The State Tretyakov Gallery

Our trip has brought us to the State Tretyakov Gallery in Lavrushensky Lane. The gallery was established by Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov, the owner of a large textile mill in Kostroma. He started to collect painting's according to his liking in 1856 when he was 24 years old. His objective was to create a unique collection. And he certainly succeeded.

Works exhibited in the gallery embrace a long period of painting spanning from Russian and Byzantine icons of the 12th century to examples of Russian avant-garde of the 1920s. The collection comprises over 5,000 pictures, more than 3,000 sculptures, and over 30,000 drawings and engravings.

The gallery shows the history of Russian painting. Its only rival is the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg. Having gathered over 3,500 works, Pavel Mikhailovich presented them to Moscow on behalf of himself and his late brother Sergei Mikhailovich. He worked as the gallery curator up until his death.

The gallery building was built in 1874 and designed by A.Kaminsky, but there was a constant need for more space to keep new pictures. Therefore, artist V.Vasnetsov created a design and enlarged the building in 1906. Look at the facade: it presents the free spirit of Old Russian architecture, both artistic and emotional.