Tretyakov Gallery
Named after Russian financier Pavel Tretyakov (1832-1898), the Gallery houses one of the most extensive collections of Russian fine art in the world. In 1892, Tetyakov himself donated thousands of works from his private collection. It was his generosity that formed the basis of the Gallery’s world renowned collection today. Many Russian artists owe their success to Tetyakov’s patronage of the arts.
The collection contains more than 130,000 exhibits, including such artists as Theotokos of Vladimir and Andrei Rublev’s Trinity to works by Wassily Kandinsky, and much more.
Tetyakov also donated his own house and surrounding buildings to the gallery. The buildings were united under one neo-Russian facade designed by Russian artist Viktor Vasnetsov. Today the Gallery is still on the same site but in an expanded complex of buildings. The collection of Soviet art donated by Tretyakov is now housed separately in the Central House of Artists opposite Gorky Park.
For anyone interested in Russian art and culture, a visit to Tretyakov Gallery should be at the top of the list.
The Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts
The Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, located on Volkhonka street just opposite the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, is the largest museum of European art in Moscow. Founded by Professor Ivan Tsvetaeu (father of Russian poet Marina Tsvetaeva), the Museum opened its doors to the public in 1912. Without the influence of millionaire and philanthropist Yuriy Nechaev-Maltsov and architect Roman Klein this fine arts museum would not exist today.
After the Russian capital was moved to Moscow in 1918, the Soviet government transferred thousands of works from St Petersburg’s Hermitage Museum to the new capital. These paintings formed a nucleus of the Pushkin Museum’s collections of Western art. The most important paintings were added later from the State Museum of New Western Art — Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artwork, including top works by Van Gogh, Gauguin, Picasso, Dufrénoy and Matisse. After World War II some works from the Dresden Gallery in East Germany were stored in Moscow for 10 years at the Museum. They were finally returned to East Germany, despite strong opposition from Museum officials.
In 1937, Pushkin’s name was appended to the museum because the Soviet Union marked the centenary of the poet’s death that year.
The Pushkin Museum is a main depositary of Troy’s fabulous gold looted from Troy by the German archaeologist, Heinrich Schliemann and taken by the Soviet Army from the Pergamon Museum in Berlin.
The International musical festival, Svyatoslav Richter’s “December nights,” has been held in the Pushkin Museum since 1981.
