GORK JOURNAL

Museum of Fine Arts

Geo: Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow, RU
Photo: GORK


Today, I shared a photo of the sculpture of the Tempter and the Virgin in our work chat for a laugh.
The original adorns the facade of Basel Cathedral in Switzerland. In the process, I mistakenly referred to the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, which houses a copy, as the Russian Museum. The collection’s works, meaning, and atmosphere do not resonate with the name of the great poet. While preparing this text, I asked myself: what does Pushkin have to do with this? It turned out that before the Bolsheviks came to power, the museum was named the Museum of Fine Arts named after Emperor Alexander III. For ethical reasons in 1923, the name was shortened to the Museum of Fine Arts, and in 1935, on the anniversary of the poet’s death, some officials lobbied for the modern version of the name. The original name was "The Aesthetic Museum at Moscow University."

The option with the Museum of Fine Arts named after Emperor Alexander III accurately describes what can be found under this building’s roof. Moreover, it emerged during the era of Ivan Vladimirovich Tsvetaev (father of Marina Tsvetaeva), who became the inspirer and driving force behind forming a collection of plaster casts of sculptures from around the world. Honestly, I can’t imagine how negotiations went about casting the original statue of Nike of Samothrace in liquid plaster. There are thousands of copies of such masterpieces studied from the first lectures on art history in this museum.

In spirit, the Pushkin State Museum reminds me of the Stieglitz Academy in St. Petersburg. Both have an unlimited influence on the development level of creative professionals. If you haven’t been there — make plans for the nearest weekend; if you have — run to refresh your memory. How long did we gaze at Apollo’s head in a drawing — it was just one head that still evokes adoration and tenderness.

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