Description of the attraction
The famous city of Veliky Ustyug is considered one of the largest centers of ancient Russian art. The concept of “Ustyug culture” is very difficult to interpret, because it includes: book culture and chronicle writing, artistic crafts and icon painting. There is not a single northern city in which there was such a wide abundance of chronicles as in this famous city. The masters of Ustyug achieved true perfection in the field of icon painting, having created the well-known "Ustyug letters". Veliky Ustyug was known not only for this, but also for various artistic crafts: filigree and enamel blackening on silver, as well as punched and wrought iron. In all forms, the Ustyug art has reached a particularly high level of mastery. There were also local style traditions, which mainly distinguished Ustyug from other artistic centers.
The Museum of Old Russian Art presents monuments of the Ustyug icon painting of the 15-17th centuries, as well as works of facial Stroganov embroidery and early printed and handwritten books from the libraries of Ustyug churches and monasteries. The most popular works in the museum are the masterpieces of Ustyug art - the miraculous icon "Our Lady of Smolensk Hodegetria", created around 1558; carved Canopy of the Royal Gate, dating back to the 17th century; church icon "The Assumption Mother of God", belonging to the Assumption Cathedral and created in 1496; a white-stone worship carved cross of 1625, which was supplanted by the famous master Mikhail in the blessed memory of the repose of St. Procopius, who is the heavenly patron of Veliky Ustyug; the 15th century shroud called "The Entombment", as well as several 17th century shroud, which became an irreplaceable contribution to the Ustyug temples of the Stroganov family.
The Museum of Old Russian Art provides a unique opportunity not only for residents of the city, but also for numerous guests of the city to discover the significance of the city of Veliky Ustyug as one of the largest cultural centers of the entire Russian North, as well as to touch the origins of the spirituality and morality of Russian culture.
In the Church of the Ascension there are exhibitions under the titles "Great ascetics of the Russian land, righteous saints John and Procopius, Ustyug miracle workers", as well as "Iconostases of Great Ustyug, wooden sculpture and ornamental carving." There is an exhibition dedicated to the revered Ustyug saints John and Procopius; icon-painting works, works of the rabble on silver of the 17-18 centuries, as well as objects of facial sewing are presented. Among the exhibits are the most famous monuments of icon painting of Veliky Ustyug, among which the hagiographic icons of Procopius Ustyug are invaluable contributions of Afanasy Guselnikov and Nikita Stroganov to the Prokopyevsky Cathedral.
At the exhibition of wooden sculpture, you can see masterpieces of small plastic art made by Ustyug masters, as well as carved figures of the forthcoming Mary Magdalene and the Mother of God from the composition entitled "The Crucifixion with the Forthcoming", dating from the middle of the 18th century. Particular attention is drawn to the Lamentation of Christ or the attention of Peta, created in 1805. The most complex sculptural composition was created using plastic and pictorial artistic means, which depicts the moment of the farewell of the Mother of God to the body of her Son, who was removed from the cross - the Lord Jesus Christ.
"In the icon-painting workshop" you can learn in detail how icons were created in Russia. A fascinating interactive lesson will tell you about the amazing secrets of icon painting. You will be able to see the reconstructed interior of an old icon painting workshop, in which the museum staff will talk about preparing a board for drawing a drawing, how exactly drawings were applied to a board to create a future image, as well as what tools and paints were used by Russian icon painters. In addition, the museum will have the opportunity to feel like a real icon painter by rubbing and preparing paint, as well as by creating a drawing of a horse or a capital ornament.
