The Belarusian National Museum is a real cultural treasure. At the moment, it is not only an impressive exhibition of paintings, one of the largest in Eastern Europe, but also a center for scientific and educational projects, and a venue for events in honor of contemporary artists. You should definitely study the history of this museum.
History of Appearance
The National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus has an extensive collection, but its history is far from impressive. The State Picture Gallery was opened in 1939. At the heart of its expositions were works from the museums of Vitebsk, Mogilev, Gomel, Minsk, part was donated by the Tretyakov Gallery, the Hermitage. In addition, the collection included canvases from the castles and estates of Western Belarus - Slutsk belts from the collection of the Radziwills, French tapestries of the eighteenth century and portraiture. The years of World War II became a difficult time. Many exhibits were taken out of the country, and their history is still unknown. After the war, work on the collection was started anew. Nation althe Art Museum of Belarus, or rather at that time the BSSR, acquired paintings by Kustodiev, Bryullov, Levitan, Polenov. Some exhibits were donated by galleries in St. Petersburg and Moscow. In 1957, the exposition was opened in a new building, which was designed by Mikhail Baklanov. The façade is adorned with allegorical sculptures depicting painting, sculpture and glory. This building is one of the first in the history of Soviet architecture. At the moment, his image is used on a banknote of a thousand rubles. Throughout the years of its existence, the National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus has been collecting new masterpieces from private collections, works in the genre of icon painting and the best works of Belarusian masters. Over the past decades, it has turned into a complex with five branches, two of which are located outside of Minsk - in Golshany and Mir.
New building
The National Art Museum in Minsk grew so much that by the end of the twentieth century it needed a new building. All departments, lecture halls and other office premises were moved to neighboring buildings. A new building was created for the museum, which combines past features and modern architecture. Designer Vitaly Belyankin has designed an interior with classic arches and columns, decorated with stucco and a glass dome as the ceiling. The area of the new building is almost nine thousand square meters. In addition to the exposition, which is owned by the National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus, herethere are restoration workshops and storerooms. A special tour allows you to observe the process of restoration of paintings. The new halls served as a platform for demonstrating ancient and modern Belarusian art, as well as artifacts from Western Europe and Russia.
Exposition today
Every year many tourists visit Minsk. The National Museum of Art is a good choice for a day trip in the capital. It is constantly evolving and today it presents to the attention of visitors more than thirty thousand exhibits, which include twenty thematic collections and two collections of national and world art, including unique objects of the masters of the East of the fifteenth century. In the museum you can see ancient icons, Belarusian sculpture and handmade fabrics, nineteenth century paintings and arts and crafts. The branch is the "House of Vankovichi", where the culture of the beginning of the century before last is represented. Another one is the Museum of Belarusian Folk Art. There is also a branch dedicated to the work of Byalynitsky-Biruli. The National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus is engaged in research and restoration work, collects a library fund, accompanied by an electronic catalog with images of all the works presented in the exposition. He publishes books and albums. Lectures and interactive tours are constantly held here, and for children there is a creative workshop that has been leading classes for the past twenty years.
International projects
The museum also cooperates with foreign colleagues. This allows us to carry out bright projects created jointly with the Tretyakov Gallery. Canvases are brought here from Serbia, Ukraine and France. Chagall's works were presented by the Israel Museum. There was also an exhibition of the English project "Royal Treasures" dedicated to Victoria and Albert.
Cost and time of visit
Tickets to the museum are quite budgetary - from fifty to one hundred and fifty thousand Belarusian rubles, depending on the desire to take pictures. Every last Wednesday of the month you can visit it for free. The entrance to the museum is open from eleven to eighteen thirty, on Tuesdays it is closed.
