For true connoisseurs of art, the Nesterov Museum in Ufa (address: Gogol St., 27) is a golden treasury, which contains all the best that man has created over many centuries. It is here that you can see masterpieces of painting, icon painting, unique creations of sculpture and graphics. The Nesterov Museum is also a place where exhibitions of works by contemporary artists are regularly organized. Canvases from various parts of Russia are brought here to the audience court. And those who prefer the classics can personally enjoy the works brought from the Russian Museum and the Tretyakov Gallery. Of course, the best collections of Bashkir folk and fine arts are presented in this eminent temple of art.
A brief excursion into the past
Naturally, the Nesterov Museum has its own history. It is located in a mansion, which was built in 1913 by a we althy merchant Laptev. When the power in the country passed into the hands of the Bolsheviks, the owner of the mansion was killed by the "Reds".
Soon the communists organized the headquarters of the Red Guard in the mansion. Only in 1919, the local revolutionary committee was able to convince that homeownershipLaptev is not the most ideal place for headquarters. After some time, a cultural institution was already located here - the Nesterov Museum. And even then there was something to show the people. The fact is that in 1913 the famous artist presented his hometown of Ufa with several dozen paintings by eminent Russian painters: Levitan, Shishkin, Arkhipov, Polenov, Korovin. It was their paintings that became the foundation of the first collection of the museum. Moreover, the painters' creations were originally located in Moscow, and transporting them to the Bashkir capital turned out to be quite a difficult and troublesome business. The Nesterov Museum first opened its doors to visitors in January 1920.
Maestro's creations
On a huge area for the exhibition, of course, there are paintings by Mikhail Nesterov himself.
More than a hundred creations of the famous artist, including graphics and painting - this is a huge layer in the museum's collection. For the viewer, creations that were created before 1917 are of particular interest. It was in them that the artist most vividly and maximally embodied the ideas of searching for the spiritual ideal, the harmony of nature and man.
Old Russian painting of the 15th-19th centuries
The exposition includes more than a hundred works. Visiting the Nesterov Museum, you can see unique works of icon painting (“The Evangelists”, “Annunciation”, “Descent into Hell”, etc.). Their authors learned the basics of drawing in the icon painting schools of Veliky Novgorod, Moscow and the Russian North.
Among other things, the exposition presents rare items made of wood, metal, which areto church utensils.
Russian fine arts (XVIII-XIX centuries)
The works of such eminent masters of the brush as V. Borovikovsky, D. Levitsky are stored here. The exhibition also includes works by serf artists.
The main trend in the work of portrait painters at the end of the 18th century was the gradual transition from medieval canons to new trends.
As for the works of Russian painters who worked in the XVIII-XIX centuries, the M. Nesterov Museum can offer the most unique creations. In particular, we are talking about the paintings of Lev Lagorio (“Italian Mountain Landscape”) and Sylvester Shchedrin (“The Harbor in Sorrento”), as well as I. Aivazovsky (“Moonlight Night in Venice”). Shishkin, Savrasov, Stefanovsky, Repin - their colorful works are also regularly on display.
Russian graphics
Fans of this genre will have something to see if they one day come to the Nesterov Art Museum. The collection was presented by the maestro himself. It includes such works as "Stasov and the Artists" (P. Shcherbova), "At the Edge" (E. Polenova), "Portrait of a Girl" (S. Malyutina), "Sentimental Walk" (A. Benois).
Bashkir painting and graphics
The above collections date back to the founding of the museum. At the moment, it features more than three thousand paintings by Bashkir artists.
Among them are P. Salmazov, B. Domashnikov, A. Lezhneva, T. Nechaeva, A. Sitdikova and others. Specialvisitors admire the watercolors and drawings of K. Devletkildeev, a true master of the art of drawing.
It should be noted that the Nesterov Museum has long ago created a retrospective collection of Bashkir painting, which records all the stages of its formation and development. Back in the first quarter of the 19th century, the Ufa Art Circle was formed, whose members held the first exhibitions of painting, which laid the foundation for the national perception of fine art.
Western Europe Collection
Its formation began in the 20s of the last century. Most of the works were delivered from the State Museum Fund, and only selected works were purchased by collectors. The paintings are by artists from Holland, Germany, France, Italy, Denmark, Belgium.
The museum has a small part of the sculptures made by Western European masters. In particular, the Sleeping Boy sculpture, made of marble by an unknown Italian, is of particular interest. The work of the French sculpture Claude-Louis Michel, who in the 18th century made unique figurines of satyrs and fauns from bronze, evokes genuine admiration. At the exposition you can also get acquainted with the sculptural creations of the Bashkir masters.
This is what the museum of the artist Nesterov has innumerable riches. Everyone who considers himself a true connoisseur of art is obliged to look at them. The institution is open to visitors from Tuesday to Sunday (closed on Monday). Modework: from 10.30 to 18.30. (excl. Thursday - from 12.00 to 20.30.).
