What can be seen in the Penza Museum of one painting, which has no analogues in the world

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Already today, experts quite confidently state that in connection with the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, every eighth museum in the world will be closed forever … And there is no need to talk about tourism yet. Therefore, it will be very reasonable to touch on the topic in our publication. about the Penza Museum of One Painting, which is unique, the only one in Russia and the world. Learn more about the unparalleled gallery.

This unique museum was opened in the city of Penza in 1983. The author of the idea and the initiator of its creation was Georg Vasilievich Myasnikov (1926-1996), the second secretary of the Penza Regional Committee of the CPSU. In those years, it was a real sensation. From the memoirs of the museum workers:

The forms of work of this museum to this day have no analogues either among domestic museums or abroad. In 2011, Forbes magazine published a list of 6 unique museums in the world, where the Penza Museum is in third place, among such world museum pearls as the Museum of the Turin Shroud in Milan, the Liberty Bell Museum in Philadelphia, the Museum of the Moon on a satellite of the Earth and the Ship Museum in Sweden.

The Penza Museum, which is fundamentally different from the usual art galleries and museums, does not have a permanent exhibition and exhibition space. In its hall, designed for 37 seats, one single painting is presented to the attention of visitors. And it is preceded by a slide-film with a detailed story about the life and work of the artist, about the culture of the era when he lived and worked. The session lasts 45 minutes. At the end of the film, the curtain opens and the audience sees the picture. Her screening is also accompanied by a captivating story and music.

It is worth noting that all the literary and musical compositions accompanying the show were created according to the scripts of the Moscow writer V. I. Porudominsky and directed by L. B. Velednitskaya. Even before the opening of the museum in 1983, they came to the option that is successfully used to this day. The artistic council decided that slide-films, which were edited in Moscow in the central house of sound recording, will be a prelude to the screening of the pictures. Their textual accompaniment can be heard performed by the leading actors of Moscow theaters: Mikhail Ulyanov, Oleg Efremov, Oleg Tabakov, Rostislav Plyatt, Innokenty Smoktunovsky, Yuri Yakovlev, Natalia Gundareva, Vyacheslav Tikhonov. Famous actors were invited thanks to the assistance of the same Georg Myasnikov.

The paintings on display in the museum were delivered from various galleries in Russia. They replaced each other at regular intervals, some even twice. Therefore, over the 36 years of the museum's existence, residents of Penza and guests of the city were lucky enough to get acquainted with 22 masterpieces of painting not only by domestic classical artists, but also by foreign masters with a worldwide reputation.

The most famous exhibits on display in the museum since its foundation

1. "Taking the snow town"

The first exhibit of the museum was a painting by Vasily Surikov "Taking the Snow Town" from the collection of the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg. The painting depicts the culminating moment of an ancient Siberian folk amusement - a game popular among the Cossack environment on the forgiveness Sunday of Pancake Week. According to a centuries-old tradition, such games were organized on the last day of Maslenitsa. The artist, who was born and raised in the Krasnoyarsk Territory, has repeatedly watched this fascinating action in his childhood. And returning to Krasnoyarsk, already a mature 40-year-old master, he created one of his best canvases.

In March 1891 in St. Petersburg at the 19th exhibition of the Itinerants, the painting "Taking the Snow Town" was first presented to the audience. In 1899, the famous collector and philanthropist Vladimir von Meck bought the canvas from Vasily Surikov for 10 thousand rubles. In 1900, the owner of the painting presented it at the World Exhibition in Paris, where it was awarded a bronze medal. And in 1908, several paintings from the von Meck collection, including The Taking of the Snow Town, were purchased for the collection of the Russian Museum.

You can learn more about the work of the famous painter from our publication: A master of historical paintings: why Vasily Surikov was called a "composer", and his works - the mathematics of painting.

2. "Peter I interrogates Tsarevich Alexei in Peterhof"

The painting "Peter I interrogates Tsarevich Alexei in Peterhof" from the collection of the State Russian Museum was also exhibited in 1983. On the canvas, the artist showed opposition to the reforms of Peter I in the family of the emperor himself. His son from his first marriage, Tsarevich Alexei (1690-1718), opposed the will of his father. However, the conspiracy was discovered, and the prince fled abroad. But soon, by order of Peter I, he was returned to Russia, and the Senate, with the consent of the emperor, sentenced the tsarevich to torture and death.

In order to reliably recreate this historical episode, which was taken as the basis for the plot of the painting, the artist carefully studied documents, portraits of Peter I and the tsarevich, and costumes of the early 18th century. He also faithfully reproduced the emperor's office at the Monplaisir Palace in Peterhof. By the way, this work is the author's copy of the same name of the original painting, which is in the Tretyakov Gallery.

For more information on curious facts about the artist's life and work, read: Fascinating stories from the life of the famous painter and amazing person Nikolai Ge.

3. "Spring". (1954)

Painting by Arkady Alexandrovich Plastov (1893-1972) "Spring" from the collection of the State Tretyakov Gallery was shown in the museum in 1984. Many experts in the distant 50s believed that the painting is one of the heights of the artist's work, where, within the framework of a genre scene, the artist created a poetic image with "divine beauty." A well-known art critic A. S. Zhukova at that time named the picture. But there were also those who accused the painter of trying to show a naked female nature, and against the background of the poverty of the peasant life of the modern village. Despite such polar opinions, Plastov's painting was exhibited with great success in many countries of the world, and in 1960 it was acquired by the Tretyakov Gallery.

The canvas depicts the artist's own bathhouse in the village of Prislonikha, which was his small homeland. As a small model, Plastov took Nina Sharymova, the daughter of friends. For this, the artist presented her with a piece of elegant silk for her dress. While the little girl was running home with the bundle, on the way she lost it and returned to her uncle-artist in tears. And that had no choice but to promise to give her the same cut later.

But the image of a young woman who dresses a girl, according to biographer Arkady Plastov, is collective. However, this fact was once challenged by a researcher at the Tretyakov Gallery, E. A. Polishchuk, insisting that this character also had a specific prototype - a fifteen-year-old girl from Prislonikha, who from an early age repeatedly posed for Plastova.

More information about the artist of the Soviet era can be found in the review: As a failed priest, Plastov became a famous artist who glorified the eternal peasant Russia.

4. Portrait of a young woman in a hat with a feather. (Around 1536)

Titian's painting "Portrait of a Young Woman" from the collection of the State Hermitage was exhibited in the museum in 1987. A young adorable girl looks at the viewer from the portrait. Her face seems to be washed with morning dew, snow-white skin breathes with freshness and youthful enthusiasm, lively curious eyes sparkle with mischief. And the fluffs of an ostrich feather on the hat, coquettishly shifted to its side, seems to be about to sway from a random stream of air. The artist also masterfully created on canvas and pearls on a refined neck and dark green velvet of a cloak and weightless silk of a thin dress, and the warm skin of delicate female hands.

For more on the master of the amazing Renaissance, read: A century-long life: How the brilliant painter Titian Vecellio worked, loved and died.

5. "After the battle" (1923)

KS Petrov-Vodkin's painting "After the Battle" from the collection of the Museum of the Armed Forces was exhibited in the museum in 1987. This canvas is a kind of continuation of the painting "On the Line of Fire" (1916) and a thematic predecessor of the work "Death of the Commissar" (1928). Thus, all three works of Kuzma Sergeevich formed a kind of triptych. According to most art critics, the picture is also filled with motives of ancient Russian painting and echoes the famous "Trinity" by Andrei Rublev.

About the artist, read: Inventor, adventurer, prophet and "talent" Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin: 10 most interesting facts from the life of an artist.

6. "Flying Carpet" (1880)

The work of V. M. Vasnetsov "The Flying Carpet" from the collection of the Nizhny Novgorod Art Museum was exhibited in 1991. This work is one of the first in which Vasnetsov turned to fairy-tale themes that brought him national love and worldwide recognition. The painting "Flying Carpet" was commissioned by the artist by the famous philanthropist S. I. Mamontov specifically to decorate the office of the board, which was engaged in the construction of the railway. According to the artist's idea, the canvas was supposed to express victory and movement, as well as the greatness of Russian traditions. However, representatives from the board refused to accept it due to the excessive fabulousness of the motive.

Read about other paintings by Viktor Vasnetsov based on fairy-tale motives: "Without a dream, nothing can be done in life": how the most magical cycle of paintings by Vasnetsov, "The Poem of Seven Tales", appeared.

7. "Portrait of F. I. Shalyapin" (1922)

The author's reduced copy of the painting "Portrait of F. I. Shalyapin" by B. M. Kustodiev from the collection of the State Russian Museum was exhibited in 1994.

The original portrait of the famous singer was created sporadically in the period from 1920 to 1922 in very difficult conditions for Kustodiev. To embrace the entire two-meter canvas with a brush, the artist had to paint it in parts, reclining, using a specially designed device that allows the canvas to be tilted to the desired position. On the canvas, the viewer sees Fyodor Chaliapin depicted in a rich gentleman's fur coat and hat against the background of a winter landscape and the folk celebration of Shrovetide. At the feet of the singer is the favorite, the bulldog Royka, and behind are the daughters Martha and Marina.

Kustodiev was never able to see the portrait from a distance (due to the very small studio apartment where the paralyzed artist lived). In addition, Chaliapin immediately bought it out and in 1922 took it abroad, to emigrate to France. In the same year, Kustodiev created for himself a reduced copy-repetition of the portrait, which was subsequently actively exhibited around the world, while the original was kept in Chaliapin's personal apartment in Paris.

The author's copy was kept in the Tretyakov Gallery for some time, and later was transferred to the Russian Museum, where it is still located. Until 1968, the original was in the possession of Chaliapin's heirs. It was donated to the Leningrad Theater Museum, and since 1985 it has been an adornment of the Great Living Room in the F. I. Shalyapin House-Museum in St. Petersburg.

About the artist who, in the name of love for life, women and art, despite the hellish pains, worked until the very last day of his life, read: The anguish and joy of Boris Kustodiev - an artist who wrote life-affirming canvases chained to a wheelchair.

8. "Portrait of Varvara Dmitrievna Rimskaya-Korsakova". (1864)

The stunning "Portrait of Varvara Dmitrievna Rimskaya-Korsakova" performed by the German painter Franz Winterhalter from the collection of the Penza Art Gallery was exhibited at the museum in 2015-2016. This is a stunning work that captures the image of a beautiful young woman in a pink outfit with flowers and dark curly hair.

An interesting story is connected with this portrait, the heroine and its author: How a Russian beauty overshadowed the French empress and conquered Paris: Varvara Rimskaya-Korsakova.

However, there is another work by Franz Xaver. This is a portrait of Varvara Dmitrievna Rimskaya-Korsakova - the most famous portrait of a Russian beauty, now kept in Paris, in the Orsay Museum. It was in the capital of France that Varvara Dmitrievna spent most of her life, shining and shocking the aristocratic society with her outrageousness. There she found eternal peace. One can only guess about the fate of the magnificent portraits themselves. Perhaps the son of Rimskaya-Korsakova after her death sold one of them in France along with the estate, and brought the other to Russia. He then turned out to be the pearl of the Penza Picture Gallery.

About the artist, read: Why ladies were lining up to see the most popular portrait painter of the 19th century: Franz the Magnificent.

8. "Princess Tarakanova". (1864)

The author's copy of KD Flavitsky's painting "Princess Tarakanova" from the collection of the Penza Picture Gallery was exhibited in 2016-2017. This is the most famous painting by the artist Konstantin Flavitsky, for which he was awarded the title of professor of historical painting. The canvas was acquired by Pavel Tretyakov for his collection after the artist's death.

In 2018, the museum exhibit was a painting by K. Makarov "Sisters Girls (Portrait of Liza and Natasha Arapovs)" (1879) from the collection of the Penza Picture Gallery, which depicts the granddaughters of Pushkin's wife, Natalia Goncharova and her second husband, Pyotr Lansky. And since November 2019, the museum has been exhibiting a painting by I. K. Aivazovsky “Primorsky city. View of Yalta ".

And finally, summing up the above, I would like to note that, on average, any of these and other paintings were on display at the museum for 12 to 14 months, then they were changed. And if you look into the history of the museum, you can see that during the first 22 years the exhibits were brought from different cities and from different museums. Now, unfortunately, this is almost impossible to do. To bring a painting, you need to pay a very high insurance amount, plus transportation, the rent costs several million rubles. Therefore, the management decided to use the funds of the local art gallery. However, the museum's attendance is quite stable to this day - more than 15 thousand people a year. I would also like to believe that the doors of this unique museum will be open to visitors for many years to come.

Continuing the theme of unique masterpieces, a story about secrets of the "Ghent Altar" - a painting that is considered the most important in the history of painting.