Description of the attraction
In the list of famous art museums in the world State Tretyakov Gallery occupies one of the highest places. Today, her collection includes more than 180 thousand exhibits, including paintings, sculptures and jewelry. The masterpieces on display were created in a historical period dating back to the 11th-20th centuries. The building where the main collection is located was built in 1906, and today it is included in the register of objects of cultural heritage of the Russian Federation.
More than one and a half million people visit the museum annually.
Gallery creation history
May 22, 1856 philanthropist and successful industrialist Pavel Tretyakov bought a painting by Vasily Khudyakov "Clash with Finnish smugglers." This day is considered the date of the foundation of the museum, which Tretyakov, together with his brother, had conceived to create a long time ago. He dreamed of presenting to people the works of Russian artists. Soon, the collection was replenished with paintings "Religious Procession at Easter" by V. Perov, "Peter I interrogates Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich in Peterhof" by N. Ge and many others. The collection grew and multiplied, and Tretyakov decided to show the paintings to the audience. In 1867 he opened the first gallery in his own estate in Lavrushinsky lane … At that time, the collection included 1,276 paintings, almost five hundred drawings, a small collection of sculptures and several dozen works by foreign artists.
Tretyakov supported many little-known masters and, thanks to his patronage, Vasnetsov and Makovsky became famous. By acquiring paintings that were disagreeable to the authorities, the founder of the gallery inspired painters to freedom of thought and courage in relation to censors.
The Tretyakov Gallery became the National Museum at the end of the 19th century, and from that moment anyone could visit it and absolutely free. In 1892, after the death of his brother, Pavel Tretyakov donated the collection to the city. This is how an art gallery appears in Moscow, which eventually becomes one of the largest collections of works of art on the planet.
When the Tretyakovs just started collecting paintings, their collection was housed in the rooms of the mansion where the brothers lived. But in 1860 they decided to build a separate building to store the collection, which by that time had grown into a solid art collection. The two-story extension to the Tretyakov mansion received a separate entrance for visitors, and the paintings - two spacious halls.
New paintings continued to arrive, and the gallery expanded and completed. After the death of the owners, the mansion was reconstructed, and at the beginning of the 20th century it was merged with the halls of the gallery. The facade in the form of an old tower was designed by the artist Vasnetsov.
The Golden Fund of the Tretyakov Gallery
You will see the oldest exhibits of the museum in the collection of icon painting of the 12th-17th centuries. For example, the image of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, brought at the beginning of the XII century from Constantinople. After the persecution of the Russian Orthodox Church during the formation of Soviet power, the icon ended up in a museum.
Rublevskaya "Trinity" Is another world famous masterpiece of Russian icon painting. The author created it in memory of Sergei of Radonezh in the first third of the 15th century.
Master Dionysius - no less famous icon painter, and his work "Alexei Metropolitan", painted at the end of the 15th century, is also on the list of the most valuable exhibits in the Tretyakov Gallery.
Unknown masters of the Mikhailovsky Golden-Domed Monastery at the beginning of the XII century made mosaic depicting St. Dmitry of Thessaloniki … They used matte colored stones and gold smalt in their work. The work is exhibited in the department of Russian icon painting.
Among the many canvases of the State Tretyakov Gallery, the most famous paintings are usually awarded the special attention of visitors.
The 18th century is represented by works Dmitry Levitsky, Vladimir Borovikovsky and Fyodor Rokotov … The most famous works of this era are portraits of Gabriel Golovkin, a former associate of Peter I, and Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. The first was written by Ivan Nikitin, and the queen was painted by Georg Groot.
The 19th century that came to replace the world gave the world new artists represented in the museum especially widely:
- Outstanding masterpiece I. Kramskoy "Stranger" depicts a young woman who drives in an open carriage along Nevsky Prospekt. There is not even a hint of the model's personality in the artist's letters or in his diaries, and her name remains a mystery for all time.
- "Princess Tarakanova" by Konstantin Flavitsky depicts the death of an adventurer posing as the daughter of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna and sister of Pugachev. After being exposed, the woman was thrown into the casemates of the Peter and Paul Fortress, where, as legend has it, she died from a flood. The painting was painted by Flavitsky in 1864. The critic Stasov called her "the most brilliant creation of Russian painting."
- Another amazingly beautiful female portrait exhibited at the Tretyakov Gallery - "Girl with Peaches" … The painting depicts the daughter of Savva Mamontov, but attracts viewers to the canvas V. Serova completely different. The work is permeated with amazing light and filled with freshness that does not disappear over time.
- A textbook landscape is a work A. Savrasova "The Rooks Have Arrived" … Critics consider the painting to be an important stage in the development of landscape painting in Russia. Despite the simplicity of the plot, the picture seems especially close to the heart of any Russian person.
- "Moonlit Night on Capri" depicts the seascape of the Gulf of Naples. Its author is a famous Russian marine painter I. Aivazovsky, a painter of the General Naval Staff and the author of amazing works dedicated to the sea.
- There is an opinion that "Hunters at Rest" were written V. Perov based on the stories of I. Turgenev. The subject composition, presented by the author to the viewer, depicts three landowners who stopped to rest after a successful hunt. Perov managed to portray the characters and their surroundings so vividly that the viewer becomes an involuntary participant in the conversation of the hunters.
- "Unequal marriage" V. Pukirev, as his contemporaries argued, was painted by the artist at a time of his own torment: Pukirev's beloved girl was married for convenience. The picture is made with great love, and the moods of the characters are masterfully conveyed. You can also see the artist's self-portrait on the canvas - he stands behind the bride, arms crossed over his chest.
Three more famous canvases of the 19th century. in the Tretyakov Gallery, enthusiastic spectators are invariably gathered around them:
- Painting "Ivan the Terrible and his son Ivan November 16, 1581" by Ilya Repin better known to the public under the name "Ivan the Terrible kills his son." The artist depicts the moment that came a couple of seconds after the fatal blow that the tsar inflicted on Tsarevich Ivan. The tyrant distraught with grief and the failed heir accepting his fate with meekness are painted so skillfully that the picture still evokes the brightest feelings and emotions in the audience.
- "The Appearance of Christ to the People" A. Ivanov wrote for about 20 years. During his work, he created several hundred sketches and called the plot of his canvas "worldwide". Ivanov believed that he was depicting a moment in time that played a decisive role in the fate of all mankind. The huge canvas is exhibited in a separate room built for it in the 30s of the last century.
- "Bogatyrs" Vasnetsov depict three heroes of Russian epics on mighty horses in military armor. They inspect the surroundings and, with all their appearance, demonstrate their readiness to defend the Russian land from enemies. According to the author, he strove "to indicate the continuity of the heroic past of the Russian people with its great future."
The twentieth century is represented by the works of Petrov-Vodkin, Benois, Krymov, Chagall, Konchalovsky, Korovin, as well as sculptures by Vera Mukhina. The authors of the Soviet period, whose paintings were honored to take their place on the walls of the Tretyakov Gallery, are Isaac Brodsky, the Kukryniksy collective, Tatyana Yablonskaya, Evgeny Vuchetich and many others.
Branches of the Tretyakov Gallery
The main building of the gallery is located at: Lavrushinsky lane, 10 … He presents the permanent exhibition of the museum and periodically acquaints visitors with temporary exhibitions. Recently, the Corps of Engineers was added to the main building, where collections of regional museums are presented to residents and guests of the capital. In addition, the Tretyakov Gallery has several branches:
- New Tretyakov Gallery on Krymsky Val was built near the birthplace of P. Tretyakov, who founded the museum. The branch displays works in a modern style, written in the XX-XI centuries.
- V church-museum of St. Nicholas in Tolmachi objects of church art are exhibited.
- The building was built in the neo-Russian style House-Museum of Viktor Vasnetsov, where it is planned to open a center for decorative creativity.
- Paintings and graphics are presented in Memorial Museum-Apartment A. M. Vasnetsov, where the historian and painter lived at the beginning of the last century.
- Museum-workshop of A. S. Golubkina acquaints visitors with the sculptural works of the master and the collections of stones.
- Creativity of a Soviet artist P. Kokorina, who bequeathed the collection of his works to the Tretyakov Gallery, is presented in the house-museum named after him. In this branch of the gallery, you can see antique furniture and icon-painting works by Kokorin.
At the service of visitors in the Tretyakov Gallery - audio guides in all major languages. A free guide can be downloaded from the gallery's website.
On a note
- Location: Moscow, Lavrushinsky per., 10, phones: (495) 951-1362, (499) 230-7788, (499) 238-1378.
- The nearest metro stations are Novokuznetskaya and Tretyakovskaya.
- Official website: tretyakovgallery.ru
- Opening hours: Tue-Wed, Sun 10.00-18.00, Thu-Sat 10.00-21.00, ticket office closes one hour earlier.
- Tickets: 150–450 rubles, for children under 18, admission is free.
