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ArtLogia

Photo: A.Savin, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

About the museum

The story of the Russian Museum

The State Russian Museum in Saint Petersburg opened in 1898 as the first state museum of Russian art. Its main home is the Mikhailovsky Palace, a neoclassical palace by Carlo Rossi.

It traces Russian art from medieval icons to the twentieth century, with great works by Bryullov, Repin, Aivazovsky, Levitan and the avant-garde of Malevich and Kandinsky.

The collection

The Russian Museum holds more than 400,000 works, a complete survey of Russian art. Its icons include works attributed to Andrei Rublev, and its eighteenth- and nineteenth-century galleries show the portraits, history paintings and landscapes of the Imperial Academy.

The great canvases of Karl Bryullov, Ivan Aivazovsky and Ilya Repin are among its highlights, as is its twentieth-century collection of the Russian avant-garde, with Malevich, Kandinsky and Goncharova.

At ArtLogia you can order 147 of its paintings as hand-painted reproductions, by 52 artists led by Ivan Shishkin, Fyodor Vasilyev and Ilya Repin.

paintings to order
147
artists
52
art movements
9
years covered
1716–1943

The building

The Mikhailovsky Palace was built by Carlo Rossi in 1819–25 for Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich. Emperor Nicholas II opened the museum there in 1898 in memory of his father, Alexander III, and it now also includes the Benois Wing, the Marble Palace, the Stroganov Palace and the Mikhailovsky Castle.

Masterpieces to see

Planning a visit

The Mikhailovsky Palace sits just off Nevsky Prospekt, a short walk from the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood.

Hand-painted in oil

Famous paintings from the Russian Museum

Each reproduction is painted by hand by a professional artist, following the original's composition, colour and brushwork. Choose your size, and have it rolled, stretched or framed.

Artists in the collection

Russian Museum: frequently asked questions

What is the difference between the Hermitage and the Russian Museum?

The Hermitage shows world art, especially European painting. The Russian Museum is devoted only to Russian art, from icons to the twentieth century.

Where is The Ninth Wave?

Ivan Aivazovsky's The Ninth Wave (1850) is in the State Russian Museum in Saint Petersburg.

When did the Russian Museum open?

It opened to the public in 1898 in the Mikhailovsky Palace, as the first state museum of Russian art.

What are the most famous paintings at the Russian Museum?

Its best-known paintings include The Last Day of Pompeii, The Ninth Wave, Barge Haulers on the Volga. ArtLogia offers 147 hand-painted reproductions of works from its collection.

When was the Russian Museum founded?

The Russian Museum dates from 1895. See the history above for how its collection grew.

Is the Russian Museum one of the best museums in the world?

Yes. It ranks number 16 in our list of the 100 best art museums in the world, ranked by the famous paintings in their collections.

Can I buy a reproduction of a painting from the Russian Museum?

Yes. Paintings such as Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks and The Ninth Wave can be ordered as hand-painted oil reproductions on canvas, in any size, rolled, stretched or framed, with free worldwide shipping.

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