The Rape of Europe is an art exhibition by Maxim Kantor, a Russian émigré artist who has lived in Europe for considerable time. He announced its tour of museums around the world, starting with a vernissage on April 28 at the National Museum of Art History of Luxembourg (MNHA). The museum sees the project as a “sign of solidarity with Ukraine,” but in Ukraine, the author’s position is perceived more as a violent sexual assault.
In addition to museum exhibitions, The Rape of Europe project includes a large gallery show, sending paintings to the Order of Malta in Rome, and an international auction. On his Facebook page, Kantor emphasized that he would give half of his fee to the families of victims of the Russian war in Ukraine. “I list in equal shares: the families of the dead Ukrainians (victims of aggression) and the families of the dead Russians (deceived by propaganda and those who gave their lives at the whim of the authorities). I do not distinguish between the victims of the war: in my eyes, they all deserve sympathy,” the artist wrote.
This position,of standing above the conflict and based on general humanistic considerations, looks like moral nihilism in Ukrainian realities. The very myth of the abduction of Europe is about rape. “About 25 girls and women aged 14 to 24 were systematically raped during the occupation in the basement of one house in Bucha. Nine of them are pregnant. Russian soldiers told them they would rape them to the point where they wouldn’t want sexual contact with any man, to prevent them from having Ukrainian children”, Lyudmyla Denisova, the Ukrainian Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights, states. These testimonies have spread around the world thanks to the BBC.
“Reports of rape came from Kyiv, Kherson, and Chernihiv Regions. Survivors and eyewitnesses report these crimes. They report gang rape and multiple rapes by the occupiers. Women were raped in the presence of their families, threatened with death to them, their children, or other family members,” Kateryna Cherepakha, head of the human rights organization La Strada, said at a special UN Security Council meeting on the consequences of the Russian war against Ukraine for children and women. “Many of the victims were killed by the Russian occupiers, who tried to cover up these crimes. We know about all these atrocities, and we want you to hear that the Russian occupiers in Ukraine use violence and rape as weapons,” Kateryna Cherepakha said.
As of April 10, according to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, 142 children were killed in Ukraine due to the war, and 229 were injured. “We know that these figures are probably much higher. Many children have died in crossfire or as a result of the use of explosive weapons in populated areas,” Manuel Fontain, UNICEF Emergency Programmes Director, said.
In this context, Kantor’s attempt to equate the citizens of a country suffering aggression with the occupiers cannot withstand any criticism. Indeed, millions of Russian citizens are deceived by state propaganda and intimidated by the repressive system of government. Sure, Kantor is a critic of Vladimir Putin. In some paintings, he created caricatures of him. But it is not Putin himself who is bombing Ukrainian cities and villages, destroying hospitals, orphanages, and schools. And it is not Putin who rapes Ukrainian women and children. Moreover, he did not announce such an order to his fellow citizens.
Russia annexed and occupied Ukrainian territories, unleashing an imperialist war. Russian artist and writer Kantor has lived in Europe since the 1990s and acquired German citizenship in 2016. Since the beginning of the most brutal war phase, he has repeatedly shown a supercilious and condescending attitude towards Ukraine. Here are some quotes from his public Facebook posts and comments.
“The Armed Forces of Ukraine will cease to exist in the next two days,” and “Zelensky has been granted asylum in France. He will sign agreeing to the neutral status of Ukraine, but this will not solve all the problems.”
“Russia will remain Russia, a vast territory that can only be ruled in an imperial way. Russia’s disintegration into republics leads to interethnic massacres. How can this be dealt with? Ukraine’s transition to the European wing is doubtful, at least because it is no longer taken under this wing, is left alone, and will not be taken in the future.”
“Crimea is such an easy girl, a prostitute who migrates across beds. What now, should we start a world war because of it?”
“You would be an idiot to decide that such a major step as a European war be taken for the sake of Kyiv. Which no one (like Luhansk) needs in general.”
So why would one suddenly turn as an artist to burning Ukrainian themes and extend generosity? Because Ukraine is now at the centre of global attention and is supported by cultural authorities and art stars.
Already on February 27, after the failure of his prediction of the rapid collapse of the armed forces of Ukraine, when the people of Kyiv were hiding from the bombing in subway and basements, Kantor became deeply concerned: “A concert/exhibition in Kyiv. I propose to gather a team of musicians, poets, philosophers, writers, and priests. The forum should be representative, i.e., at least 50 famous people. They should be well-known so that the event does not seem like a random event. The best energies are needed to hold a concert/exhibition/cultural event in Kyiv. I consider it necessary and try to enlist European authors right now. I’m ready to take on the organizational burden and cover costs involved with tickets.”
This initiative demonstrates the artist’s ignorance of basic information about what is happening in Ukraine: curfew in the capital, shelling, air travel bans, and more. Consequently, there is an evident lack of sincere interest in Ukrainian problems.
This is where the MNHA turned up. “This exhibition was realized in a very short time in reaction to the war in Ukraine,” Kantor wrote about The Rape of Europe. At the same time, he collects works from his 30 years of artistic practice to put on show.
The Luxembourg institution also admits to the actual instrumentalization of the Ukrainian tragedy. In its announcement, we read: “How can the museum react, how to show solidarity with those who are attacked, when direct cooperation with the Ukrainian museum is currently impossible, and in our own collections there are almost no items related to this country?
By pure coincidence, long before the start of hostilities MNHA was in contact with Russian-born artist Kantor, well known for his very critical attitude towards the Putin regime and recent developments in Russia. Kantor spontaneously agreed to show more than 60 of his works that unmask the totalitarian and aggressive character of the current Russian regime.”
The museum and the artist coincided in hypocrisy. There is obviously no problem to invite and exhibit in MNHA some of the Ukrainian artists, thousands of whom are now forced to seek refuge in Europe, fleeing the violence of Russia. Discovering for one’s fellow citizens an almost unknown country, which is the largest in Europe in area and has a capital that is more than a thousand years old, one could inquire about the history of its art. And find out, for example, that the Louvre in Paris and the Geneva Museum of Art and History store paintings by Dmytro Levytskyi, a Ukrainian and a Kyivan. He painted St. Andrew’s Church in Kyiv, was one of the founders of secular painting in the Russian Empire, and was the author of the only portrait of Denis Diderot, which the philosopher-enlightener liked himself.
Kantor is a prominent contemporary artist, an extraordinary interpreter of art history, and a consistent critic of the Russian political situation. He responded to the outrage caused by his Rape of Europe adaptation to the Ukrainian tragedy in this way: “Please understand that I believe that the Russian people are also the victim of this war. Thousands of people were deceived and drawn into the meat grinder of the war out of their beliefs. In fact, as a result of propaganda and total pressure from the authorities. Young and even junior people are involved in crime simply because of their citizenship.”
Given these arguments, the question remains – what is the position imposed on Ukraine and its victims in the context of this exhibition? It can be dedicated to the anti-Putin movement or a new wave of Russian emigration with its own problems. However, passing it off as a gesture of solidarity with Ukrainians and offering them charitable support based on the principle of “equality with those who attacked you” is objectification and moral rape.
In order not to create an ambiguous, if not cynical situation, the National Museum of Art History of Luxembourg should remove the mention of Ukraine from the official positioning of this event.
Kostiantyn Doroshenko is an award-winning Ukrainian writer, art critic, contemporary art curator, journalist and media manager. He is currently working as affiliate curator of the PinchukArtCentre Research Platform.
The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s and not necessarily those of the Kyiv Post.
