At the end of the 19th century, the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts held a competition related to the design of the building for the Museum of Fine Arts. Emperor Alexander the Third. This gave rise to the realization of the dream of creating this type of art educational institution in the capital.
Occurrence
At that time, Moscow University had an office containing some ancient values: a numismatic collection, antique vases, casts from antique sculptures and a small special library. On the basis of all this, a museum arises. In 1889-1890, this department, under the direction of I.V. Tsvetaev, undergoes some changes. The sculptural section and the library are developing. Plaster prints, mock-ups, galvanocopy take on special significance. In this regard, the Museum of Fine Arts is turning into an educational and public institution, the unified scientific program of which contains familiarity with the main centuries-old periods of history.
First of all, the formation of collections of unique works of graphics, painting, and applied art takes place. V. S. Golishchev, a Russian oriental scholar, possessed an excellent collection of unusual cultural objects of Ancient Egypt. Later, the state acquires it and then, thanks to Tsvetaev’s perseverance, transfers it to the Museum (1909-1911), which becomes on a par with the owners of the outstanding values of the Ancient East.
Some lovers of beauty and owners of unique things that have come down to us from past times have contributed to the establishment and expansion of this institution. M. S. Shchekin, Russian diplomat, gives the Museum decorative objects of 13-15 centuries. and works of Italian painting. Excellent Italian sculptures of the seventeenth century were given by the Grand Duchess Elizabeth Fedorovna and D. A. Khomyakov, whose father was a famous Slavophile. Archaeologist A.A. Bobrinsky donated candelabra, watches and other samples of French art casting. Nephew Golenishchev presented a collection of graphics of old Russian and European masters.
Beginning of work
The opening of the Museum of Fine Arts solemnly happened on the last day of May 1912. The honored guests of the ceremony were Nicholas II and Empress Maria Fedorovna. I.V. Tsvetaev was appointed the first director who managed the museum from 1911 until his death. This institution immediately gained popularity among the masses. His attendance was very high: up to 800 people in the weekdays, 2500 - during holidays and weekends. The bulk of the visitors consisted of teachers and students of gymnasiums, higher women's courses, People's University. A. L. Shanyavsky, Moscow Archaeological Institute. The museum was not spared by artists and representatives of the clergy. Students came here for classes, and for those wishing to get acquainted with the culture of that time, excursions were conducted.
Occupancy
For several years (until 1930), Western European art was transferred from the nationalized estates of Moscow and various museums (icon painting and painting by Ostroukhov, the Historical and Kremlin institutions), and from the Tretyakov Gallery. The Hermitage presented several paintings and shared its collection with the Leningrad Fund. The established center of the art gallery was the work of old Western masters. The ancient Eastern collection contained more than a thousand cuneiform tablets and three thousand other monuments of that time.
Changes
In 1932, this institution was renamed and given the name of the State Museum of Fine Arts, and five years later it was named after A.S. Pushkin. During the war with the German occupiers, most of the collection was hidden in Novosibirsk and Solikamsk. The building itself was damaged by bombing and shelling. In 1944, the Pushkin Museum began to be restored.
Development
In the mid-20th century, the State Museum of New Western Art (GMNZI) closes. In this regard, his collection is divided between metropolitan and Leningrad repositories. The Pushkin Museum is replenished with picturesque (about 300) and sculptural (over 80) works of masters of the 19-20 centuries of the East and America. It is enriched with collections of graphics and archives. The work of the French post-impressionists also included a new exhibition. Museum them. Pushkin received them at one time from metropolitan collectors. They were I. A. Morozov and S. I. Shchukin. Thanks to this, the Pushkin Museum becomes the owner of masterpieces known throughout the world. For the general public, the collection has been available since 1953, when some works become the permanent elements of the exposure of the Picture Gallery. Over the course of 20 years, the entire structure of the exhibition has been changing, and only then people were able to fully enjoy the paintings and sculptures from past collections.
Next stage
For 4 years (1949-1953) a special exhibition was presented. Museum them. Pushkin showed a collection of gifts to I.V. Stalin. But then, being updated, a permanent exhibition opens, gaining more and more scope. The walls of the building hosted more than 1,200 shows displaying the works of the institution itself and borrowed from domestic and foreign collections. 1955 was a milestone in the cultural life of the capital. At this time, there is a unique exhibition of paintings at the Pushkin Museum. The institution demonstrates the masterpieces of the Dresden Gallery. At one time, Soviet soldiers saved her from destruction. Later, the collection was restored within the walls of the institution under the watchful guidance of P. D. Korin. It was the first art exhibition transferred to the territory of Russia during the war. Museum them. Pushkin kept this property. This was made possible thanks to the hard work of the staff of the institution.
Museum of Fine Arts Pushkin. Exhibitions
The modern Pushkin Museum consists of four types of exposure:
1. Sculptural and architectural combination of casts. They slightly changed during the university stage, which survived the Pushkin Museum (Moscow). Exhibitions include sculptures from Asia Minor, the Middle Ages, monuments of the Italian and Northern Renaissance.
2. Section of the art and culture of ancient civilizations in the original. This also includes items from the excavations conducted by the staff of the institution.
3. Gallery of paintings of the 8-20th century. It is represented by the works of old European masters, Byzantine icons, ancient mosaics. At the same time, here you can see the modern works of foreign artists and sculptors. This exhibition was built in a special way. Museum them. Pushkin presented the exposition in such a way as to show the change of whole eras and directions of different schools.
4. The Department of personal collections has collected various items with the preservation of integrity and with careful attention to the individuality of each collector.
Modernity
Today, in the building that is occupied by the Pushkin Museum, there is a huge number (670 thousand) of sculpture and painting, applied art, graphic works, monuments of numismatics and archeology, and art photography. Presented in the institution and a manuscript exhibition. The Pushkin Museum stores documentary information related to its history, the scientific and epistolary heritage of its founder and other cultural and creative people. Thanks to its own scientific and restoration workshops, the Pushkin Museum can restore damaged art monuments. He can be proud of a special scientific library as one of the best in the capital. Since 1991, the Museum occupies the place of a particularly valuable object of cultural heritage of the peoples of Russia in the State Arch.