Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Rooms 18-22: Genre Painting
At the turn of the 19th century, it became fashionable for 'genre painting' to look to
themes from (an incredibly idealised) rural Russia, which you can see in Rooms 18 to
20. Room 21 contains some enormous canvases:
Phrina at the Poseidon Celebration
in Elesium
by Genrikh Semiradsky,
Christian Martyrs at the Colosseum
by Kon-
stantin Flavitsky and
Nero's Death
by Vasily Smirnov.
PETER I INTERROGATING TSAREVICH ALEXEY IN PETERHOF
One of Russian art's most famous historical paintings, Nicholas Ghe's masterpiece
relates to the tumultuous relationship between Peter the Great and his son. Peter
could not understand Alexey's character, so different from his own, and Alexey grew to
hate his father's overbearing ways. Alexey foolishly went abroad and sought support
from foreign leaders to place him on the Russian throne. Peter, paranoid by his later
years, managed to convince Alexey to return home unpunished if he renounced his
right to the succession. While Alexey kept his side of the bargain, Peter had his own
son tortured to death as he tried to extract information about 'plotters' against him. This
picture expertly captures the gulf between the two men, and foreshadows Alexey's
brutal end in the Peter and Paul Fortress.
Ghe's painting met with such critical coldness he declared that art should not be
for sale, became a follower of Tolstoy, bought a farm and began painting por-
traits for a pittance, believing everyone should be able to pay to preserve their
image.
Rooms 23-25: The Wanderers
The Wanderers (Peredvizhniki) were a group of academy artists who saw their future
outside the strict confines of that institution. They wandered among the people, paint-
ing scenes of realism that had never been seen before in Russian art. Look for brilliant
works by Perov, including
Hunters at Rest
and the scathing
Monastery Refectory
(both works are often on loan, however).
