Russian museum was celebrating its 120th anniversary on March 19, TASS informs. Exactly 120 years passed since the first day when the largest collection of Russian art masterpieces was open to public. At that time, the museum funds comprised 1500 art objects. Now it owns the biggest collection of national arts. Today the collection of the Russian Museum numbers some 400,000 works and covers the entire history of Russian fine arts from the 10th century to the present day.
The Russian museum was founded following the decree of Nicholas II who implemented the conception of his father Alexander III. Paintings and sculptures stored in the Emperor’s palaces, collections of Russian artists’ paintings from the Hermitage make a fund of the museum. The Academy of Fine Arts passed its storage to the new museum too.
Collectors presented museum with their collections at the beginning of the last century. Artefacts from churches and monasteries considerably replenished the Ancient Rus’ museum collection after the Great October Revolution. Art objects from palaces and mansions were passed on to the museum funds.
The artists replenish the funds with paintings left after their personal exhibitions. This tradition has long roots and continues until present time.
The Russian museum undergoes changes as the time passes by. New technologies are often applied. Virtual affiliates are opened all over the world. At this, digital copies will never substitute the originals. Young people fond of various multimedia gadgets, come to the museum to see real Aivazovsky, Vereshchagin and other painters.
Russkiy Mir
