Description of the attraction
House-Museum of P. P. Chistyakova is located at the exit along the Moscow highway from the city of Pushkin. Among the many surviving wooden houses near the Kolonist Pond, it alone stands out for its multi-level roof, carved decorations, large windows and is essentially a monument of wooden architecture.
This building was built in 1876-1878. designed by the architect Kolb under the guidance and with the direct participation of the owner of the house - Pavel Petrovich Chistyakov, who lived here until the end of his days, i.e. before 1919
P. P. Chistyakov is an outstanding historical painter and portrait painter. He was born into the family of a serf peasant in the Tver province in 1832. But from birth he received free freedom. Since childhood, little Pavel was fond of drawing. At the age of 17, he entered the Academy of Arts. During his studies at the academy, for his work, he received all the silver medals and a small gold medal established by this educational institution, and for his work "Grand Duchess Sofya Vitovtovna at the wedding of Grand Duke Vasily the Dark" he was awarded a large gold medal.
P. P. Chistyakov devoted twelve years of his life to teaching art. After graduation, for some time he taught at the St. Petersburg Drawing School. As a pensioner of the Academy of Arts in 1863, Pavel Petrovich went abroad and worked and lived for a long time in Rome and Paris.
In 1870, upon his return to St. Petersburg, Chistyakov began teaching at the Academy of Arts, and in 1872 he received the title of professor of the Academy. In 1892 he became the head of a mosaic workshop, where he brought up a whole generation of famous Russian artists. Among them are such famous masters of painting as Serov, Repin, Vrubel, Polenov, Surikov, Vasnetsov and others. P. P. Chistyakov supervised the implementation of mosaic works in St. Petersburg churches: St. Isaac's Cathedral, the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ, as well as the Moscow Cathedral of Christ the Savior.
Pavel Petrovich lived for more than forty years in Tsarskoe Selo, at his dacha. In 1985, it was decided to establish a house-museum of P. P. Chistyakov. On April 26, 1987, this museum was opened after restoration, which resulted in the return of the artist's dacha to its original layout and appearance.
On the ground floor of the museum building, there is an exhibition of works by the owner of the house, personal belongings of the artist, as well as works of his students are presented. The collection of paintings includes over 400 graphic works and 120 paintings. During the restoration work, the unique look of the large living room and dining room was recreated. Temporary exhibitions are located in the Small Living Room of the house-museum, in the Big one - thematic events are held, literary and musical evenings are arranged.
The memorial workshop of Pavel Petrovich is located on the second floor of the house. The artist did not often indulge the general public with his own works, preferring to pass on his skills to his students and completely devoting himself to pedagogy. But, despite this, in the artist's studio one of his most striking works is presented - "Giovannina", which reflects the Italian period of Chistyakov's life. The artist's "Portrait of a Mother" is also interesting.
In the spring of 2010, Chistyakov's house-museum reopened its doors to visitors after a long period of restoration. Today, there is also a lecture hall, where guests of the museum, most often schoolchildren, are shown documentaries about artists and art.
