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Nizhni Novgorod - Culture |
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Today it is the "test site" for democratic reform
and free market initiatives. If transition to a peaceful, democratic
future is to occur in Russia, Nizhni Novgorod will be the pacesetter. You
are a first-hand witness to unique historical phenomena, a society moving
from totalitarianism to democracy with all its ups and downs, joys and
sorrows. The art of ancient Russia is represented by the oldest icon
in the collection of the late 14th- early 15th centuries The Prophet
Elijah Carried to Heaven in a Chariot of Fire with sixteen scenes from the
life of the saint on the margin. The icon glorifies the victory of
Christianity over pagans. Many icons of the 15th and 16th centuries of the
local school of painting present interest too. The Academic school of
painting is represented by an outstanding canvas on historical subject
Minin's Appeal by Konstantin Makovsky. The subject matter of this huge
painting (42 m. sq.) is Kozma Minin's speech before the citizens of Nizhni
Novgorod in 1611 in which he appealed to sacrifice money for creating
people's volunteer corps to liberate Russia from foreign enemies.
The art of the early 20th century is represented by the works
of Isaak Levetan, Valentin Serov, Abram Arkhipov, Konstantin Korovin,
Zinaida Serebryakova, Boris Kustodiev, Nikolai Roerich. A prominent place
in the museum collection is occupied by the paintings of the masters
belonging to such artistic groups as Blue Rose and Knave of Diamonds. Now the extensive collection of the museum comprises about
8,000 works of art. It contains many valuable paintings by nearly
all-outstanding Russian artists. The collection of graphic works includes
those by Russian and Western-European masters among which there are a
number of masterpieces of Russian art. No less noteworthy are the works of
applied and folk art, e.g. Khokhloma and Gorodets decorative paintings.
The museum systematically replenishes its collection. Every department can
boast of unique exhibits of high artistic value. |
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Among
the Gallery's exhibits, the works of the Stupin group are worthy of
special attention. In 1802, in his native town of Arzamas, A. Stupin
founded the first private abt school in Russia. In the museum one may see
a number of canvases belonging to the former pupils of Stupin's school,
such as N. Alexeyev - Syromiansky, E. Rachkov, V. Rayev and others. The
creative activity of many painters of the second half of the 19th century
was connected with the Volga and Nizhni Novgorod, its historical past. The
motifs found their reflection in the works of the representatives of the
Society for Circulating Art Exhibitions, who founded the Russian realistic
school of painting. The Gorky Museum's collection contains not a few
paintings by Ivan Kramskoy, Nikolay Yaroshenko, Vladimir Makovsky, Victor
Vasnetsov, Alexey Savrasov, Ivan Shishkin and others. Ilya Repin's famous
work The Cautios One (1877) is characterized by the artist's deep
penetration into the complex character of his subject, which has
transformed the man depicted into a typical representative of the pesantry.
The image of the peasant belongs to the best in Russian realistic art.