Collection of art

Among the names that Pavel Tretyakov immortalised in his gallery of Russian national art are many that remain synonymous of Russian culture today: Pushkin, Gogol, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Nekrasov, Shevchenko, Griboedov, Chekhov and many others. But we should clearly understand that the collector selected such figures relying entirely on his own judgement, while his contemporaries often could not reach consensus regarding the stature of particular Russian cultural figures whom we call today, without hesitation, "individuals that the nation holds dear to its heart".

The Tretyakov Gallery show "Drawings and Watercolours by Russian Artists of the Second Half of the 19th-beginning of the 20th Centuries" constitutes a small part of the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts's extensive collection of Russian graphics, which totals 150,000 sheets in all. This part of the collection, especially drawings dating back to the second half of the 19th century, has never been carefully studied or exhibited, so is not well known by either the general public or art experts. It does, however, stand on its own, including some unique works and offering certain important details that complement our overall understanding of that period in the development of Russian art.

THE EXHIBITION "MORE THAN ROMANTICISM" WAS HELD FROM NOVEMBER 2013 TO JANUARY 2014 IN THE ENGINEERING WING OF THE TRETYAKOV GALLERY AS PART OF THE "EXCHANGE" YEAR OF CULTURAL COOPERATION BETWEEN RUSSIA AND HOLLAND. FOR THE FIRST TIME THE MOSCOW PUBLIC COULD SEE WORKS FROM THE TRETYAKOV GALLERY ALONGSIDE PAINTINGS FROM THE TEYLERS MUSEUM IN HAARLEM AND THE PRIVATE COLLECTION OF JEF RADEMAKERS FROM BRASSCHAAT, A PROVINCE OF ANTWERP. BEARING IN MIND THE UNIQUE FEATURES OF THE TWO COLLECTIONS, THE CURATORS TRIED TO HIGHLIGHT BOTH THEIR SHARED FEATURES AND THEIR DIFFERENCES, AS WELL AS THE EUROPEAN AND THE NATIONAL ELEMENTS OF RUSSIAN AND DUTCH FINE ART. THE NAMES OF GREAT PAINTERS SUCH AS REMBRANDT VAN RIJN AND FRANS HALS, WHOSE MASTERPIECES ARE IN THE HERMITAGE'S COLLECTION OF THE GOLDEN AGE OF DUTCH ART, ARE WELL KNOWN TO THE RUSSIAN PUBLIC. THANKS TO THE FAMOUS FILM, THE YOUNGER GENERATION IS FAMILIAR WITH JOHANNES VERMEER'S PAINTING "GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING" (1665). THE ART OF THE UNITED KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS OF THE 1800-1850S, HOWEVER, IS ONLY KNOWN TO A SMALL CIRCLE OF ART EXPERTS. MEANWHILE, THE PAINTING TRADITIONS OF THE GREAT AND "LESSER" DUTCH MASTERS WERE CARRIED ON INTO A NEW HISTORICAL ERA, THAT OF ROMANTICISM.

Queen Sonja’s personal engagement in Norwegian art and culture goes back a long way. Over the years, the Queen has actively participated in Norway’s artistic and cultural spheres not just as its high patron but also as an important key figure; her efforts in casting light upon and promoting Norwegian art has gained her respect throughout Norway and far beyond.

THE NEW YORK JEWISH MUSEUM'S SHOW LAST YEAR, "COLLECTING MATISSE AND MODERN MASTERS: THE CONE SISTERS OF BALTIMORE", PROVED BREATHTAKING. THE EXHIBITION DISPLAYED ONLY A SMAH PART OF WHAT HAS BEEN CALLED "A COLLECTION OF COLLECTIONS" OF EXQUISITE PAINTINGS, GRAPHIC WORKS, PRINTS, SCULPTURE, FURNITURE, EMBROIDERY, RUGS, AND TEXTILES. BUT THE CORE OF THE COLLECTION, ITS PRIDE AND GLORY, IS MATISSE, WHOSE PORTRAITURE, STILL-LIFES, SCULPTURE AND LANDSCAPES WERE ON VIEW. THE EXHIBITION TOLD THE FASCINATING STORY OF THE TWO SISTERS WHO, LED BY A FEMALE INSTINCT FOR BUYING BEAUTIFUL AND OFTEN USELESS -OR AT LEAST UNNECESSARY -THINGS, DEVELOPED A PERFECT TASTE FOR GENUINE ART AND BECAME DISTINGUISHED COLLECTORS OF 19TH- AND 20TH-CENTURY MODERN EUROPEAN ART. "A THING OF BEAUTY IS A JOY FOREVER," WROTE THE BRITISH POET JOHN KEATS, AND ONCE THE CONE SISTERS HAD EXPERIENCED THE JOY OF ART, THEY CHERISHED THIS SUBLIME FEELING THROUGHOUT THEIR LIVES.