Vera Ignatievna Mukhina is one of the most famous women sculptors in the history of world art. In our country, there is probably no person who is not familiar with her most famous work - the monument “Worker and Collective Farm Girl”, installed at the northern entrance to VDNH and which is also the emblem of Mosfilm. The sculptor's childhood passed in Feodosia, where her father took her after the death of her mother. In 1985, the museum of Vera Mukhina was opened on the site of the house where she lived.
Building
The museum complex dedicated to the sculptor’s work was organized in one of the buildings on the former Kerch Highway (now Fedko St.), where the Mukhins lived from 1892 until the death of his father (1904). Fortunately, the demolition of the dilapidated housing stock in the mid-1980s decided to preserve the facade of the building. Later, he was organically inscribed in a new building, which housed the museum of Vera Mukhina.
Description of the halls
The basis of the museum is the memorial room of Vera Mukhina. Based on photographs and memoirs of relatives, the atmosphere surrounding the future famous sculptor in the years when she studied at the gymnasium was recreated in it. For this, real furniture belonging to the Mukhins family and interior items of the early 20th century were used.
The second room is designed as a fragment of the creative workshop of a famous sculptor. It also exhibits personal items and tools that Vera Ignatyevna used in her work.
Exposition
The Museum of Vera Mukhina (Feodosia) presents 5 thematic sections to the attention of visitors:
- “Childhood and youth of the sculptor”;
- "Studying abroad";
- "The work of Vera Mukhina until 1941";
- "The activities of the sculptor during the Second World War";
- "The last period of creativity Mukhina."
Among the most interesting exhibits of the museum, wax and plaster models of the works can be noted. Among them:
- sketches for the monument to M. Gorky and the sculptural composition "Science";
- plaster models "Gifts of the Earth" and "Gifts of Water";
- project of the fountain "Firebird";
- 2 sketches for the monument "Worker and Collective Farm Girl";
- projects of monuments to the Heroes of Sevastopol and Heroic Aviation, etc.
In addition, the museum displays the correspondence of Mukhina, a selection of magazines and newspapers devoted to her life and work, collected over many decades, and numerous original photographs from the family archive.
Other exhibits
As you know, Vera Mukhina for many years was engaged in active teaching. The museum dedicated to her work also exhibits numerous works by her students and assistants: the winner of several state awards A.M. Sergeev, S. Kazakov, Z. Ivanova and N. Zelenskaya. In addition, over the course of 30 years, a collection of works by contemporary artists, including Crimean ones, has been formed. It included canvases and graphic works donated to the museum, as well as a collection of children's works that received prizes at international competitions. Thus, the exposition is constantly replenished, and the inhabitants of Feodosia often come to the museum to see new paintings and drawings.
Children's Gallery of Marine Painting
The Vera Mukhina Museum is part of one of the most famous cultural and educational complexes of Feodosia. It also includes the only gallery of children's marine painting in Russia and the CIS. It operates at the Children's Art School named after the most famous Theodosian of all time - I.K. Aivazovsky.
How to get there
The address of the Vera Mukhina Museum is: Crimea, Feodosia, Fedko Street, 1. Those who want to get there will not have to look for this cultural institution for a long time, since it is located near the city center. For example, the museum can be reached from Komsomolsky Park, following the south-west along Fedko Street.
Vera Mukhina Museum in Moscow
To be precise, there is no such institution in the capital. However, many Muscovites call the Museum and Exhibition Center "Worker and Collective Farm Girl" (telephone for information: 8 (495) 683-56-40). It is placed on the pedestal of the famous monument, which was recreated according to the original project of Boris Iofan. In the center of the building is a large white room in the style of the Stalinist Empire style with a red star on the floor. Photographs are hung on the walls of the museum, revealing the history of the creation of the monument, its transportation and demonstration in Paris, as well as the lives of authors and other people related to these events.
At the same time, the main person whose work the museum is dedicated to is Vera Mukhina. Moscow (address of IEC “Worker and Collective Farm Girl”: 123B Mira Ave.) is the city where most of her works are located. In addition, the sculptor's house-workshop was preserved on Prechistenka, but it is not a museum.
Room-Museum of Vera Mukhina in Riga
As you know, the famous sculptor was born in Riga. In the house located at: st. Turgenev, d. 23, thanks to enthusiasts operates a mini-museum of Vera Mukhina. It is housed in a former gatekeeper's building, where in 1889 the future 5-time winner of the Stalin Prizes was born. In 1937 Vera Ignatyevna with her son returned to Riga. However, they were already living in a different building, as Mukhina’s step-home was already sold to the Latvian Railway. Building at: st. Turgeneva, d. 23, is in itself of great interest. It was built by the wealthy merchants Mukhins who settled in Riga immediately after the great fire of 1812. The house is one of the few architectural monuments in the style of a real empire, preserved in the capital of Latvia.
In the Riga room-museum of Vera Ignatievna, you can see photographs and documents related to the sculptor's family. In addition, visitors are invited to watch a specially shot documentary about the life of Mukhina and some details of the biography of her relatives. In particular, few know that the sculptor’s husband is one of the prototypes of the Bulgakov professor Preobrazhensky, and many members of the Soviet government turned to him on issues of intimate health.
Now you know where there are museums dedicated to the life and work of Vera Mukhina in the capital, Riga and Feodosia. Once in these cities, you can go to the above addresses and learn a lot about the famous sculptor and the works of monumental art she created .