The Institute of Russian Realistic Art (abbreviation - IRRI) is a museum complex opened since December 2011. The IRRI collection is based on paintings by Russian and Soviet masters of the 20-21 centuries - A.A. Plastova, S.V. Gerasimova, Yu.I. Pimenova, A.A. Deineki, V.E. Popkova, G.M. Korzheva, G.N. Gorelova, N.I. Andronova, N.F. Novikov, brothers Sergey and Alexey Tkachev, Victor Ivanov, who cover various historical stages of development of Russian society.
General description of the museum
The basis of the first exposition and the museum fund as a whole is a private collection owned by Alexei Ananyev, a businessman, and containing many paintings written in a realistic tradition. Its history began about 10 years ago. Today, Ananyev’s collection includes several thousand works. About 500 of them are represented in the first exposition.
The Institute of Russian Realistic Art is located opposite the Novospassky Monastery, in Zamoskvorechye, in one of the old buildings of a print factory. After the restoration and redevelopment of the walls of this building, built around the end of the 19th century, the museum premises, covering an area of ​​4,500 m², were equipped with advanced engineering communications, as well as special equipment designed to maintain a special mode of storage of various works of art in the museum. Today, the technical equipment of IRRI meets all international standards.
Master classes and lectures
The exposition of works from the IRRI collection has been available since December 2011 to a wide range of domestic and foreign visitors who are interested in a realistic school and its cultural tradition in Russia. Every first Saturday of the month, master classes and lectures for the whole family are held here. There are group and individual excursion programs in English and Russian. Students of art universities, as well as students of various art lyceums, have the opportunity to visit the museum for free on certain days (for more information on the opening hours of this museum and exhibition complex, see the bottom of the article).
Museum Address and Directions
The Institute of Russian Realistic Art is located near the metro station "Paveletskaya". From here, you can get on buses 106, 13, 632 or 158, or take the 13th minibus from the Paveletsky railway station to the stop called "First Printsenabivnaya Zavod", or take trams 38, 35 to the Novospassky Most stop and enter from side of Derbenevskaya street in "Novospassky Dvor", a business center. From metro station "Proletarskaya" you can get on trams 38 or 35 to the stop "Novospassky bridge". That is, there are several options for how to get to the Institute of Russian Realistic Art.
The address at which IRRI is located is Derbenevskaya Embankment, Building 7, Building 31.
This museum occupies all three floors of the premises. Finding it is quite simple - next to it is a brick tower, which is a boiler room pipe, the building of which is occupied by the Institute of Russian Realistic Art. When you go to the museum among the red brick buildings of this former factory, you get the impression that you are in the late 19th century somewhere in England.
The halls of the museum today are filled with many paintings by famous artists: Sergei Gerasimov, Arkady Plastov, Alexander Deinek, Victor Popkov, Vladimir Stozharov and others. In many works, one feels both a national character and a Russian spirit.
Museum Features
The interior and the building itself, from the wardrobe and the lobby to the exhibition halls, indicate that the technical equipment of this museum is really at the highest level, IRRI (Institute of Russian Realistic Art) is a solid gallery of a modern type.
And in quality and quantity of the collection of paintings by Russian and Soviet artists, it is inferior, perhaps, only to the Tretyakov Gallery. Aleksey Ananiev, her organizer, caught the spirit of the times, which was still not very noticeable, light, and made a bet, first of all, on realistic Russian art. Vanguardism in today's forms, in its pseudo-innovation and aesthetic adventurism, often leads to a dead end. The grain of novelty, of course, existed in this art, but it did not germinate. But realism gives a lot. Russian art of this direction talks about life, depicts its time: types of people, their faces, working moments, life, landscape, houses, etc. And it also requires the ability to draw, professional skill.
Best work
The Institute of Russian Realistic Art is a museum in which you will see, for example, a very catchy and masterfully executed portrait of Alexander Osmerkin's work entitled "Ladies in a Black Beret" or Alexander Samokhvalov's portrait of the Pilot. The museum and exhibition complex provides an opportunity to look at the canvases of Vladimir Stozharov, the most famous of which are: "Unzha", "Muftug. Big water", "Autumn. Cows graze." For example, the work “Shook” by Arkady Plastov is just a fence, blue, snow ... But for some reason there is a desire to feel the fullness and warmth of an unpretentious collective farm life, to go beyond these clearings. The creations of Victor Popkov: "Under the Lilac", "Rest", "Evening Shadows" will also not leave anyone indifferent.
Artists of the Soviet era
In Soviet times, various works written by famous masters were bought by the Ministry of Culture, as well as museums. You will not find in the exposition, for example, such work of the pre-revolutionary time as the painting "Seeing off" by Helium Korzhev, and the painting by Grabar "Chrysanthemums" was acquired by the Tretyakov Gallery. But less well-known paintings of masters of such a high level are of professional, museum and historical interest. The exhibition of works is presented by such authors of the Soviet school of painting as Gritsay, Zhilinsky, Salakhov, Ossovsky, Stozharov, Ivanov, Kugach, Nemensky, Sokolov-Skalya, Osmerkin, Romadin, Chuykov and many others. Their works demonstrate a high professional level, which was the painting of the Soviet period.
Ideological work
Art is part of ideology. The country lived a heroic, complex life. This is reflected in the IRRI exposition in due measure and lawfully. Gorelov’s paintings “Flowers to Stalin” and “Farewell to Gorky” convey the life feeling of the USSR at that time. This theme is developed by Denisovsky's work "Portrait of Marshal Budyonny", Brodsky - "Spring landscape" and "Academic summer cottage" and others. Truly huge this collection - we have indicated only some of the paintings.
Small work
Of course, there are not only the most successful creations of famous authors. The signature of the famous artist does not mean either the value or the artistic value of the work. Fortunately, such not-so-successful creations in the IRRI exhibition are few. Even small paintings, practically sketches, confirm the undoubted skill of the authors. For example, this is the work of the artist Reshetnikov, as well as the portrait of "Collective farmer" Tsiplakov and "Novospassky Monastery" by Dementiev. The last picture is only 30 X 25 cm in size. Here we also note Kupriyanov Mikhail Vasilievich - his paintings "Moscow. Winter 1946" and "Moscow. 1947", a picturesque and unusually fresh "Portrait of the Artist", made by Yuri Ivanovich Pimenov.
"Unfinished conversation" is a rare example of a significant experience conveyed in a still life. This work is now in the Tretyakov Gallery. The Institute of Russian Realistic Art in Moscow also gives us the opportunity to recall the work of this master of painting.
Artists of our time
Many artists of our time are well represented. A very good picture from all points of view is “Before Work. Guys” by Vladimir Nikolayevich Korkod. Fine paintings of the landscape are represented by the works of Izotov Mikhail Nikolaevich "On the banks of the Klyazma", "Winter Day in Vladimir", "Vladimir. View of the Assumption Cathedral". Not a catchy, but very piercing picture - "Victory Day" by Anton Vyacheslavovich Stekolshchikov.
The works of Vadim Vladimirovich Dementiev "Vorobevsky forest", "October. Andreevka", "Seltso" are an example of painting by artists of the Moscow school. We also note the picture of Vladimir Viktorovich Yanaki “The Widow”, Yegor Nikolayevich Zaitsev “The Christmas Tree”. In our country there are many talented artists, about whom a wide circle knows very little. These authors have great work. Great joy - when they finally reach the audience. The ingenious works of the artist Pirosmani are known to a wide circle. But in Russian villages, in these rickety huts, we can see simple, painted with plywood paints, but very touching masterpieces, which are often not inferior to them. Unfortunately, it is not known about them, but meanwhile they contain the spiritual wealth of the Russian peasant. In the same way, a number of little-known realist artists have works that not many have seen. In IRRI you will find some of them. The general impression of this exposition is the feeling of hard and great work done, very necessary and useful.
Opening hours and ticket prices
The museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday, from 11 to 20 hours. On Thursday, the schedule is slightly shifted - from 12 to 21. Half an hour before the museum closes, ticket offices close. Monday is a day off.
The cost of tickets is 150 rubles for adults, 50 rubles for schoolchildren and students. Free admission is last Saturday and first Tuesday of every month.