Description of the attraction
Museum-apartment of A. A. The block is located on Dekabristov Street in St. Petersburg. The museum was opened for the 100th anniversary of the poet's birth, in November 1980 in the house where Alexander Alexandrovich lived from July 1912 until his death in August 1921. During this period, Blok is a recognized poet, there are cycles of poems "What the Wind Sings About", "Carmen", the poem "The Twelve" and others. The poet was visited by his famous contemporaries: A. A. Akhmatova, S. A. Yesenin, V. V. Mayakovsky, K. S. Stanislavsky, V. E. Meyerhold.
The house was built in 1874-1876 according to the plan of the architect M. F. Peterson. The building belonged to the merchant of the 1st guild M. E. Petrovsky. In 1911, engineer A. I. Fantalov organized the restructuring of office premises and erected a stable and a laundry. In 1914, according to the idea of the architect B. N. Basin's wing, overlooking the Pryazhka embankment, was expanded, and a 5-storey wing was also built in the courtyard. One of the first people who lived in this house was the future poet I. F. Annensky, who studied at St. Petersburg University.
After the death of A. A. Blok's library, archive and collection of personal belongings were preserved by Lyubov Dmitrievna (his wife). After her death in 1939, they were transferred to the Institute of Russian Literature of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union, where they were partially exhibited in the 60s and 70s of the XX century.
The museum consists of 2 parts: a memorial apartment on the 4th floor, created from unique original furnishings and furnishings that belonged to Blok, and a literary exposition on the 2nd floor, which tells about his life and work. The memorial exposition is located in apartment number 21, where Alexander Alexandrovich lived with his wife. According to the memoirs of contemporaries and on the basis of other sources, the dining room, the poet's study, the bedroom and the room of his wife were recreated.
In the dining room there are bouillottes, a serving table, dishes that belonged to the Blocks, ceramic items from the collection of L. D. Block. Also here you can see memorial things: a lamp, a portable stove, a wardrobe, a damask tablecloth, woven in Shakhmatovo in the serf workshop of great-grandfather Alexander Alexandrovich.
In the corner on the wall is Blok's wedding icon of the Kazan Mother of God. Also on the walls you can see the portrait of Blok's wife, painted by her mother Anna Ivanovna Mendeleeva, the drawing "Fish Puppy" by T. N. Gippius and donated by the artist L. D. Block, sketch of the scenery "Castle Courtyard", created by M. V. Dobuzhinsky, to the drama "The Rose and the Cross", staged at the Moscow Art Theater.
There is a writing desk in the study, which was passed on to the poet from his grandmother E. G. Beketova. Above the table in the corner is the icon "Savior the Almighty", which has always been located here. The sofa and the working chair were inherited from the grandfather A. N. Beketov. The wardrobe was purchased by Blok's wife. On the wall there is a reproduction of the painting "The Grieving Madonna" by D. B. Salvi, acquired by the poet in 1902, because the Madonna resembled his bride Lyubov Dmitrievna Mendeleev. Nearby - the image of the German resort of Ban-Nauheim, which was presented by the mother in memory of the trip in 1897, the watercolor "Zhukovsky on the shores of Lake Geneva" by E. G. Reitern.
The literary exposition is located on the second floor in apartment number 23. It tells about the life and creative path of the poet. The exposition is built like a journey through a book, the pages of which are presented by the walls of the museum. The poet's creative activity is considered in the volumetric context of the artistic and literary life of St. Petersburg-Petrograd in the 10-20s of the XX century. Here you can see Blok's manuscripts, books, his unique autographs and personal belongings.
