Description of the attraction
The A. M. Gorky House-Museum is located in one of the quietest places in modern Moscow. The mansion, built by the architect F. O. Shekhtel in 1902 for the millionaire Ryabushinsky, is located at the intersection of Malaya Nikitskaya and Spiridonovka streets. The luxurious Art Nouveau house was Stalin's gift to the writer A. M. Gorky. In 1931, Gorky, who had returned from Italy, settled in Ryabushinsky's house.
The interiors of the house are artistic and original. The most beautiful mosaics were made according to Shekhtel's sketches in the Petersburg workshop of Vladimir Frolov. The decoration intertwines Gothic and Moorish styles. The artist M. Vrubel took part in the interior decoration of the house. The interiors of the house are striking in splendor. The main decoration of the interior of the house is the main staircase located in the hall. It resembles a wave that lifts a jellyfish chandelier to the very top. The greenish walls are reminiscent of the elements of the sea. Door handles in the shape of a seahorse. The rooms are decorated with marine and plant motifs. Interior details conceal snails and butterflies in disguise. If you look closely, you can see a special life boiling in the house.
The facade of the building is decorated with a majolica frieze. In the figure, irises are intricately intertwined. The facing of the facades is made of glazed bricks. Large square windows cut through the walls.
There is a secret Old Believer chapel in the mansion, located in the attic. She is completely invisible from the street. The dome and walls in it are covered with an abstract unique temple painting.
After the revolution, Ryabushinsky's mansion was nationalized. The Ryabushinsky family emigrated. The People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs was located in the mansion. Then there was a state publishing house, a psychoanalytic institute and even a kindergarten. During this period, pieces of furniture and lamps made according to Shekhtel's sketches were lost. The ventilation system of the house was destroyed and the fireplace in the dining room, made of Carrara marble, was dismantled.
Stained glass windows, parquet, marble, luxurious lamps, paintings on the ceilings of the mansion on Malaya Nikitskaya did not really match the taste of the proletarian writer. Gorky himself spoke about this more than once.
The library in the house is spacious and illuminated by a huge window. It has a lot of roomy wardrobes and cozy leather armchairs. The dining room is the largest room in the house. Discussions about literature often took place at the large table. Almost all famous writers of that time visited here. The study reflects Gorky's own taste more than other rooms. He resembles all Gorky's offices, wherever he lives: in Italy, in the Crimea, or at a dacha near Moscow.
Gorky lived in a mansion on Malaya Nikitskaya for 6 years. Here he died in 1936. Museum A. M. Gorky began working in 1965.
