Art in the Far East: Art Museum in Khabarovsk

Every resident of the Far East knows an art museum in Khabarovsk.

For the townspeople, this is not just a repository of beautiful historical and artistically valuable works. First of all, it is a modern socio-cultural center, which is interesting for professionals and amateurs, adults and children. Active educational activities made the museum an important part of public life in the Far East.

How the museum was created

The Far Eastern Art Museum in Khabarovsk has existed since 1931, but in fact it all started much earlier.

Thanks to the Governor General of the Amur Region, the military writer N. Grodekov, the cultural sphere began to develop in the Far East: a public library and a museum were opened in Khabarovsk, which displayed ethnographic and archaeological collections. In 1902, Grodekov created an art gallery: at his request, paintings, graphic and sculptural works were sent from the Imperial Academy of Arts. But soon the Governor-General leaves, and in the city there is practically no intelligentsia that would support the development of the gallery …

Only in the 30s, when the cultural life of the region was concentrated in Khabarovsk, it was proposed to restore the gallery. Thus began a new history of the art museum in Khabarovsk.

At the direction of the Council of People's Commissars, such museum institutions as the Hermitage, the Russian Museum, and the Tretyakov Gallery sent 5 cars with works of art to the Far East. They were placed in a nice mansion on the banks of the Amur River, where before the revolution there was a club of officials and officers.

Museum today

Today, the Khabarovsk Art Museum (Far East) covers an area of 1124 square meters. m, more than 100 thousand people visit it annually. It is the largest collection of works of art in the region: it holds about 14 thousand paintings, sculptures, and ceramics.

The museum's collection is represented by the following exhibits:

Russian art of the 19th – 20th centuries;
modern Art;
art of the Far East;
Western European art;
creativity of the indigenous peoples of the Far East.

Of great interest is the branch of the museum in with. Sikachi-Alyan, where the indigenous culture of the peoples of the Pacific region is represented. Only here you can see sike - wedding robes of Nanai, carpets created by the hands of Ulchi and Nanai masters, various ritual objects, bone carvings.

It is simply necessary to pay special attention to this when visiting the museum:

Icons created by masters of Ancient Russia in the 15th century;
paintings of such famous masters of Europe as Titian, Veronese, Rubens;
etchings by Dürer;
ancient weapons;
Meissen and Berlin porcelain;
salon furniture from France;
works of artists of the XIX century: Tropinin, Shishkin, Levitan, Repin;
works of the great representatives of the 20th century: Vrubel, Benoit, Serov, Vasnetsov.

Tours

In the art museum of Khabarovsk visitors are offered various excursions:

Sightseeing. Within 45 minutes you can find out the history of creating the largest picture collection in the Far East, the architecture of the building, and get acquainted with the best exhibits.
Russian art. The guide will tell you about the features of Russian fine art on the example of graphics and painting, objects of decorative art, starting from the 15th century and ending with the present.
Western European art. In 45 minutes you can get acquainted with the originals of the great masters of picturesque European schools of the XV-XIX centuries.
In the storage facility. Visitors have the opportunity to closely view unique rare items.

But the walls of the museum do not limit the possibilities of studying art: after all, together with the staff of the Far Eastern Art Museum in Khabarovsk, you can go on informative walks around the city. Walking or pedestrian-bus excursions allow you to better know the architectural appearance of the city and the features of urban sculpture. The excursion “Street of Three Museums” is popular - on Shevchenko Street, in addition to the art, there are 2 more museum institutions: local history and archeology.

Programs

The Far Eastern Museum is not just a repository of rarities. This is the center of education and education. The employees have developed about 10 educational programs aimed at different audiences and ages. There is a school of a guide, lectures and master classes, musical and poetry evenings and balls are held.