Kharkov Art Museum is one of the largest collections of fine and applied arts in Ukraine. Its funds contain at least 25 thousand exhibits. In our article you will find detailed information about the art museum in Kharkov, its paintings and expositions.
A Brief History of the Museum
The Art Museum in Kharkov dates back to 1920. Initially, it was filled mainly with church valuables and artifacts collected in rural churches and monasteries of the Sloboda region.
In 1922, the institution was renamed the Museum of Ukrainian Art and divided into three departments: sculpture, architecture and painting. The latter kept and exhibited landscape, genre and portrait paintings of the 18th-19th centuries, as well as icons and examples of book graphics. In 1930 the museum was closed, but already in 1944 it reopened its doors to visitors.
Kharkov Art Museum is located in the oldmansion. The building was built in the classical style in 1912 according to the project of the famous architect, academician A. N. Beketov. At one time, it was owned by the Kharkov industrialist Ignatishchev, the owner of the Ivanovo brewery. The museum moved to this beautiful two-story building after the war.
Kharkov Art Museum, Kharkov: general information and visitor reviews
The museum is located in the old part of the city at the address: Zhen Mironosits Street, 11 (near the Architects' Square). Here is the place on the map of Kharkiv:
Kharkov Art Museum is a state-owned and represents a significant collection of art objects from Ukraine, Russia and other European countries. In total, the museum has 25 rooms. A separate room is reserved for I. E. Repin, an outstanding painter and illustrator of the second half of the 19th century, who worked in the style of realism. In particular, here you can see one of the variants of the famous painting “Cossacks writing a letter to the Turkish Sultan.”
The Kharkiv Museum not only acquaints its visitors with the work of great artists, but also conducts active scientific and educational work. For example, about three dozen different lectures are regularly held within its walls. So, here you can hear about the work of Taras Shevchenko as an artist, or about the development of Ukrainian icon painting. Several thematic clubs also operate on the basis of the museum: the Wagner Association, the music and poetry salon named after V. Goncharov, the children's aesthetic clubFermata and others.
Reviews about this museum are mostly positive. Many visitors note that here you can easily spend several hours of your time studying numerous paintings by famous artists. At the same time, entry prices are more than affordable. Another nice feature of the museum is the possibility of free admission to permanent exhibitions on certain days of the month.
Kharkov Art Museum: paintings and expositions
In 25 halls of the establishment exhibited works of Ukrainian, Russian, Western European fine arts, as well as objects of arts and crafts and folk art dating from the XVI-XX centuries. Here, in particular, you can see the original works of famous painters - Ivan Aivazovsky, Karl Bryullov, Ivan Shishkin, Nikolai Yaroshenko, Ilya Repin. Kharkov Art Museum is proud of its rich collection of paintings by talented Ukrainian masters. Among them are the works of Taras Shevchenko, Petr Levchenko, Mikhail Berkos, Tatyana Yablonskaya, Fyodor Krichevsky, Yuriy Narbut and others.
The museum currently has four permanent exhibitions:
- "Ukrainian and Russian art of the 16th - early 20th centuries".
- "Western European Art of the 16th-19th Centuries".
- Ukrainian Folk Art.
- "Collection of porcelain items from the 18th-20th centuries".
Ukrainian and Russian art
The formation of this collection began at the end of the 19th century. The backbone of the future exhibition was the work of Russian masters, transferred to the Kharkov MuseumPetersburg Academy of Arts. Later, the collection was supplemented by the private collections of Kharitonenko and Filonov.
Among the true masterpieces of the Kharkiv museum are rare icons of the Volyn school dating back to the 16th century. In their plots and style of design, the features of the Italian Renaissance are clearly traced.
The main gem of the collection is the painting "Cossacks" by Ilya Repin. Another priceless exhibit is a multi-figure painting by Heinrich Siemiradzki, a Polish painter of Ukrainian origin, titled “Isaurian Pirates Selling Their Prey” (1880). On this canvas you can see antique items (Persian carpets, filigree, ceramics) from the artist's personal collection. Of no less interest is the work "Caucasian Mountains" (1879) by the famous Russian marine painter Lev Lagorio, one of Aivazovsky's students.
Western European art
The Museum has collected a rich collection of works of European art, which allows you to trace the development of painting in art schools in various countries of Western Europe (France, Italy, Holland, Germany) over four centuries. This collection features works by Timoteo Vitti, Bartolomeo Manfredi, Guido Reni, Friedrich Nerli, Jan Scorel and more.
The portrait works of Ferdinand Bol (one of Rembrandt's students), everyday paintings by David Teniers, and Albert's landscapes are of particular value in this exposition. Cape, floral still lifes by Abraham Mignon.
Ukrainian folk art
This exposition presents the main areas of folk art: pottery, embroidery, woodcarving, weaving, wickerwork. The key place in the collection belongs to the towels, which have long been used to decorate Ukrainian huts. For many centuries, it has been an essential attribute of various rituals, holidays, family celebrations.
In total, the collection of folk art of the Kharkov Art Museum has over 12 thousand different exhibits. Among them are numerous works of contemporary folk craftsmen and craftsmen. Thus, multicolored beaded works by Nadezhda Ostrovskaya, straw products by Galina Volovik, and vine crafts by Evgeny Pilenkov are of great interest to visitors.
Porcelain Collection
Admirers of porcelain should also visit the Kharkiv Art Museum. Its collection contains about five hundred figurines, sculptural compositions and decorative items made of "white gold" by craftsmen from England, France, Italy and the Russian Empire.
The museum presents products of the Imperial (Leningrad), Dmitrovsky, Dulevsky, Riga, Polonsky, Korostensky porcelain factories. Of great interest in the collection is the so-called "propaganda porcelain" of the 30-40s of the last century, which brought communist and proletarian symbols to the decorative painting of products.
Museum opening hours,prices, tours
The Art Museum in Kharkiv is open from 10:00 to 17:40, the day off is Tuesday. The price of an entrance ticket for adults is 10 hryvnia, for pupils and students - 5 hryvnia. For the opportunity to take pictures, you need to purchase a separate ticket, the cost of which is 30 hryvnia (! 1 hryvnia is 2.3 rubles). Please note that flash photography is strictly prohibited in the museum.
In the museum you can order a sightseeing or thematic tour, which lasts about 45 minutes. Its cost for adults is 30 hryvnia, and for students and schoolchildren - 20 hryvnia. Tours must be booked in advance. In the department "Ukrainian and Russian art of the XVI - early XX centuries" you can also use a free audio guide, which is available in Ukrainian and English.
Conclusion
Kharkiv Art Museum is a real treasury of fine arts, one of the largest collections of paintings in Ukraine. Every connoisseur of the beautiful and eternal is obliged to visit this institution. In the halls of the museum you can enjoy the works of Ilya Repin, Ivan Shishkin, Ivan Aivazovsky, Tatyana Yablonskaya and many other outstanding artists.
