With 170 000 pieces of artwork in storage, and 10.000 pieces on display, the State Tretyakov Gallery is, arguably, the biggest collection of Russian art in the world, its only rival is the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg but, in our opinion, the Tretyakov Gallery collection is much better organized. If you wish to learn what Russian art is, how it’s developed and what makes it different from Western European art, take a private tour of the State Tretyakov Gallery.
The vast collections of the State Tretyakov Gallery are spread across two buildings in two different city locations. The historical building in the heart of Moscow presents the development of the Russian art since the onset of Christianity in Russia in the 10th century AD to the avant-garde art of the early 1900s. Until the reforms Peter the Great introduced in the early 1700s, the Russian art was mainly religious art, i.e. icons. The State Tretyakov Gallery has a very saturated collection of Russian icons with many priceless masterpieces on display, including the most famous Russian icons from Andrei Rublev. Further on, we can trace the development of Russian art in oil paintings, through genres and styles, be it portraits of the royals or famous Russian writers, moody Russian landscapes or views of Moscow 250 years ago, or Russian interpretation of impressionism, post-impressionism or art nouveau styles.
Museum is open every day except Monday. Duration up to 2 hours.
PLEASE NOTE: If you wish to see Russian avant-garde art, social realism and Soviet underground paintings, those are shown in a different building near the Gorky Park – New Tretyakov Gallery.
Languages: English, German, French, Italian, Spanish and other foreign languages.