Arkhangelsk is a city that attracts tourists with its special color, historical and cultural attractions. One of these objects is the Museum of Fine Arts. Visitors can see valuable exhibits, get acquainted with the traditions of local residents, learn a lot of interesting things about the harsh northern region. In the article we will tell about the Arkhangelsk Museum of Fine Arts.
History
The Arkhangelsk Museum of Fine Arts was founded in the second half of the 20th century, despite the fact that its opening was planned many years earlier. In 1909, a society studying the Russian north and a circle of admirers of fine arts began to function here. Together they organized several exhibitions, and later a full-fledged art gallery.
In 1916, it was decided to keep the exposition on a permanent basis, but because of the 1917 revolution, plans had to be changed. Andonly more than 45 years later, the authorities returned to the issue of its discovery. By the time of its creation, the fund of the Arkhangelsk Museum of Fine Arts consisted of 1502 exhibits. In subsequent years, the exposition was replenished with thousands of other items of historical value. They were mainly collected in the surrounding settlements.
What to see?
The poster of the Museum of Fine Arts (Arkhangelsk) is regularly published in the local media, which provides complete information about ongoing events.
Today, the main part of the exposition consists of works of ancient Russian art of the 18th–19th centuries and traditional crafts of the northern peoples of past centuries. The collection was first exhibited in 1975.
The collection of classical art mostly consists of works received as a gift or purchased in antique shops, from private collectors, descendants of great artists. Thus, the museum fund was replenished with the works of Aivazovsky, Bryullov, Shishkin and other eminent artists of their era. In addition to the folk and classical trends, among the exhibits you can see the works of contemporaries. The sights of Arkhangelsk are often depicted on their canvases.
The largest collection represents folk art. All types of crafts that were widespread in these places from the 18th to the 20th centuries are collected here in a single collection. Among them are weaving, painting, beading, embroidery with ordinary and gold threads, woodcarving. Bone carving deserves special attention. Among the museum exhibitsthe products of famous masters who worked in this direction are presented.
Coordinates, opening hours
Address of the Museum of Fine Arts: Arkhangelsk, Lenin Square, house 2.
Entrance - 200 rubles. Pensioners, preschoolers - 100 rubles. The cost of a group tour is 500 rubles.
Opening hours of the Museum of Fine Arts in Arkhangelsk: 11:00–19:00.
Working days: Monday, Wednesday - Sunday.
Day off: Tuesday.
When was the museum formed?
The official founding date is August 29, 1960. Since 1994, he has been a member of the State Association of Museums "Artistic Culture of the Russian North". It was based on the collections of the local history and Solvychegodsk art associations.
How was the museum collection formed?
The fund of the Arkhangelsk Museum of Fine Arts was formed most actively from 1960 to 1980. the last century. Initially, many trips and expeditions were made to the northern settlements in search of historically significant household items and crafts. Museum staff and restorers have done a great job, as a result of which a unique collection of ancient Russian art has been created, numbering more than 5 thousand exhibits.
Among them are rare works in the field of painting, sculpture, applied art, some of them were created several centuries ago. Icons make up a huge part of the exposition. In the museum, they are united in a single collection "Northern Letters". Each item from the fund of ancient Russian art is considered a monumentartistic culture of the Russian north.
About the museum's collections
One of the largest among the presented collections is an exhibition of folk art. It includes all kinds of traditional crafts that existed in ancient times in the northern environs of Arkhangelsk. Sewing with pearls and unique woodcarving deserve special attention. Unfortunately, only single copies have survived to this day.
The main pride of the museum is the largest collection of Kholmogory bone carvings. To a greater extent, it is made up of modern exhibits, but there are also works created by local craftsmen in the 16th century. It is worth noting that the works of carvers of our time are in no way inferior in skill to samples of past times.
No less significant is the museum's collection of classical and contemporary art. An important part of it is the work of Arkhangelsk painters. The most widely represented works by artists of the older generation: Shiryaev, Preobrazhensky, Kotov, Sveshnikov, Lukoshkov.
For more than half a century of existence, the museum's fund has increased 20 times. At this moment, its exposition and treasury has about 34 thousand items.
Work carried out by the museum
The presence of an extensive collection allows for significant scientific and educational, exhibition, research and publishing work. About 30 exhibitions are exhibited annually, which are visited by thousands of people.
Museum collections have featured in major museums more than oncecapitals of Russia. Among the most significant exhibitions over the past few years, the following should be singled out: "Northern Letters", "Carved Iconostases and Wooden Sculpture of the Russian North", "Golden Map of Russia". Moreover, the exhibitions of the Museum of Fine Arts (Arkhangelsk) outside our country are very popular. They were held in Japan, Poland, Belgium, England and many other European countries.
Since 1994, the museum has included a complex of architectural buildings of monuments of national importance. They are located in the historical part of Arkhangelsk, in the architectural reserve zone. Along with this, the museum received a new status: the State Museum Association "Artistic Culture of the Russian North" and with it the possibility of further development.
Today, the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts on a permanent basis includes expositions: "Christian art of the times of the XIV-XX centuries (paintings, sculptures, etc.)", "Crafts of the peoples of the Russian North (clay products, painting, national costume, wood and bone carving, embroidery)”.
In 2008, an educational information center began to function here. Visitors can watch multimedia films, listen to interactive programs created by the staff of the Arkhangelsk Museum on the basis of their collections.
Family Portrait Exhibition
In the presented exposition of the Museum of Fine Arts (Arkhangelsk) you can see the best creations of Russian art from the 18th to the 20th centuries. The works of such legendary masters asI. Khrutsky, F. Tolstoy, B. Kustodiev, K. Makovsky, D. Zhilinsky, N. Ge and other well-known authors.
All kinds of family portraits are presented at the exhibition: chamber and ceremonial, pair and single, in everyday life and others. The composition will tell about the traditions of family depiction, ranging from an individual portrait of the 18th century to works on the family theme of the Soviet era, where it was important to depict not a specific person, but a type that reflects one's profession, cultural and social significance.
In today's world, when most social rules and foundations are subject to discussion and condemnation, the exhibition "Portrait of a Family" looks more relevant than ever. The masterpieces of Russian artists, painted over three centuries, reflect the family way of life, tell in detail the features of life and traditions of their era, provide an opportunity to see the change in historical times and relationships between people.
Exhibition "Old Russian Art of the XIV-XIX centuries"
The exposition tells about the art of the Arkhangelsk region, the formation and flourishing of which took place in stages. It all started with the appearance of icon painting in the XIV-XV centuries, reaching its full flowering in the XVII-XVIII centuries. The surviving exhibits of northern icons were located in cities, villages, monasteries and represent a huge variety of stylistic performance. The collection includes icons from Kargopol, Solvychegodsk, Antoniev-Siya and Solovetsky monasteries. It is worth noting that, in addition to workshops, a peasant environment has been formed in the northern regions for many years.icon painting of the Dvina and Poonezhie. The basis of the painters' creativity was archaic traditions.
Special attention deserves a collection of ancient Russian sculpture made of wood, which is one of the best collections in the country. The North has always been famous for its love and ability to create from wood. Skillfully carved wooden icons of the patron saints have stood in churches and chapels for the worship of believers from time immemorial.
Exhibition "Kholmogory bone carving"
The exhibition presents unique exhibits made of bone from the 1960s of the last century, carved by eminent Kholmogory masters A. Shtang, G. Osipov, O. Lokhov, G. Chernakova, I. Maklakova, V. Vatlin, A. Guryev. Literally from the moment of its foundation, the museum has acquired the best creations. This is the largest collection of Kholmogory carved bones by contemporary authors.
Here you can admire the precision of jewelry in the manufacture of caskets, jewelry, chests, vases, bowls, knives, goblets, combs and many other items. Religious objects are of particular beauty: icons, images, crosses and other cult items. They are made from walrus, mammoth and ordinary cow bones, as well as from the tooth of a sperm whale. Kholmogory masters have all the necessary processing techniques to create valuable exhibits. This list includes three-dimensional, openwork and relief carving, engraving.
Sights, reviews
Guests of the city, in addition to exhibitions, can also visit suchsights of Arkhangelsk like:
- Temple of the Assumption of the Mother of God.
- Stela "Cape Pur-Navolok".
- Chapel of the Matrona of Moscow.
- Monument to the writer S. G. Pisakhov.
- Monument "Inhabitants of military Arkhangelsk 1941-1945".
- Church of the Nativity.
- Mansion of A. V. Surkov
Reviews about the Arkhangelsk Museum of Fine Arts are only positive. Many visitors to the exhibitions note that they enjoyed viewing it immensely. A wide variety of paintings, exhibits of folk art will not leave anyone indifferent.
All guests of the city of Arkhangelsk, tourists and connoisseurs of Russian culture should definitely visit the local museum of fine arts. His visit will give a lot of positive emotions and broaden your horizons.