Pavel Tretyakov: short biography. Gallery of Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The world-famous Tretyakov Gallery is open to tourists all year round. However, not all visitors are familiar with the history of its creation, as well as the names of the people, thanks to whose efforts it appeared.

Childhood of a collector

The biography of Pavel Tretyakov began on December 27, 1832. The future collector was born in Moscow in the family of a merchant. The thorough education that Pavel and his brother received at home had a very great influence on his life. The brothers helped their father at work from early childhood.

The desire to help, as well as to expand the family business, was so strong that the young Tretyakovs took up paper production - they became the owners of paper mills with a total number of workers - five thousand people.

Love for beauty

Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov from early childhood was very kind, attentive, sympathetic by nature. But at the same time, the simplicity and kindness of his heart were closely intertwined with real business acumen, the ability to highlight the main thing, and perseverance. In addition to his main activity (factory manager), Pavel Tretyakovpassionate about art. The young man decided at all costs to collect a collection of the best works of that era and burned with this idea until the end of his life.

Having begun his collective work, Tretyakov Pavel Mikhailovich accurately understood the goals facing him and assessed the complexity of the work. Collecting the collection took him a lot of time. Since, in addition to his passion for art, Pavel Tretyakov, along with his brother, was engaged in entrepreneurial activities, namely the management of a flax-spinning factory in Kostroma and the sale of paper and fabrics, there was not much time left for art. But Pavel Tretyakov was engaged in this noble cause not because of the desire for personal gain, success, authority, fame. He was disgusted by these feelings, and in every way he avoided any slightest publicity about his collecting. There is a well-known case when, after a laudatory article by Stasov, where the author was praising Pavel Mikhailovich for his selfless work, Tretyakov almost fell ill due to illness, upset because of this. After the incident, Pavel Mikhailovich was forced to temporarily leave Moscow. After that, the collector refused to attend the solemn ceremony on the transfer of the Tretyakov Gallery to the ownership of Moscow. Such an attitude to fame only confirms how simple and modest a person Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov was. The biography of the collector, of course, cannot but cause admiration.

Start collection

It is difficult to say who exactly instilled in Pavel Tretyakov an interest in art, but he began to get involved in painting quite early. SmallEven as a child, Pavel was inspired by the noble idea of collecting his own collection and thus opening up the opportunity for his compatriots to become closer to art, including national art. His dream was destined to come true. Already in 1856, he laid the foundation for his collection. The greatest interest for him were the works of Russian national art. For a long time, Tretyakov kept his collection in his offices, and in 1874 he built a whole chic building for it. In 1881 the gallery was opened to the public.

Gallery formation

Even when purchasing and ordering paintings for his gallery, Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov adhered to the same moderation as in everything else. Even in the filling of the museum, his balanced and reasonable character affected. When buying paintings, Pavel Tretyakov never sought to replenish his collection with exclusively expensive exhibits. The collector kept to the golden mean.

The collector did not hesitate to bargain with the artists. Most of the paintings acquired by Tretyakov had an average price. The main task of Pavel Mikhailovich at that time was to collect the largest possible collection of works that would reflect the real national Russian art.

Value of the Tretyakov Gallery

The main part of the gallery consisted of works of Russian painting. Many paintings were painted by itinerant artists. However, in addition to paintings, Pavel Mikhailovich was fond of sculpture and icons. To complete your collectionthe collector often acquired entire series of works. To this end, Tretyakov visited many domestic and foreign exhibitions, where he bought paintings. In addition, the collector asked Russian artists to paint paintings for his gallery to order. Among these paintings are many portraits, including famous Russian figures and rulers, scientists, writers, musicians, artists, artists, for example, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Turgenev, Nekrasov, Goncharov, Tchaikovsky and other prominent people.

In addition to the paintings bought by Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov at exhibitions or ordered from the best domestic artists at that time, as well as sculptures and icons, the collection included those works that were collected and preserved by Pavel Mikhailovich's brother Sergei. This collection consisted of works by French artists. Until the middle of the twentieth century, as many as 84 works were kept in the Tretyakov Gallery, and then were transferred to the Hermitage and the Pushkin Museum.

Activity Meaning

In 1892, Pavel Tretyakov took the generous step of transferring his gallery, along with the entire collection, to Moscow. At this point, the collection consisted of more than a thousand paintings. From that moment on, the gallery acquired its official name of the Tretyakov City Art Gallery.

Especially of great importance for Russian cultural history is the fact that at the time of the creation of the gallery, national painting in the Russian Empire was fragmented. In other words, she was at the stageformations. At that time, the art of domestic figures was constantly subjected to comparison, harsh criticism and, in fact, was only at the beginning of development. It was the work of Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov that made it possible to systematize the works of the national school of painting and leave only selected works in the gallery, thereby setting the tone for the further development of Russian fine art.

Contribution to art

It must be said that in his old age the collector did not stop replenishing the gallery and even bequeathed personal funds for its maintenance and expansion. According to various sources, Pavel Mikhailovich acquired dozens of new works for the gallery every year, including drawings and sketches. With his active charitable work, Pavel Tretyakov strengthened the global significance of the Tretyakov Gallery. But the artistic activity of Pavel Mikhailovich does not end there. In 1893, the collector became a member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts.

Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov's Gallery is extremely popular among tourists today. This only emphasizes the importance of its creation.

Cultural Heritage

Thus, the idea of Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov to create a national museum has completely come true. The Tretyakov Gallery became the first free gallery to visit. The most valuable works for Russia were collected in this museum. Pavel Tretyakov was counting on such a result. In short, the gallery not only combined the creations of the best authors of that era, but also became a kind of symbol anda guide to shaping the future of cultural Russia.

Throughout its history, the Tretyakov Gallery has become a receptacle for such outstanding works of art as works by Schilder, Khudyakov, Trutnev, Savrasov, Trutovsky, Bruni, Lagorio and Bryullov.

The works of the Wanderers enjoyed special respect from the great connoisseur. Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov was impressed by their lively, spiritual work, saturated with love for their native land, for the Motherland, for Russia. The collector unmistakably identified with his innate sense of beauty the extraordinary fullness in the works of these masters. In their paintings, themes of justice, the desire for truth and prosperity that deeply disturbed Pavel Mikhailovich were touched upon. No wonder the work of the Wanderers occupies a significant place in the collection of Tretyakov.

Tretyakov's authority

Thanks to a noble position, a great goal, as well as a special character, Tretyakov had a lot of good acquaintances and friends among artists. Many figures, on their own initiative, offered help and support in the creation of the Tretyakov Gallery. Pavel Mikhailovich was very loved and respected in this environment. Even among other collectors, Tretyakov was given the palm and, among other things, was allowed to be the first to choose creations for his museum among the painted canvases. All artists were familiar with Pavel Tretyakov. A brief biography of the collector only emphasizes that, in addition to his noble work, he himself enjoyed authority among artists. So,Volnukhin painted his portrait for a collector.

Community activities

Pavel Tretyakov was friends with many artists and sponsored many of them. Among such figures are Kramskoy, Perov, Vasiliev and many other creators. But the collector's charity does not end there. Pavel Mikhailovich actively supported special educational institutions for hearing-impaired people, financially supported the widows of poor artists, as well as their children. He even took part in organizing a shelter for them. Such activity emphasizes how broad-minded Pavel Tretyakov possessed. The biography of the collector makes an indelible impression as the life path of an incredibly generous person.

Collector's Achievements

Tretyakov Pavel Mikhailovich entered Russian history as a real hero who did a lot for his Motherland and its prosperity. Moreover, many art historians characterize him as a true patriot of his country. Of course, it's hard to disagree with this. After all, the goal of Pavel Mikhailovich was to collect the largest possible collection of precisely Russian works, to multiply and show in all its glory the Russian fund of fine arts. Moreover, Tretyakov had absolutely no art education, nevertheless he unmistakably chose the best exhibits for his gallery. The biography of Tretyakov Pavel Mikhailovich is an excellent example of how much you can do for your country.