The Tretjakovskaya gallery

The Tretjakovskaya gallery belongs to the number of the largest museums of the world. Its popularity is almost legendary. Hundred thousand people annually come to see its treasures to a silent Lavrushinsky lane that is located in one of the most ancient areas of Moscow, in Zamoskvorechye.

The collection of Tretjakovskaya gallery is devoted exclusively to national Russian art, those artists which have made an important contribution to history of Russian art or which have been closely connected with it. As the gallery was conceived by its founder, the Moscow merchant and the industrialist Pavlom Mihajlovichem Tretjakovym (1832-1898) , such it was saved up to now.

It is considered to be the date of the basis of Tretjakovskaya gallery 1856 when young Tretjakov bought the first pictures of modern to him Russian artists. He decided to create a collection which could outgrow in a museum of national art in the future.

There will pass years, and good intentions of the young collector will appear brilliantly executed. In 1892 Moscow, and with it all Russia,  received in gift from Tretjakov a large (apprx. 2 thousand pictures, drawings and sculptures) and already well-known gallery of original masterpieces of national art.

A scope of activity and P.M.Tretjakova's breadth of vision were really surprising. Every year, since 1856 tens, and even hundreds jobs arrived in his gallery. Despite the thrift, Tretjakov did not stop even before very large expenditure if it was demanded by interests of his business.

He bought the pictures which have interested him, despite of noise of criticism. As it was, for example, with "Rural religious procession on Easter" V.G.Perov or with "Ivan Groznym..." I.E.Repina. He bought them even if not all in a picture answered his own sights, but corresponded to a spirit of the age as that was with the same Repin cloth "Religious procession in Kursk province "He bought them even if very strong and dear authorities like L.N.Tolstoy who was not recognizing religious painting by V.M.Vasnetsov acted against. Tretjakov distinctly understood, that the museum created by him should correspond not so much to his personal (or someone's) tastes and liking, but to reflect an objective picture of Russian art.

With acquisition of the big Turkestani series of pictures and V.V.Vereschagin's etudes, the question about constructing of a special building of picture gallery was solved by itself. In 1872 building was started, and resettlement of pictures in two-storeyed, consisting of two big halls (nowadays halls № 8, 46, 47, 48) the first building of Tretjakovsky gallery occurred in the spring of 1874. It was build by the project of Tretjakov's son-in-law  (the husband of his sister) architect A.S.Kaminskiy in a garden of Tretjakov's manor and it was connecting to their apartment house, but had a separate entrance for visitors. However fast growth of collections has soon led to that by the end of 1880th years the quantity of halls of the gallery increased to 14. The two-storeyed building of the gallery has surrounded an apartment house from three parties: from a garden up to the Small Tolmachevsky lane. With constructing of a special building of the gallery the status of the present museum, private on an accessory, public on character, free and opened throughout almost all days for any visitor without distinction of a sort and a rank has been given to Tretjakov's collection. In 1892 Tretjakov presented his museum to the city of Moscow.

Pavel Mihajlovich Tretjakov died in 1898.

In the beginning of the XX-th century the Tretjakovskaya gallery becomes one of the largest museums not only in Russia, but also in Europe. It actively replenishes with products both new, and old Russian art. In 1913-1918 at the initiative of the artist and the historian of art I.N.Grabarja who was the trustee of Tretjakovskaya gallery in those years, its exposition was reformed. If earlier new receipts were exposed separately and not blended with P.M.Tretjakova's basic collection now exhibition of all products submits to the general historic-chronological and monographic principle observed and until now.

The new period in history of Tretjakovskaya gallery began after gallery nationalization in 1918, transformed it from the municipal property in state. It has assigned its national importance to her.

For the last half of a century the Tretjakovskaya gallery has turned not only to a huge world renowned museum, but also in a large centre of science which is engaged in storage and restoration, studying and propagation of museum values. Scientific employees of gallery actively participate in working out of questions of history and the theory of Russian art, arrange numerous exhibitions as in Russia, and abroad, read lectures, lead excursions, conduct the big restoration and expert job, introduce new forms of museum computer science. The Tretjakovskaya gallery possesses one of the richest specialized libraries in Russia numbering more than 200 thousand of volumes of books about art; the restoration workshops equipped with modern technics.

The present collection of Tretjakovskaya gallery counts more than 100 thousand products and shares on some sections: Old Russian art of XII-XVIII centuries - icons, sculptures, plastics, an applied art (apprx. 5 thousand exhibits); painting of XVIII - first half XIX centuries, second half of XIX century and a boundary of XIX and XX centuries (apprx. 7 thousand products); Russian drawing XVIII - the XX-th century beginnings (over 30 thousand products); Russian sculpture of XVIII - XX century (apprx. 1000 exhibits); a collection of old antiquarian frames, furniture, an applied art and a huge section (more than half of all collection) paintings made in after revolution times.