Vera Ignatievna Mukhina is one of the most famous female sculptors in the history of world art. There is probably no person in our country who is not familiar with her most famous work - the monument "Worker and Collective Farm Woman", installed at the northern entrance to VDNKh and which is also the emblem of Mosfilm. The sculptor spent her childhood 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 work of the sculptor was organized in one of the buildings on the former Kerch Highway (now Fedko Street), where the Mukhins family lived from 1892 until the death of his father (1904). Fortunately, during the demolition of the dilapidated housing stock in the mid-1980s, it was decided to keep the facade of the building. Later, it was organically integrated into the new building, which housed the museum of Vera Mukhina.
Descriptionhalls
The basis of the museum is the memorial room of Vera Mukhina. In it, according to photographs and memoirs of relatives, the atmosphere that surrounded the future famous sculptor during the years when she studied at the gymnasium was recreated. For this, real furniture belonging to the Mukhin family and interior items from the early 20th century were used.
The second hall is decorated in the form of a fragment of the creative workshop of a famous sculptor. There are also exhibited personal items and tools that Vera Ignatievna used in her work.
Exposure
Museum of Vera Mukhina (Feodosia) presents 5 thematic sections to the attention of visitors:
- "Childhood and youth of the sculptor";
- "Study Abroad";
- "Creativity of Vera Mukhina before 1941";
- "The activities of the sculptor during the Second World War";
- "The last period of Mukhina's work".
Wax and plaster models of works can be noted among the most interesting exhibits of the museum. Among them:
- sketches for the monument to M. Gorky and the sculptural composition "Science";
- gypsum models "Gifts of the Earth" and "Gifts of Water";
- project of the Firebird fountain;
- 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 exhibits Mukhina's correspondence, a selection of magazines and newspapers dedicated to her life and work, collected over many decades, andnumerous original photographs from the family archive.
Other exhibits
As you know, Vera Mukhina has been active in teaching for many years. 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, was formed. It included canvases and graphic works donated to the museum, as well as a collection of children's works that won prizes at international competitions. Thus, the exposition is constantly replenished, and residents of Feodosia often come to the museum to see new paintings and drawings.
Children's Marine Art Gallery
Museum of Vera Mukhina is part of one of the most famous cultural and educational complexes of Feodosia. It also includes the only in Russia and the CIS Gallery of children's marine painting. It operates at the Children's Art School named after the most famous Feodosian of all time - I. K. Aivazovsky.
How to get there
Address where the museum of Vera Mukhina is located: Crimea, Feodosia, Fedko street, 1. Those who want to get there will not have to look for this cultural institution for a long time, as it is located near the city center. For example, the museum can be reached from Komsomolsky Park, following southwest along Fedko Street.
Museum of Vera Mukhina in Moscow
To be precise, there is no such institution in the capital. Howevermany Muscovites call the Worker and Kolkhoz Woman Museum and Exhibition Center this way (phone for information: 8 (495) 683-56-40). It is located on the pedestal of the famous monument, which was recreated according to the original design of Boris Iofan. In the center of the structure is a large white hall in 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 concerning the life of the 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 the IEC "Worker and Collective Farm Woman": Prospekt Mira, 123B) is the city where most of her works are located. In addition, the house-workshop of the sculptor has been preserved on Prechistenka, but it is not a museum.
Museum Room 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, there is a mini-museum of Vera Mukhina. It is located in the former porter's building, where the future 5-time laureate of the Stalin Prizes was born in 1889. In 1937, Vera Ignatievna returned to Riga with her son. However, they already lived in a different building, since Mukhina's father's house had already been sold to the Latvian Railway. Building at: st. Turgeneva, d. 23, in itself is of great interest. It was built by the rich merchants Mukhins, who settled in Riga immediately after the great fire of 1812. The house is one of the few architecturalreal Empire style monuments preserved in the capital of Latvia.
In the Riga room-museum of Vera Ignatievna, one can see photographs and documents related to the sculptor's family. In addition, visitors are invited to watch a specially filmed documentary film about the life of Mukhina and some details of the biography of her relatives. In particular, few people know that the sculptor's husband is one of the prototypes of Bulgakov's Professor Preobrazhensky, and many members of the Soviet government turned to him on intimate he alth issues.
Now you know where the museums dedicated to the life and work of Vera Mukhina are located 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.
