The exhibition “Masterpieces of Byzantium. The main thing about the Byzantine exhibition in the Tretyakov Gallery The Kazan Icon of the Mother of God

One of the highest achievements of Russian and European culture in general of the late Middle Ages is, of course, associated with the name of the great icon painter, who was called the notorious, that is, the most famous. It's definitely Dionysius. He, unlike Andrei Rublev and many other icon painters, was a secular person, but he grew up in an unusual, very educated, very refined, one might say, aristocratic Moscow environment.

A huge number of ensembles of works of art are associated with the name of Dionysius. Probably, his iconic heritage was incommensurably great, but not very much has come down to us. Why do I say "disproportionately great"? Because he painted temples in huge numbers. And in Joseph-Volokolamsky, and in Ferapontov, and in Pafnutyevo-Borovsky monasteries. And he made iconostases for everyone. And imagine, from the end of the XIV century, from the time of Theophan the Greek, Andrei Rublev, the iconostasis, as a rule, is already large, including several rows. And now Dionysius with an artel of masters is working on the creation of icons.

The features of his artistic language are very easily recognizable. It is impossible to confuse the icon of Dionysius by how thin and refined the line is, how elongated the proportions are; but all these artistic means are primarily necessary to create a completely specific spiritual, prayerful state that distinguishes the best creations of Russian culture at the turn of the 15th-16th centuries - icons and the famous frescoes of the Nativity Cathedral in the ensemble of the Ferapontov Monastery that have survived to this day.

Our museum keeps a large number of works, one way or another connected with the name of Dionysius. And probably, the first thing that needs to be said is the Hodegetria icon of the Mother of God, which was created on an old board from a Byzantine icon. Why is it so important? It would seem that the solemn, restrained, stern appearance of the Mother of God on this icon differs from what Dionysius did. Precisely because it was a specific order. After a fire in Moscow, in the Kremlin, where the famous Byzantine shrine burned down, on a board from a burnt icon, according to the chronicle, Dionysius “in measure and likeness”, that is, in full size, repeated the ancient image. And you see here an inscription made in Greek: "Hodegetria."

This is the famous icon, "The Guide", according to tradition, the Mother of God is depicted on it with the Infant on her left hand, Who holds a scroll resting on her knee. And at the top we see the Archangels Michael and Gabriel. The surviving icon suggests that she had a salary. And probably, this should be remembered when getting acquainted with the majority of icons from museum collections. Traces from the fastening of the salary, from the crowns are preserved. Also, we now see a lot of icons as white background, although in fact they had a gold or silver background. This icon was located in the very center, as they say, "in the heart of the Fatherland" - in the Moscow Kremlin, in the Ascension Convent.

Dionysius works very hard in the Moscow Kremlin. For the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin, he, together with other masters, writes an entire iconostasis. The Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin was built in the 80s of the 15th century by Italian craftsmen. And it is for this cathedral that Dionysius and his comrades make an iconostasis, and in particular paint the icons of Metropolitan Alexy and Metropolitan Peter from the local row that have come down to us. The latter is kept in the Assumption Cathedral. Why is it so important? The fact is that the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin is already the third in a row. The first is from the time of Ivan Kalita, the second is built by Myshkin and Krivtsov, which fell during an earthquake; and this one, the third one, was oriented in its grandeur to the famous Assumption Cathedral in the city of Vladimir, the heart of Ancient Russia.

If you remember, the ancient pre-Mongolian temples were grandiose in size. It was for the Dormition Cathedral in Vladimir that the Monk Andrei Rublev and his artel painted his famous iconostasis, part of which is also kept in our collection. So, if the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin repeats the cathedral of the city of Vladimir in its shape and size, then the iconostasis, respectively, was also created according to the Vladimir example - of the same grandiose scale. This is an unprecedented size in general for our Fatherland at that time.

In the local row of this iconostasis were the icons of the first Russian metropolitans - Peter and Alexy. And I would especially like to say about this icon, which came to us very late, in the 40s, from the Moscow Kremlin (and the second one remained there). It was created, according to most researchers, during the painting of the cathedral, at the end of the 15th century, in the 1480s - this is one of the dates of the icon. This is a huge hagiographic icon, where in the center is the image of Alexy the Wonderworker, Metropolitan of Moscow. His holiness is a certain thesis, which is confirmed by the hallmarks that captured the moments of his life. Thanks to scientific research, we can say that these hallmarks fully correspond to the version of the life of St. Alexis, including the accurately dated event - the miracle of healing from the relics of Alexis, the elder Naum.

By tradition, all hallmarks on Russian icons are read like this: the top row from left to right - we see the birth of the youth Eleutherius, further events: bringing him to the temple; a wonderful third mark, where the lad sleeps and dreams of birds, and a voice tells him that he, too, will be, like a bird catcher, a catcher of human souls. Further - tonsure as a monk, ordained as a bishop. And finally - you and I must understand what time St. Alexis lives - he comes to the Tatar Khan. Next, the hallmarks are read from left to right, sorted. And we see on the sixth hallmark that the action is already taking place in the Trinity-Sergius Lavra.

And then we see prayer - and before us is the Assumption Cathedral, only the ancient one that has not survived to our time, where Peter, the first of the metropolitans of Kyiv, who had a permanent residence in Moscow, was buried. Here, over the grave of St. Peter, St. Alexis is praying, and you see an image of a white-stone cathedral there. Then there is the story connected with the trip to the Horde, the healing of the blindness of Khansha Taidula. But, of course, this also has a symbolic connotation: healing from blindness is, as it were, opening the eyes of faith, opening the soul of a person. And then - a meeting with the monk, dormition, finding relics; we see how the icon of St. Alexis is brought to the temple, and finally the last brand is the miracles from the relics of St. Alexis.

Where the relics of Saints Peter and Alexius were, there were also these wonderful hagiographic icons, which for us are great artistic monuments of the turn of the 15th-16th centuries with all the features inherent in Dionysius that we spoke about: both elongated, refined proportions, and whitened light coloring, and from this - a feeling of joy, peace, lack of drama, tension, inherent in the icon painters of the previous era. All these artistic qualities fully correspond, in my opinion, to that very special worldview of the period of the rise of the Russian state at the turn of the century, the time when Ivan III married Sophia Paleolog, when the expansion of Russia begins, the expansion of the Russian Orthodox world.

- The famous ancient Russian icon painter Dionysius, who lived inXV- earlyXVI century, came from a noble family. Being a leading Moscow icon painter, he worked a lot not only in Moscow, but also in other places, receiving orders from princes and monasteries. Dionisy, together with his sons, painted the Assumption Cathedral of the Joseph-Volokolamsk Monastery, and then the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Ferapont Monastery and other churches. In addition, he created many icons and book miniatures. The works of Dionysius are distinguished by their special lyricism and refinement, loftiness and detachment, luminosity and rhythm.

Natalia Nikolaevna Sheredega, Head of the Department of Ancient Russian Art of the State Tretyakov Gallery:

The beginning of the 16th century is associated in Russian artistic culture with a very intensive advance of Orthodoxy and monastic culture to the north, the creation of northern monasteries. Probably, Dionisy can be called the artist who accompanied with his talent, his hand and his feelings this adornment of the Russian Thebaid - the northern Russian monasteries. And for the Pavlo-Obnorsky Monastery, one of the beacons of Russian monasticism, a beautiful icon of the Crucifixion was painted. A short glance at this icon and a long deep contemplation are enough to see how completely different, in comparison with the previous Russian and Byzantine masters, our icon painter Dionysius understands and conveys his understanding in colors.

A small icon of an elongated format suddenly presents us with the Crucifixion not as a tragic, terrible event, but as the triumph of life over death. The Savior is crucified, the Savior, as it were, already appears in the rays of heavenly glory, that is, He seems to soar on the cross, His movements are calm and soft. He is echoed by Mary with three wives, the centurion Longinus, John the Theologian, who bow with light movements to the Cross. We see elongated proportions, graceful, very fine dressing, soft harmonic compositional solution, that is, everything that creates a feeling of joyful soaring in this shining golden background - life conquers death. And this entry into eternal life is conveyed by the artistic means of the painter Dionysius.

But there is one remarkable iconographic detail here, which has not only artistic merit, but also a special theological meaning. I ask you to pay attention to the fact that above, on the sides of the Cross, angels with covered hands are depicted, and below, under the hands of the Savior, there are four figures: two angels and two more - one of them flies away, turning around, and the second flies to the Cross. This is nothing but the personification of the Old and New Testaments, that is, the synagogue and the Christian Orthodox Church. In accordance with Christian teaching, the change of the Old Testament to the New takes place precisely at the moment of the crucifixion and death of the Savior on the cross.

If the icon had reached us in its original form, then we could understand that the blood of the New Testament is collected by an angel into the cup of the New Testament Church. That is, in fact, we see how very important dogmatic moments are revealed here in color and composition in an amazing way, the most important of which is the Christian teaching about the victory of life over death.

We know that Dionysius, as a master of the highest level, of course, did not work alone. He worked with his assistants, other masters and, of course, students. And probably, his refined, aristocratic art had a huge impact on Russian culture and Russian painting in the first half of the 16th century. And there are a number of icons in which we feel this influence; sometimes we call their authors the masters of the circle of Dionysius. On the icons painted by them, we see not only this Dionysian color, its proportions, but also, most importantly, a feeling of joy and triumph, conveyed by plastic means.

Before us is a wonderful icon, which is called: “Rejoices in You.” This is the beginning of the hymn from the Oktoechos, which is sung in the Church. But here before us is truly the image of paradise. What creature rejoices? We see the angelic ranks, the songwriter Kosma Mayumsky, righteous men and women, kings, saints - everyone who glorifies the Mother of God, who brought the Christ Child to the world. “Every creature rejoices in You, Blessed One” - this feeling sounds in the icons of the followers of Dionysius, those who transformed the world of Russian culture at the beginning of the 16th century

Posted by Igor Lunev

The Tretyakov Gallery is one of the most famous museums in Russia and throughout the world. The extensive exposition covers the period from the eleventh century to the present day. It is hard to imagine that the Tretyakov Gallery, whose halls have become a reflection of Russian art from antiquity to the present, began with a private collection.

home collection

The Tretyakovs bought the house in Lavrushinsky Lane in 1851. The head of the family, Pavel Mikhailovich, was a successful businessman, but at the same time he was a well-known philanthropist, investing in many charitable programs. He was an avid collector, collecting paintings, sculptures, icons and other works of art.

He had a global goal - to create a national gallery, and not just a museum. The beginning of the collection was ten paintings by Dutch masters. Initially, the Tretyakov Gallery, whose halls were open only to family members and guests, was in the house where the Tretyakovs lived. But the collection grew very quickly, and there was not enough space for demonstration. During the life of the owner, numerous reconstructions were carried out. And even under Pavel Mikhailovich, the townspeople had the opportunity to visit such a cultural institution as the Tretyakov Gallery. The halls expanded, and the exposition grew constantly. The popularity of the museum is evidenced by the fact that in the first four years its visitors were over 30 thousand people.

40 years after the collection was started, he donated it to Moscow. The collection was supplemented by works of art kept by the second brother, Sergei. This is how the "Gallery of Pavel and Sergei Tretyakov" appeared in Moscow. Another well-known philanthropist Morozov gave the masterpieces of Renoir, Van Gogh, Monet. Despite the transfer to the city, both patrons continued to replenish the collection. After the death of the Tretyakovs, the entire house in Lavrushinsky Lane came under the jurisdiction of the city.

New life of the collection

In 1913, IE Grabar was appointed trustee and director of the gallery. He was not only a talented artist, architect and art historian, but also an organizer. It was he who did a tremendous job of systematizing the collection. He distributed the canvases according to historical periods, so that visitors could follow the path of development of Russian art. Under him, a restoration workshop was also founded. At the end of the year, the works hanging in the hall of the Tretyakov Gallery were available for viewing by the general public.

After the revolution, the entire assembly was nationalized and transferred to the young republic. The "State Tretyakov Gallery" was created, the halls of which became available to all segments of the population. The collection has expanded significantly through mergers with other museums and the transfer of private collections that were nationalized during the Soviet era.

During the war, museum funds were taken to Novosibirsk. The Nazis bombed the capital mercilessly. Two high-explosive bombs in 1941 landed directly on the Tretyakov Gallery, causing significant damage. But the very next year, the restoration of the museum began, and by 1944 the doors of the gallery, beloved by the inhabitants of the capital, were again opened to the public.

Halls of the Tretyakov Gallery

Since the foundation of the gallery, the building has been rebuilt many times. There were new passages and additional rooms to present the collection in all its glory. To date, the exposition is located in 106 halls. Most of them are located in a building in Lavrushinsky Lane, there are 62 of them. The complex also includes a museum-temple of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, a Golubkina workshop-museum, a Vasnetsov house-museum and a Korin house-museum. Each room in the Tretyakov Gallery is an opportunity to touch art, to see brilliant masterpieces. The collection contains over 150 thousand exhibits, most of which are familiar to everyone since childhood. Reproductions of many paintings were included in school textbooks throughout the country. From these pictures you can learn about Russia. After all, we have the sea, like forests - like Shishkin, nature, like Levitan. Even the best portrait of Pushkin, known to every schoolchild, is exhibited here.

Hall of Icons

In every corner of the Tretyakov Gallery there are paintings that take your breath away. But, perhaps, one of the most mysterious halls is the hall of icon painting. When transferring the collection, Pavel Mikhailovich, along with the paintings, also handed over 62 icons from his collection. Now there are several hundred of them in the museum. Each of them reflects the path of Orthodoxy on Russian soil. Among them are the works of Rublev, Theophan the Greek and other famous icon painters. And in the home church of the Tretyakov Gallery, one of the most revered and ancient images is exhibited - the Vladimir Mother of God. She is over 900 years old.

Exposition in Lavrushinsky Lane

The main part of the collection is concentrated in the building in Lavrushinsky Lane, with the famous Vasnetsovsky facade. In 62 halls, divided into 7 zones, the works of the best masters of Russia and beyond are exhibited in chronological order. How great and diverse is the Tretyakov Gallery. The description of the halls would take several volumes of a printed publication. Going on a tour, it is better to choose a specific artist or painting to devote most of your time to. Otherwise, acquaintance with the galleries will be very superficial and incomplete. The names of the halls of the Tretyakov Gallery correspond to the collections exhibited in them.

So, ancient Russian art is represented by icon painting.

And in the halls of the XVIII-XIX centuries, paintings by the great masters Levitsky, Rokotov, Ivanov, Bryullov are exhibited. A special room was built to demonstrate Ivanov's painting "The Appearance of Christ to the People". And Rokotov became famous for the largest number of portraits of unknown people. It was important for him to capture and convey on canvas the features and character of a person, but at the same time he did not have to be famous at all. Among the works of Bryullov, one can note the masterfully executed work “The Horsewoman”, where a young girl with amazing grace sits astride a magnificent stallion.

The hall also captures attention, where the works of artists of the second half of the 19th century are presented. Here you can immerse yourself in the magical world of realistic art, where every detail is made with amazing care. In Repin's paintings, one can physically feel how the sun is baking on the lawn, how each leaf is swaying from the wind. And Vasnetsov's "Three Heroes" seems to be protecting the country's borders from uninvited invaders even today. By the way, here you can also see the work of Vasnetsov Jr.

Surikov's paintings "Boyar Morozova" or "Morning of the Streltsy Execution" convey the emotional intensity of each participant in those events. There is not a single indifferent person or random character here. Everything is spelled out with authenticity that boggles the imagination.

The section reflecting the painting of the turn of the 19th-20th centuries presents the works of such geniuses as Serov, Vrubel, as well as representatives of the Union of Russian Artists.

Treasures of Russian Art

The Tretyakov Gallery is great and varied. Halls, paintings, sculptures, graphics will not leave anyone indifferent. A separate part of the exposition is the "Treasury", where objects made of precious metals and gems are exhibited. Fine work of jewelers is fascinating.

Graphic arts

A separate room is dedicated to graphic art. All works presented in this technique are very afraid of light, they are fragile creations. Therefore, for their demonstration, special lighting, slightly dimmed, was mounted. The largest collection of Russian graphics is exhibited here. And a small but no less valuable collection of porter miniatures.

Modern Art

In the building belonging to the Tretyakov Gallery, art is presented from the Soviet period to the present day. Visitors watch with interest how ideology affects the artist.

Halls of Masters

The collection contains individual works, and there are entire collections of paintings by one master. The hall dedicated to the artist in the Tretyakov Gallery contains only his works from different periods. Such is the exposition of Shishkin's works. But other masters of the brush were awarded a similar honor.

Since its opening, the Tretyakov Gallery has become the richest collection of paintings and art objects. Even the Russian Museum, created at the state level, lost in popularity to this private collection.

From the very beginning of his collecting activity, the founder of the museum, P.M. Tretyakov, was planning to create a “public (folk) art museum”, the collection of which would reflect the “progressive movement of Russian art”, in the words of Pavel Mikhailovich himself. He devoted his whole life to the realization of this dream.

Pavel Mikhailovich acquired the first icons in 1890. His collection consisted of only sixty-two monuments, but according to the Russian scientist, historian Nikolai Petrovich Likhachev (1862-1936), P.M. Tretyakov's collection was considered "precious and instructive."

At that time, private collectors, collectors of icons were known in Moscow and St. Petersburg - I.L. Silin, N.M. Postnikov, E.E. Egorov, S.A. Egorov and others. Tretyakov buys icons from some of them. According to the well-known artist and art scientist, director of the Tretyakov Gallery Igor Emmanuilovich Grabar (1871-1960), Tretyakov differed from other collectors in that “he was the first among collectors to select icons not according to plots, but according to their artistic significance, and he was the first to openly recognize their true and great art, having bequeathed to attach their icon collection to the Gallery.

Savior in power

The will was executed in 1904 - the icons acquired by P.M. Tretyakov, was included in the gallery's exposition for the first time. It was organized by Ilya Semyonovich Ostroukhov (1858-1929) - an artist, a member of the Gallery's Council, and a well-known collector of icons and paintings (after his death, in 1929, the collection entered the Gallery's collection). To arrange a new icon hall, he invited scientists Nikodim Pavlovich Kondakov (1844-1925) and Nikolai Petrovich Likhachev, who developed the concept, were able to scientifically systematize and group monuments for the first time, and publish a catalog.

Unknown icon painter, late 14th century. Deesis tier ("Vysotsky")
1387-1395
Wood, tempera
148 x 93

The famous Russian artist Viktor Mikhailovich Vasnetsov (1848-1926) became the designer of this exposition. According to his sketches, showcases imitating icon cases were made in the Abramtsevo workshops - all the icons collected by Tretyakov were presented in them. Such a display of icons did not exist then in any Russian art museum. (It should be noted that some icons were exhibited as early as 1862 in the Moscow Rumyantsev Museum and in 1890 in the Historical Museum, but the icons were exhibited then as church antiquities, and not as works of art. They were not restored, they were dark, polluted, with paint loss).

Andrey Rublev
Savior in power
1408

It is noteworthy that the opening of the hall of ancient Russian icon painting in the Gallery took place in the early years of the 20th century - the period of the birth of restoration work in Russia, when professional scientific study of ancient Russian art began.

In 1918, despite the tragic post-revolutionary events, the "Commission for the Preservation and Disclosure of Monuments of Ancient Painting in Russia" was organized. This commission was headed by the then director of the Tretyakov Gallery I. E. Grabar. The commission took up the systematic discovery of ancient monuments, expeditionary and exhibition activities.
In 1929-30s, after restoration exhibitions, by the decision of the then government, it was decided to turn the Tretyakov Gallery, as the largest museum of Russian art, into a center for studying the cultural heritage of the ancient period of our history. In those years, our museum received many monuments of ancient Russian art from a variety of sources, including reformed museums and private collections. These receipts basically formed the current collection of ancient Russian art in the Gallery.

In the mid-1930s, a scientific department of ancient Russian art and a restoration workshop were created in the Gallery. A new exposition was opened, in which the principles of the historical and artistic display of monuments were observed, the main centers, stages and trends in icon painting of the 12th - 17th centuries were presented.
A number of valuable icons, sometimes very ancient ones, came to the Gallery as a result of expeditions to the Russian North and central regions conducted by the Gallery's employees in the 1960s and 70s.

Now the collection is already more than six thousand items of storage. These are icons, fragments of frescoes and mosaics, sculpture, small plastic arts, objects of applied art, copies of frescoes.

In pre-Petrine Russia, almost all painting was exclusively religious in nature. And we can rightfully call all painting iconography. All the striving for the beautiful, the craving for beauty, the impulse and aspiration to the heights, to the realm of the spirit towards God, found their resolution in church icons. In the skill of creating these sacred images, the most talented representatives of the gifted Russian people have reached the true heights of the world sound.

Unknown icon painter, mid-16th century
"Blessed is the host of the heavenly king..." (Church militant)
Mid 16th century
wood, tempera
143.5 x 395.5

The heyday of Russian icon painting as such falls precisely on the pre-Petrine era. Experienced in the process
of their development, several bright and amazing in form and masterful embodiment of the religious and theological tasks that they faced, Russian icon painting after the Petrine era fell into decay, continuously degraded, finally turning into handicraft works of handicraftsmen. At the beginning of the 20th century, talented artists Nesterov, Vasnetsov and others tried to bring Russian icon painting out of the stagnant position in which it was, but a number of objective and subjective reasons did not make it possible for a genuine revival of this holy art to occur and did not create anything that could stand up in one a number with the immortal creations of the spiritual painting of pre-Petrine Russia.

In terms of its very tasks, in terms of its very purpose, icon painting is fundamentally different from the seemingly close, it would seem, and similar to mundane portraiture. If a portrait necessarily presupposes the existence of a certain nature, which the artist accurately reproduces, trying not to shy away from portrait resemblance, then the icon painter, whose task it is to reproduce a sacred image or some specific theological thought, clothed in the most intelligible incarnation for those who pray, can, according to his talent, understanding, to a certain extent evade the "icon-painting originals" approved by church practice and give his own solution to the problem that confronted him.

Unknown icon painter, early 13th century. Deesis: Savior, Mother of God, John the Baptist
First third of the XIII century.Wood, tempera.61 x 146

From this it becomes clear the importance that the ancient church rules attached to the personality itself and the behavior of the icon painter while working on the icon. So, in the famous collection of Resolutions of the Council of 1551, known under the name “Stoglav”, the requirement is given that the icon painter should be “humble, meek, reverent; lived in fasting and prayer, keeping with all fear the purity of soul and body. In the same "Stoglav" we will find a certain requirement for the indispensable adherence to the ancient "icon-painting originals" so that the sacred images created again do not break with the traditions established from ancient times and are immediately familiar and understandable to every prayer.

The main principle that lies in the work of the icon painter is sincere religious inspiration; the artist knows that he is faced with the task of creating for the mass of believers an image, an icon intended for prayer.

Russian icon painting developed its own definite and firmly defined style in the 14th century. This will be the so-called Novgorod school. Researchers see here a direct correspondence to the artistic dawn of the Byzantine era of the Palaiologos, whose masters worked in Russia; one of them is the famous Theophanes the Greek, who painted between 1378 and 1405. some Novgorod and Moscow cathedrals, was the teacher of the brilliant Russian master of the XIV-XV centuries. Andrei Rublev.

Andrey Rublev. Trinity.

Rublev and his followers belong to the Moscow school. His work is the next step in comparison with Theophanes the Greek, whose works are typical of the Novgorod school and its variety, the more archaic Pskov.

The Novgorod school is characterized by large massive figures of saints, with the large size of the icons themselves. They were intended for vast and majestic temples, generously erected by the rich and pious population of the "lord of great Novgorod." The tone of the icons is reddish, dark brown, bluish. The landscape - stepped mountains and the architecture of buildings - porticos and columns - are largely close to the true nature of the territory of Alexandria and adjacent areas, where events from the life of the saints and martyrs depicted on the icons took place.

Unknown icon painter, Novgorod school
Fatherland with selected saints.
Early 15th century
wood, tempera
113 x 88

Unknown icon painter, XIV - early XV century
Nicola with life.
Late 14th - early 15th century
Wood, tempera
151 x 106

The type of faces of the saints and the Mother of God is also not Russian: oblong, “byzantized”. This characteristic detail in the future, in the Moscow school, more and more takes on a Slavic connotation, finally turning into typical Russian round faces in the works of the brilliant “tsarist painter” of the 17th century, Simon Ushakov and his school.

Lush, brilliant Byzantium, whose capital Tsargrad, according to all historians and memoirists, was the richest city in the world, and its emperors considered themselves as earthly representatives of the Almighty God, demanding almost divine worship. Naturally, with the help of icons, they sought to strengthen their authority and strength. Saints of the Byzantine school, for the most part, just like their reflections that later passed onto the walls of Novgorod cathedrals and monasteries, are severe, punishingly strict, majestic. In this sense, the amazing frescoes of Theophanes the Greek will be characteristic, which (leaving aside all the differences in epochs and methods) involuntarily resemble the severely restless figures of Michelangelo's Roman frescoes.

In the middle of the 17th century, the famous “royal iconographer” Simon Ushakov became famous in Russia, personifying the new Moscow school, reflecting the splendor and wealth of the life of the Moscow royal court and the boyar nobility that had stabilized after the Time of Troubles and foreign intervention.

The works of this master are distinguished by their special softness and roundness of lines. The master seeks to express not so much and not only the inner spiritual beauty, but the outer beauty and, we would even say, the “beauty” of his images.

Researchers, not without reason, see Western influence in the work of this school, and first of all, “Netherlands Italianizing masters of the second half of the 16th century.”

royal doors
Mid 15th century

If the works of Ushakov and his comrades were mainly intended for churches, then the need of wealthy people for a beautiful “measured” icon for home prayer was satisfied by the Stroganov school, the most famous masters of which: the Borozdin Family, Istoma Savin, Pervusha, Prokopy Chirin, who are fully represented in the gallery, in terms of their artistic credo, they are quite close to Ushakov's school. No wonder most of them worked with great success in Moscow.

Unknown icon painter of the 12th century. Savior Not Made by Hands. (right)
Second half of the XII century.Wood, tempera.77 x 71

Shrine. I managed to take one photo. This is how it looks. The content is impressive!
Must see!

Days of free visits at the museum

Every Wednesday, admission to the permanent exhibition "The Art of the 20th Century" and temporary exhibitions in (Krymsky Val, 10) is free for visitors without a guided tour (except for the exhibition "Ilya Repin" and the project "Avant-garde in three dimensions: Goncharova and Malevich").

The right to free access to expositions in the main building in Lavrushinsky Lane, the Engineering Building, the New Tretyakov Gallery, the house-museum of V.M. Vasnetsov, museum-apartment of A.M. Vasnetsov is provided on the following days for certain categories of citizens:

First and second Sunday of every month:

for students of higher educational institutions of the Russian Federation, regardless of the form of education (including foreign citizens-students of Russian universities, graduate students, adjuncts, residents, assistant trainees) upon presentation of a student card (does not apply to persons presenting student trainee cards) );

for students of secondary and secondary specialized educational institutions (from 18 years old) (citizens of Russia and the CIS countries). On the first and second Sundays of each month, students holding ISIC cards have the right to visit the exhibition “Art of the 20th Century” at the New Tretyakov Gallery free of charge.

every Saturday - for members of large families (citizens of Russia and CIS countries).

Please note that conditions for free access to temporary exhibitions may vary. Check the exhibition pages for details.

Attention! At the ticket office of the Gallery, entrance tickets are provided with a face value of "free of charge" (upon presentation of the relevant documents - for the above-mentioned visitors). At the same time, all services of the Gallery, including excursion services, are paid in accordance with the established procedure.

Visiting the museum on public holidays

Dear visitors!

Please pay attention to the opening hours of the Tretyakov Gallery on holidays. The visit is paid.

Please note that entry with electronic tickets is carried out on a first-come, first-served basis. You can familiarize yourself with the rules for the return of electronic tickets at.

Congratulations on the upcoming holiday and we are waiting in the halls of the Tretyakov Gallery!

Right of preferential visit The Gallery, except as provided for by a separate order of the Gallery's management, is provided upon presentation of documents confirming the right to preferential visits:

• pensioners (citizens of Russia and CIS countries),
• full cavaliers of the Order of Glory,
• students of secondary and secondary special educational institutions (from 18 years old),
• students of higher educational institutions of Russia, as well as foreign students studying in Russian universities (except for student trainees),
• members of large families (citizens of Russia and CIS countries).

Right of free admission The main and temporary expositions of the Gallery, except for cases provided for by a separate order of the Gallery's management, are provided for the following categories of citizens upon presentation of documents confirming the right to free admission:

• persons under the age of 18;
• students of faculties specializing in the field of fine arts of secondary specialized and higher educational institutions of Russia, regardless of the form of education (as well as foreign students studying in Russian universities). The clause does not apply to persons presenting student cards of "students-trainees" (in the absence of information about the faculty in the student card, a certificate from the educational institution with the obligatory indication of the faculty is presented);
• veterans and invalids of the Great Patriotic War, combatants, former underage prisoners of concentration camps, ghettos and other places of detention created by the Nazis and their allies during the Second World War, illegally repressed and rehabilitated citizens (citizens of Russia and the CIS countries);
• military servicemen of the Russian Federation;
• Heroes of the Soviet Union, Heroes of the Russian Federation, Full Cavaliers of the "Order of Glory" (citizens of Russia and CIS countries);
• disabled people of groups I and II, participants in the liquidation of the consequences of the disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant (citizens of Russia and the CIS countries);
• one accompanying disabled person of group I (citizens of Russia and CIS countries);
• one accompanying disabled child (citizens of Russia and CIS countries);
• artists, architects, designers - members of the relevant creative Unions of Russia and its subjects, art historians - members of the Association of Art Critics of Russia and its subjects, members and employees of the Russian Academy of Arts;
• members of the International Council of Museums (ICOM);
• employees of museums of the system of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and the relevant Departments of Culture, employees of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and ministries of culture of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation;
• museum volunteers - entrance to the exposition "Art of the XX century" (Krymsky Val, 10) and to the Museum-apartment of A.M. Vasnetsov (citizens of Russia);
• guide-interpreters who have an accreditation card of the Association of Guide-Translators and Tour Managers of Russia, including those accompanying a group of foreign tourists;
• one teacher of an educational institution and one accompanying a group of students of secondary and secondary specialized educational institutions (if there is an excursion voucher, subscription); one teacher of an educational institution that has state accreditation of educational activities when conducting an agreed training session and has a special badge (citizens of Russia and the CIS countries);
• one accompanying a group of students or a group of military servicemen (if there is an excursion voucher, subscription and during a training session) (citizens of Russia).

Visitors of the above categories of citizens receive an entrance ticket with a face value of "Free".

Please note that conditions for preferential admission to temporary exhibitions may vary. Check the exhibition pages for details.