Tver is the city and administrative center of the Tver region in Russia. The historical heritage of Tver, which has preserved the multiple works of art, is the Tver Regional Picture Gallery (TOKG).
One of the remarkable buildings of the city is the Travel Palace. The main building of the Tver Regional Art Gallery (address: Tver, Sovetskaya St. 3) is a former imperial palace erected for mother empress Catherine II. The Tverians call the palace Putev, because it stood on the road between the two capitals - Moscow and St. Petersburg.
In addition to the main building, the TOKG has branches: the Domotkanovo Museum, where V. Serov’s works are stored, a museum from the village of Emmaus and the Chaika cottage in Udomelsky district, which is waiting for visitors.
Of great interest is the collection of the Tver Regional Art Gallery.
How did the gallery fund
Tverians can be proud of the collection of the regional art gallery, in which more than 36,000 art monuments: the best examples of painting, wood carving and other works of masters of bygone schools and eras. Here is the true story of Tver!
The history of the gallery begins in the middle of the XIX century. In 1866, at the request of the distinguished people of the city P.R. Bagration, N.I. Rubtsov, F.N. Glinka and, of course, the famous and respected head A.F. Golovinsky, the museum was created for visiting. It was the first museum in Tver, the first sign of provincial museums in the wilderness of the Russian Empire. Its first visitors could see only 4 works: portraits of Admiral Kornilov, engraver Utkin, inventor Voloskov, eminent merchant Savin - they formed the basis of the exhibition.
In addition to ancient frescoes, icons and portraits, two original wooden reliefs are still considered valuable and unique - a rarity for modern museums. The painted works were created at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. The name of the reliefs “Peasant Wedding” speaks for itself.
Of interest is the icon of the XVII century "Michael and Arseny of Tver with the Tver Kremlin." The icon was donated to the gallery by the famous collector P.I.Schukin in the capitals in 1893.
Paintings are valuable, mainly landscapes and portraits by P.S.Drozhdin, G.V. Soroki, A.V. Tyranov and others.
Tver Regional Art Gallery in the Post-October Period
The collection of paintings and household items from nationalized estates began entering the museum fund in 1917. The exposition was updated not only quantitatively, but also qualitatively - the Tver province was famous for its numerous estates. The turning year for the country in 1917 became a landmark for the gallery - it changed the look of its exhibition halls forever.
The best paintings were delivered from the estate Volosovo (Stepanovskoye) in the Zubtsovsky district, previously owned by the Kurakin family. The collection contained more than five hundred paintings, among which were wonderful original paintings by European masters: portraits of members of the royal family of the Romanovs, portraits of representatives of the Kurakin family, their relatives, acquaintances and friends at home, painted by very famous artists. Today, the names of the masters of the characteristic portrait are proudly sounding: I. Ya. Vishnyakov and F.S. Rokotov, D. G. Levitsky and V. L. Borovikovsky.
Icons and murals in the gallery fund
The most ancient of the samples of art stored in the TOKG fund are icons and murals. The Tver school is considered one of the best local schools of ancient Russian painting of the XIII-XV century, its heritage is collected in the Tretyakov Gallery and other major museums. By the severity of the style, the Tver school gravitates toward the Balkan, while retaining, however, its own style finds.
Separately, the hall presents icons by S. Ushakov, whose works of art deserve special attention.
Simon Ushakov
In Tver, the famous icon painter of the 17th century, Simon Fedorovich Ushakov (1626-1686), one of the king’s best-paid isographers, lived and painted. Ushakov held a very prestigious position: he headed the workshop for writing icons of the Armory. He was an outstanding innovative artist who tried to depict on his images not canonical flat faces, but voluminously sculpted by chiaroscuro faces. Ushakov gave each face characteristic features, he tried to portray the movement, that is, he tried to introduce into the iconography of Russia what was not yet in it.
He constantly invented new compositions for icons, did not ignore the achievements of Western icon painters, and paid attention to living nature. The works of S. Ushakov are very diverse: making wall paintings, writing icons and parsons, painting banners, drawing geographical maps, plans, etc.
The gallery rightfully owns its icons of the Saints Prince Vladimir (the father of Saints Boris and Gleb), as well as the Rev. Arkady Novotorsky and Moses Ugrin. The latter was performed together with a student in 1677, when Ushakov was full of strength and opportunity to create real masterpieces. It was the icon that became the masterpiece: the figures on it are bright and beautiful, solemnly majestic and voluminous, the colors are bright and harmonious.
Valentin Serov
The works of the famous artist Valentin Serov (paintings) can also be seen in the gallery. Valentin Aleksandrovich Serov (1865–1911) was not always a realist. Attention is worthy of his highly artistic combination of classical academics, avant-garde and contemporary Western European movements (impressionism, for example).
This makes the artist’s paintings inimitable. He became one of the pioneers of the Art Nouveau style in Russian art of the XIX-XX centuries, but in his best works the light of realism shines.
For the most part, V. Serov’s paintings from the TOKG are drawings, but there is also painting. It should be noted "Portrait of Olga Fedorovna Trubnikova," which can be attributed to the artist's early family work, although then Olga Fedorovna was not his wife yet.
Valentin Serov married in 1889. The family was big and friendly. Perhaps that is why all family and children's portraits are marked by gentle joy, the subtlest characteristic nuances, love of models.
Serov was, without a doubt, one of the best portrait painters, life-affirming and strong. His portraits were distinguished by the ability to fully and deeply feel the individuality of a person. You immediately notice this, considering the "Portrait of Olga Fedorovna Trubnikova."
The appearance of a number of works, the artist is obliged to the estate Domotkanovo, which belonged to a friend, classmate and relative - Vladimir Derviz. Valentin Aleksandrovich successfully worked in the estate he loved. The local grass and trees, air and good friendly atmosphere set him up for a number of paintings that are considered the best. These are the famous “Girl, Illuminated by the Sun” (1888), “Overgrown Pond. Domotkanovo ”(1888),“ October. Domotkanovo ”(1895) and a number of“ peasant ”canvases.
Gallery now
The gallery is now full of works not only by eminent authors, but also by contemporaries. The gallery building has been restored at the moment and is waiting for those who understand the value and feel the uniqueness of the collection, who can look at the works exhibited here not as paintings, but as works of art that must be preserved and enjoyed.