Tretyakov Gallery

Museums are really worth seeing in Russia. The largest and most interesting museum in Moscow is the Tretyakov Gallery or, as the Russians call it, the Tretyakovka.

However, if at first you visit the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, then nothing will surpass it. The Hermitage is so rich and huge that after it any other museum will seem modest. Nevertheless, the Tretyakov Gallery has its own special charm. If the Hermitage is a treasury of world art, then the Tretyakov Gallery is a collection of Russian art.

It was very interesting for me to see what Russian art is, how it differs from the Indian art I used to. The difference was enormous. To be honest, after visiting the Tretyakov Gallery, the art of India became uninteresting to me.

In India, there has never been realism; all art is not like life. I was struck by the authenticity of the paintings in the Tretyakov Gallery. Faces of people, views of nature, animals — everything is so real, as if I see it through the window of a house, as if I look into someone else’s life, into the world of the past.

That is how people lived, dressed, watched, suffered, rested, thought... In every picture, there is an incredible truth of life. The images are so authentic, as if the artists of the past photographed their images. At the same time, the pictures do not look like ordinary photographs; they are much deeper and more luxurious. They have real beauty!

Most of all, I liked the Russian art of the 19th century. In my opinion, this is the most beautiful painting in the world! Sasha told me that in comparison with modern Western abstractionism, in our time, Russian classical art is not so expensively valued at the world’s leading auctions. It hurt me. I needed to satisfy my curiosity; therefore, I looked it up on the Internet for the 10 most expensive paintings in the world and learned about the most sought-after and expensive artists.

I experienced a real shock. Among the most expensive paintings in the world, worth under USD 100 million, almost all were formless daubs created by avant-garde abstractionists, which I would not have hung even in my closet. I cannot even compare this garbage with those masterpieces of the beauty of Russian painting of the 19th century, which I saw in the Tretyakov Gallery. What a crazy world we live in!

There is so much beauty in the Tretyakov Gallery that on the day of visiting the museum, it is better not to plan anything else, otherwise there will be a bust of sensations. We walked from room to room and looked at some of the pictures longer, while at others — less. I remember a few paintings that particularly struck my imagination.

One of the paintings by Russian artist Valentin Serov depicts the famous Russian actress Maria Yermolova. During the creation of the picture, Yermolova was already over 50, as they say, at the height of her fame and success. Serov managed to convey the royal and noble beauty of this woman. Although in those days I was half the age of actress Yermolova from the picture, I felt a kindred soul in her. It is incredible how the artist managed to convey the character of this woman on the canvas.

I was very interested to see a collection of ancient Russian icons. Amazingly, some of them are 800 years old! The energy of holiness comes from these icons. I was especially attracted by Archangel Michael on the icon from ancient Novgorod. I also appreciated the famous “Trinity” by Andrei Rublev.

The painting “The Swan Princess” by the artist Mikhail Vrubel captivates with absolutely fantastic beauty. The huge blue eyes of a young girl, white lace of a luxurious dress, and elusive movement upwards — everything in this picture seems to be floating and heading towards heaven.

In one of the tall halls, we suddenly saw a huge picture: from floor to ceiling. This is the painting “The Appearance of Christ Before the People” by artist Alexander Ivanov. Each figure is so realistic that it seems that you will take a few steps and find yourself among the people depicted. However, the people in the pictures are even higher than the people in fact; this creates a feeling of special grandeur of what is happening.

In the paintings of the artist Ivan Aivazovsky, the sea looks so real that it seems as if it will splash out of its frame on you. Against the backdrop of raging elements, people are helpless and desperate; their lives can be interrupted at any second. It reminds us how small and vulnerable we are in the world.

The beauty of Russian nature is incredibly conveyed by the paintings of the artist Ivan Shishkin. I fell in love with Russian nature; in my opinion, this is the most beautiful thing in the world. However, in some incomprehensible way, Shishkin managed to portray the Russian nature even more stunning than it is in reality.

There are thousands of paintings in the Tretyakov Gallery. Sometimes I want to go back there to see them again and again. Every time I see these pictures, I am enraptured by the brilliant Russian art.