Scheme of the Tretyakov Gallery on Lavrushinsky. State Tretyakov Gallery

In the list of famous art museums in the world State Tretyakov Gallery occupies one of the highest places. Today, its collection includes more than 180 thousand exhibits, including paintings, sculpture and jewelry. The exhibited masterpieces were created during the historical period dating back to the 11th-20th centuries. The building, which houses the main collection, was built in 1906, and today is included in the register of cultural heritage of the Russian Federation.

More than one and a half million people visit the museum every year.

History of the gallery

May 22, 1856 philanthropist and successful industrialist Pavel Tretyakov bought a painting by Vasily Khudyakov "Clash with Finnish smugglers". This day is considered the founding date of the museum, which Tretyakov, together with his brother, planned to create a long time ago. He dreamed of presenting the work of Russian artists to people. Soon the collection was replenished with the canvases “The Procession at Easter” by V. Perov, “Peter I interrogates Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich in Peterhof” by N. Ge and many others. The collection grew and multiplied, and Tretyakov decided to show the paintings to the audience. In 1867 he opened the first gallery in his own estate in Lavrushinsky Lane. At that time, the collection included 1276 paintings, almost five hundred drawings, a small collection of sculptures and several dozen works by foreign artists.

Tretyakov supported many little-known masters and, thanks to his patronage, Vasnetsov and Makovsky became famous. By purchasing paintings objectionable to the authorities, the founder of the gallery inspired painters to freedom of thought and courage in relation to censors.

The Tretyakov Gallery became a national museum at the end of the 19th century, and from that moment on, anyone could visit it and absolutely free of charge. In 1892, after the death of his brother, Pavel Tretyakov donated the collection to the city. This is how an art gallery appears in Moscow, which eventually becomes one of the largest collections of works of art on the planet.

When the Tretyakovs just started collecting paintings, their collection was housed in the rooms of the mansion where the brothers lived. But in 1860 they decided to build a separate building to store the collection, which by that time had grown into a solid art collection. The two-story extension to the Tretyakov mansion received a separate entrance for visitors, and the paintings - two spacious halls.

New paintings continued to arrive, and the gallery expanded and completed. After the death of the owners, the mansion was reconstructed, and at the beginning of the 20th century it was combined with the halls of the gallery. The facade in the form of an old tower was designed by the artist Vasnetsov.

Golden Fund of the Tretyakov Gallery

You will see the oldest exhibits of the museum in the collection of iconography of the XII-XVII centuries. For example, image of the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, brought at the beginning of the XII century from Constantinople. After the persecution of the Russian Orthodox Church during the formation of Soviet power, the icon ended up in a museum.

Rublevskaya "Trinity"- another world-famous masterpiece of Russian icon painting. The author created it in memory of Sergei Radonezhsky in the first third of the 15th century.

Master Dionysius- no less famous icon painter, and his work "Metropolitan Alexei", ​​written at the end of the 15th century, is also on the list of the most valuable exhibits of the Tretyakov collection.

The now unknown masters of the Mikhailovsky Golden-Domed Monastery at the beginning of the 12th century made mosaic depicting St. Demetrius of Thessalonica. In their work, they used matte colored stones and gold smalt. The work is exhibited in the department of Russian icon painting.

Among the many paintings of the State Tretyakov Gallery, the most famous paintings usually receive special attention from visitors.

XVIII century is represented by works Dmitry Levitsky, Vladimir Borovikovsky and Fedor Rokotov. The most famous works of this era are portraits of Gavriil Golovkin, a former associate of Peter I, and Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. The first was written by Ivan Nikitin, and the queen was painted by Georg Groot.

The 19th century that replaced the world gave the world new artists represented in the museum especially widely:

Outstanding Masterpiece I. Kramskoy "Stranger" depicts a young woman riding in an open carriage along Nevsky Prospekt. Neither in the artist's letters nor in his diaries is there even a hint of the model's personality, and her name remains a mystery at all times.

- "Princess Tarakanova" by Konstantin Flavitsky depicts the death of an adventurer who posed as the daughter of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna and sister of Pugachev. After being exposed, the woman was thrown into the casemates of the Peter and Paul Fortress, where, as legend has it, she died from a flood. The painting was painted by Flavitsky in 1864. Critic Stasov called it "the most brilliant creation of Russian painting."

Another amazingly beautiful female portrait exhibited in the Tretyakov Gallery - "Peach Girl". The painting depicts the daughter of Savva Mamontov, but attracts viewers to the canvas V. Serov completely different. The work is permeated with amazing light and filled with freshness that does not disappear over time.

The textbook landscape is called the work A. Savrasova "The Rooks Have Arrived". Critics consider the painting an important stage in the development of landscape painting in Russia. Despite the unpretentiousness of the plot, the picture seems especially close to the heart of any Russian person.

- "Moonlit night on Capri" depicts the seascape of the Gulf of Naples. Its author is a famous Russian marine painter I. Aivazovsky, painter of the Main Naval Staff and author of amazing works dedicated to the sea.

There is an opinion that "Hunters in Retreat" were written V. Perov based on the stories of I. Turgenev. The plot composition, presented by the author to the viewer, depicts three landowners who stopped to rest after a successful hunt. Perov managed to depict the characters and their environment so vividly that the viewer becomes an unwitting participant in the hunters' conversation.

- "Unequal marriage" by V. Pukirev, as his contemporaries claimed, was written by the artist at the time of his own torment: Pukirev's beloved girl was married by calculation. The picture is made with great love, and the moods of the characters are masterfully conveyed. You can also see the artist's self-portrait on the canvas - he stands behind the bride, arms crossed over his chest.

Three more famous paintings of the XIX century. in the Tretyakov Gallery invariably gather enthusiastic spectators near them:

Painting "Ivan the Terrible and his son Ivan on November 16, 1581" by Ilya Repin better known to the public under the title "Ivan the Terrible kills his son." The artist depicts the moment that came a couple of seconds after the fatal blow that the tsar inflicted on Tsarevich Ivan. The tyrant mad with grief and the failed heir accepting his fate with meekness are written out so skillfully that the picture still evokes the brightest feelings and emotions in the audience.

- "The Appearance of Christ to the People" A. Ivanov wrote for about 20 years. While working, he created several hundred sketches and called the plot of his canvas "worldwide". Ivanov believed that he portrayed a moment in time that played a decisive role in the fate of all mankind. The huge canvas is exhibited in a separate room built for it in the 30s of the last century.

- "Bogatyrs" Vasnetsov depict three heroes of Russian epics on mighty horses in military armor. They inspect the surroundings and with all their appearance demonstrate their readiness to defend the Russian land from enemies. According to the author, he sought "to mark the continuity of the heroic past of the Russian people with its great future."

The twentieth century is represented by the works of Petrov-Vodkin, Benois, Krymov, Chagall, Konchalovsky, Korovin, as well as sculptures by Vera Mukhina. The authors of the Soviet period, whose paintings were honored to take their place on the walls of the Tretyakov Gallery - Isaak Brodsky, the Kukryniksy team, Tatyana Yablonskaya, Evgeny Vuchetich and many others.

Branches of the Tretyakov Gallery

The main building of the gallery is located at: Lavrushinsky lane, 10. It presents the permanent exhibition of the museum and periodically acquaints visitors with temporary exhibitions. Recently, the Engineering Building was added to the main building, where collections of regional museums are presented to residents and guests of the capital. In addition, the Tretyakov Gallery has several branches:

- New Tretyakov Gallery on Krymsky Val was built near the place where P. Tretyakov, who founded the museum, was born. The branch demonstrates works in a modern style, written in the XX-XI centuries.

The Tretyakov Gallery is one of the most famous museums in Russia and throughout the world. The extensive exposition covers the period from the eleventh century to the present day. It is hard to imagine that the Tretyakov Gallery, whose halls have become a reflection of Russian art from antiquity to the present, began with a private collection.

home collection

The Tretyakovs bought the house in Lavrushinsky Lane in 1851. The head of the family, Pavel Mikhailovich, was a successful businessman, but at the same time he was a well-known philanthropist, investing in many charitable programs. He was an avid collector, collecting paintings, sculptures, icons and other works of art.

He had a global goal - to create a national gallery, and not just a museum. The beginning of the collection was ten paintings by Dutch masters. Initially, the Tretyakov Gallery, whose halls were open only to family members and guests, was in the house where the Tretyakovs lived. But the collection grew very quickly, and there was not enough space for demonstration. During the life of the owner, numerous reconstructions were carried out. And even under Pavel Mikhailovich, the townspeople had the opportunity to visit such a cultural institution as the Tretyakov Gallery. The halls expanded, and the exposition grew constantly. The popularity of the museum is evidenced by the fact that in the first four years its visitors were over 30 thousand people.

40 years after the collection was started, he donated it to Moscow. The collection was supplemented by works of art kept by the second brother, Sergei. This is how the "Gallery of Pavel and Sergei Tretyakov" appeared in Moscow. Another well-known philanthropist Morozov gave the masterpieces of Renoir, Van Gogh, Monet. Despite the transfer to the city, both patrons continued to replenish the collection. After the death of the Tretyakovs, the entire house in Lavrushinsky Lane came under the jurisdiction of the city.

New life of the collection

In 1913, IE Grabar was appointed trustee and director of the gallery. He was not only a talented artist, architect and art historian, but also an organizer. It was he who did a tremendous job of systematizing the collection. He distributed the canvases according to historical periods, so that visitors could follow the path of development of Russian art. Under him, a restoration workshop was also founded. At the end of the year, the works hanging in the hall of the Tretyakov Gallery were available for viewing by the general public.

After the revolution, the entire assembly was nationalized and transferred to the young republic. The "State Tretyakov Gallery" was created, the halls of which became available to all segments of the population. The collection has expanded significantly through mergers with other museums and the transfer of private collections that were nationalized during the Soviet era.

During the war, museum funds were taken to Novosibirsk. The Nazis bombed the capital mercilessly. Two high-explosive bombs in 1941 landed directly on the Tretyakov Gallery, causing significant damage. But the very next year, the restoration of the museum began, and by 1944 the doors of the gallery, beloved by the inhabitants of the capital, were again opened to the public.

Halls of the Tretyakov Gallery

Since the foundation of the gallery, the building has been rebuilt many times. There were new passages and additional rooms to present the collection in all its glory. To date, the exposition is located in 106 halls. Most are located in a building in Lavrushinsky Lane, there are 62 of them. The complex also includes the Museum-Temple of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, the Golubkina Workshop-Museum, the Vasnetsov House-Museum and the Korin House-Museum. Each room in the Tretyakov Gallery is an opportunity to touch art, to see brilliant masterpieces. The collection contains over 150 thousand exhibits, most of which are familiar to everyone since childhood. Reproductions of many paintings were included in school textbooks throughout the country. From these pictures you can learn about Russia. After all, we have the sea, like forests - like Shishkin, nature, like Levitan. Even the best portrait of Pushkin, known to every schoolchild, is exhibited here.

Hall of Icons

In every corner of the Tretyakov Gallery there are canvases that take your breath away. But, perhaps, one of the most mysterious halls is the hall of icon painting. When transferring the collection, Pavel Mikhailovich, along with the paintings, also handed over 62 icons from his collection. Now there are several hundred of them in the museum. Each of them reflects the path of Orthodoxy on Russian soil. Among them are the works of Rublev, Theophan the Greek and other famous icon painters. And in the home church of the Tretyakov Gallery, one of the most revered and ancient images is exhibited - the Vladimir Mother of God. She is over 900 years old.

Exposition in Lavrushinsky Lane

The main part of the collection is concentrated in the building in Lavrushinsky Lane, with the famous Vasnetsovsky facade. In 62 halls, divided into 7 zones, the works of the best masters of Russia and beyond are exhibited in chronological order. How great and diverse is the Tretyakov Gallery. The description of the halls would take several volumes of a printed publication. Going on a tour, it is better to choose a specific artist or painting to devote most of your time to. Otherwise, acquaintance with the galleries will be very superficial and incomplete. The names of the halls of the Tretyakov Gallery correspond to the collections exhibited in them.

Thus, ancient Russian art is represented by icon painting.

And in the halls of the XVIII-XIX centuries, paintings by the great masters Levitsky, Rokotov, Ivanov, Bryullov are exhibited. A special room was built to demonstrate Ivanov's painting "The Appearance of Christ to the People". And Rokotov became famous for the largest number of portraits of unknown people. It was important for him to capture and convey on canvas the features and character of a person, but at the same time he did not have to be famous at all. Among the works of Bryullov, one can note the masterfully executed work “The Horsewoman”, where a young girl with amazing grace sits astride a magnificent stallion.

The hall also captures attention, where the works of artists of the second half of the 19th century are presented. Here you can immerse yourself in the magical world of realistic art, where every detail is made with amazing care. In Repin's paintings, one can physically feel how the sun is baking on the lawn, how each leaf is swaying from the wind. And Vasnetsov's "Three Heroes" seems to be protecting the country's borders from uninvited invaders even today. By the way, here you can also see the work of Vasnetsov Jr.

Surikov's paintings "Boyar Morozova" or "Morning of the Streltsy Execution" convey the emotional intensity of each participant in those events. There is not a single indifferent person or random character here. Everything is spelled out with authenticity that boggles the imagination.

The section reflecting the painting of the turn of the 19th-20th centuries presents the works of such geniuses as Serov, Vrubel, as well as representatives of the Union of Russian Artists.

Treasures of Russian Art

The Tretyakov Gallery is great and diverse. Halls, paintings, sculptures, graphics will not leave anyone indifferent. A separate part of the exposition is the "Treasury", where objects made of precious metals and gems are exhibited. Fine work of jewelers is fascinating.

Graphic arts

A separate room is dedicated to graphic art. All works presented in this technique are very afraid of light, they are fragile creations. Therefore, for their demonstration, special lighting, slightly dimmed, was mounted. The largest collection of Russian graphics is exhibited here. And a small but no less valuable collection of porter miniatures.

Modern Art

In the building belonging to the Tretyakov Gallery, art is presented from the Soviet period to the present day. Visitors watch with interest how ideology affects the artist.

Halls of Masters

The collection contains individual works, and there are entire collections of paintings by one master. The hall dedicated to the artist in the Tretyakov Gallery contains only his works from different periods. Such is the exposition of Shishkin's works. But other masters of the brush were awarded a similar honor.

Since its opening, the Tretyakov Gallery has become the richest collection of paintings and art objects. Even the Russian Museum, created at the state level, lost in popularity to this private collection.

How to get to the museum

• Metro
• By car
• Ground transport

From Tretyakovskaya station: turn left after exiting the metro and cross Bolshaya Ordynka street. Then go forward along Bolshoi Tolmachevsky lane or Ordynsky dead end. After you pass the square, turn right into Lavrushinsky lane. The gallery buildings will be on your left.

From Novokuznetskaya station: after exiting the metro, go forward to Pyatnitskaya street and move along it to the left to the pedestrian crossing. Cross the road and follow Klimentovsky Lane to the intersection with Bolshaya Ordynka Street. Cross Bolshaya Ordynka Street, then walk forward along Bolshoi Tolmachevsky Lane or Ordynsky Dead End. After you pass the square, turn right into Lavrushinsky lane. The gallery buildings will be on your left.

From the station "Polyanka": after exiting the metro, go forward to Bolshaya Polyanka street and turn left. Keep walking forward and turn right near the bus stop. Exit Bolshoi Tolmachevsky Lane and walk along it to the square. Turn left into Lavrushinsky pereulok, the gallery buildings will be on your left.

Lavrushinsky lane is a pedestrian zone. If you come by car, you need to park it on Kadashevskaya Embankment or in the nearest lanes.

You can take bus 25 or trolleybus 8 to the stop "Tretyakovskaya metro station". After that, go along Bolshoy Tolmachevsky Lane past the public garden and turn right into Lavrushinsky Lane. The gallery buildings will be on your left.

Days of free visits at the museum

Every Wednesday you can visit the permanent exhibition "The Art of the 20th Century" in the New Tretyakov Gallery for free, as well as the temporary exhibitions "The Gift of Oleg Yakhont" and "Konstantin Istomin. Color in the Window”, held in the Engineering Corps.

The right to free access to expositions in the Main Building in Lavrushinsky Lane, the Engineering Building, the New Tretyakov Gallery, the house-museum of V.M. Vasnetsov, museum-apartment of A.M. Vasnetsov is provided on the following days for certain categories of citizens in general order:

First and second Sunday of every month:

for students of higher educational institutions of the Russian Federation, regardless of the form of education (including foreign citizens-students of Russian universities, graduate students, adjuncts, residents, assistant trainees) upon presentation of a student card (does not apply to persons presenting student trainee cards) );

for students of secondary and secondary specialized educational institutions (from 18 years old) (citizens of Russia and the CIS countries). On the first and second Sundays of each month, students holding ISIC cards have the right to visit the exhibition “Art of the 20th Century” at the New Tretyakov Gallery free of charge.

every Saturday - for members of large families (citizens of Russia and CIS countries).

Please note that conditions for free access to temporary exhibitions may vary. Check the exhibition pages for details.

Attention! At the ticket office of the Gallery, entrance tickets are provided with a face value of "free of charge" (upon presentation of the relevant documents - for the above-mentioned visitors). At the same time, all services of the Gallery, including excursion services, are paid in accordance with the established procedure.

Visiting the museum on public holidays

On National Unity Day - November 4 - the Tretyakov Gallery is open from 10:00 to 18:00 (entry until 17:00). Paid entrance.

• Tretyakov Gallery in Lavrushinsky Lane, Engineering Building and New Tretyakov Gallery - from 10:00 to 18:00 (ticket office and entrance until 17:00)
• Museum-apartment of A.M. Vasnetsov and the House-Museum of V.M. Vasnetsov - closed

Paid entrance.

Waiting for you!

Please note that conditions for preferential admission to temporary exhibitions may vary. Check the exhibition pages for details.

Right of preferential visit The Gallery, except as provided for by a separate order of the Gallery's management, is provided upon presentation of documents confirming the right to preferential visits:

• pensioners (citizens of Russia and CIS countries),
• full cavaliers of the Order of Glory,
• students of secondary and secondary special educational institutions (from 18 years old),
• students of higher educational institutions of Russia, as well as foreign students studying in Russian universities (except for student trainees),
• members of large families (citizens of Russia and CIS countries).

Visitors of the above categories of citizens purchase a reduced ticket in general order.

Right of free admission The main and temporary expositions of the Gallery, except for cases provided for by a separate order of the Gallery's management, are provided for the following categories of citizens upon presentation of documents confirming the right to free admission:

• persons under the age of 18;
• students of faculties specializing in the field of fine arts of secondary specialized and higher educational institutions of Russia, regardless of the form of education (as well as foreign students studying in Russian universities). The clause does not apply to persons presenting student cards of "trainee students" (in the absence of information about the faculty in the student card, a certificate from the educational institution with the obligatory indication of the faculty is presented);
• veterans and invalids of the Great Patriotic War, combatants, former underage prisoners of concentration camps, ghettos and other places of detention created by the Nazis and their allies during the Second World War, illegally repressed and rehabilitated citizens (citizens of Russia and the CIS countries);
• military servicemen of the Russian Federation;
• Heroes of the Soviet Union, Heroes of the Russian Federation, Full Cavaliers of the "Order of Glory" (citizens of Russia and CIS countries);
• disabled people of groups I and II, participants in the liquidation of the consequences of the disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant (citizens of Russia and the CIS countries);
• one accompanying disabled person of group I (citizens of Russia and CIS countries);
• one accompanying disabled child (citizens of Russia and CIS countries);
• artists, architects, designers - members of the relevant creative Unions of Russia and its subjects, art historians - members of the Association of Art Critics of Russia and its subjects, members and employees of the Russian Academy of Arts;
• members of the International Council of Museums (ICOM);
• employees of museums of the system of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and the relevant Departments of Culture, employees of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and ministries of culture of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation;
• volunteers of the Sputnik program - entrance to the exhibitions "Art of the XX century" (Krymsky Val, 10) and "Masterpieces of Russian art of the XI - early XX centuries" (Lavrushinsky pereulok, 10), as well as to the House-Museum of V.M. Vasnetsov and the Museum-apartment of A.M. Vasnetsov (citizens of Russia);
• guide-interpreters who have an accreditation card of the Association of Guide-Translators and Tour Managers of Russia, including those accompanying a group of foreign tourists;
• one teacher of an educational institution and one accompanying a group of students of secondary and secondary specialized educational institutions (if there is an excursion voucher, subscription); one teacher of an educational institution that has state accreditation of educational activities when conducting an agreed training session and has a special badge (citizens of Russia and the CIS countries);
• one accompanying a group of students or a group of military servicemen (if there is an excursion voucher, subscription and during a training session) (citizens of Russia).

Visitors of the above categories of citizens receive an entrance ticket with a face value of "Free".

Please note that conditions for preferential admission to temporary exhibitions may vary. Check the exhibition pages for details.

The State Tretyakov Gallery is one of the largest museums in the world. Her popularity is almost legendary. To see its treasures, hundreds of thousands of people annually come to the quiet Lavrushinsky lane, which is located in one of the oldest districts of Moscow, in Zamoskvorechye.

The State Tretyakov Gallery is the national museum of Russian fine arts of the 10th - 20th centuries. It is located in Moscow and bears the name of its founder, Moscow merchant and textile manufacturer Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov.

The State Tretyakov Gallery is a treasury of the national fine arts, storing masterpieces created over a thousand years. By decree of the President of the Russian Federation, the gallery is classified as one of the most valuable cultural objects of our Motherland.

The collection of the Tretyakov Gallery is devoted exclusively to national Russian art, to those artists who have contributed to the history of Russian art or who were closely associated with it. This was the conceived gallery of P.M. Tretyakov (1832-1898), it has survived to this day.

Founded in 1856. Opened to the public in 1893. Several halls of the private collection of P.M. Tretyakov were first opened to visitors in 1874.

Since 1893 - the Moscow City Art Gallery named after Pavel Mikhailovich and Sergei Mikhailovich Tretyakov, since 1918 - the State Tretyakov Gallery, since 1986 - the All-Union Museum Association "State Tretyakov Gallery", since 1992 - the modern name.

The founder of the gallery was a Moscow merchant Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov, for whom collecting works of the national school became his life's work, and the creation of a public museum with its meaning and justification. Being a passionate collector, in 1872 he began the construction of the first halls of the future gallery, attaching them to the house in Lavrushinsky Lane, where he himself lived. Later, in 1902, the facade of the house was reconstructed in the Russian style according to the project of the artist V.M. Vasnetsov. In 1892, Tretyakov fulfilled his dream - he handed over the collection he had collected and the collection of his younger brother S.M. Tretyakov as a gift to Moscow. The grand opening of the gallery took place on May 16, 1893.

Initially, the collection included 1287 paintings, 518 drawings and 9 sculptures.

Currently, the collection has more than 100 thousand items. They are placed not only in the main exposition in Lavrushinsky Lane, but also in the premises at 10 Krymsky Val, its second part, which is a continuation of the first.

The chambers of the 17th century and the building of the 18th century in Lavrushinsky Lane, adjacent to the main building of the museum, are preparing to receive new expositions. A new building was laid at the corner of Lavrushinsky Lane and Kadashevskaya Embankment. Now the historical core of the gallery is a beautiful ensemble with its remarkable dominant - the slender bell tower of the church of St. Nicholas, the house church of the gallery.

It is located on two territories, separated from each other by several city blocks. This makes it possible to present in one museum in the best works the entire history of Russian art from the ancient period to the work of our contemporary artists. In addition, the Tretyakov Gallery has in its structure memorial and art museums: the Ap.M. Vasnetsov, house-museum of V.M. Vasnetsov, museum-workshop of A.S. Golubkina, P.D. Korina, house-museum of N.S. Goncharova and M.F. Larionova

Total area - 79745 sq.m;

exposition - 20500 sq.m;

stock - 4653 sq. m

Total number of storage units - 100,577

The Tretyakov Gallery for more than a century of existence has managed to become legendary: every year people from all over the world come to see the exhibits stored here. The unique museum, which has collected picturesque masterpieces within its walls, tells a story not only about the development of art, but also about the difficult path of the Russian people, reflected in the paintings of famous Russian masters.

The Long and Glorious One officially began in 1856. The emergence of the now famous museum is associated with the name of Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov, who at that time began to collect a collection of works by contemporary Russian artists.

About Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov

Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov was born in 1832 into a wealthy family that belonged to a well-known merchant family. Like all offspring of wealthy families, Pavel received an excellent education. Over time, he began to help his father in commercial matters. After the death of both parents, Tretyakov took up the development of the family business: the factory business grew and brought more and more income.

However, Pavel Mikhailovich was always interested in the history of art. He thought about creating the first permanent exhibition of Russian painting long before the museum was founded. True, two years before the opening of the Tretyakov Gallery, the future philanthropist acquired paintings by Dutch masters, and only in 1856 was the start of his legendary Russian collection. The first canvases in it were the oil paintings "Temptation" by N. Schilder and "Clash with Finnish smugglers" by V. Khudyakov. Then the names of these artists were not yet known to the general public, and Pavel Mikhailovich began his collection of paintings precisely from their works.

For several decades, Tretyakov collected paintings by outstanding masters of painting, maintained friendly relations with many artists and helped those of them who needed it. A brief history of the birth of a great collection would not include the names of all those who were grateful to the patron.

house for pictures

The Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow is one of the world's leading museums. The main building is located in Lavrushinsky Lane, one of the oldest districts of the capital - Zamoskvorechye, new halls - on Krymsky Val.

The history of the building of the Tretyakov Gallery is a constant expansion of the area. Initially, the paintings were located directly in the collector's house. Then, a kind of passage was added to the merchant's mansion of the Tretyakovs, which surrounded the house from three sides. Since 1870, the exhibition has been open to the public. Over time, the understanding came that it was no longer possible to accommodate the entire pictorial collection in the available space, therefore, in 1875, the building of the Tretyakov Gallery was built by special order of Pavel Mikhailovich, constantly growing since then with the necessary space.

Meeting replenishment: milestones

As conceived by the creator, the Tretyakov Museum should include only the works of Russian artists and only those of their works that would convey the special essence of the true Russian soul.

In the summer of 1892 the collection was presented as a gift to Moscow. At that time, the collection consisted of 1,287 paintings and 518 graphic works by Russian artists. The exposition also included more than 80 works by European authors and a large collection of icons. Since then, at the expense of the city treasury, the gallery began to replenish with real masterpieces of world art. Thus, by the fateful year of 1917 for the history of Russia, the collection of the Tretyakov Gallery already consisted of 4,000 items. A year later, the gallery became state, and at the same time there was a nationalization of various private collections. In addition, the history of the art collection continued with the entry into the fund of works from small Moscow museums: the Tsvetkovskaya Gallery, the Rumyantsev Museum, the Museum of Icon Painting and Painting by I. S. Ostroukhov. That is why already in the early thirties of the last century the collection was more than five times increased. At the same time, the works of Western European masters are transferred to other collections.

Such is the history of the creation of the State Tretyakov Gallery, which stores canvases that can sing the originality of the Russian people.

Today and prospects

Now the Tretyakov Gallery is no longer just a museum exposition, but also a center for the study of art. The opinion of its employees and specialists is highly valued all over the world, experts and restorers are considered among the most professional in the contemporary art world. The unique local library is another asset of the Tretyakov Gallery: the book collection contains more than 200,000 specialized volumes on art.

The most significant exhibits are exhibited in the historic building. The exposition is divided into sections:

• ancient Russian art (XII-XVIII centuries);
• painting from the 17th century to the first half of the 19th;
• painting of the second half of the 19th and the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries;
• Russian graphics of the 13th - early 20th centuries;
• Russian sculpture of the 13th - early 20th centuries.

Today, the collection includes more than 170,000 works of Russian art, while the replenishment of expositions and storages continues. Artists, private donors, various organizations and heirs donate wonderful works, which means that the history of creating a unique collection of domestic masterpieces has not been completed.