The Tretyakov Gallery is one of the most famous museums in Russia, and indeed all over the world. An extensive exhibition covers the period from the eleventh century to the present day. It is hard to imagine that the Tretyakov Gallery, whose halls became a reflection of Russian art from antiquity to the present, began with a private collection.
Home collection
The house in the Lavrushinsky Lane of the Tretyakovs was acquired in 1851. The head of the family, Pavel Mikhailovich, was a successful businessman, but at the same time he was a well-known philanthropist, invested in many charity programs. He was a passionate collector, collecting paintings, sculptures, icons and other works of art.
He had a global goal - to create a national gallery, and not just a museum. The collection began with ten paintings by Dutch masters. Initially, the Tretyakov Gallery, whose halls were open only to family members and guests, was in the house where the Tretyakovs lived. But the collection grew rapidly, and there was not enough space for a demonstration. During the life of the owner, numerous adjustments were made. And even under Pavel Mikhailovich, the townspeople had the opportunity to visit such a cultural institution as the Tretyakov Gallery. The halls expanded, and the exposition grew constantly. The popularity of the museum is evidenced by the fact that over the first four years, its visitors are more than 30 thousand people.
40 years after the foundation of the collection was laid, Pavel Tretyakov donated it to Moscow. The collection was supplemented by works of art kept by his second brother, Sergei. So appeared in Moscow "Gallery of Paul and Sergei Tretyakov." Another famous philanthropist Morozov handed over the masterpieces of Renoir, Van Gogh, Monet. Despite the transfer to the city, both patrons continued to replenish the collection. After the death of the Tretyakovs, the entire house in Lavrushinsky Lane passed into the jurisdiction of the city.
New life collection
In 1913 I.E. Grabar was appointed trustee and director of the gallery. He was not only a talented artist, architect and art historian, but also an organizer. It was he who did a tremendous job of organizing the collection. He distributed the paintings by historical periods, so that visitors had the opportunity to follow the path of development of Russian art. Under him, a restoration workshop was also founded. At the end of the year, works hanging in the hall of the Tretyakov Gallery were available for inspection by the general public.
After the revolution, the entire assembly was nationalized and transferred to the young republic. The “State Tretyakov Gallery” was created, the halls of which became accessible to all segments of the population. The collection has expanded significantly through the association with other museums and the transfer of private collections that were nationalized during the years of Soviet power.
During the war, museum funds were taken to Novosibirsk. The Nazis bombed the capital mercilessly. Two high-explosive bombs in 1941 landed directly in the Tretyakov Gallery, causing significant damage. But the very next year, the restoration of the museum began, and by 1944 the doors of the gallery, beloved by the inhabitants of the capital, were again opened for visiting.
Tretyakov Halls
From the very foundation of the gallery, the building was rebuilt many times. There were new transitions and additional rooms to make the collection appear in all its glory. Today the exposition is located in 106 halls. Most of them are in the building in Lavrushinsky Lane, there are 62 of them. The complex also includes the museum-church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, the workshop-museum of Golubkina, the Vasnetsov house museum and the Korin house museum. Each hall in the Tretyakov Gallery is an opportunity to touch art, to see ingenious masterpieces. The collection contains over 150 thousand exhibits, most of which are familiar to everyone since childhood. Reproductions of many paintings were included in school textbooks throughout the country. From these paintings you can learn about Russia. After all, the sea we have, as in Aivazovsky’s paintings, the forest - like Shishkin’s, nature, like Levitan’s. Even the best portrait of Pushkin, known to every student, is exhibited here.
Icon Painting Hall
In every corner of the Tretyakov Gallery there are paintings that are breathtaking. But perhaps one of the most mysterious halls is the icon painting hall. When transferring the collection, Pavel Mikhailovich, along with the paintings, handed over 62 icons from his collection. Now the museum has several hundred of them. Each of them reflects the path of Orthodoxy on Russian soil. Among them are the works of Rublev, Theophanes the Greek and other famous icon painters. And in the house church of the Tretyakov Gallery exhibited one of the most revered and ancient images - the Mother of God of Vladimir. She is already over 900 years old.
Exposition in Lavrushinsky Lane
The main part of the collection is concentrated in the building in Lavrushinsky Lane, with the famous Vasnetsovsky facade. In 62 halls, divided into 7 zones, the works of the best masters of Russia and not only are exhibited in chronological order. How great and diverse is the Tretyakov Gallery. The description of the halls would occupy several volumes of the printed publication. Going on an excursion, it is better to choose a particular artist or a picture to devote the main time to. Otherwise, acquaintance with the galleries will be very superficial and incomplete. The names of the halls of the Tretyakov Gallery correspond to the collections displayed in them.
So, Old Russian art is represented by icon painting.
And in the halls of the XVIII-XIX centuries canvases of the great masters Levitsky, Rokotov, Ivanov, Bryullov are exhibited. A special room was built to demonstrate Ivanov’s painting “The Appearance of Christ to the People”. And Rokotov became famous for the largest number of portraits of the unknown. It was important for him to capture and convey on the canvas the features and character of a person, but at the same time he did not have to be famous at all. Among the works of Bryullov, one can note the masterfully executed work “The Horsewoman”, where a young girl with astonishing grace sits astride a magnificent stallion.
The hall, where the works of artists of the second half of the 19th century are represented, also attracts attention. Here you can immerse yourself in the magical world of realistic art, where every detail is executed with amazing care. In Repin's paintings, one can feel physically how the sun is baking on the lawn, how each leaf sways from the wind. And “Three Heroes” of Vasnetsov, as if today, defend the borders of the country from uninvited invaders. By the way, here you can see the work of Vasnetsov Jr.
Surikov’s paintings “Boyar Morozova” or “Morning of the Archery Execution” convey the emotional intensity of each participant in those events. There is not a single indifferent person or casual character. Everything is spelled out with authenticity, amazing to the imagination.
The section reflecting the painting of the turn of the XIX-XX centuries, presents the work of such geniuses as Serov, Vrubel, as well as representatives of the Union of Russian Artists.
Treasures of Russian art
The Tretyakov Gallery is great and diverse. Halls, paintings, sculptures, graphics will not leave anyone indifferent. A separate part of the exhibition is the Treasury, where items from precious metals and gems are exhibited. The delicate work of jewelers is fascinating.
Graphic arts
A separate room is dedicated to graphic art. All works presented in this technique are very afraid of light, these are fragile creations. Therefore, for their demonstration, special lighting was mounted, slightly muffled. The largest collection of Russian graphics is exhibited here. And also a small, but no less valuable collection of porter miniatures.
Modern Art
The building on Krymsky Val, belonging to the Tretyakov Gallery, presents art from the Soviet period to the present day. Visitors are watching with interest how ideology affects the artist.
Halls of Masters
There are single works in the collection, and there are entire collections of paintings by one master. The hall dedicated to the artist in the Tretyakov Gallery contains only his works of different periods. Such is the exposition of Shishkin's works. But other masters of the brush received a similar honor.
Since its opening, the Tretyakov Gallery has become the richest collection of paintings and art objects. Even the Russian Museum, created at the state level, lost in popularity to this private collection.