IV семестр

1. “A young painter” by Ivan Firsov. Н.И.Либерман (p.28)

This is a painting by Ivan Firsov. Firsov is an old Russian artist. He is an original master and a fine colourist. His name is not very well-known today, but this painting is familiar to our art-lovers. We see an art-studio. It is not big, but simple and nice. In this studio we see two big portraits in wide frames, one bust, a skeleton, and a paint-box. We see an old big easel and a portrait on it. We see three people: a woman, a little child and a young painter. We see a palette and brushes in his hands. This little child is his model. Her face is round and charming. Her dress is long. This young painter is serious. His face is thin. He is not an experienced artist but his talent is original. This is my favourite painting. I like it very much.

2. At an art exhibition. Н.И. Либерман (p.105-106)

An art critic comes to an exhibition of modern art. He sees a group of people discussing some canvas. The critic stops and examines the picture belonging to a young artist. It is a still-life with red roses. The critic addresses the people standing around and says: “I don’t understand artists painting such pictures. These roses look like spots of red paint on the canvas. And do you see this black spot on the left looking like a fly? It doesn’t look like a fly on the rose. It doesn’t look real at all!”

Suddenly the “black spot” flies away and the smiling people see that the fly is real!

3. Museums of one painting. Н.И.Либерман (p.170)

Every painting is the artist’s world of feelings and ideas. It takes an artist many months or even years to create his picture. But at a museum or at an exhibition people usually spend only a few seconds or minutes in front of it, especially if they see a lot of new pictures. So it “works” actively for a very short time. It will be good if we can organize museums of one painting. If there is a big hall, with good lighting, comfortable arm-chairs and a thick rug on the floor, that does not let visitors hear footsteps, the impression of the picture will be stronger. And if there is a background music, the effect of the painting will be much greater. It will be wonderful if in another room visitors may read some material about the painter’s life and work and study his sketches for the picture.

The people will really have a chance to come in closer contact with an art work when such museums appear. They will also inspire the painters if they want to pass the test, as the picture for such a museum must be a masterpiece.

The first museum of one painting opened in Penza in 1985.

4. Perm museums. Печатный текст в приложении

The Perm Art Gallery boasts a large collection of arts. Apart from numerous paintings of Flemish, French and Italian masters, it also has modern art collections on exhibition. The museum's collection is among the very largest ones in Russia. The museum is located in a former cathedral, now a landmark of Perm in the centre of the city.

In the same building, but a separate section, the Regional Museum of Local Studies and History (founded in 1890) is definitely worth a visit for those who are interested in the history and the culture of the Urals. The museum boasts a wide variety of armory, coinage, pottery, handicrafts, archeology and minerals. It also tells about the Permian period, the geological era in which the Urals were formed.

The partly open-air artillery museum at the northern end of the city centre displays all generations of rocket and artillery (vehicles), as constructed in Perm, as well as a wide range of information of the history of the industry. Actually, the city is known for its large war industry ever since late 1800’s. All cannons and artillery of former Soviet Union as well as engines for Tupolev and MiG aircrafts were (and in less amounts still are) manufactured in Perm. The museum offers detailed information on its wide range of warfare. The outside part of the museum can be entered free of charge at any time. “Khokhlovka” (Open-air museum of and Wooden Architecture and Ethnography) is in fact a collection of original structures as they existed in the 17th century. Inside the buildings, all kinds of tools, handicrafts and clothes of that time are exposed. The guide will take you around the museum, explaining about the hard life 300 years ago. You will be amazed by the beauty of the site; Khokhlovka is located on a green hill and offers great views over the Kama river and nearby villages.

5. Picture galleries and museums. С.А.Шевелева (p.241-242)

1. The Tretyakov State Picture Gallery was founded in the fifties of the 19^th century by Pavel Tretyakov (1832-1898) and his brother Sergei Tretyakov (1834-1892) as a private collection, which they donated to the city of Moscow in 1892. The brothers came from a rich merchant family doing business in linen manufacture and merchant banking.

They were also famous for their charity activities and supporting a few leading artists.

By decree of the Soviet Government in June, 1918, the Tretyakov Gallery was nationalized. Since then the Gallery’s collection has been multiplied several times over, the original building has been reconstructed and considerably enlarged and a new building in the vicinity has been added.

The Gallery exhibits works by Russian artists of the 11^th – 20^th centuries. Some painters have been allotted individual rooms.

The gallery also holds annual exhibitions displaying noteworthy works of art.

2. The Pushkin State museum of Fine Arts is the second in size picture gallery in Russia after the Tretyakov Gallery. This museum, opened in 1912, contains works by prominent European artists of the 17^th and 18^th centuries.

3. The Hermitage is one of the most famous architectural complexes of St. Petersburg. It consists of the Winter Palace, the Small Hermitage, the Old Hermitage, the Hermitage Theatre, all built in the eighteenth century, and the New Hermitage, which was specially erected in the nineteenth century to house the rich art collections.