30 masterpieces of the Pushkin Museum's Gallery of European & American Countries that you must see (PHOTOS)
Russian patrons of the arts Ivan Morozov and Sergei Shchukin were among the first in the world to collect impressionist and modernist artwork. After the revolution, their collections were nationalized. And the masterpieces of their collections can still be seen in the main art museum of Moscow today.
After the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution, almost all major private art collections in Russia were nationalized. And the works of the impressionists and modernists were transferred to the specially created Museum of New Western Art. It was disbanded in the post-war years and its incredible collections were divided between the St. Petersburg’s Hermitage and the capital's Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts. The latter gave them a building next door to the main one, which is now called the Gallery of European and American Countries. Below are the main hits of the exposition that you must see.
1. Johannes & Franz Riepenhausen. ‘Girl from Foreign Lands’, early 19th century
The German artists were inspired by Friedrich Schiller's poem ‘The Maiden from Afar’. Its heroine, the embodiment of spring and the rebirth of nature, comes from the south in May and appears to the poor shepherds.
2. Francisco Goya. ‘Carnival’, 1810-1820
There are three paintings by the great Spaniard in Russian museums and two of them are in the Pushkin Museum. The gloomy ‘Carnival’, in which dusk seems to thicken suddenly in broad daylight, is permeated with anxiety and a premonition of trouble.
3. Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres. ‘Madonna before the Chalice with the Eucharist’, 1841
Ingres painted the canvas by order of Tsarevich Alexander Nikolaevich, the future Alexander II. It is no coincidence that the canvas depicts the heavenly patrons of the heir to the throne and Emperor Nicholas I – Saints Alexander Nevsky and Nicholas of Myra.
4. Pascal Adolphe Jean Dagnan-Bouveret. ‘Blessing of the Newlyweds’, 1880-1881
The plot is based on a real scene, witnessed by the artist. In 1882, he presented the painting at the Paris Salon. And, in 1888, it was acquired by philanthropist Sergei Tretyakov.
5. Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot. ‘Portrait of Mariette Gambe (Mariette's Dreams)’, 1869-1870
One of the artist's most striking "mood portraits". Mariette, lost in her thoughts, holds a book in her hands. Corot had a large collection of old folios and his models often posed with one of them.
6. Edouard Manet. ‘Portrait of Rosita Mauri’, 1880s
The famous Spanish dancer was painted by Degas, Renoir and, of course, Manet. The ballerina shone on the stages of Barcelona, Paris and Milan and ballets were created especially for her. According to the memoirs of contemporaries, Mauri, in addition to her outstanding talent, was distinguished by an explosive character. Manet managed to capture her grace and charm.
7. Mary Cassatt ‘Mother and Child’, late 19th - early 20th centuries
An American by birth, Cassatt spent much of her life in Europe. She studied with Pissarro and was friends with Degas. The image of a mother with a child is a classic subject for her work.
8. Edgar Degas. ‘Blue Dancers’, 1897
The artist painted four ballerinas whirling in a dance when his eyesight was fading. His excellent visual memory came to the rescue. In addition, he applied a kind of marking to the models' bodies to accurately convey their proportions. ‘Blue Dancers’ was acquired from Parisian gallery owner Paul Durand-Ruel by collector Sergei Shchukin.
9. Camille Pissarro. ‘Opera Passage in Paris (Snow Effect. Morning)’, 1898
In 1898, the artist lived in the ‘Hotel du Louvre’, from the windows of which he could observe the Opera Passage and the Place de la Théâtre Français. Pissarro told his son: "…I can try to paint these Parisian streets, which people usually call ugly, but which are so silvery, so bright, so alive." The artist explored how snow, rain and fog change the city and its inhabitants, each time turning a familiar landscape into a new one.
10. Pierre-Auguste Renoir. ‘Portrait of the Actress Jeanne Samary’, 1877
Jeanne Sammarie, the star of the Comédie Française, was depicted by the artist in the paintings ‘Ball at the Moulin de la Galette’ and ‘Swing’. He also created a portrait of the young actress, which some contemporaries said it “could be eaten with a spoon”.
11. Paul Helleu. ‘Lady in White’, late 19th - early 20th centuries.
The artist often painted his wife Alice Helleu. The painting acquired by Pyotr Shchukin was no exception.
12. Edvard Munch. ‘White Night. Åsgardstran (Girls on the Bridge)’, 1902-1903
Munch's contemporaries called this painting his most perfect work. The artist himself spoke of the time when it was painted as unhappy, the most difficult and, at the same time, the most fateful and most productive. At that time, he was going through a breakup with his beloved Tulla Larsen.
13. Odilon Redon. ‘Renewal (Spring)’, 1910
The painting is almost monochrome – it is impossible to pass by, just glancing at it. The viewer will involuntarily stop to examine the silhouette of a woman emerging from the haze, leaning against a tree.
14. Arnold Böcklin. ‘Spring (Songs of Spring)’, 1876
The artist created a series of paintings with characters singing and playing musical instruments. Women walking along a field symbolize the forces of nature. This painting was beloved by poet Rainer Maria Rilke – he placed a copy of it in front of his desk.
15. Claude Monet. ‘White Water Lilies’, 1899
The village of Giverny became famous thanks to the artist. He settled there in 1883: He bought a house and planted many flowers in the yard. And, a little later, he bought a neighboring marshy area and created a magnificent garden, a pond with lilies and a Japanese bridge across the pond. Now, the whole world knows these views.
16. Claude Monet. ‘Boulevard des Capucines in Paris’, 1873
Having seen the painting at the first Impressionist exhibition, one of the critics was indignant that it was painted as if a painter had worked on it and the images of people looked like black spots. Monet painted Boulevard des Capucines from the window of Nadar's photographic studio – he was fascinated by the atmosphere of the street, drowning in the setting sun.
17. Paul Cezanne. ‘Pierrot and Harlequin’, 1888
The painting has a second title – ‘Mardi Gras’. Interest in carnival ceremonies became the starting point for the artist's work. Cezanne made the shy Pierrot and the merry Harlequin the heroes of the painting – he painted them from his son Paul and his friend.
18. Paul Cezanne. ‘Peaches and Pears’, c. 1895
Cezanne painted more than 200 still lifes. He believed that objects were a kind of support that could teach in the same way as painting.
19. Vincent van Gogh. ‘Red Vineyards at Arles’, 1888
"We saw a completely red vineyard – red as red wine. From a distance it looked yellow, above it – a green sky, around – purple earth after the rain, here and there on it – yellow reflections of the sunset." This is how the artist described the environs of Arles in a letter to his brother Theo. This incredibly bright painting is considered one of the few that were sold during the artist's lifetime.
20. Vincent van Gogh. ‘Portrait of Doctor Rey’, 1889
Felix Rey was an intern at the hospital where the artist was. It was he who took in the bloody Van Gogh when he cut off part of his ear and later visited him. In gratitude for his care, the artist painted a portrait of the doctor. However, he was not happy with the gift and hid it in the attic of his house. Moreover, the painting was then used for some time to cover a hole in the chicken coop. In 1900, Rey sold the portrait without regret for a small sum and, soon, its new owner would become collector Sergei Shchukin.
21. Vincent van Gogh. ‘Prisoners' Walk. February’, 1890
One day, Van Gogh saw an engraving by Gustave Doré, which depicted jailers walking one after another. In a moment of enlightenment, when the artist was in a clinic in Saint-Remy, he decided to paint a picture on the same theme. And compared his stay in a psychiatric hospital with imprisonment. One of the characters in the canvas – a red-haired man – has recognizable features of the artist.
22. Paul Gauguin. ‘Cafe in Arles’, 1888
In 1888, Gauguin came to Arles to visit his friend Van Gogh. It was there that this painting was painted, which, according to the artist himself, "Vincent really likes, but I don't…”
23. Paul Gauguin. ‘Ah, are you jealous?’, 1892
The artist called this painting the best he painted in Tahiti. He described the sisters chatting about love experiences after swimming in his book ‘Noa-Noa’ and transferred this plot to canvas.
24. Andre Derain ‘Drying the Sails’, 1905
At the invitation of Henri Matisse, Derain went to work in Collioure, from where he brought back seascapes. They were completely devoid of shadows – only the sun, under which a scattering of colored brushstrokes-boats swayed and sea waves shimmered. After the Autumn Salon of 1905, where this painting was presented, the name of a new movement in painting was born – Fauvism.
25. Kees van Dongen. ‘Lady with a Black Glove’, 1907-1908
In 1908, at the Salon of the Golden Fleece, the Russian public saw more than 200 works by French impressionists – Renoir, Degas, Cezanne and other masters. Among them was Kees van Dongen's painting ‘Lady with a Black Glove’. It was purchased by patron of the arts Sergei Polyakov.
26. Henri Matisse. ‘Red Fish’ 1912
The painting was bought by Sergei Shchukin: After seeing ‘Red Fish’ in the artist's studio, he asked to send it to Moscow as soon as possible.
27. Pablo Picasso. ‘Harlequin and His Girlfriend (Traveling Gymnasts)’, 1901
Arriving in Paris in 1900, Picasso often attended performances of the Medrano Circus and painted its participants.
28. Pablo Picasso. ‘Girl on a Ball’, 1905
The painting appeared from sketches for the canvas ‘The Acrobat's Family’. It is both a reminder of how fragile life is and how it also needs protection from harsh reality.
29. Pablo Picasso. ‘Portrait of Ambroise Vollard’, 1910
Outstanding Parisian art dealer Ambroise Vollard was the first to appreciate the impressionists and patronized them. He was one of the first to notice the talent of a young Pablo Picasso: already in 1901, he organized his exhibition. The almost monochrome cubist portrait of the art dealer seems to be assembled from different planes: when combined, they form a stern, strong-willed face. Picasso himself called the work the best portrait of Vollard of all created.
30. Henri Rousseau. ‘Attack of a Jaguar on a Horse’, 1910
One of the last works of the primitive artist. It looks like he got his inspiration from the wild, but he actually drew inspiration from the Paris Botanical Garden and Zoological Museum.
