Famous Art Museums in Russia

Since the Byzantine era, Russian art has been as dramatic and distinguished as the country's literature, playing a significant global role in the arts and reflecting important social and cultural changes throughout the centuries. Russian art of the 17th and 18th centuries demonstrates European and western influence, but the social reform and more liberal forces of the 19th century re-shaped Russian art into a unique body of artistic styles. Exploring Russian culture and history through the collections and exhibitions of the country's most famous museums provides a stimulating and awe-inspiring educational experience. Russia's famous art museums are found in the capital city of Moscow, as well as the country's second largest city of St. Petersburg.

 

Moscow Museum of Modern Art

The Moscow Museum of Modern Art (MMoMA), situated in the historical Tverskoy District of Moscow, is the first Russian state museum centered exclusively on 20th and 21st-century art, and plays an integral role in the capital city’s art scene. Unveiled in 1999, MMoMA began with a private collection of more than 2,000 works by 20th century Russian artists, and has since grown considerably to one of the largest collections of modern and contemporary Russian art in the nation. Many of MMoMA’s permanent collections span the development of avant-garde art, with the majority of pieces by Russian artists, such as Marc Chagall, Kazimir Malevich, Natalia Goncharova and Pavel Filonov, as well as feature works by famous European artists, such as Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso. The museum also features sculptures by Ossip Zadkine and Alexander Archipenko, as well as a unique collection by the famous Georgian artist Niko Pirosmani. Much of the permanent collection is devoted to non-Conformist Russian art of the 1960s to 1980s. MMoMA hosts many temporary exhibitions and events throughout the year. Moscow Museum of Modern Art 25 Petrovka Street 107031 Moscow Russian Federation +7-495-694-2890 mmoma.ru

Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts

The Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts opened in 1912 during Emperor Alexander III’s reign, but was named the “Pushkin” museum in 1937, in honor of famous Russian poet, Alexander Pushkin. The Pushkin Museum has one of the most extensive collections of Russian and foreign art from ancient to modern times, as this museum was founded on the basis of providing the public an educational institution of history’s most significant art periods. Permanent collections include objects from Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, 7th- to 18th-century European paintings, and works of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts is comprised of six buildings in central Moscow, four of which are on Volkhonka Street. The Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts Postal Address and Admissions: Volkhonka Street 12 121019, Moscow Russian Federation +7-495-697-95-78 museum.ru

The Russian Museum

The Russian Museum first opened to the public in St. Petersburg in 1898, and was the first state museum of Russian fine art in the entire country. Aside from its chronologically presented extensive collections of Russian figurative art, the Russian Museum has had quite a colorful history of its own, one that reflects the dramatic political transformations of Russia. Russian art of the 17th to 20th centuries is well represented, though modern and contemporary pieces are not—and have never been—a priority of the Russian Museum, especially considering the strict ideological tasks of the Soviet Union during the centuries represented by the collections. Comprehensive collections of paintings, sculpture, graphic art, folk art, decorative and applied art, and numismatics present visitors with a visual exploration of Russian culture and artistic ideas. The museum, located in central St. Petersburg, is open daily from 10am to 5pm, except Tuesdays. The Russian Museum 4 Inzhenernaya Str. St. Petersburg Russian Federation +7-812-595-42-48

State Hermitage

Russia’s State Hermitage collections, also in St. Petersburg, include more than three million works of art and artifacts of world culture. This museum is firstly famous for its elaborate palace architecture, as the former residence of Russian emperors. Founded by Empress Catherine the Great in 1764, the State Hermitage has expanded into a museum complex of ten buildings’ worth of storerooms and exhibition space, including the Menshikov Palace, Eastern Wing of the General Staff building, the Museum of the Imperial Porcelain Factory, and the Staraya Derevnya Restoration and Storage Center. Collections focus on Russian art, but features pieces that date back to Ancient Greece, as well as European paintings and sculpture of the 13th through the 19th centuries. The three million permanent items include over 16,000 paintings, more than 620,000 works of graphic art, 12.5-thousand sculptures, more than 730,000 archeological monuments, 1.1 million numismatic pieces, and roughly 145,000 other works. The State Hermitage Dvortsovaya Naberezhnaya, 34 190000 St Petersburg Russian Federation +7-812-710-90-79 hermitagemuseum.org