Tretyakov Gallery

This is a big home for art.

It is in a land called Russia. A man named Pavel Tretyakov started it. He loved to buy art. He gave his art to the people.

Now the home has many things to see. It has paintings and drawings. It even has statues. People from all over come to visit. It is a very special place for art.

The State Tretyakov Gallery is a famous art museum. It is in Moscow, Russia.

A merchant named Pavel Tretyakov started the collection. He began buying art in 1856. He wanted to build a museum for his country. In 1892, he gave his art to the nation. At that time, he had about 2,000 works. This included paintings, drawings, and sculptures.

Today, the gallery is much larger. It holds more than 130,000 items. You can see many different things there. There are old icons like the Archangel Michael.

You can also see modern art. One famous piece is the Black Square by Kazimir Malevich. The museum buildings are special too. One part has a face that looks like a Russian fairy tale. This style was designed by the painter Viktor Vasnetsov. The gallery even has branches in other parts of Russia. One is in the far east, in Vladivostok. Another is in the far west, in Kaliningrad. It is a very important place for art lovers.

The State Tretyakov Gallery is a very important place for art in Moscow, Russia. It is known as the top place in the world for Russian fine art.

People visit it to see beautiful paintings, drawings, and sculptures. In 2020, it was the 13th most-visited art museum in the world. Even though fewer people visited during the pandemic, it remains a huge treasure for art lovers. It holds many different kinds of art from many different times.

Visiting the gallery is like walking through history. You can see old religious icons, like the Archangel Michael from the 13th century.

You can also see very modern works. One famous piece is the Black Square by Kazimir Malevich.

The collection is massive, with more than 130,000 different items. It even includes the famous Trinity icon by Andrei Rublev. The gallery is so big that it uses many different buildings to show its art.

The story of the gallery began with a man named Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov. He was a merchant living in Moscow. In 1856, he started buying paintings by Russian artists. He wanted to build a collection that could become a museum for his nation. By 1892, his collection had about 2,000 works. He gave all of these works to the Russian nation as a gift. This was the start of the great museum we know today.

As the collection grew, the buildings had to grow too. The main gallery building was built between 1902 and 1904. Its front, or façade, was designed by the painter Viktor Vasnetsov. It has a special look that reminds people of Russian fairy tales. During the Great War, workers had to be very careful with the art. They rolled paintings onto wooden shafts and put them in waterproof boxes. They even moved a train of 17 wagons to a safe place in Novosibirsk. The gallery finally reopened in Moscow in May 1945.

The Tretyakov Gallery is more than just one building in Moscow. It is a large group that looks after many different sites. There is a gallery of modern art located in central Moscow. This site has huge statues, including one of Peter the Great that is 86 meters tall. The gallery also has branches in far-away places. There are satellite galleries in Kaliningrad in the west and Vladivostok in the east.

These branches help share art across all of Russia.

The State Tretyakov Gallery is a premier art museum located in Moscow, Russia. It is widely recognized as the foremost depository of Russian fine art in the world.

The institution serves as a massive repository for cultural heritage, preserving thousands of years of artistic expression. It functions as both a museum and an administrative center for several other art sites. The gallery is a vital part of Russia's national identity. It allows people to study the evolution of art from ancient religious icons to modern abstract works.

Building the collection required a dedicated process of acquisition and preservation. In 1856, the Muscovite merchant Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov began purchasing works by Russian artists. His goal was to create a collection that could eventually grow into a national museum. He started by buying specific pieces like *Temptation* by Nikolay Shilder and *Skirmish with Finnish Smugglers* by Vasily Khudyakov. As the collection expanded, the Tretyakov family had to add new rooms to their mansion. These additions occurred in 1873, 1882, 1885, and 1902–1904. This physical growth allowed the museum to move from a private residence to a public institution.

The gallery's collection is incredibly diverse, containing more than 130,000 individual exhibits. These items represent many different eras and styles of art. Visitors can see ancient religious works, such as the 13th-century *Theotokos of Vladimir* or the *Archangel Michael*.

The collection also includes famous modern masterpieces. Notable examples are the monumental *Composition VII* by Wassily Kandinsky and the *Black Square* by Kazimir Malevich.

This range ensures that the gallery covers the entire history of Russian visual culture.

The history of the museum is marked by significant transitions and challenges. In 1892, Tretyakov donated approximately 2,000 works to the Russian nation. This gift included 1,362 paintings, 526 drawings, and 9 sculptures. The museum officially opened as the Moscow City Gallery of Pavel and Sergei Tretyakov on August 15, 1893. Later, on June 3, 1918, the institution was declared owned by the Russian Federated Soviet Republic. At this point, it received its current name, the State Tretyakov Gallery. During the 20th century, the gallery grew to include neighboring buildings like the 17th-century Church of St. Nicholas in Tolmachi.

Protecting the art has often required extreme measures during times of conflict. During the Great War, museum staff had to prepare for the possible evacuation of the collection. They used a specific method to protect the paintings. Workers rolled the canvases onto wooden shafts and covered them with tissue paper. They then placed the works in boxes and sheathed them in waterproof material. In the summer of 1941, a train consisting of 17 wagons transported the collection to Novosibirsk. The gallery did not reopen in Moscow until May 17, 1945, following the end of the war.

Today, the Tretyakov Gallery is a massive organizational structure with many branches. It includes a major gallery of contemporary art located in the Central House of the Artists. This site features large outdoor sculptures, such as a 86-meter-tall statue of Peter the Great. The organization also manages satellite galleries in distant parts of the country. There is a branch in Kaliningrad in the far west and another in Vladivostok in the far east. These remote branches were funded using reserved oil and gas revenue.

This structure helps spread art across the vast geography of Russia.

The gallery remains a major global destination for art lovers and scholars. In 2020, the museum attracted 894,374 visitors, despite a 68 percent decrease from the previous year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Even with this drop, it ranked 13th on the list of the most-visited art museums in the world. The museum also engages with other fields, such as hosting the FIDE World Chess Championship in 2012. This event was organized to promote both the game of chess and the appreciation of art simultaneously. Through its vast collection and many locations, the gallery continues to connect people to the history of human creativity.