The National Gallery of Armenia is considered one of the largest fine art museums in the territory of the former Soviet republics. Its funds contain more than 35 thousand works of Armenian, Russian, Western European and Eastern masters. Fifty-six gallery halls constantly represent nearly 26 thousand units of drawings, canvases, icons, arts and crafts.
The department of Western European art shows nearly 170 units of painting, and the fund contains over 350 drawings and canvases. In Armenia, it is the largest collection, and it is distributed over four main expositions. Italian, French, Dutch and Flemish painting schools are represented here, among which are also shown works by German, Spanish, Swiss artists. The National Art Gallery of Armenia contains over 180 graphic works of Western Europe of the 16th – 17th centuries.
Russian art
The earliest works of the collection date back to the second half of the 18th century and represent a number of sculptures, portraits and several landscapes. For constant review, the section shows nearly 230 paintings, among which are ten paintings by Levitan, five works by Shishkin, an extensive selection of paintings by Surikov, Serov, Repin, Vrubel, Petrov-Vodkin, and other famous Russian artists. The new art of the period of the XIX - early XX centuries in the National Gallery of Armenia is reflected in the canvases of the symbolist artists Borisov-Musatov and Anisfeld, canvases of famous Russian avant-garde artists and abstract artists, among which one work by Marc Chagall and two paintings by Vasily Kandinsky are exhibited.
Art of Armenia, creativity of Aivazovsky
The museum exposition is considered the largest collection of national art in the country and includes over 700 exhibits. Medieval works, miniatures and frescoes are represented by authentic copies. The rich collection consists of paintings of the 18th-19th centuries of the famous Hovnatanyan dynasty. Works created by five generations of artists are considered the national treasure of Armenia.
In the vast collection of painters of the 19th - first half of the 20th centuries, you can see canvases by Agadzhanyan, Sureniants, Terlemezyan, Fetvajyan's watercolors, vivid landscapes of Saryan, expressionist works of Tadevosyan, Marina Makhonyan, paintings by other Armenian artists.
A separate exposition is the gallery’s greatest pride - a collection containing over 60 works by Ivan Aivazovsky. This is especially significant, since the Russian artist was a descendant of the Armenian Ayvazyanov family. The National Gallery in Armenia is second only to the Feodosia Art Gallery in the number of paintings by this outstanding marine painter.
Collection of Dutch and Flemish Masters
The rich collection is represented mainly by works of the 17th century, which is considered an outstanding era of Dutch painting and called the Golden Age. It also contains a significant collection of Dutch graphics. In the gallery you can see paintings by prominent Flemish artists Van Dyck and Rubens, the genre painting of Teniers the Younger, the landscape of Momper and the work of other artists.
The works of Dutch artists are presented in the National Gallery of Armenia, among which are considered especially valuable:
- works of genre painting by Netsher, Codde, Dusart;
- landscapes of Bakheisen, Everdingen, Berchem, Dujardin, Pulenburg, Musheron;
- portrait composition of Goltzius;
- still lifes of Venix, Beyeren, Klas;
- canvases by Stommer, Vauermann, Velde, Jos and other masters.
Italian and French collections
A magnificent selection of Italian painting is represented by creations of the XIV-XVIII centuries, and, according to reviews of the art gallery of Armenia, it causes the most lively interest of visitors. The most striking and capacious collection consists of paintings by artists of the High Renaissance and the 17th century. Among the largest Italian artists, the masterpieces of Tintoretto, Strozzi, Guercino, Bassano, Giordano, Bernardino, Cardboard, Guardi, Ricci, Signorelli, many other famous painters and graphic artists stand out.
The largest number of works in the Western European collection contains French painting. The National Gallery of Armenia contains the works of such outstanding artists of the 18th century as Fragonard, Natier, Courtois, Drouet, Larguille, Van Loo, Boucher, Lancre, Lemoine, Vernet, Robert. French pictorial realism is represented by the largest representatives of the Barbizon school: Diaz, Rousseau, Courbet, Winter. The halls display the works of predecessors and representatives of modern art, French graphics and a small selection of sculptures.
Other works
The museum contains a small number of works by Spanish, German and Swiss masters, among which the true masterpieces are:
- canvas of the Spanish mannerist Morales;
- Goya etching “Bulls”;
- four graphic works by Salvador Dali;
- one engraving of Beham;
- nine graphic sheets of Durer;
- canvas of the Swiss landscape painter Kalam.
The building of the National Art Gallery of Armenia is located at: house number one on Arami Street in Yerevan. The museum is located in the city center and the facade faces the Republic Square.
The gallery often hosts periodic exhibitions of works of Armenian and foreign art, as well as numerous cultural events. The museum annually receives about 65 thousand tourists. Every day, except public holidays and Mondays, the gallery's doors are open for tourists from eleven in the morning until five in the evening.