Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts Egyptian Hall. Egyptian Hall, history of creation. Expositions and buildings of the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts

State Museum fine arts them. A. S. Pushkin or, as he is more often called, Pushkin Museum- one of the most significant museums in Moscow, which has collected within its walls a large collection of works of foreign art from the ancient world to the present day.

The Pushkin Museum opened its doors for the first time on May 31, 1912. The inspirer and first director was Moscow University professor Ivan Vladimirovich Tsvetaev. The initial collection was formed from copies of ancient sculptures and mosaics from the University Cabinet fine arts and genuine antiquities purchased from the famous Egyptologist V.S. Golenishcheva. Later, the halls were replenished with paintings transferred from other museums and works of art from private collections donated or confiscated after the revolution. Today, the Pushkin Museum’s collection includes more than 670,000 exhibits, of which only 1.5% are available for inspection.

Under the jurisdiction of the Pushkin Museum. Pushkin - a whole museum town located in historical center Moscow near Kropotkinskaya metro station. It includes several buildings, including:

• Main building
• Gallery of art from Europe and America of the 19th-20th centuries.
• Department of Personal Collections
• Museum-apartment of Svyatoslav Richter
• Center for Aesthetic Education "Museion"
• Educational Art Museum named after. I.V. Tsvetaeva
• House of Graphics

The main building is an architectural monument with a powerful colonnade and a glass roof, built 100 years ago specifically for the museum.

The exhibition here is located on two floors. The first contains genuine rarities of Ancient Egypt, ancient times, golden treasures of Ancient Troy from the excavations of archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann, paintings by European masters of the 8th-18th centuries, there are Greek and Italian courtyards - large spaces with cast sculptures. On the second floor many rooms are devoted to copies of art objects Ancient Greece, Rome, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. In addition, original paintings by European artists are exhibited here.

Egyptian Hall- one of the world's best collections of authentic objects from the times of Ancient Egypt: mummies, sarcophagi, masks, figurines, jewelry and vessels.

Wooden sarcophagus of the nobleman Mahu, holder of a plot of land of the Temple of Amun:

Amenhotep and Rannai - priest and priestess of the god Amun:

Sarcophagus and mummy of Khor-Kha. On foreground– cat mummy:

The next room is dedicated to the art of the Ancient Near East.

Figurine of an adorant from Northern Mesopotamia. Adorant is a figurine made of stone or clay that was placed in a temple so that it would pray for the person who placed it.

Halls of ancient art with a collection of Greek vases and amphorae, mosaics, sculptures and reliefs of Ancient Italy, Cyprus and Rome.

Antefix – ceramic tile with the Gorgon Medusa mask:

Items from the excavations of Panticapaeum - the capital of the Chimerian Bosporus:

The theme of antiquity continues in the Greek Courtyard, a large hall filled with casts of famous ancient Greek statues, reliefs and architectural fragments.

Sleeping Ariadne. The marble original is kept in the Vatican.

Another courtyard is Italian, with casts of Renaissance masterpieces.

The equestrian statue is a copy of the bronze monument to the commander-in-chief Bartolomeo Colleoni from Venice.

Michelangelo's famous David. The height of the sculpture is 5.5 meters.

One of the main pearls of the Museum of Fine Arts. Pushkin - a collection of works by Rembrandt and artists of his school is located in room No. 10.

Rembrandt "Portrait of an Old Lady" and "Portrait of an Elderly Woman".

Exhibition of paintings Flemish painters 17th century - Rubens, Jordaens, Van Dyck, Bruegel.

Anthony Van Dyck "Portrait of Adrian Stevens". Flemish master of the early 17th century "Portrait of a Lady with a Fan".

"Ice Skating" by Hendrik Averkamp from the 17th century Dutch Art Hall.

Also on the ground floor, the permanent exhibition presents art from Byzantium, Italy from the 13th to 16th centuries, and Germany and the Netherlands from the 15th to 16th centuries.

Let's go up to the second floor.

The hall, called "Olympic", with casts from classical ancient Greek sculptures.

A copy of the sculpture “Lamentation of Christ” from the hall of Michelangelo Buonarotti. " Greater fame and fame,” according to his contemporary, the great master acquired himself with this work.

Italian sculpture from the 15th century. The decoration of the hall uses decorative elements in the style of the Early Renaissance.

Magnificent Tombstone of the Cardinal of Portugal by Rosselino Antonio. The original is in Florence in the church of San Miniato al Monte.

European art of the Middle Ages.

The cultural heritage of Ancient Italy and Ancient Rome in casts. The masterpieces of this room are the Capitoline She-Wolf, the bust of Marcus Aurelius, and the sculpture “Victoria”.

Greek art late classic and Hellenism. The colossal group "Farnese Bull" - the original is kept in the Archaeological Museum of Naples.

Winged Nike of Samothrace and Aphrodite of Knidos famous sculptor Praxiteles.

Of course, it is difficult to show all the halls and works - there are a lot of them, you can spend more than one hour exploring the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts.

Photography is free, but there are a few rules: you cannot use a tripod or flash, and you are prohibited from taking photographs at temporary exhibitions.

On days of particularly significant exhibitions, when masterpieces from collections are brought best museums world, queues are forming at the cash register.

Art Talks on 29 topics are held on Tuesday and Friday afternoons and Thursday evenings in the Main Building, Gallery and Personal Collections Department.

Since 1980 in the museum. Pushkin passes annual festival music “December Evenings of Svyatoslav Richter”, concerts are held in the halls throughout the year.

There are sightseeing and thematic tours of the permanent exhibition; you can take an audio guide, its cost is 250 rubles.

For more detailed information, see the official website of the Pushkin Museum: arts-museum.ru

How to get to the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts

By public transport: metro station Kropotkinskaya, then 2 minutes on foot.

Address: Volkhonka street, building 12.

Opening hours

• Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday - from 11-00 to 20-00
• Thursday, Friday - from 11-00 to 21-00

Monday - closed

Ticket prices for the Main Building

• Adults – 400 rubles
• Preferential categories- 200 rubles
• Children under 16 years old – free

The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts is preparing to celebrate its centenary. On this occasion, the exhibition is updated and something that the public has never seen before is taken out of storage. “Your Leisure” walked through the halls of the museum and found out why to go to the building with columns on Volkhonka and why the permanent exhibition of the Pushkin Museum is not permanent.

Next to each other are a mummy of a cat, a mummy of a bird and a mummy of a woman’s head. We are in the very first and perhaps the most important hall of the museum. At least that's what it seems to children. It is here - to the Egyptian Hall - that they usually come running first, staring intently at the mummies and sarcophagi and completely ignoring the masterpieces of Rubens and Rembrandt displayed nearby. However, a child has not set foot here for five months now. Halls No. 1 (art of ancient Egypt) and No. 2 (art of ancient civilizations) have been closed since October for repairs and reconstruction. The doors are guarded by a formidable policeman. For greater persuasiveness, the caretaker looks sternly from a nearby chair. There is also a sign informing about the reconstruction. Triple protection before the gates to the afterlife. It’s really better not to enter here for children yet. Scientists are arguing outside the door - so hotly that the basalt figurines of the pharaohs are about to turn red. The curator and the designer discuss the correct arrangement of exhibits. There were significantly more of them in the Egyptian Hall. Numerous vessels for incense, cosmetic spoons, dishes and household items were taken out from the storerooms. “Now it will be clear how and what the Egyptians lived with,” says Alexandra Stepina, curator and deputy head of the museum’s aesthetic education department.

Walled up masterpieces

Secrets of Pushkinsk. Source: Secrets of Pushkinsk.

In the hall of ancient civilizations, an Assyrian relief was taken out of the wall, which had been walled up in it for almost half a century. In 1969, Indira Gandhi brought a unique exhibition of ancient Indian sculpture to Moscow as a gift. There were no free walls found in the museum, but it was necessary to place the exhibits, whether you like it or not. In a couple of days, plywood walls were erected, where the previous exhibits were walled up. And outside they placed a gift from the then Prime Minister of India. However, now visitors will see everything at once, and in addition, dozens of new exhibits. But first they still need to be placed correctly. Here again there is controversy. But the last word will still be behind Irina Antonova. The permanent director of the museum inspects each room herself. And makes adjustments. As she says, so it will be. However, this is not surprising. No one knows the museum better than her. After all, half of hundred years of history She is the one who runs the museum. She also initiates all changes in the seemingly unchanged permanent exhibition.

About the benefits of copies

Behind last years The museum has changed and expanded significantly. A few years ago, all the impressionists and works of the 20th century were removed from the main building of Pushkinsky. Now Manet, Monet, Degas, Chagall and Renoir “live” in a separate building on the left - the Gallery of European and American Art of the 19th-20th centuries. Personal collections live with right side from the main building - in a yellow mansion on Volkhonka, 10. A little further away is the Museion Center, where they educate the younger generation.

As a result of all these rearrangements, a lot of free space appeared on the floors of the main building. For this occasion, they decided to update the exhibition. The collection of prolific small Dutchmen and no less prolific Italians has increased significantly. The arrangement has also changed - previously quite chaotic, it has become clear and understandable. The exhibits scattered throughout the halls were brought together, uniting, for example, Rembrandt and his school in one hall and organizing the inspection strictly chronologically. We're passing right wing the second floor, mostly filled with copies and casts of various sculptures, starting with ancient ones.

Secrets of Pushkinsk. Source: Secrets of Pushkinsk.

- It just seems that the copy is worse than the original. Over time, the copy becomes valuable, explains Alexandra Stepina. - Do you see a copy of the reliquary of St. Gertrude? So, the original is long gone. People come to us from all over the world to see it. There are other copies that only we have left, and the originals were lost in World War II.

— So, wars, tsunamis, revolutions work for the benefit of museums?

— It sounds cynical, but that’s how it is. If the originals disappear from other collections, our copies will become priceless.

How the bishop was cured

The museum curator has been leading the photographer and me through the halls for the second hour. Talking about the museum the way one should talk about it - with interest and detail. Guides can tell you a lot that is not written on the information signs.

For example, that the boring Dutchman Jan Van Der Heijden from the 11th hall is not just an artist, but also the inventor of the fire hose (which, you see, gives him charm). And the brooch from Troy on display in the 3rd hall may be valuable, but not as valuable as the lens that is pointed at it - after all, it is 4000 years old. Only from the guides can you learn that the weighty pedestal in the center of the Italian courtyard, on which a Christmas tree is placed on New Year’s Eve, is the shaft of an old ventilation system. Or that unpainted pieces of walls were deliberately left so that during the next reconstruction the historical (still Tsvetaevsky) coloring could be restored. We enter one of the halls with European paintings. Alexandra takes us to the picture.

In the hall of art of Ancient Egypt, about 800 exhibits are exhibited, representing all periods of the history of the development of the country of the pharaohs, starting from the 4th millennium BC. until the 4th century BC These are wooden and stone sarcophagi, statues, reliefs, household and funeral objects, mummies of people and animals, papyri, vessels and jewelry, figurines of deities and amulets. The hall itself is decorated with architectural elements typical of an ancient Egyptian temple: the ceiling is painted, false beams are supported by graceful columns in the shape of a bunch of papyrus. This gives the hall special atmosphere and immediately sets up the person entering to communicate with ancient Egyptian art.

The most ancient exhibits Egyptian collection The Pushkin Museum includes stone tools (c. VI - V millennium BC), as well as slate pallets and painted clay vessels of the Nagada I - III cultures (IV millennium BC). Along with rich and varied mass material - sacrificial gifts originating from tombs and intended for a prosperous life after death - the Pushkin Museum collection presents outstanding works ancient Egyptian art (the upper part of the statue of the king of the Middle Kingdom Amenemhat III, figurines of the priest Amenhotep and the priestess Rannai, a cosmetic spoon of the New Kingdom and others).

Most of the objects on display have been on display since the opening of the Museum of Fine Arts in 1912 and form the core of one of the world's finest private collections of ancient Egyptian art. It's about about the Russian orientalist Vladimir Semenovich Golenishchev (1856 - 1947). His collection, numbering approx. 8 thousand items, became the first museum acquisition of originals in 1909. In 1913, the museum bought a collection of monuments from the major Moscow collector L.I. Ginzburg, including a relief block depicting mourners. Several truly precious gifts were brought to the museum by Yu.S. Nechaev-Maltsov: these are excellent Fayum portraits, a golden diadem and a statue of Harpocrates. After October revolution The Egyptian collection was replenished with exhibits transferred from various museums and private collections. Presented to the Department Ancient East Egyptian monuments belonging to them and scientists whose activities were inextricably linked with the museum - B.V. Farmakovsky, T.N. Borozdina-Kozmina, A.V. Zhivago. The museum's collection was significantly enriched after the acquisition in 1940 from N.A. Prahov of the collection of his father, philologist and art critic A.V. Prahov, numbering 217 exhibits. In subsequent years, the collection was replenished through donations, archaeological excavations, periodic purchases.

The first exposition of the hall of Ancient Egypt, timed to coincide with the opening of the Museum of Fine Arts, was made by the outstanding Russian Egyptologist Boris Aleksandrovich Turaev (1868 - 1920), the second, post-war, by Professor Vsevolod Vladimirovich Pavlov (1899 - 1972). The present exhibition opened in 1969. Its inspirer and organizer was the head of the Department of Ancient Orient, Doctor of Art History Svetlana Izmailovna Khodzhash (1923 - 2008).

The monuments in the hall are located in chronological sequence, starting with the most ancient - stone tools VI - V millennium BC (?), slate pallets and painted clay vessels of the Nagada I - III culture (IV millennium BC). The various forms of ceramic products and the presence of paintings give an idea of high level development of the artistic craft of this era. A rare exhibit is a clay dish depicting a masked hunter holding four dogs on a leash. All objects were found in burials and are evidence of ritual practices of the Predynastic period. Already at this time, the main features of ancient Egyptian art appeared: conditioned by religious ideas, convention, symbolism, monumentality, which were fully developed after the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt into a single state (late 4th millennium BC) - during the Ancient kingdom(XXVIII-XXIII centuries BC).

The Ancient Kingdom is the time of the first flowering of Egyptian architecture, the final design of the pictorial canon, which Egyptian masters would adhere to for several millennia. During the same period, one of the greatest achievements art - sculptural portrait. The principles of decorating tombs with wall relief images, as well as the peculiarities of rendering the human figure and objects on a plane, are illustrated by a series of blocks from the tombs of the “chief of the royal treasury” Isi, the Egyptian Merit, the Egyptian Tepemankh (all - ca. 25th century BC), “ gardener of the pyramid of King Pepi II" Hiiu (c. 23rd century BC)

The visual creativity of the ancient Egyptians was inextricably linked with religious beliefs and the requirements of the funeral cult. In particular, the portrait resemblance of the image to the person being portrayed was due to the belief that every person has a “double”, or “Ka” - a certain vital essence, which, being immortal, must have a permanent home in some image of the deceased. The idea that all monuments were intended for eternity and should not contain anything accidental or fleeting determined the features of the conventional artistic language of Egyptian plastic art: closedness and undifferentiated volume, static nature, lack of excessive detail. Reliefs and statues of the V-VI dynasty (showcase No. 6) and a free-standing sculptural group the official Uja-dzher and his wife are clear examples of the embodiment of the canonical rules of depicting a person in sculptural images.

Showcase 6 contains individual objects that were placed in the tomb, and a unique exhibit - the mask of Pepi II (XXII century BC, VI dynasty), brought by V.S. Golenishchev from excavations at the site of the pyramid of this king.

The Middle Kingdom (XXII-XVIII centuries BC) is represented by such masterpieces as the portrait of King Amenemhet III (XIX centuries BC) and the stele of the “great steward” Khenenu (XXI-XX centuries BC .) from pinkish limestone.

The upper part of the statue of Amenemhat III brilliantly illustrates best features sculptural portrait of the Middle Kingdom during its heyday - interest in the individual and age characteristics of a person. The viewer can also see small examples of sculptural works (window No. 9), including a portrait of King Senusret II.

Two showcases display objects from the tombs of the Middle Kingdom that were necessary for the deceased in the afterlife - wooden models of funeral barges and figurines of servants (display case No. 10), as well as “magic wands”, magical female figurines, palettes in the shape of animals, small vessels made of stone (showcase no. 9).

The art of the New Kingdom (XVI-XI centuries BC) bears the imprint of triumph Egyptian state after the expulsion of the Hyksos from the country.

The art of this extended period is characterized, on the one hand, by the strengthening of realistic tendencies, interest in depicting nature, the desire to convey movement, and on the other hand, by an increase in decorativeness, refinement and at the same time the formalization of artistic language. These qualities are clearly visible in monuments from the reigns of pharaohs Amenhotep III and Amenhotep IV (XIV century BC): in faience vessels and inlays on walls and furniture from Amarna, cosmetic spoons, playing chips, small figurines, as well as in a portrait of a young man from limestone. One of the masterpieces of the collection is distinguished by its exquisite beauty - a cosmetic spoon in the shape of a pink lotus flower, with a handle in the shape of a swimming girl. An excellent quality wooden spoon in the shape of a girl among thickets of papyrus, a wooden oval box with a retractable lid inlaid with earthenware inserts - wonderful examples of the art of ancient Egyptian woodcarving masters.

The undisputed masterpiece of the Egyptian collection of the Pushkin Museum is the paired sculptural group of the priest Amenhotep and his wife priestess Rannai, dating back to the reign of Hatshepsut. The figurines are made of rare ebony, imported to Egypt from southern regions Africa, the eyes of the spouses are inlaid with glassy paste. Slender figures, thin limbs, the presence of exquisite details - gilded jewelry and a luxurious women's wig - bring to us all the unique and recognizable beauty best works ancient Egyptian art.

Showcase No. 14 displays a relief from a private tomb late XVIII din. in Saqqara depicting mourning for the deceased. The dynamic composition and the depiction of human figures from complex angles give this fragment of the funeral procession drama and expressiveness.

The funeral rite, which played a huge role in the religion of the Egyptians, gave rise to a variety of objects directly related to the funeral cult and ideas about the fate of the deceased after death. These are sarcophagi, canopic jars (vessels for storing the embalmed entrails of the deceased), funeral masks, ushabti figurines and boxes for their storage, figurines of gods. In one of the display cases there is a swaddled mummy of the priest Khor-kha, covered with a net of faience beads, and the head of a woman’s mummy, as well as mummies of sacred animals - a cat and a falcon. Nearby, on the podium, is a set of canopic jars with lids in the form of the heads of the sons of the god Horus. The sarcophagi that are exhibited in the hall belong to different eras, starting from the 3rd millennium BC. (a simple clay box with a relief image of a boy in a fetal position on the lid). The brightest sarcophagi, completely covered with paintings, date back to the New Kingdom and are exhibited in the central part of the hall. Two stone sarcophagi date back to the second half of the 1st millennium BC.

Several display cases display numerous gods of the Egyptian pantheon. They are made of bronze, stone (statues of Osiris in showcases No. 24 and No. 26), small figurines of gods made of carnelian and rock crystal (display case No. 12). The figurine of the god of vegetation Nefertum is cast from silver (display case No. 18), and the sacred ibis of the god Thoth (display case No. 12) is made of white stone, with a bronze head and paws. All figurines are distinguished by high quality casting and fine detail work.

A significant part of the monuments consists of alabaster vessels, faience bowls, painted clay jugs, bronze situlas (ritual vessels) and mirrors, bronze weapons, jewelry made of semi-precious stones and Egyptian faience.

TO Late period(1st millennium BC) include statues and sculptural portraits (display case No. 26). Among them, a granite statue of the queen stands out, whose face has pronounced portrait features (first half of the 7th century BC). Made of solid stone, portraits from the period of the Sais dynasty (second half of the 7th-6th centuries BC) imitate ancient examples and reveal the craftsmen’s desire for perfection of form and ideal processing of the stone surface. The Sais period was a time of new flowering of artistic craft.

The so-called “sculptor's corner” allows you to get an idea of ​​the process of creating reliefs and sculptural works by Egyptian masters: here you can see unfinished reliefs or copies made by students, as well as drawings on pieces of limestone (ostraca).

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I have long been planning to talk about what is perhaps my most favorite Moscow museum - the State Museum of Fine Arts. A.S. Pushkin. I'll have to split the post into two parts, it's too big and... interesting museum.




PART 1

Don't expect to go around the whole State Museum Fine Arts named after. A.S. Pushkin in one visit. It's practically impossible. Is it just running, glancing briefly at the rich exhibits presented on two floors in 30 halls!
Therefore, I suggest you take a quick “run” through the halls of the museum with me right now, and let everyone thoroughly familiarize themselves with it on their own and preferably over several visits!
Just a little about the history of the museum. The groundbreaking ceremony for the Museum took place on August 17, 1898. First visitors to the Emperor's Museum of Fine Arts Alexandra III accepted at the Moscow Imperial University on May 31, 1912.

As was customary in those glorious years, the museum was built with donations from philanthropists. Most of the money was contributed by the great Russian philanthropist Yuri Stepanovich Nechaev-Maltsov.
The creator of the museum, Ivan Vladimirovich Tsvetaev (1847 - 1913) is a Russian scientist-historian, archaeologist, philologist and art historian, corresponding member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences, professor at Moscow University (father of Marina Tsvetaeva).

So, go ahead, on the 1st floor!

Hall 1. ART OF ANCIENT EGYPT. IV-I millennium BC

The richest collection of ancient Egyptian art presented in the exhibition of this hall introduces the stages of development of Egyptian culture, starting from the pre-dynastic period (IV millennium BC) until the time of the New Kingdom (XVII-XII centuries BC). The architecture of the hall reproduces character traits temple architecture of the 2nd millennium BC. The ceiling paintings, made by the artist I.I. Nivinsky in 1912, represent a free variation on the theme of decorative design of mortuary temples and tombs.

Statue of Amenemhet III. Middle Kingdom, XII Dynasty, mid to late 19th century BC.

Sarcophagus of the nobleman Mahu. New Kingdom, XVIII dynasty, XIV century. BC.

Statue of the god Anubis. New Kingdom, II millennium BC.

These “notes” are over 4000 years old!!!

Hall 2. ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS (Mesopotamia, Urartu, Iran, Cyprus, Parthia, India, America)

The exposition of this hall introduces the art of ancient peoples who inhabited Western Asia, the Mediterranean, the Indian Peninsula and Latin America. The decoration of the hall uses motifs from the paintings of the palaces of the Assyrian kings: gate demons “shedu” and reliefs from the royal palaces (casts). In the center of the hall, on a pedestal, there are authentic Urartu vessels, ancient state(current territory of Armenia).

The display cases contain authentic items from ancient civilizations.
Peru. Culture Rekuay. 1st millennium AD Figure of a warrior-priest. Reminds me of our Vanka-Vstanka

Scythians. 7th-5th century BC Clay tent (possibly a toy).

Four-armed Vishnu with attributes in his hands: club, wheel, conch and lotus.
Sandstone, 9th century. AD Gift from Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India.

Relief depicting a winged spirit in a pose of blessing.
Cast. Original 9th ​​century BC is in British Museum, London.
To work on casts of I.V. Tsvetaev in different years attracted famous Russian scientists and outstanding artists. Plaster casts and galvanocopies were ordered in 1890 - 1911 from famous European workshops.

Hall 3. TREASURES OF TROY

A collection of 259 items from treasures discovered by Heinrich Schliemann during the excavations of Troy in 1871-1890 is stored in the Pushkin Museum. A.S. Pushkin since 1945. The collection was transferred Soviet Union together with other artistic values ​​by decision of the Soviet Control Commission as partial compensation for damage caused by the Nazis.

Hall 4. ART OF THE ANCIENT WORLD (Cyprus, Ancient Greece, Etruria, Ancient Rome)

The collection of antique originals is one of the earliest in the Pushkin Museum's collection. The first ancient Greek vases and terracottas were purchased for the Cabinet of Fine Arts of Moscow University in the 50-60s of the 19th century. Today the collection contains more than ten thousand originals dating back to the period from the 3rd millennium BC. to the 4th century AD More than half of them were found by expeditions of the Pushkin Museum during archaeological excavations.

In four sections of the hall - Cyprus, Ancient Greece, Etruria, Ancient Rome - monuments of the main artistic regions and centers of the ancient Mediterranean are presented.
The central place in the section of the art of Ancient Rome is occupied by a sarcophagus with Dionysian scenes (c. 210) - one of the most famous monuments in the Museum’s collection.

Torso of a naked Dionysus with a sword and a grape vine. First half of the 2nd century, marble.

Hall 5. ART OF THE NORTHERN BLACK SEA REGION

The exhibition is based on materials found by expeditions of the Pushkin Museum. A.S. Pushkin in the south of Russia and Crimea.

Portrait statue of a ruler from Gorgippia. Marble, 80s II century
Found in 1939-1940. in Anapa (ancient Gorgippia).

Hall 6. COPTIC AND HELLENISTIC ART

In the first centuries AD, it began to spread in Egypt christian religion. Christian Egyptians were called Copts.
The hall represents the art and culture of Egypt after the campaigns of Alexander the Great, when Egyptian art absorbed the features of the art of the Greeks (“Hellenes”). Most of the exhibits are related to the funerary cult - sarcophagi, burial shrouds and masks. In the center of the hall there is a display case with Egyptian sarcophagi and mummies of the 6th-1st centuries BC.

Of particular interest is the collection of 16 Fayum portraits, made using the most sophisticated technique of wax paints.
Portrait of a woman, second half of the 2nd century.

Mummy masks, 2nd century.

Hall 7. BYZANTINE ART of the XIV-XVI centuries. ART OF ITALY VIII-XVI centuries

Byzantine painting is represented mainly by monuments of the 14th century. Among the world-class masterpieces is the icon of the “Cathedral of the Twelve Apostles,” which is exceptional in its subtlety of execution.

Collection Italian art- one of the best in the Pushkin Museum collection.

Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio. Portrait of a young man in the image of Saint Sebastian. Late 1490s.

Giulio Pippi. Lady at the toilet. Early 1520s.

Hall 8. ART OF GERMANY AND THE NETHERLANDS XV - XVI centuries

Art Northern Renaissance first presented in separate room. These are six boards by Lucas Cranach the Elder, “The Flagellation of Christ” by the largest Münster master Johann Körbecke, “The Annunciation” by the Master from Hoogstraten, etc.
The Pushkin Museum's collection of German art of the 15th century is the best in Russia in terms of the number and quality of works.
There is also a section on Dutch art.

Hall 9. Flemish Art XVII century.

The Flanders Painting Hall gives a holistic view of the Flemish school. Along with the brightest names such as Rubens, Van Dyck, Jordaens, Snyders, the number of exhibited paintings has increased, primarily due to large-format canvases, in the hall you can now see the works of their students and contemporaries (about two dozen new canvases).

Hall 10. Rembrandt and the masters of his school.

For the first time, six paintings by Rembrandt, as well as works by his students and followers, are shown as an independent section.

Hall 11. Dutch painting of the 17th century.

Paintings Dutch school XVII century constitute one of the most numerous and attractive sections of the Pushkin Museum’s exhibition. In conditions of severe dependence on market competition, Dutch artists focused on one or several genres where they felt most confident. Some preferred to paint pictures on religious and mythological subjects (works by Hendrik Goltzius, Gerrit van Honthorst, Nicholas Berchem), others - landscapes, and still others - genre scenes and still lifes.

Hall 14. GREEK YARD. Art of Ancient Greece. 2nd half of the 5th - beginning of the 4th century BC. Casts.

One of the most beautiful halls of the museum. The complex organization of movement along three floor levels made it possible to convey with amazing accuracy the free picturesque ensemble of the Athenian Acropolis.

Hall 15. ITALIAN YARD. Art of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Casts.

Italian courtyard built as a reduced repetition courtyard Palazzo Bargelo: corner staircase leading to the second floor, small columns with floral capitals supporting the balcony, light arcade, well in the center. The precision of the choice of architectural prototype made it possible to combine in the exhibition hall examples of classical art of the German Middle Ages with works of famous Italian sculptors of the Renaissance.

The collection of Egyptian originals came to the museum from St. Petersburg academician Vladimir Semenovich Golenishchev. V.S. Golenishchev was a scientist, archaeologist, he traveled to Egypt with an expedition from State Hermitage and acted as a work supervisor. At the same time, he was collecting a collection for himself. The St. Petersburg collection was collected during excavations, so its objects are precisely dated, attributed and tied to a particular tomb. And for himself, V.S. Golenishchev bought items on the “black market”. Therefore they were neither attributed nor dated. Later, scientists determined the age of the monuments and their belonging to a particular tomb based on parallels with other similar artifacts.

In 1909, Golenishchev went bankrupt and was forced to sell his collection. But, despite the favorable offers from different countries, the scientist wanted his collection to remain in Russia, so he sold it to the imperial treasury for a smaller amount. Moreover, the first half of the amount was paid to him immediately, the second was promised to be paid later, but the scientist was never paid, as is usual in Russia.

They decided to send the collection to Moscow because the Hermitage already had a collection of Egyptian art. As a result, the Moscow collection turned out to be even better than the one exhibited in the Hermitage. It is smaller in the number of items, but their quality is much higher. After all, V.S. Golenishchev tried to ensure that every era, every phenomenon in Egyptian culture was represented by some object. That's why the meeting Egyptian antiquities The Pushkin Museum, although more compact, is better than the Hermitage collection. Currently, this is the best collection of Egyptian art in Russia. And it became the first collection of originals in the museum.

Hall No. 1, where the monuments of Ancient Egypt are now exhibited, was specially rebuilt for the collection of V.S. Golenishchev. His collection ended up in the museum while it was still under construction.

The ceiling is supported by columns in the ancient Egyptian style, imitating bundles of papyrus. The entire architecture of the hall goes back to one of the halls of the ancient Egyptian temple. To imagine the setting of the ancient sanctuary, Roman Ivanovich Klein traveled to Egypt, visited and inspected the temples. In particular, he paid attention to the temple of Amun in Luxor and was primarily guided by it. The windows were curtained because the hall of the Egyptian temple did not allow for natural light. At the top, on the ceiling, there is a repeatedly repeated image of a bird with outstretched wings, this is the image of the sky goddess Nut.


The ceiling is also painted to resemble a starry sky.

One of the halls of the Egyptian temple actually reproduced nature on the banks of the Nile, mountains of royal papyrus.
I.V. Tsvetaev specifically asked R.I. Klein to make the hall in this style so that the visitor would not just look at individual objects, but also be imbued with the atmosphere of Ancient Egypt. In addition, the museum was initially planned as an educational museum and its goal was to give students an idea not only of painting, sculpture and small plastic arts, but also of architecture.

About the collection. The re-exposition in the hall took place several years ago, in 2012. Some monuments ended up in the collections, while others, on the contrary, were put on display. Currently, approximately a third of the existing collection is on display, meaning most of the Egyptian antiquities are in storage.

MONUMENTS
Sarcophagus and mummy of Khor-Kha. It is curious that this mummy cannot be photographed in any way; X-rays are never obtained. The mummy “does not want” to reveal its secrets. This is the mummy of the priest Khor-Kha, he died in the 2nd millennium BC.

The mummy is in a horizontal display case to the right of the entrance to the hall

How did the Egyptians embalm a mummy? There are many recipes and they all essentially boil down to the same technology: an incision was made in the side of a dead body. This was done by a specially trained person, who was called a “paraschist” (ripper). The body of a deceased person was considered sacred and therefore, the paraschist, on the one hand, was hired by the relatives of the deceased and paid him money for making an incision on the side. On the other hand, as soon as the paraschist made an incision, he ran away as fast as he could. The people who had hired him were now running after him and throwing stones at him for committing such a sacrilege.

Then, through the incision, the insides were taken out, washed, and placed in special vessels filled with embalming substances. Such vessels are in the museum’s collection; they are located in a vertical display case behind the mummy of Khor-Kha, in the corner, almost opposite the entrance to the hall).


All cavities in the body were also filled with embalming substances. The body was placed in “natron” - a kind of soda. Natron pulled out all the moisture from the body and the process of mummification began. The body was dried up, so it could no longer decay. He was wrapped in linen bandages and placed in a sarcophagus.

The sarcophagus of the priest of Hor-Ha is not the best or most beautiful in the collection. The best is the sarcophagus of Mahu.

Sarcophagus of Mahu.

It follows the shape of the mummy, with the tomb tapering towards the feet. A mask was always placed on the sarcophagus, which was supposed to represent the face of the deceased. It is to designate, not to depict. Because regardless of who was buried - an old man, a girl, a woman, a young or old person - the mask was always the same. The face of the mask was painted with wide open eyes, emphasized with black or dark blue paint.

The Egyptians believed that when the soul reconnected with the body, it should enter the sarcophagus through the eyes. For this purpose, the body was preserved and mummified.

The Sarcophagus of Mahu is a brilliant example of ancient Egyptian art. It is made of wood, this material was very highly valued in Ancient Egypt, there was not much wood. The black color of the sarcophagus emphasizes the shine of the gilding. The gilding and fine detailing indicate that this is the sarcophagus of a very rich man, made by the best craftsmen.

Undoubtedly, the best Egyptian craftsmen also made wooden statues of Amenhotep and his wife Rannai. These figures, on the one hand, connect the traditions of Egyptian art.

Amenhotep and his wife, the “singer of Amon,” Rannai are priests of the temple of the Sun god.

The Egyptians always depicted people in a frozen pose with wide strides and straight legs. It's not exactly life-like because the knees bend when you walk. Here the legs are straight, the arms are extended along the body and pressed to it. Left hand Rannai is bent at the elbow and also pressed to the body. The rule here is combined with very subtle psychologism. The man's figure is tall and broad-shouldered. He strides confidently, his head held high and open. He is a priest, so he does not wear a wig and his hair does not darken his face, it is brightly lit. He turns his head slightly to the left. He seems to be resisting the rule that the person depicted had to look straight ahead. The figure of his wife is thin, fragile, she minces her feet in her narrow dress, in contrast to the wide step of her husband. Her face is slightly lowered, the shadow of her hair falls on her face. The hair on the right side was not preserved, but it was there too. A dreamy, mysterious expression appears on the woman’s face. This is exactly how the Egyptians imagined it ideal man and the ideal woman. The man is strong and decisive, the woman is fragile, delicate, mysterious. And this is the beauty of Egyptian art. On the one hand, it has strict rules, on the other hand, within these rules there may be a very subtle and sophisticated psychological characteristic.

In addition to wood, the Egyptians were very fond of ivory, and even more - stone.
Cosmetic spoon. The masterpiece of the museum is a small bone spoon, it is known throughout the world. This is the finest work Ivory. The spoon is intended for cosmetics.

It is a box for storing cosmetics, it can be opened. The box is made in the form of a floating girl with a lotus flower in her hands. In addition to painted and unpainted ivory, beech wood is used here; the girl’s wig is made from this material. Such a thin, elegant thing may have been used in the everyday life of rich people, and perhaps it was ritual. It comes, of course, from the tomb.

A feature of ancient Egyptian culture in the form in which it has come down to us is that objects do not come from houses or palaces, but from tombs. This is the best thing that the Egyptians wanted to take with them to the afterlife.

The Middle Kingdom era is also represented here. Egyptian art. The name suggests that this is the middle of the existence of the ancient Egyptian kingdom - the 2nd millennium BC. At this time, special attention in Egyptian art was paid to portrait images.

The sculptures of Amenemhat III are interesting because quite a lot of them have survived.

The pharaoh ruled long enough that he founded the Fayum oasis in Egypt. He was depicted several times, in at different ages, his image can be found in different museums - in Berlin, in the Hermitage. From his portraits one can observe how the pharaoh's appearance changed with age. In the Pushkin Museum, Amenemhet III is presented not as an old man, but also not as a young man. If you look closely, you can see bags under the eyes, heavy, drooping eyelids, wrinkled lips, that is, the pharaoh is far from young. But his head is attached to the body of a young and strong youth, since the pharaoh in Ancient Egypt was considered a god and the personification of Egypt and should always be depicted as strong and young. Therefore, here, on the one hand, there is a portrait image, and on the other, the deification of the pharaoh, represented in the body of a young and strong youth, who is no different from the gods.

This is where we can end the conversation about Egyptian art; we saw the masterpieces of the hall. If you have time, you can show relief of the chief of the treasury Isi. ( Relief. Limestone. Mid-3rd millennium BC e.)

There are several relief images of Pharaoh Isi's treasurer. It should be emphasized that when depicting a person, the Egyptians used strict rules. The person’s shoulders are turned to the front, the head has a complex turn. In reality, it is completely impossible to roll the eye the way it is depicted. The person is looking directly at us, that is, the eye is depicted from the front, while the head is turned in profile. Such an image showed that the person depicted was alive, that he was capable of movement.

When the Egyptians depicted a mummy, not a living body, then in compositions dedicated to burial, the mummy was depicted either strictly from the front or strictly in profile. The complex image of Treasurer Ishi emphasized that the person was alive, which is why different points of view were collected. What is considered unrealistic for us, from their point of view was perfect realism, an indication that this is a living person.