Art museums of Russia and their importance in cultural life

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:54

In ancient Greece, this place (museion) was traditionally dedicated to the Muses and was usually located in sacred groves or temples. In the mythology of the Greeks, the muses were the patrons of art, poetry, science - hence the meaning of the sacred space, where they had to be revered in every possible way. The very word "museum" appears in everyday life in the Renaissance in Europe. There, museums are buildings and institutions designed to store outstanding works of science and art created by mankind.

What is an art museum?

Museums are different: historical and technical, literary and dedicated to certain ethnic groups or countries, communities or individuals. Art museums occupy a special place among all. Here, as a rule, works of art are exhibited - fine and decorative: paintings and sculptures, engravings and drawings, tapestries and carpets, ceramics and fabrics. In modern museums, not only the storage and display of exhibits is carried out, but also their comprehensive study,as well as the restoration of monuments of high artistic value.

Art Museums of Russia (Rus)

A bit of history. Museum work has a thousand-year continuity in Russia. In Kievan Rus, for example, in the cathedrals and monasteries of some cities, rich fabrics, jewelers' products, books (handwritten) in precious salaries of gold and silver, adorned with gems, were stored and preserved. And the richest collections were kept in the sacristies of the churches. So, in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra (Sergiev Posad) there was a collection of paintings and applied arts. And since the 16th century, the richest and most interesting collection of the Armory in the Moscow Kremlin began to be created. It can be said that the art museums of Russia originate from it. The Armory is the oldest museum, which was officially established in 1806, but existed long before that. Now it is part of the Kremlin museums.

Kunstkamera and private collections

The very first Russian public museum can also be considered the Kunstkamera in St. Petersburg, created on the initiative of Tsar Peter in 1714. Its opening took place in 1719. True, the Kunstkamera is not a purely artistic museum. In addition to works of art, various natural science exhibits were presented there, which Peter acquired during his trips abroad, or found in Russian territories. The largest private collections accumulated in the Winter Palace, Tsarskoe Selo, Peterhof and Pavlovsk (after the revolution, all these estates and palaces were nationalized andturned into art museums in Russia). Thus, the museum-estate Arkhangelskoye, Kuskovo and some others appeared.

Hermitage

Art museums in Russia are an important milestone in the development of the country's culture. So, in 1764, large collections of paintings were acquired, which was one of the first steps in the creation of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg.

However, not everyone could look at works of art at that time: access to the Hermitage, as, indeed, to many private collections of that time, was very limited. And only in the 19th century (in the second half), thanks to the efforts of the Russian intelligentsia, who fought for the publicity and openness of such institutions, access to the treasures of the Hermitage and some private collections (Pryanishnikov, Tretyakov, Ostroukhov) were opened.

Art museums in Russia: list

1. The opening of the Tretyakov Gallery, the first art museum of Russian art in Moscow in the 19th century, can be put at the forefront. The founder was the merchant Tretyakov, who was carried away by the ideas of the Wanderers and created a large collection of works of art. He viewed his work as a collector as a nationwide enterprise belonging to the people of Russia. And the gallery itself had an invaluable influence on the further development of realism in painting and other forms of art.
2. Art museums of Russia were opened not only in the capitals, but also in the provinces. The list can be continued by the Radishchev Saratov Art Museum,opened in 1885.
3. In 1895-9898 opens the Russian Museum of National Art, which also became the property of the general public.
4. 1912 - Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow (now Pushkin Museum).
5. After the 1917 revolution, all small and large art museums in Russia become public property. The slogan "Art belongs to the people" is maximally embodied in the life of an ordinary person, and museums become a source and tool for educating the working masses. The names of art museums in Russia are supplemented by new names. These include national galleries and museums in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and the B altic states. There are museums of folk art in Palekh, Mstera, personal museums dedicated to the work of a certain artist. The main task of these institutions is the aesthetic education of the people, the study, restoration and preservation of priceless monuments of art.