also enriched the Picture gallery.By 1785 the Museum numbered 2658
paintings. Prints and drawings, cameos, coins and medals were likewise
represented at the Hermitage.
The acquisition of complete collections and of individual works of
art was continued in the 19th century but on a more modest scale than
during the previous period. Among the most notable acquisitions of the
19th century were: Mathew Malmaison Gallery of the Empress Josephine
bought in 1814; the collection of the English banker Coesvelt consisting
mainly of Spanish paintings, purchased in Amsterdam the same year; as well
as the paintings from the Barrbarigo Palace inVenice which gave the Museum
its best Titians.
As to the individual works of art, the acquisition in 1865 of
Leonardo da Vince’s «Madonna Litta»fromthe Duce of Litta collection and
the purchase of Raphael’s «Virgin and Child» from the Conestebite family
in 1870, were important landmarks in the growth of the treasures of the
Hermitage.
In 1885 the Hermitage received an important collection of objects
of applied art of the 12th – 26th centuries, gathered by Basilevsky; ,
together with the Armoury transferred from Tsarskoe Selo, notably
enriched the Museum with a new type of material
The first decade of the 20th century witnessed the acquisition
of a magnificent collection including 730 canvases by the Dutch and
Flemish artists, which had been in the possession of the eminent Russian
scientist Semenov-Tienshansky. Another most important acquisition was
Leonardo da Vinci’s «Madonna and Child» purchased in 1914 from the family
of the architect L.Benois.
The Great October Revolution created highly favourable conditions
for the further growth of the Museum collections and their systematic
study. Since October 1917, due to the care taken by Soviet Government for
the preservation of art treasures, the Museum was enriched with a great
number of first-class works of art. Among these were the best pictures
chosen by the Hermitage the nationalised private collections such as
those formerly owned by the Yussupovs, the Shuvalovs, the Stroganovs;
paintings transferred from the imperial palaces; art treasures, acquired
by exchange from other museums within the country.
The policy of planned distribution of art treasures among the
museums carried out by the state, enabled the Hermitage not only to fill
up many gaps and deficiencies by adding to its picture gallery Italian
paintings of the 13th-15th centuries, works of the Netherlandish school,
and of the French school of the 19th and 20th centuries but to form a
museum free from private taste , and made it possible to arrange the
collections systematically. The accumulation of materials which had not
been represented in the museum in the pre-Revolutionary period ,led to the
formation of new departments: the department of the history of culture and
art of the primitive society, of the culture and art of the peoples of the
East, and that of the history of Russian culture.
He immense growth of the collections made it necessary to extend
the exhibition
space This is why the building of the Winter Palace was placed at the
disposal of the Hermitage, the name «The State Hermitage» being now
applied to the whole great museum thus formed.
BRITISH SCHOOL
The Hermitage is one of the very few on the Continent which contains
a special section for English pictures.
Portraiture, landscape painting and satire art in which England
excelled , are represented by a number of first-class paintings and
prints executed by the most outstanding artists of British School, mainly
of the 18th century. A number of 17th-19th century works are on show too.
There are also some notable specimens of applied art, among which is a fine
group of objects in silver and Wedgwood potteryware . English paintings of
the 17th century are extremely rare outside England.The Hermitage
possesses several works of this period. These are: the Portrait of Oliver
Cromwell by Robert Walker, two portraits by Peter Lely, of which the
«Portrait of a Woman» reveals the artist’s sense of colour to great
advantage; also the «Portrait of Grinling Gibbons» by Godfrey Kneller, to
name only the most outstanding canvases.
The collection has no paintings by William Hogarth, but some of his
prints selected from a large and representative collection possessed by
the Museum are usually on show.
Joshua Reynolds is represented by four canvases all painted in
the 1780-s.
An interesting example of his late work is the «Infant Hercules strangling
the Serpents», which is an allegory of the youthful Russia vanquishing her
enemies. The picture was commissioned from Reynolds by Catherine II, and
was brought to Russia
in 1789. In 1891 two other canvases were sent by Reynolds to Russia. One
was the «Continence of Scepic Africanus» , which , as well as the
«Infant Hercules», reveals Reynolds’s conception of the grand style in
art. The other was «Venus and Cupid»; presumably representing Lady
Hamilton .This is one of the versions of the piсture entitled «The Snake
in the Grass», owned by the National Gallery, London
Reynolds’s «Girl at a window» is a copy with slight modifications,
from Rembrandt’s canvas bearing the same title, and owned by the Dulwich
Gallery. It may be regarded as an example of Reynolds’s study of the «old
masters’» works.
A fair idea of the British artists’ achievements in the field of
portrait painting can be gained from the canvases by George Romney Thomas
Gainsborough, John Opie, Henry Rdeburn, John Hoppner and John Russell, all
marked by a vividness of expression and brilliance of execution typical of
the British School of portrait painting in the days when it had achieved a
national tradition. Highly important is Gainsborough’s superb «Portrait of
the Duchess of Beaufort» painted in a loose and most effective manner
characteristic of his art in the late 1770’s. For charm of expression and
brilliance of execution, it ranks among the masterpieces of the Museum.The
«Tron Forge» by Joseph Wright of Derby is an interesting example of a new
subject in English18th century art: the theme of labour and industry, which
merged in the days of the Industrial Revolution.
The few paintings of importance belonging to the British school of the
19th century include a landscape ascribed to John Constable; the «Boats at
a shore» by Richard Parkers Bonington; the «Portrait of an old woman» by
David Wilki, three portraits by Thomas Lawrence and portraits by George
Daive, of which the unfinished «Portrait of the Admiral Shishkov» is the
most impressive.
The collection was largely formed at the beginning of the 20th
century, a great part of it deriving from the Khitrovo collection
bequeathed to the Museum in 1916.
THE TRETYAKOV GALLERY
The Tretyakov Gallery , founded by Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov (1832-
1989), a Moscow merchant and art patron, is a national treasury of Russian
pre-revolutionary and Russian art.
The Gallery’s centenary was widely celebrated throughout Russia in
May 1956. Tretyakov spent his life collecting the works of Russian painters
which reflected the spirit and ideas of all progressive intellectual of
his day. He began his collection in 1856 with the purchase of
«Temptation» (1856) by N.Shilder and «Finnish Smugglers» (1853) by
V.Khudyakov. These paintings are on permanent exhibition. In order that
his collection better reflect the centuries-old traditions of Russian art
he acquired works of various epochs and also began a collection of antique
icons. Tretyakov was one of the few people of his time who realised the
great intrinsic value of ancient Russian art. He was on friendly terms
with many progressive , democratic Russian painters, frequenting their
studious, taking an active interest in their work, often suggesting themes
for new paintings, and helping them financially. His collection grew
rapidly; by 1872 a special building was erected to house it.
Tretyakov was aware of the national importance of his vast collection
of Russian art and presented it to the city of Moscow in 1892, thus
establishing the first museum in Russia. An excerpt from his will reads:
« Desirous of facilitating the establishment in my beloved city of useful
institutions aimed at promoting the development of art in Russia, and in
order to hand down to succeeding generations the collection I have amassed
I hereby bequeath my entire picture gallery and the works of art contained
therein, as well as my half of the house, to the Moscow City Duma. By
special decree of the Soviet Government, Issued on June 3 1918 and signed
by V.I. Lenin, the Gallery was designated one of the most important
educational establishments of the country. It was also decreed that the
name of its founder be retained in honour of Tretyakov’s great services to
Russian culture.
The Gallerie’s collection has grown considerably in the years since
the Revolution. In 1893 it consisted of 1805 works of art, but by 1956 the
number had increased to 35276.The early Russian Art department and the
collections of sculpture and drawings were considerably enlarged, and an
entirely new department- Soviet Art- was created. By a Government decision
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