The State Russian Museum

The State Russian Museum is the world's largest museum of Russian art. The collection of the Russian Museum numbers some 400,000 works and covers the entire history of Russian fine art from the tenth century to the present day.

The museum is housed in four palaces: the Mikhailovsky Palace, the Stroganov Palace, the Marble Palace and the Mikhailovsky Castle. The Stroganov's Palace, Marble Palace and St. Michael's Castle were awarded to Russian Museum between 1989 and 1994. These buildings present a retrospective panorama of Russian architecture: Baroque style (Stroganov's Palace), early and late Neoclassicism style (the Marble Palace , the Mikhailovsky Palace).

The Mikhailovsky Palace is the main branch of the State Russian Museum. It was built by the architect Carlo Rossi in the Empire style for Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich, the youngest son of Emperor Paul I and the brother of Nicholas I. The layout resembles a country estate, which is typical for Russian Classicism. The architect considered the palace to be reminiscent of the Louvre. In 1898 Emperor Alexander III ordered the palace to be converted into a museum. The State Russian Museum was opened to the public in 1898.

The basis of the collection was composed of pictures from the Russian Picture Gallery in the Hermitage and other collections belonging to the Emperor's family. The museum had 37 exhibition halls.

The museum collections grew with time. In order to provide new space and arrange exhibitions the western wing of the museum was constructed. The building was designed in the classical style by Leonty Benois and was named the Benois Wing after its architect. In 1902 the exhibition of the ethnographical department was opened in a wing especially built by Vasily Svinyin.

The exhibits, arranged chronologically, introduce the history of Russian art from the 11th century to the present day. The following sections and departments can be distinguished: the section dedicated to early Russian art; 17th century art; the pictures of the members of a fraternity of itinerant art exhibitions; the collection of paintings from the 1st half of the 19th century; the department of late 19th - early 20th century paintings; the Soviet art section; the avant-garde works.

The Department of Ancient Russian Art displays outstanding examples of icon-painting, including works by Andrey Rublev, Dionisy and wooden sculpture by Simon Ushakov, carved stones and bone carvings, embroidery and jewellery. Particularly rich is the collection of art of the 18 th to 20 th centuries beginning with the first secular works of Peter's age: works by Ivan Nikitin, Andrey Matveyev and Ivan Vishniakov; to paintings by the avant-garde masters as Kasimir Malevich, Mark Chagall, Pavel Filonov and other painters of the 20 th century. Now the State Russian Museum possesses the world's largest collection of Russian art.