The Department of Private CollectionsRussian: Otdel lichnykh kollektsiy or Отдел личных коллекций is one of the divisions of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine ArtsRussian: Gosudarstvennyi muzey izobrazitelnykh iskusstv imeni A.S. Pushkina or Государственный музей изобразительных искусств имени А.С. Пушкина. It is located in Volkhonka streetRussian: ulitsa Volkhonka or улица Волхонка neighbouring the main museum building (10 Volkhonka Street). The concept of the museum is unique. The exhibits on display here are presented not in the chronological or thematic sequence that we are used to seeing in ordinary fine arts museums, but according to the principle of compiling the collection itself. It is probably the only place where you can truly get to know the collectors and understand what is involved in their inner world what makes them tick.
THE COLLECTION
According to traditional museum practice, artworks are distributed between different museum departments according to the time they were created, the technique used, and the type of art. The viewer can easily understand such logic behind such arrangements. However, such an approach prevents us from seeing the criteria private collectors were guided by while compiling their collections over the years. The museum offers visitors a chance to learn the history of the collections while they also learn about the unique character of the collections themselves.
The museum team is fully committed to reflecting the concept of the collector and the “idea” behind the display as precisely as possible. Each department, each hall as well as each group of halls is dedicated to a particular collector and has its own unique arrangement. Some of them recreate the interior of a painter’s workshop, for example, the Dmitry Krasnopevtsevone of the most significant contemporary Russian artists of the non-conformist tradition hall, while others present historical materials related to the collector’s personality. In total, the permanent display of the museum features over thirty private collections comprising over seven thousand works of art of the 15th-20th centuries.
THE DISPLAY
Various types of art, techniques, and genres coexist in the museum – collections of icons, sculptures of animals, paintings of the “Mir IskusstvaRussian: Мир искусства; the artistic group founded in 1898” union, and works by A. Rodchenkoa Russian artist, sculptor, photographer and graphic designer, one of the founders of constructivism and Russian design and V. Stepanovaa Russian artist associated with the Constructivist movement. This display venue showcases art from another person’s viewpoint, thus changing your view of the world and giving you a chance to discover something new. Walking from one hall to another, you get immersed into a totally different world. The Department of Private Collections might be called the Museum of Museums as it is composed of numerous separate “mini-museums”, each with its own inner logic and integrity. The crown jewel of the museum is a collection of Russian realism paintings of the 19-20th centuries by V. Soloviev, a collection of Russian paintings of the 19-20th centuries by professor A. Ramm, the Lemkul collection of glass from ancient times to the 1830s, a collection of medieval Russian paintings by M. Chuvanov put together in 16 – 20thcenturies, a collection of paintings and drawings by S. Richter which comprises works by R. Falk, V. Shukhaev, N. Goncharova, D. Krasnopevtsev, and others.
The HISTORY
Ilya Zilbershtein famous Moscow collector and critic, a renowned Moscow scientist, laid the foundation of the museum. Zilbershtein was an avid researcher of literature and art criticism. He also collected works of art. He was not constrained by only one theme; rather, his collection comprises both Russian and West European art – more than 2000 pieces in total. In 1987, Zilbershtein made a decision to bequeath his collection to the Museum of Fine Arts. The Department of Private Collections of the Fine Arts Museum was opened to the public in 1994. Unfortunately, the permanent exposition is closed to visitors until 2019, but the museum regularly hosts temporary exhibitions reflecting various themes. The museum is located in the historical centre of the city within walking distance of the other buildings of the State Museum of Fine Arts, the Kremlin, and the Cathedral of Christ the SaviourRussian: Khram Khrista Spasitelya or Храм Христа Спасителя. The architecture of the surrounding will be of particular interest as well, as there are a number of well-preserved 19 – early 20th century buildings which are the Moscow attractions.
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