State Russian Museum descriptions 8. Russian Museum: how to get there, prices, excursions, halls, paintings. “Moonlit Night on the Dnieper”, A. I. Kuindzhi

Description

The history of the museum's creation dates back to 19th century. The building of the Mikhailovsky Palace, in which the Russian Museum was subsequently founded, was built according to the design of the architect Carl Rossi in 1819-1825, the architectural appearance of which is recognized as an outstanding example of a palace ensemble in the style of high classicism. The first owner of the palace was Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich is the fourth son of Emperor Paul I.

IN Europe XIX centuries, publicly accessible museums of fine art have already existed, the idea of ​​opening a state museum of national art is also being discussed among the educated elite of Russian society.

In 1889, Emperor Alexander III acquired the painting by I. Repin “Nicholas of Myra delivers three innocently condemned people from death” - this event is associated with the sovereign’s idea, which he expressed about the founding of a national national museum.
The plan of Alexander III was carried out by his successor, Emperor Nicholas II, and in 1895 the Russian Museum of Emperor Alexander III was established. In the same year, the reconstruction of the halls of the Mikhailovsky Palace for museum exhibitions began, under the leadership of the architect V. F. Svinin.

The grand opening of the “Russian Museum of Emperor Alexander III” took place on March 7 (19), 1898.
The museum's collection was made up of works of art donated from the Hermitage, the Academy of Arts, the Gatchina and Tsarskoye Selo Alexander Palaces, as well as donations from private collectors.

According to the plan, the museum’s exhibition was to be presented in three departments:
- a memorial department dedicated to the memory of Emperor Alexander III;
- ethnographic and artistic-industrial department;
- art department.
The construction of the premises of the Memorial Department was delayed and it was never opened.

The collection of the ethnographic department was exhibited at the Russian Museum, but in 1934 it was transferred to the newly opened State Museum ethnography of the peoples of the USSR.
The collection of the art department was actively replenished and developed, as a result the Russian Museum became the largest collection of national fine art.

By 1914, the halls of the Mekhailovsky Palace could no longer accommodate the entire collection of the Russian Museum, and in 1914-1919 a new one was built exhibition building designed by architects L. Benois and S. Ovsyannikov, named after the author’s surname - the Benois building.
In the halls of the State Russian Museum there is a wide range of national art, beginning with Ancient Rus' and until our time.

Old Russian icons from the collection of the Russian Museum, the exhibition of which began to form at the founding of the museum and was replenished throughout the 20th century, are not only monuments ancient Russian art, but masterpieces of world significance.

When forming a collection easel painting The basis was the best works of artists of the 18th – 19th centuries. These are canvases portrait painting I. Vishnyakov, D. Levitsky, V. Borovikovsky, paintings of ancient themes by F. Bruni, G. Ugryumov, the world-famous masterpiece of K. Bryullov “The Last Day of Pompeii” and his other great canvases, paintings by the unsurpassed marine painter I. Aivazovsky and his the famous "Ninth Wave". A special place in the collection of the Russian Museum is occupied by a dense group of artists of the second half of the 19th century the beginning of the 20th century - A. Ivanov, V. Vasnetsov, K. Makovsky, I. Repin, K. Savitsky, V. Polenov, V. Vereshchagin, V. Surikov, M. Vrubel. Outstanding Russian landscape painters are widely represented in the museum - the well-known I. Shishkin, I. Levitan, A. Kuindzhi. Of particular interest are the works of artists from the World of Art association who worked not only in the direction easel art, but also theatrical, creating scenery and theatrical costumes.

In the post-revolutionary period, the collection of the Russian Museum was replenished by nationalized private collections and works created by artists of “new movements”.

On the ground floor of the Benois building is exhibited large collection works Soviet period and thematic exhibitions are held.
Nowadays, the museum collection is constantly replenished not only through government purchases, but also through the free donation of private collections to the museum.

Today the State Russian Museum is museum complex and includes the Mikhailavsky, Marble and Stroganovsky palaces, the Mikhailovsky (Engineers) Castle, the House of Peter I, garden and park ensembles - Summer garden with the Summer Palace of Peter I and the Mikhailovsky Garden.

One of the most famous collections of Russian art in the world is the State Russian Museum. Moreover, this collection is the largest of all existing ( we're talking about about collections of works by Russian authors).

The general territory of the museum, located in the center of the northern Russian capital, truly huge. The museum consists of several buildings, which themselves are historical and architectural monuments, and there are also two gardens on the museum grounds. The museum's collection amounts to four hundred ten thousand nine hundred and forty-five storage units: this is painting and graphics, numismatic exhibition and sculpture, works of decorative and applied art and masterpieces folk art, as well as a number of archival materials.

Birth of the Russian Museum

The imperial decree on the creation of the museum was issued in the mid-90s of the XIX century. According to the regulations of the museum, objects included in its collection could no longer be transferred to any other institution, forever remaining museum property. The rules for selecting storage units were very strict. This rigor especially concerned the works of authors late XIX century (that is, who lived and worked during the opening of the museum). The manager of the new museum had to belong to the imperial family. All these rules emphasized the special, exceptionally high status of the museum.

Its official opening actually took place at the border of two centuries (at the end of the 90s of the 19th century). At the same time, the museum received several hundred paintings. AND Imperial Academy of Arts donated one hundred and twenty-two paintings; from Hermitage eighty paintings were received; Winter Palace and two suburban palaces handed over ninety-five paintings. The museum also received several works from private collections; one of the donors was the princess Maria Tenisheva, who donated magnificent watercolors and drawings to the museum. This was the beginning of the famous meeting of one of the most famous museums peace.

History of the collection

The collection grew rapidly. Within ten years of the museum’s existence, it doubled in size. The works were purchased with funds from the state budget specially allocated for this purpose. The museum also accepted financial donations, which, according to the imperial decree, were spent on replenishing the collection.

In the post-revolutionary period, the museum's collection began to increase even faster. it received a large number of nationalized works of art. In the 20s of the 20th century, a new exhibition was opened, which included works by authors of that period.

In the mid-20s, the museum collection already included three thousand six hundred forty-eight paintings. On this rapid growth The collection did not end: works of art continued to arrive in the museum in huge quantities. There was a need to expand the exhibition space, which was done in the 30s of the 20th century.

In the early 40s, in war time, most of museum collection was evacuated to Permian(at that time this city was called Molotov). More than seven and a half thousand exhibits were taken away, which were the most valuable part of the museum collection. The remaining works of art were carefully packed and placed in the basement of the building. None of these exhibits were damaged. The evacuated works of art were also safely returned to the museum at the end of the war. On the first post-war year Several new exhibitions have opened. Since the mid-50s of the 20th century, the replenishment of the museum collection began to be carried out in accordance with a certain plan; it lost all spontaneity and chaos, becoming more targeted.

IN beginning of XXI century, the museum's territory expanded again: it became part of Summer garden together with the buildings and marble sculptures located in it (there are more than ninety sculptures in the garden).

What to pay attention to

What works does the famous museum collection consist of, what masterpieces are exhibited in the museum? Let's talk about some of them.

In the museum you can see magnificent examples of ancient Russian art. These are icons, the oldest of which date back to the 12th century. All works in this collection were created no later than the 15th century. Among their authors are famous, even legendary icon painters: Dionysius, Simon (Pimen) Ushakov and, of course, Andrei Rublev.

But the museum’s collection contains not only ancient Russian images: they are exhibited in its halls and icons, written at a later time, and even works by icon painters of the early 20th century. The museum's collection includes about five thousand different icons.

But, of course, the museum’s collection is not limited to icons. Those who are interested Russian art late XVIII centuries and early XIX centuries, they will see here such a magnificent exhibition that is perhaps not found in any other museum in the world. The best works of famous Russian painters of that period adorn the walls of the museum halls. If we compare the various collections of the museum, this one is certainly the most complete and one of the most interesting.

Those who are interested in works second half of the 19th century, will also get great pleasure from visiting the museum. The collection of masterpieces from this period of time is somewhat inferior in its richness to that mentioned in the previous paragraph, but still it is also magnificent and invariably makes a great impression on visitors.

It evokes no less admiration among the townspeople and guests of the city. Soviet art collection, also does not leave visitors indifferent to the collection of works from the late 19th century and early 20th century.

Separately, it is necessary to say a few words about the new works, experimental arts presented in the museum. In order to include them in the museum collection, a special department was created in the 80s of the 20th century to deal with modern trends in art. Today in museum halls you can see not only masterpieces Russian classics, but also many installations, assemblages and other works contemporary art.

Museum territory

As mentioned above, the museum buildings themselves are historical and architectural monuments. Let's talk in more detail about some of them:

One of the buildings that houses the main exhibition of the museum is Mikhailovsky Palace. It was built in the mid-20s of the 19th century. The author of the building project is Carl Rossi. In the mid-90s of the 19th century, the palace was transferred to the museum. Around the same time, reconstruction of the building began. It was necessary to ensure that the palace, which became one of the exhibition areas, fully corresponded to its new purpose. total area palace is more than twenty-four thousand square meters. At the beginning of the 20th century, a new building was added to it, named after the architect Leonty Benois (author of the project).

Another building that houses part of the main museum exhibition is Engineering lock, also known as Mikhailovsky. It was built at the turn of the 18th century XIX centuries. For some time it was the residence of Paul I; it was in it that the emperor was killed. Later, the building, somewhat altered, housed apartments, then a school was opened here to train engineers. In the post-revolutionary period, the castle housed various organizations. Only in the 90s of the 20th century the building was transferred to the museum. Its total area is about twenty-two thousand square meters.

- Marble Palace- one of the five buildings that house the most interesting and visited part of the museum exhibition. The building was built in the second half of the 18th century. After the revolution it was nationalized. Transferred to the museum only in the 90s of the 20th century. At the same time, large-scale restoration work began in the palace. The total area of ​​the building is approximately ten and a half thousand square meters.

We've answered the most popular questions - check, maybe we've answered yours too?

• We are a cultural institution and want to broadcast on the Kultura.RF portal. Where should we turn?
• How to propose an event to the portal’s “Poster”?
• I found an error in a publication on the portal. How to tell the editors?

I subscribed to push notifications, but the offer appears every day

We use cookies on the portal to remember your visits. If cookies are deleted, the subscription offer will pop up again. Open your browser settings and make sure that the “Delete cookies” option is not marked “Delete every time you exit the browser.”

I want to be the first to know about new materials and projects of the portal “Culture.RF”

If you have an idea for a broadcast, but there is no technical ability to carry it out, we suggest filling out electronic form applications within the framework of the national project “Culture”: . If the event is scheduled between September 1 and November 30, 2019, the application can be submitted from June 28 to July 28, 2019 (inclusive). The selection of events that will receive support is carried out by an expert commission of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.

Our museum (institution) is not on the portal. How to add it?

You can add an institution to the portal using the “Unified Information Space in the Field of Culture” system: . Join it and add your places and events in accordance with. After checking by the moderator, information about the institution will appear on the Kultura.RF portal.

Guests of the Russian Museum can directly exhibition halls learn interesting details from the history of the creation of paintings. To do this, just install the Artefact augmented reality application on your phone and point the gadget’s camera at the exhibit. Now available - interesting facts about five of them are told by the portal "Culture.RF".

“The Barn” by Alexey Venetsianov, 1822

The picture was first shown at the XV exhibition of the Association of Mobile art exhibitions in 1887. There it was purchased by Emperor Alexander III. For some time the painting was in the Winter Palace, but in 1897 it moved to the newly formed Russian Museum.

“The ceremonial meeting of the State Council on May 7, 1901, on the day of the centenary of its establishment” by Ilya Repin, 1903

Ilya Repin received an order for the painting in April 1901 from the Russian Emperor. The painter was helped by Boris Kustodiev and Ivan Kulikov.

“The master himself remained the master, commander and true creator; the students were only his obedient hands.”

Igor Grabar

Even before the anniversary, artists created sketches of the interior in the Round Hall of the Mariinsky Palace. And on the day of the ceremonial meeting, Ilya Repin took photographs and sketches here - the painters used all the materials while working on the painting. The painting took three years to complete.

The plot of the film centers on Nicholas II and representatives of the imperial house: the Tsar’s younger brother Mikhail, Grand Dukes Mikhail Nikolaevich and Vladimir Nikolaevich, who was then the president of the Imperial Academy of Arts. Next to them are persons who held the most important positions in the state. In total, the painting depicts 81 people.

State Russian Museum

The State Russian Museum in St. Petersburg is the most extensive museum of Russian art in the world. It was founded by Nicholas II in 1895 and officially opened to visitors on March 19, 1898.

Until 1917 it was called "Russian Museum of Emperor Alexander III". Emperor Alexander III (father of Nicholas II) was a passionate collector; in this regard, he can only be compared with Catherine II. The Emperor's Gatchina Castle literally turned into a warehouse of priceless treasures. Alexander's acquisitions no longer fit in the galleries of the Winter Palace, Anichkov Palace and other palaces - these were paintings, objects of art, carpets... Collected Alexander III After his death, an extensive collection of paintings, graphics, objects of decorative and applied art, and sculptures was transferred to the Russian Museum founded by Emperor Nicholas II in memory of his father.

State Russian Museum

Initially, the museum was located in the halls Mikhailovsky Palace. The museum's collection at that time included 1,880 works of painting, sculpture, graphics and ancient Russian art, transferred from the Imperial Palaces, the Hermitage and the Academy of Arts.

History of the Mikhailovsky Palace

The building was built in the Empire style. The idea of ​​​​building a new residence for Prince Mikhail Pavlovich belonged to his father, Emperor Paul I. But Paul I did not have to see the embodiment of his idea, since as a result palace coup he died. Despite this, the emperor's order was carried out. When Mikhail turned 21, Emperor Alexander I decided to begin construction of the palace.

The architect planned not only the palace, but also the square in front of it and two new streets (Inzhenernaya and Mikhailovskaya).

Mikhailovsky Palace

The groundbreaking ceremony for the building took place on July 14, and construction itself began on July 26. On the side of the Champ de Mars, a garden appeared at the palace - also Mikhailovsky. On September 11, 1825, the palace was consecrated.

Museum branches

The Russian Museum today is located, in addition to the Mikhailovsky Palace, in buildings that are architectural monuments of the 18th-19th centuries:

Summer Palace of Peter I
Marble Palace
Stroganov Palace
House of Peter I

The museum space is complemented by the Mikhailovsky and Summer Gardens.

Peter's Summer PalaceI

Summer Palace of Peter I

The Summer Palace was built in the Baroque style according to the design Domenico Trezzini in 1710-1714. This is one of the oldest buildings in the city. The two-story palace is quite modest and consists of only fourteen rooms and two kitchens.

The residence was intended for use only in the warm season: from May to October, so the walls are quite thin and the windows have single frames. The decoration of the premises was created by artists A. Zakharov, I. Zavarzin, F. Matveev.

The facade of the palace is decorated with 29 bas-reliefs, which depict the events of the Northern War in allegorical form. The bas-reliefs were made by the German architect and sculptor Andreas Schlüter.

Marble Palace

Marble Palace

The Marble Palace was built in 1768-1785. designed by an Italian architect Antonio Rinaldi. It completes a series of ceremonial buildings adjacent to Winter Palace. The outstanding architect A. Rinaldi, the author of more than twenty-five large buildings in St. Petersburg and its suburbs, was considered an unrivaled master of “marble facades.” His architectural techniques and the solutions are always easily recognized.

Rinaldi came to Russia at the invitation of Count K.G. Razumovsky, and in 1754 received the position of architect at the court of Prince Peter Fedorovich and his wife, the future Empress Catherine II. He built the Chinese Palace in Oranienbaum, the palace of Count G.A. Orlova in Gatchina, etc. But the Marble Palace is perhaps the most significant of all its buildings. The palace was intended for Grigory Orlov, the favorite of Catherine II, the main organizer of her accession to the throne. The building received its name because of the unusual for St. Petersburg decoration of the facades with natural stone. At this time, rich deposits of marble were discovered in Russia. Thirty-two types of northern and Italian marble were used for the interior and exterior decoration of the palace. Strict appearance The building is characteristic of early classicism.

The main facade of the Marble Palace faces the Champs of Mars. It is decorated with columns, and the opposite façade is decorated with pilasters of the Corinthian order. Famous sculptor F.I. Shubin made two statues on the attic and compositions of military armor. In collaboration with M.I. Kozlovsky, he participated in the creation of the interior sculptural and decorative decoration of the palace. The decoration of the main staircase and the first tier of the walls of the Marble Hall have been preserved to this day. An elegant fence of spears and posts with vases and trophies encloses the vast front courtyard. Later, a service building was built on the eastern part near the Marble Palace. Bas-relief “Service of a Horse to Man” by sculptor P.K. Klodt decorates the western façade of the building.

In the 90s of the 20th century, the palace became a branch of the Russian Museum.

Engineering (Mikhailovsky) Castle

Engineering (Mikhailovsky) Castle

Built by order of Emperor Paul I at the turn of the 18th-19th centuries and became the place of his death.

Mikhailovsky Castle owes its name to the temple of the Archangel Michael, patron of the House of Romanov, located in it, and to the whim of Paul I, who accepted the title of Grand Master of the Order of Malta, to call all his palaces “castles”; the second name - “Engineering” - comes from the Main (Nikolaev) Engineering School, now VITU, located there since 1823.

The palace project was developed architect V.I. Bazhenov on behalf of Emperor Paul I, who wanted to make it his main ceremonial residence. Construction was supervised architect V. Brenna(which for a long time mistakenly considered the author of the project). Brenna reworked the original design of the palace and created artistic decoration of its interiors.

In addition to Bazhenov and Brenn, the emperor himself took part in the creation of the project, who composed several drawings for it. Brenn's assistants also included Fyodor Svinin and Carl Rossi. Paul I accelerated the construction; Charles Cameron and Giacomo Quarenghi were sent to help him. By order of the emperor, construction was carried out day and night (by the light of lanterns and torches), since he demanded that the castle be rebuilt in the same year.

On November 21, 1800, on the day of St. Michael the Archangel, the castle was solemnly consecrated, but work on its interior decoration continued until March 1801. After the assassination of the emperor, 40 days after the housewarming, the Mikhailovsky Castle was abandoned by the Romanovs and came to into desolation. When Alexander I needed silver for a luxurious service - wedding gift Sister Anna Pavlovna, Queen of the Netherlands, had silver gates from the palace church melted down. Nicholas I ordered the architects to “mine” marble in the palace for the construction of the New Hermitage.

In 1823, the castle was occupied by the Main Engineering School.

In 1991, a third of the castle’s premises were donated to the State Russian Museum, and in 1995 the entire castle was donated to the museum.

Stroganov Palace

Stroganov Palace

The Stroganov Palace, built according to the project architect Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli in 1753-1754, one of the examples of Russian Baroque.

In addition to F.B. Rastrelli, A.N. participated in the creation of the palace. Voronikhin, I. F. Kolodin, C. Rossi, I. Charlemagne, P. S. Sadovnikov.

Stroganovs (Strogonovs) - a family of Russian merchants and industrialists, from which came large landowners and statesmen XVI-XX centuries. They came from wealthy Pomeranian peasants. Since the 18th century - barons and counts Russian Empire. The family died out in 1923.

The building has been a branch of the Russian Museum since 1988.

Peter's houseI

House of Peter I

The first building in St. Petersburg, the summer home of Tsar Peter I in the period from 1703 to 1708. This small wooden house with an area of ​​60 m² was built by soldier carpenters near Trinity Square in just three days. Here, on May 27, 1703, a celebration was held on the occasion of the annexation of lands and the founding of a new city.

The house was built from hewn pine logs in the style of a Russian hut. The canopy divides it into two parts. In addition to this feature, as well as doors decorated with ornamental metal plates, - typical features, inherent in Russian architecture XVII century - everything in the house reminds of the tsar’s passion for Dutch architecture. So, Peter, wanting to give the house the appearance of a stone structure, ordered the logs to be cut down and painted to look like red brick, the high roof to be covered with shingles to match the tiles, and unusually large windows to be made with small glazing. There were no stoves or chimneys in the house, since Peter lived in it only during the warm season. The house has been preserved almost in its original form.

Collections of the Russian Museum

The most complete collection is Arts XVIII- first half of the 19th centuries. It is enough to list only a few names to get an idea of ​​the artistic wealth of the museum: A. Matveev, I. Nikitin, Carlo Rastrelli, F. Rokotov, V. Borovikovsky, A. Losenko, D. Levitsky, F. Shubin, M. Kozlovsky, I Martos, S. Shchedrin, O. Kiprensky, A. Venetsianov, F. Bruni, K. Bryullov, P. Fedotov, A. Ivanov.

Painting by K. Bryullov “The Last Day of Pompeii”

K. Bryullov "The Last Day of Pompeii"

Bryullov visited Pompeii in 1828, making many sketches for a future painting about the famous eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. uh. and the destruction of the city of Pompeii near Naples. The painting was exhibited in Rome, received rave reviews from critics and was sent to the Louvre. "The Last Day of Pompeii" represents romanticism in Russian painting mixed with idealism. The artist's image in the left corner of the painting is a self-portrait of the author. The canvas also depicts Countess Yulia Pavlovna Samoilova three times - a woman with a jug on her head, standing on a raised platform on the left side of the canvas, a woman who fell to her death, stretched out on the pavement, and next to her a living child - both, presumably, thrown out of a broken chariot - in the center canvases, and a mother attracting her daughters to her in the left corner of the picture.

In 1834, the painting “The Last Day of Pompeii” was sent to St. Petersburg. A.I. Turgenev said that this picture brought glory to Russia and Italy. E. A. Baratynsky composed for this occasion famous aphorism: “The last day of Pompeii became the first day for the Russian brush!” A. S. Pushkin also left a poetic review:

K. Bryullov "Portrait of A. Demidov"

Vesuvius opened its mouth - smoke poured out in a cloud - flames
Widely developed as a battle flag.
The earth is agitated - from the shaky columns
Idols fall! A people driven by fear
Under the stone rain, under the inflamed ashes,
Crowds, old and young, are running out of the city.

By the way, the famous painting was painted by Karl Bryullov to order Anatoly Demidov, Russian and French philanthropist, who was at the Russian embassy, ​​first in Paris, and then in Rome and Vienna. He inherited from his father colossal wealth and a collection of wonderful works of painting, sculpture, bronze, etc. Anatoly Demidov, following the example of his father, was generous with large donations: he donated 500,000 rubles to establish a house for charity for workers in St. Petersburg, which bore the name of the donor; together with his brother Pavel Nikolaevich, he donated capital, with which a children’s hospital was established in St. Petersburg; at the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg established a prize of 5,000 rubles for best work in Russian; in 1853 he sent 2,000 rubles from Paris to decorate the church of the Demidov Lyceum in Yaroslavl, donated all his publications and several other valuable items to the Lyceum library French books, and also generously patronized scientists and artists. So, it was Anatoly Demidov who presented Bryullov’s painting “The Last Day of Pompeii” to Nicholas I, who exhibited the painting at the Academy of Arts as a guide for aspiring painters. After the opening of the Russian Museum in 1895, the painting was moved there, and the general public gained access to it.

The second half of the 19th century is represented by the works of artists: F. Vasiliev, R. Felitsyn, A. Goronovich, E. Sorokin, F. Bronnikov, I. Makarov, V. Khudyakov, A. Chernyshev, P. Rizzoni, L. Lagorio, N. Losev, A. Naumov, A. Volkov, A. Popov, V. Pukirev, N. Nevrev, I. Pryanishnikov, L. Solomatkin, A. Savrasov, A. Korzukhin, F. Zhuravlev, N. Dmitriev-Orenburgsky, A. Morozov, N. Koshelev, A. Shurygin, P. Chistyakov, Ivan Aivazovsky.

Painting by I. Aivazovsky “The Ninth Wave”

I. Aivazovsky "The Ninth Wave"

"The Ninth Wave" is one of the most famous paintings Ivan Aivazovsky, world famous Russian marine painter.

Depicts the sea after a strong night storm and people shipwrecked. The rays of the sun illuminate the huge waves. The largest of them, the ninth shaft, is ready to collapse on people trying to escape on the wreckage of the mast.

Everything speaks of greatness and power sea ​​elements and the helplessness of a person in front of it. The warm colors of the picture make the sea not so harsh and give the viewer hope that people will be saved.

The size of the painting is 221 × 332 cm.

The museum also presents paintings by the Itinerant artists: G. Myasoedov, V. Perov, A. Bogolyubov, K. Makovsky, N. Ge, I. Shishkin, I. Kramskoy, V. Maksimov, I. Repin, V. Vasnetsov, V. . Surikova, N. Abutkova.

Painting by Nikolai Ge “The Last Supper”

N. Ge "The Last Supper"

The artist’s painting depicts an episode from the earthly life of Christ, described in the Gospel of John (chapter 13). It was Ge's favorite Gospel. Excerpt of this text matches in detail the one shown in the picture.

Jesus got up from supper... poured water into the laver and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with a towel... When he washed their feet... then, lying down again, he said to them: Do you know what I have done to you? ... if I, the Lord and Teacher, washed your feet, then you should wash each other’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do the same as I have done to you...

…Jesus was troubled in spirit and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.”

Then the disciples looked around at each other, wondering who he was talking about. One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at Jesus’ breast. Simon Peter made a sign to him to ask who it was... he, falling to the chest of Jesus, said to Him: Lord! Who is this? Jesus answered: the one to whom I have dipped a piece of bread and given it. And, having dipped the piece, he gave it to Judas Simon Iscariot. And after this piece Satan entered into him. Then Jesus said to him, “Whatever you are doing, do it quickly.” But none of those reclining understood why He told him this... He, having accepted the piece, immediately left; and it was night.

An amphora with water, a laver with a towel in He’s “The Last Supper” is the theme of Christ’s sacrificial love. After Judas left, they said famous words addressed to the apostles: « I give you a new commandment, that you love one another; how I have loved you... Therefore everyone will know that you are My disciples if you have love for one another.”

The end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries are represented by artists I. Levitan, P. Trubetskoy, M. Vrubel, V. Serov.

Painting by I. Levitan “Twilight. Moon"

I. Levitan "Twilight. Moon"

At the end of his life, it became especially characteristic for Levitan to turn to twilight landscapes filled with silence, rustles, moonlight and shadows. One of best works from this period is this painting from the collection of the Russian Museum.

Works of the association “World of Art”

"World of Art"(1898-1924) - artistic association, formed in Russia in the late 1890s. The founders of the “World of Art” were the St. Petersburg artist A. N. Benois and theatrical figure S. P. Diaghilev. The artists of the “World of Art” considered the aesthetic principle in art a priority and strove for modernity and symbolism, opposing the ideas of the Wanderers. Art, in their opinion, should express the personality of the artist.

The association included artists: Bakst, N. Roerich, Dobuzhinsky, Lanceray, Mitrokhin, Ostroumova-Lebedeva, Chambers, Yakovlev, Somov, Tsionglinsky, Purvit, Sünnerberg.

In the Old Russian department, icons of the 12th-15th centuries are widely represented (for example, the Angel of Golden Hair, the Mother of God of Tenderness, Dmitry of Thessaloniki, the Miracle of George on the Dragon, Boris and Gleb, etc.), works by Andrei Rublev, Dionisy, Simon Ushakov and other masters. The total collection of the Russian Museum is about 5 thousand icons of the 12th - early 20th centuries.

Andrey Rublev

Andrey Rublev "Apostle Paul"

Andrey Rublev(died c. 1430) - icon painter, student of Theophanes the Greek, reverend.

At first he was a novice with St. Nikon of Radonezh, and then a monk in the Spaso-Andronikov Monastery in Moscow, where he died and was buried.

Currently, the collection of the Russian Museum includes the following departments: Russian and soviet painting, sculpture, graphics, arts and crafts and folk art (furniture, porcelain, glass, carvings, varnishes, metal products, fabrics, embroidery, lace, etc.). The museum's collection includes more than 400 thousand items.