Tretyakov Gallery: Russian Art in Moscow

The gallery is named after Pavel Tretyakov, a Moscow merchant and collector who assembled works by Russian artists in the 19th century. His aim was to create a collection that would make the development of Russian art visible. In 1892, he donated his collection to the city of Moscow. This established a public museum, which has since been expanded, studied and presented in changing exhibitions. The gallery’s later family and institutional history is also part of its identity; a separate museum is dedicated to the Tretyakov brothers, Pavel and Sergei.

The gallery combines preservation and research with exhibitions, educational programs and cultural events. Its collection brings together different genres, media and historical moments in Russian art. Icons, portraits, landscapes, historical paintings, sculpture and works from modern movements offer a range of ways to engage with the collection. Their sequence helps visitors recognize changes in visual language, patronage and artists’ ideas about their own work.

The historic museum building is in Zamoskvorechye, south of the Kremlin. Its distinctive appearance reflects the combination of several phases of construction. The red-brick façade, with its decorative details, was designed by the artist Viktor Vasnetsov and draws on forms from ancient Russian architecture. Inside, galleries showcase art spanning centuries; their layout and furnishings provide a setting in which works can be viewed by period and in context.

The older parts of the collection begin with icons and early modern art, then move through 18th- and 19th-century portrait and history painting to the leading artists of Russian Realism. Landscapes, genre scenes and portraits reveal the range of subjects explored in the 19th century. Works by Ilya Repin, Ivan Shishkin, Ivan Aivazovsky, Vasily Surikov and other artists are associated with key chapters in Russian art history. Comparing their subjects, styles and conditions of creation helps place individual works in context.

The New Tretyakov Gallery is located at 10 Krymsky Val. Its collection spans the early 20th century to contemporary art. The avant-garde, Socialist Realism, the “severe style,” unofficial art and later artistic movements are presented in relation to one another. The spacious galleries make it possible to trace developments across larger groups of works. The New Tretyakov Gallery on Krymsky Val presents this period in spacious galleries and through changing exhibitions.

The gallery reveals the development of Russian art across a range of media. Icons connect painting with religious visual traditions; portraits document social roles and individual representation; landscapes show the growing importance of nature and homeland as subjects. History paintings express ideas about the past and national identity. Comparing several works makes it possible to see how artists changed their use of perspective, color and composition, as well as the worlds they depicted.

The collection continues to develop through acquisitions, donations and research. Permanent exhibitions provide a dependable overview, while temporary projects explore particular artists and themes in greater depth. Talks, guided tours and workshops cater to different audiences and offer opportunities to examine works from a specific perspective. As a result, the gallery remains both a place for exploring history and a forum for current engagement with art.

For a comparison of collection highlights, Moscow museums offer a selection of art, city and history collections. The Pushkin Museum has a different focus, on ancient and European art. For a comparison of collections, the Pushkin Museum is a good choice, with its focus on ancient and European art.

The Tretyakov Gallery is therefore an excellent starting point for exploring Russian art across several periods. Its distinctive features are the breadth of its collection and its different buildings, each tailored to its period. From religious imagery and the social painting of the 19th century to the stylistic ruptures of modernism, the gallery tells a story shaped by national traditions and connected to international developments.

Several different plans were considered for the site of the gallery’s present-day building. An earlier academy project began in 1939, was suspended during the war and was later relocated. A new building for the Tretyakov Gallery was approved in 1956; in 1959, the site on Krymsky Val was designated for this purpose. A design from Ivan Zholtovsky’s studio, involving Yuri Sheverdyayev and Nikolai Sukoyan, among others, was approved in 1964. Construction began in 1965 and was completed in 1983.

The New Tretyakov thus brings modern exhibition architecture to an urban setting shaped both by the riverside landscape and by public culture. Its collection of 20th- and 21st-century Russian art ranges from the avant-garde and Socialist Realism to the “severe style,” unofficial art and more recent movements. The historic building in Lavrushinsky Lane focuses on Russian art from the 11th century to the early 20th century; the two locations complement each other chronologically.

The two-part gallery visit is shaped by both chronology and the city’s geography. The older building in Zamoskvorechye traces the history of Russian art through the early 20th century, while modern and contemporary works take center stage on Krymsky Val. The transition from private collecting to a public gallery is the institutional thread connecting the two locations.