone-cutting Competition "Jewelry Olympus". It balances between the figurative and abstract plastic language, distinguished by its painstaking and delicate carving along the whole piece of carnelian and its ability to identify and emphasize the natural properties of the stone.
Collection: Maximilian Art Foundation
The Maximilian Art Foundation's collection of stone-cut works is among the most magnificent and significant in Russia, with more than 80 sculptures collected over 25 years. It includes the foremost masters of the St. Petersburg and German schools.
Details
Author: Gennady Pylin
One of the most original and interesting modern stone-cutters in St. Petersburg and Russia. Works mainly in the genre of animal studies. G. Pylin's works are on display at the State Hermitage Museum, private collections in Russia, Britain, Germany and the United States.
Collection: Maximilian Art Foundation
The Maximilian Art Foundation's collection of stone-cut works is among the most magnificent and significant in Russia, with more than 80 sculptures collected over 25 years. It includes the foremost masters of the St. Petersburg and German schools.
Details
Author: Sergey Shimansky
Repeated prize-winner and diploma of the International Jeweler Olympus stone-cutting art competition. The works of S. Shimansky are in the collection of the State Hermitage, Armory Chambers of the Moscow Kremlin, private collections of Russia, the United States, Great Britain.
Collection: Maximilian Art Foundation
The Maximilian Art Foundation's collection of stone-cut works is among the most magnificent and significant in Russia, with more than 80 sculptures collected over 25 years. It includes the foremost masters of the St. Petersburg and German schools.
Details
Author: Gennady Pylin
One of the most original and interesting modern stone-cutters in St. Petersburg and Russia. Works mainly in the genre of animal studies. G. Pylin's works are on display at the State Hermitage Museum, private collections in Russia, Britain, Germany and the United States.
Collection: Maximilian Art Foundation
The Maximilian Art Foundation's collection of stone-cut works is among the most magnificent and significant in Russia, with more than 80 sculptures collected over 25 years. It includes the foremost masters of the St. Petersburg and German schools.
Details
Author: Gennady Pylin
One of the most original and interesting modern stone-cutters in St. Petersburg and Russia. Works mainly in the genre of animal studies. G. Pylin's works are on display at the State Hermitage Museum, private collections in Russia, Britain, Germany and the United States.
About work
This is the second hypostasis of Human-Wolf series. The first work is in the collection of the State Hermitage, donated to the great museum by Maxim Arzinovich in 2011.
Collection: Maximilian Art Foundation
The Maximilian Art Foundation's collection of stone-cut works is among the most magnificent and significant in Russia, with more than 80 sculptures collected over 25 years. It includes the foremost masters of the St. Petersburg and German schools.
Details
Author: Anton Ananiev
One of the most notable figures in the St. Petersburg stone-cutting community, a master who set the goal of constantly striving for an ideal. The first works of A. Ananiev were performed in a blocked miniature, but for several decades he prefers to cut a monochrome stone, creating complex, emotionally filled, technically virtuosic works. The works of A.Ananiev are in the collection of the State Hermitage Museum, the Armory Chambers of the Moscow Kremlin, MMOMA, the Mineralogical Museum. Academician Fersman, in private collections in Russia, Britain, Germany and the United States.
About work
This work metaphorically embodies the difficult fate of the people and the country, on the body of which each ruler left its imprint.
Exhibited during the Faberge Conference in October 2015 at the Faberge Museum in St. Petersburg, during the 4th Art Russiapaper Russia Awards ceremony in Moscow in Manege in April 2016, from November 2016 to the present at the exhibition of the collection in the Mineralogical Museum of Fersman A.E. Published in the catalog - The Best Russian Artists Decoratively Applied Art - 2017
Collection: Maximilian Art Foundation
The Maximilian Art Foundation's collection of stone-cut works is among the most magnificent and significant in Russia, with more than 80 sculptures collected over 25 years. It includes the foremost masters of the St. Petersburg and German schools.
Details
Author: Maxim Morozov
Irkutsk stone carver, works mainly in the genre of animal studies. His range of "bestiary" is very diverse, the images of animals are expressive and range from completely realistic images to grotesque interpretations saturated with subtext.
About work
The participant of the "Silver Bubr" competition, held in Irkutsk in November 2017 in the framework of the Baikal Jewelry Show.
Collection: Maximilian Art Foundation
The Maximilian Art Foundation's collection of stone-cut works is among the most magnificent and significant in Russia, with more than 80 sculptures collected over 25 years. It includes the foremost masters of the St. Petersburg and German schools.
Details
Author: Jaroslav Xenophonov
The founder of the Creative Union "TERRA FABERUS", who united the masters working in the technique of the blocked stone-cutting miniature, where he becomes the leader in this direction of creativity. Since 2010 actively works with a monochrome stone, preferring to create sophisticated in plastic and semantic overtones of the work. Repeated prize-winner and diploma of the International Jeweler Olympus stone-cutting art competition. Y. Xenofontov's works are in the collection of the State Hermitage Museum, the contemporary art museum Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, the Mineralogical Museum RAS. Fersman, private collections in Russia, the United States, Great Britain, Japan, New Zealand, Australia.
About work
A four-armed female with butterfly wings, a creature in the pose of copulation, or giving birth, or fertilizing. This work personifies the kundalini snake, the transformation of sexual energy into the energy of creativity and the transformation of consciousness.
It was first exhibited during the Faberge Conference in October 2015 at the Faberge Museum in St. Petersburg. Published in the catalog "Best Russian Artists in Decoratively Applied Art - 2017".
Collection: Maximilian Art Foundation
The Maximilian Art Foundation's collection of stone-cut works is among the most magnificent and significant in Russia, with more than 80 sculptures collected over 25 years. It includes the foremost masters of the St. Petersburg and German schools.
Details
Author: Jaroslav Xenophonov
The founder of the Creative Union "TERRA FABERUS", who united the masters working in the technique of the blocked stone-cutting miniature, where he becomes the leader in this direction of creativity. Since 2010 actively works with a monochrome stone, preferring to create sophisticated in plastic and semantic overtones of the work. Repeated prize-winner and diploma of the International Jeweler Olympus stone-cutting art competition. Y. Xenofontov's works are in the collection of the State Hermitage Museum, the contemporary art museum Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris, the Mineralogical Museum RAS. Fersman, private collections in Russia, the United States, Great Britain, Japan, New Zealand, Australia.
About work
This work was exhibited at the exhibition during the Faberge Conference in October 2015 at the Faberge Museum in St. Petersburg.
Collection: Maximilian Art Foundation
The Maximilian Art Foundation's collection of stone-cut works is among the most magnificent and significant in Russia, with more than 80 sculptures collected over 25 years. It includes the foremost masters of the St. Petersburg and German schools.
Details
Author: Gennady Pylin
One of the most original and interesting modern stone-cutters in St. Petersburg and Russia. Works mainly in the genre of animal studies. G. Pylin's works are on display at the State Hermitage Museum, private collections in Russia, Britain, Germany and the United States.
Collection: Maximilian Art Foundation
The Maximilian Art Foundation's collection of stone-cut works is among the most magnificent and significant in Russia, with more than 80 sculptures collected over 25 years. It includes the foremost masters of the St. Petersburg and German schools.
Details
Author: Anton Ananiev
One of the most notable figures in the St. Petersburg stone-cutting community, a master who set the goal of constantly striving for an ideal. The first works of A. Ananiev were performed in a blocked miniature, but for several decades he prefers to cut a monochrome stone, creating complex, emotionally filled, technically virtuosic works. The works of A.Ananiev are in the collection of the State Hermitage Museum, the Armory Chambers of the Moscow Kremlin, MMOMA, the Mineralogical Museum. Academician Fersman, in private collections in Russia, Britain, Germany and the United States.
About work
This work was exhibited at the exhibition during the Faberge Conference in October 2015 at the Faberge Museum in St. Petersburg.
Collection: Maximilian Art Foundation
The Maximilian Art Foundation's collection of stone-cut works is among the most magnificent and significant in Russia, with more than 80 sculptures collected over 25 years. It includes the foremost masters of the St. Petersburg and German schools.
Details
Author: Gennady Pylin
One of the most original and interesting modern stone-cutters in St. Petersburg and Russia. Works mainly in the genre of animal studies. G. Pylin's works are on display at the State Hermitage Museum, private collections in Russia, Britain, Germany and the United States.
Collection: Maximilian Art Foundation
The Maximilian Art Foundation's collection of stone-cut works is among the most magnificent and significant in Russia, with more than 80 sculptures collected over 25 years. It includes the foremost masters of the St. Petersburg and German schools.
