The Regional Art Museum (Samara), whose origins go back to the beginning of the twentieth century, is the most easily recognizable historical memorial among the other attractions of this city. The construction, as it is today, is the result of the superstructure and reconstruction of the facade of the Kurlin family of merchants. The only thing that now reminds of that house is the remaining decoration, stylized as Art Nouveau, the main staircase, lobby and exposition halls. Preserved, albeit in a modified guise, the lecture hall, located on the first tier and previously was a trading room.
Historical moments
In 1912, the building was acquired by the Volga-Kama Commercial Bank, on the initiative of which the most significant reconstruction of the facade was carried out. And it was then that the art museum (Samara) found a number of columns with statues made in the neoclassical style.
Filling with exhibits began in 1920, when Alfred von Wakano presented his collection, collected through multiple trips abroad. A collection of avant-garde art, consisting of about 80 pieces, was also sent.
In 1925, the GMF repository provided 12 works known in the past. These were paintings by artists such as Guchkov, Brokar, Vysotsky and Botkin. In the period from 1936 to 1937, the authorship of some unidentified works became known, which became possible with the help of the work of the former secretary of the Hermitage M. Filosofov.
History of the museum from 1940 to the present
During the Second World War, the Art Museum (Samara) suspended its activities, and the existing exhibits were sent to the storerooms. In the postwar years, the museum acquired the works of Bryullov, Lebedev, Repin, Moller, Galkin and many others. By 1959, a huge number of exhibits came from the East.
As a result, as of 1989, the museum had the opportunity to exhibit more than 1000 works, and due to the available 18,000 storage units, the collection can continue to grow to this day.
Most popular exhibitions
The Regional Museum of Art (Samara) on a regular basis provides visitors with a variety of exhibitions that replace each other, but at the same time there is always the opportunity to see sustainable exhibits on the following topics:
- Russian art of the period of the XVIII-XX centuries. The exhibits are represented mainly by painting, but also porcelain. Most of the collection of this area was collected at the very beginning of the museum.
- An exhibition in the art museum "Foreign Art", in particular West European, Japanese and Chinese. Among the exhibits there is a lot of painting, but at the same time, engravings, household items from Asian culture, as well as other types of creativity make up a considerable part.
- The silver age in the form of exclusively painting. There are works of artists such as Golovkin K.P., Alabin P.V., Wakano and others.
- The Art Museum (Samara) invites visitors to visit the general exposition, with an orientation to schoolchildren of the younger and middle age categories, as well as collections of exhibits on the subjects from the Bible and Ancient Greek mythology.
Museum Development Prospects
Museum employees are trying in every possible way to develop external relations with the world. For this, agreements were concluded with educational institutions and the media. The latter were attracted for advertising. University students often attend exhibitions for educational purposes. Some teachers give live lectures directly in the museum, using exhibits for clarity. It hosts literary evenings and concerts of symphonic music.
This museum is a member of the regional, Russian and international community. This allows you to always be at the center of all events taking place in the cultural sphere.