The Belarusian National Museum is a real cultural treasure. At the moment, it is not only an impressive exhibition of paintings, one of the largest in Eastern Europe, but also a center for scientific and educational projects, and a venue for events in honor of contemporary artists. To study the history of this museum is a must.
Appearance story
The National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus has an extensive collection, but its history is far from so impressive. The State Picture Gallery was opened in 1939. Her expositions were based on works from the museums of Vitebsk, Mogilev, Gomel, Minsk, some were donated by the Tretyakov Gallery and the Hermitage. In addition, the collection included canvases from castles and estates of Western Belarus - Slutsk belts from the Radziwills collection, eighteenth-century French tapestries and portraiture. The years of World War II became a difficult time. Many exhibits were taken out of the country, and their history is still unknown. After the war, work on the collection was restarted. The National Art Museum of Belarus, or rather, at that time, the BSSR, acquired paintings by Kustodiev, Bryullov, Levitan, Polenov. Some of the exhibits were transmitted by the galleries of St. Petersburg and Moscow. In 1957, the exposition was opened in a new building, which was built according to the project of Mikhail Baklanov. The facade is decorated with allegory sculptures depicting painting, sculpture and fame. This building is one of the first in the history of Soviet architecture. At the moment, his image is used on a thousand rubles banknote. Throughout the years of its existence, the National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus has been collecting new masterpieces from private collections, works in the genre of icon painting and the best works of Belarusian masters. Over the past decades, it has become a complex with five branches, two of which are not located in Minsk - in Golshany and Mir.
New building
The National Art Museum in Minsk has grown so much that by the end of the twentieth century it needed a new room. All departments, lecture halls and other office premises were moved to neighboring buildings. A new building has been created for the museum, which combines past features and modern architecture. Designer Vitaly Belyankin designed the interior with classic arches and columns, decorated with stucco molding, and a glass dome acts as the ceiling. The area of the new building is almost nine thousand square meters. In addition to the exposition, which is owned by the National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus, there are restoration workshops and storerooms. A special tour allows you to observe the process of restoration of paintings. The new halls served as a platform for demonstrating ancient and modern Belarusian art, as well as artifacts from Western Europe and Russia.
Exposition today
Many tourists visit Minsk annually. The National Museum of Art is a good choice for a day out in the capital. It is constantly evolving and today it presents to the attention of visitors more than thirty thousand exhibits, which include twenty thematic collections and two collections of national and world art, including unique pieces by masters of the East of the fifteenth century. In the museum you can see ancient icons, Belarusian sculpture and handmade fabrics, paintings of the nineteenth century and arts and crafts. The branch is the Vankovich House, which presents the culture of the beginning of the century before last. Another is the Museum of Belarusian Folk Art. There is also a branch dedicated to the work of Bialynitsky-Biruli. The National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus is engaged in research and restoration, collects a library fund, accompanied by an electronic catalog with images of all the works presented in the expositions. He publishes books and albums. Lectures and interactive tours are constantly held here, and for children there is a creative workshop leading classes for the last twenty years.
International projects
The museum also collaborates with foreign colleagues. This allows you to carry out vivid projects created in conjunction with the Tretyakov Gallery. They bring here paintings from Serbia, Ukraine and France. The works of Chagall were presented by the Museum of Israel. There was also an exhibition of the English project “Royal Treasures”, dedicated to Victoria and Albert.
Cost and time of visit
Tickets to the museum are quite budgetary - from fifty to one hundred and fifty thousand Belarusian rubles, depending on the desire to take pictures. Every last Wednesday of the month you can visit it for free. The entrance to the museum is open from eleven to eighteen thirty, on Tuesdays it is closed.