In the Dolgorukovs' house is the Zurab Tsereteli Gallery. Prechistenka, the street on which it is located, is the very center of Moscow. It was called Chertolskaya in the Middle Ages. Then this inconsistent name was changed and divided into two parts: Prechistenka and Lenivka (Volkhonka). It is interesting not only because it has the Tsereteli Gallery. It also has a number of historical buildings.
Dolgorukovs House
The history of the two-story house where Tsereteli Gallery is located, on Prechistenka 19, is shrouded in mystery. Assume that it was created by the great MF Kazakov. After a fire in Moscow in 1812, he was rebuilt several times, completed and changed purpose. After 1990, another change occurs, and it is reborn in its original form. This is facilitated by the charitable activities of the sculptor and artist Zurab Konstantinovich Tsereteli.
In 2001, the Tsereteli Art Gallery opens its doors to visitors. This is a whole complex, which consists of approximately 50 rooms. Their total area inside the building is colossal and is about ten thousand square meters. In addition, there is a huge atrium - a large open courtyard inside the building. The gallery contains all the most modern museum equipment and technical equipment. Since the areas allow it, grandiose Russian and international exhibitions are held in it, where visitors are shown all kinds of fine arts, architecture and design. The exposition contains casts of antique sculptures, which attracts young artists, since sketches from them are included in the compulsory education program. In the gallery you can get acquainted with the whole variety of works of its creator Zurab Konstantinovich, who is the president of the Academy of Arts.
Permanent exhibition
Tsereteli Gallery allows you to get acquainted not only with his works in various techniques (painting, sculpture, graphics, monumental enamel panels and miniatures, design), but also to recognize the artist as a philosopher who reflects on the complex and contradictory events and realities of modern society.
Front Halls
In the portraits of our contemporaries and historical figures, who are in the gallery's suite, the artist shows the ups of the human spirit. Tsereteli Gallery allows the visitor to see the mock-ups of the monuments that are installed here and in other countries of the world: Friendship Forever (Moscow), Birth of a New Man (Seville), Peter I, Columbus, Balzac, Mother Teresa, Lady Diana, General de Gaulle. In the hall, which is dedicated to the memory of Charlie Chaplin, there are paintings and sculptural portraits.
Among the halls of the grand enfilade there is the “House Church” hall, completely renovated. It is decorated with enamel panels on the subjects of the Bible and the Gospel. It hosts concerts.
Religious Theme
Painting and works in other techniques reflecting religious subjects are presented in the atrium. They often repeat each other from different angles of view, entering into dialogue with each other. The epic theme of the knowledge of good and evil is monumental. The same topic is devoted to the most interesting graphic works made both in monochrome technique and in color. The portraits of the Patriarch of All Russia Alexy II and the Catholicos of Georgia Elijah II are very interesting. No one will pass by the image of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker.
Painting
Tsereteli Gallery shows his work of all years. It presents portraits, a special role is given to still lifes with flowers. They are often combined with portraits of women.
The characters of his works move from one picture to another, providing the interconnection of works. This is especially true for those paintings, which depict the childhood and youth of the master. These works are especially significant in the collection. In his youth, Zurab Konstantinovich was deeply interested in the history of Georgia, took part in archaeological excavations, and studied ethnography. These memories serve as a living source of creative inspiration. Large-format paintings can also attract attention, although they are made in a completely different manner.
High reliefs “My contemporaries”
This sculptural section is very diverse and expressive. Each image gives a specific characteristic and a special vision of a person by the author, with whom one can agree or deny it, but it is impossible to pass by. Created images attract. Tsereteli Gallery presents images of artists of the early twentieth century. Their names are associated with achievements in plastic art, music, and literature. We list only a few: F. Chaliapin, A. Akhmatova, N. Gumilev, I. Bunin.
When in the sixties the intelligentsia received a breath of fresh air filled with freedom, then personalities appeared who were also captured by Zurab Konstantinovich. He feels his spiritual connection with them. These are portraits of poets, musicians, artists, filmmakers. Our nameless contemporaries also found their place among the big names. Each portrait conveys the deep inner world of man.
Enamel work
The art of cloisonne enamel, which does not lose its bright colors over time and can be used to decorate public buildings and interiors, has been rethought and revived by the master. These works immerse the visitor in a festive and vibrant world from which he comes out, filled with the joy of being.
The Zurab Tsereteli Gallery is a whole cosmos that reflects the spiritual quest of the master throughout his life's journey, his dynamic creative process, which does not stop and speaks a language that is understandable to everyone.