The Tretyakov Gallery: halls and their description

The Tretyakov Gallery is one of the most famous museums in Russia, and throughout the world. The extensive exposition covers the period from the eleventh century to today. It is difficult to imagine that the Tretyakov Gallery, the halls of which became a reflection of Russian art from antiquity to modern times, began with a private collection.

Home Collection

The house in Lavrushinsky Lane Tretyakov purchased in 1851. The head of the family, Pavel Mikhailovich, was a successful businessman, but at the same time he was a well-known philanthropist, he invested in many charitable programs. He was an ardent collector, collected 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 written by Dutch masters. Initially, the Tretyakov Gallery, the halls of which were open only to members of the family and guests, were in the house where the Tretyakov lived. But the collection grew very quickly, and there was not enough room for the demonstration. During the life of the owner, numerous changes were made. And with Pavle Mikhailovich, the citizens 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 over 30 thousand people.

40 years after the beginning of the collection, Pavel Tretyakov donated it to Moscow. The collection was supplemented by works of art, stored by the second brother, Sergei. This is how the "Gallery of Pavel and Sergei Tretyakov" appeared in Moscow. Another well-known philanthropist Morozov gave masterpieces of Renoir, Van Gogh, Monet. Despite the transfer to the city, both sponsors continued to replenish the collection. After the death of the Tretyakovs, the whole house in Lavrushinsky Lane was taken over by the city.

New life of the collection

In 1913, I. Grabar was appointed the 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 carried out a tremendous amount of work to systematize the collection. He distributed the canvases for historical periods, so that visitors could follow the path of development of Russian art. With him, a restoration workshop was also founded. At the end of the year, the 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 a 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 due to the merger with other museums and the transfer of private collections, which were nationalized during the years of Soviet power.

During the war museum funds were transported to Novosibirsk. Fascists bombed the capital mercilessly. Two high-explosive bombs in 1941 landed directly in the Tretyakov Gallery, causing significant damage. But the next year, the restoration of the museum began, and by 1944 the doors of the gallery, beloved by the inhabitants of the capital, had again been opened for a visit.

Tretyakov Gallery

Since the very foundation of the gallery, the building has been rebuilt many times. There were new transitions and additional rooms, so that the collection would appear in all its glory. For today the exposition is located in 106 rooms. The majority is in the building in Lavrushinsky lane, there are 62 of them. Also in the complex there is the museum-temple of St. Nicholas, the workshop-museum Golubkina, the house-museum of Vasnetsov and the house-museum Korina. Each room in the Tretyakov Gallery is an opportunity to touch art, to see brilliant masterpieces. The collection contains over 150,000 exhibits, most of which are familiar to everyone from childhood. Reproductions of many paintings were included in school textbooks throughout the country. In these pictures you can learn Russia. After all the sea at us, as on pictures Айвазовского, woods - as at Shishkin, the nature, as at Levitan. Even the best portrait of Pushkin, known to every schoolboy, is exhibited here.

Hall of icon painting

In every corner of the Tretyakov Gallery there are paintings, from which breathtaking. But, perhaps, one of the most mysterious halls is the hall of icon painting. At the transfer of the collection, Pavel Mikhailovich, together with the paintings, passed 62 icons from his collection. Now there are several hundred of them in the museum. 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 one of the most revered and ancient images is exhibited - the Vladimir Mother of God. She is more than 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 rooms, divided into 7 zones, in the chronological order exhibited works of the best masters of Russia and not only. How great and diverse the Tretyakov Gallery. The description of the halls would take several volumes of the printed edition. Going on an excursion, it is better to choose a particular artist or picture, which to devote the main time. 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.

Thus, Old Russian art is represented by iconography.

And in the halls of the XVIII-XIX centuries there were paintings by the great masters Levitsky, Rokotov, Ivanov, Bryullov. To demonstrate the picture of Ivanov "The Appearance of Christ to the People" was built a special room. And Rokotov became famous for the largest number of unknown portraits. It was important for him to capture and convey on the canvas the features and character of a man, but he did not necessarily have to be famous. From Briullov's work, we can mention the masterly executed work "The Horsewoman", where the young girl sits astoundingly on a magnificent stallion.

Also, the hall, where the works of artists of the second half of the XIX century are presented, attracts attention. Here you can immerse yourself in the magical world of realistic art, where every detail is executed with striking thoroughness. In Repin's paintings, it is physically felt how the sun is baking on the lawn, how each leaf waving from the wind. And "Three heroes" Vasnetsov, as if today, protect the borders of the country from uninvited invaders. By the way, you can also see the work of Vasnetsov, Jr. here.

Surikov's paintings "Boyarina Morozova" or "Morning of the Streltsy penalty" convey the emotional intensity of each participant in those events. There is not a single indifferent person or casual character here. Everything is written with authenticity, amazing imagination.

In the section reflecting the painting of the turn of the XIX-XX centuries, the works of such geniuses as Serov, Vrubel, as well as representatives of the Union of Russian Artists are represented.

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 exposition is the "Treasury", de objects from precious metals and gems are exhibited. Fine work of jewelers is fascinating.

Graphic arts

A separate room is dedicated to graphic art. All the works presented in this technique are very afraid of light, they are fragile creations. Therefore, for their demonstration mounted special lighting, slightly muffled. Here is the largest collection of Russian graphics. And a small but not less valuable collection of portraiture miniatures.

Modern Art

The building on the Crimean shaft, which belongs to the Tretyakov Gallery, presents art from the Soviet period to our days. Visitors with interest observe how ideology affects the artist.

Halls of Masters

In the collection there are individual works, and there are whole collections of paintings by one master. The hall, dedicated to the artist in the Tretyakov Gallery, accommodates only his works of different periods. This is the exposition of Shishkin's works. But other masters of the brush also received such 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 on popularity to this private collection.