Description of the attraction
The famous Museum of Palekh art, which received the honorary status of the state, plays a major role not only in the preservation, but also in the development of traditional lacquer miniatures. The creation of the museum took place during the vigorous activity of A. M. Gorky, A. V. Lunacharsky, N. N. Krupskaya, E. F. Vikhrev and art critics G. V. Zhidkov and A. V. Bakushinsky. The grand opening of the museum took place on March 13, 1935.
In the winter of 1934, many items from the Artels of Ancient Painting exhibition fund were purchased, represented by 62 pieces of lacquer miniatures. It is worth noting that among the acquired items were the works of the original founders of Palekh art.
The decisive role in the process of completing the collections of lacquer miniatures was played by the first director of the State Museum of Palekh Art - Zhidkov German Vasilyevich, who headed the museum until the beginning of 1937. It was this man who made proposals to the most talented and gifted artists of the city to paint miniatures according to specially drawn up contracts. Thus, the best works of the masters of his native city appeared in the museum: V. M. Salabanov, V. K. Bureeva. Under German Vasilievich, the museum collection consisted of more than 1,500 items.
For quite a long period of time, in the process of collecting activities, the Palekh Museum collaborated with a collective of urban artists, which soon became known as the Palekh art-production workshops. There was an art council, which included the leading artists of the city of Palekh, as well as museum staff. The most interesting and unique items were selected by the council, which is why the museum funds were constantly replenished with new items.
From the very beginning of the museum's existence, a collection of ancient ancient Russian paintings was formed. German Vasilyevich was able to bring seven icons from Kostroma. It is important to note that the collection of ancient icon-painting graphics, numbering about 1,500 works, is of great interest. The largest number of items from this collection is included in the art archive of N. M. Safonov, whose workshop worked in the most popular traditions of Old Russian and Byzantine painting. The Safonovs' art archive contained a huge number of samples for icons, which were removed by the craftsmen from ancient originals during their regular trips to the territory of Russia.
Today, the fund of the GMPI department contains more than a thousand icons, of which about one and a half thousand are represented by icon-painting graphics, as well as objects of folk applied art: silver and copper frames, copper casting, fabrics, spinning wheels and carvings.
Traditional Russian painting of the 19th century is represented by portraits of little-known masters who worked in the second half of the 19th century, as well as genre compositions and landscapes. It should be noted that it is quite rare to see parsuns or the very first images of the late 17th - early 18th centuries in the collections and funds of provincial museums. The museum contains a one-of-a-kind ancient Parsuna - a portrait of the Yaroslavl and Rostov Metropolitan Demetrius.
An important place among the unique works of realistic painting is occupied by the works of Palekh artists who belong to the old icon-painting families and who have received an excellent artistic education. Such works include the works of V. E. Belousov, brothers Pavel and Andrey Korin, M. S. Klimanov.
The collection of paintings dating back to the period of 1920-1930s is the work of a resident of Palekh M. A. Markichev, artists from Ivanovo: N. P. Sekirina, M. S. Pyrina, V. N. Govorov, portraits of N. N. Kharlamov, landscapes by N. P. Krymova, A. V. Kuprin, P. P. Konchalovsky, G. G. Nyssa.
The State Museum of Palekh Art includes: N. V. Dydykin, House-Museum of P. D. Korin, House-Museum of I. I. Golikov and the House-Museum dedicated to N. M. Zinoviev.
