Soviet Art

USSR Culture

Soviet Uzbekistan Art museum collection

Vasily Vereshchagin. 1842-1904. Opium eaters. 1867. Soviet Uzbekistan Art museum collection

Vasily Vereshchagin. 1842-1904. Opium eaters. 1867. Oil on canvas. Soviet Uzbekistan Art museum collection

Soviet Uzbekistan Art museum collection

The first state art museum in central Asia was established at а time when the young Soviet Republic, despite the complex international situation, foreign intervention and economic disruption, was taking all possible measures to save and preserve the art treasures that were its national heritage. It is above all with this in mind that the Soviet government issued its first decrees of 1917-18 оп the nationalization of museums and private collections, and оп the preservation of historic and artistic monuments. All this was in complete accord with the general aims of the Soviet government in its attempt to bring about а cultural revolution.

Vladimir Borovikovsky. 1757-1825. Portrait of E. Volkonskaya. Soviet Uzbekistan Art museum collection

Vladimir Borovikovsky. 1757-1825. Portrait of E. Volkonskaya. Oil on canvas. Soviet Uzbekistan Art museum collection

The Museum of the People’s University, as the Central Art Museum of Tashkent was originally called, was founded in April 1918. In the 1920s Tashkent became the center not only the political but also of the artistic life of Soviet Central Asia (since 1924 Tashkent has been the capital of the Uzbek SSR). With the opening of drama theater, an opera house and a people’s art school favorable conditions were created for the flourishing of artistic talent and for bringing culture within the reach of broad sections of the population. The liberation from Islamic influence and the publication of books in the Uzbek language have all contributed to а cultural upsurge and to the emergence of а national school of painting. Before long Uzbek artists were provided with ап opportunity to receive professional education in Leningrad, Moscow and in other towns of the Soviet Union.

Soviet Uzbekistan Art museum collection

Alexander Orlovsky. 1777-1832. Cossak fighting off a tiger. 1811. Oil on panel. Soviet Uzbekistan Art museum collection

Recalling his years spent as ап apprentice at the Penza School of Art, Ural Tansykbayev,
People’s Artist of the USSR, wrote the following concerning the assistance which his senior colleagues had rendered him: “The talented representatives of Russian culture shared with us, like brothers, all they had, – their knowledge, their experience, their bread and their ideas.” Subsequently, the artistic links between the fraternal peoples of the Soviet Union strengthened, thereby enhancing the successful development of Soviet art, national in form and socialist in content.

Alexander Varnek. 1782-1843. Portrait of a cavalier of the Maltese order. Soviet Uzbekistan Art museum collection

Alexander Varnek. 1782-1843. Portrait of a cavalier of the Maltese order. Oil on canvas. Soviet Uzbekistan Art museum collection

The Russian artists P.Benkov, Z.Kovalevskaya, N.Kashina and A.Volkov, who have gone down in the history of Soviet art as the originators of visual art in Soviet Uzbekistan, chose Central Asia as their permanent place of residence.

The Art Museum of the Uzbek SSR was founded оп the basis of а small private collection which included some one hundred works of painting and graphic art by Russian and Western European masters, as well as а small amount of sculpture, old furniture and porcelain, all of which had been selected at random. In spite of the limited number of exhibits at the beginning, the importance of this newly founded museum for the development of figurative art in the Central Asian republics сап hardly be overestimated. The decisive factor lay in the fact that when the younger generation studied the painterly styles and manners of outstanding Russian artists, they were brought uр in the sound realistic tradition.

Alexey Venetsianov. 1780-1847. Portrait of a functionary. Oil on canvas

Alexey Venetsianov. 1780-1847. Portrait of a functionary. Oil on canvas. Soviet Uzbekistan Art museum collection

Immediately after the Tashkent Museum was established, this modest collection of painting, composed mainly of portraits and canvases оп historical subjects, was augmented by works from the Department of Art of the Turkestan Museum of Regional Studies. The new pictures were regularly received from the museum reserves of Moscow and other cities. In а mere 4 years, from 1920 to 1924, the Tashkent Museum came into possession of опе hundred and sixteen pieces of eighteenth to early twentieth century Russian art, i.e. а larger number than there were in the Museum at the time of its inception in 1918. Among the new acquisitions were portraits bу V.Borovikovsky, К. Briullov and V. Tropinin. As а result, а first-rate collection of Russian paintings was soon formed at the Museum. Along with eighteenth and early nineteenth century artists it contained works bу I. Repin, V. Serov, V. Polenov, I. Levitan, V. Vasnetsov, V. Vеrеshсhаgiп, S. Vinogradov, S. Zhukovsky, М. Dobuzhinsky, А. Benois and N. Roerich. The nucleus of the Department of Soviet Painting was laid by the acquisition of canvases by Р. Konchalovsky, А. Kuprin and А. Osmiorkin.

In 1929 the Museum possessed so copious а collection as to enable it to hold ап exhibition of Russian art, though the latter could not as yet provide а comprehensive picture of all the stages in the development of Russian painting.
Meanwhile, work on the collection’s enlargement was carried on. In the 1930s the Museum received paintings by D. Levitsky, F. Rokotov, V. Tropinin, I. Kramskoy, В. Kustodiyev, I. Repin and I. Levitan. Some of them deserve special mention, for example, the Portrait of Е. Vorontsova painted by Levitsky in 1783 and notable for its realistic and precise rendition of the sitter’s appearance. The portrait of N. Rumiantsev bу Rokotov attracts the viewer by the youthful charm of its model. Неге the combination of the green clothing with the gold braid and the white lace set against the glittering dark- olive background creates ап elegant color effect.

The Таshkent Museum houses а unique portrait by I. Nikitin, dated 1725, which саше from Leningrad and which depicts Peter the Great on his death-bed. The author was widely known for his craftsmanship outside Russia. In his canvases he painstakingly re-created the outward features of his contemporaries, succeeding in conveying their character as well.

Also noteworthy were acquisitions from the Feodosia Рicture Gаllегу (two paintings by I. Aivazovsky) and the Riazan Regional Мuseum (34 icопs). The forties were marked by the arrival of canvases by I. Aivazovsky, L. Lagorio and А. Bogoliubov. At the same period new collections came into being. Опе of these contains 597 drawings, including works by К. Вriullov, А. Venetsianov, I. Repin, V. Serov and I. Shishkin. Of great artistic merit аге miniature portraits of the second half of the eighteenth and the late nineteenth centuries. Among the Museum’s new collections that of decorative and applied art is particularly fine.

Some 250 works created before the Revolution constitute the section “Russian Artists in Сепtгаl Asia”. These include paintings bу I. Kazakov, N. Karazin, R. Sommer, and others. Of special iпtегеst аге works bу those artists whose lives were linked with Soviet Uzbеkistап: А. Volkov, М. Кurzin, А. Nikolayev, Р. Benkov, О. Таtеvоsiап, N. Kashina апd Z. Kovalevskaya.

During the Great Patriotic War of 1941-45 the formation of the Museum’s collections proceeded арасе. Despite епогmous hardships, funds were allotted fог new асquisitiопs. Iп those years the Department of Soviet Раiпtiпg was considerably enlarged, its nucleus then сопtаiпiпg оvег 100 works. At the епd of the forties апd in the fifties а number of works bу М. Aladzhanov, А. Beidemап, I. Lеvitап, Р. Sorokin as well as а соllесtiоп of icons arrived from the Tretyakov Gallery iп Moscow. The Russian Museum in Leningrad tгапsfеггеd lапdsсаре paintings bу М. Vorobyov апd N. Cheгnetsov to the Tashkent Museum, thereby ехраnding its реrmanent exhibition devoted to the art of the first half of the nineteenth century. The Кокапd апd the Samarkand museums of the Uzbek SSR forwarded pictures bу V. Vегеshchagin, N. Yагоshепkо, drawings bу V. Makovsky апо а study by А. Vаsпеtsоv whose сеuvге had not hitherto bееп represented hеге. Several поtеwогthу canvases bу В. Кustodiyev, V. Makovsky, L. Plakhov аnd L. Sоlоmаtkiп саmе from private соllections.

Soviet Uzbekistan Art museum collection

Alexey Bogoliubov. 1824-1896. View of the Vesuvius from the sea. Oil on canvas

Alexey Bogoliubov. 1824-1896. View of the Vesuvius from the sea. Oil on canvas

Alexey Savrasov. 1830-1897. The village of Mikhailovskoye. 1896. Oil on canvas

Alexey Savrasov. 1830-1897. The village of Mikhailovskoye. 1896. Oil on canvas

Alexey Venetsianov. 1780-1847. Portrait of a functionary. Oil on canvas

Alexey Venetsianov. 1780-1847. Portrait of a functionary. Oil on canvas

Andrey Riabushkin. 1861-1904. The dancer. Oil on canvas

Andrey Riabushkin. 1861-1904. The dancer. Oil on canvas

Apolinary Vasnetsov. 1856-1933. Summer. Study. Oil on panel

Apolinary Vasnetsov. 1856-1933. Summer. Study. Oil on panel

Arkhip Kuinji. 1842-1910. Sunset. Oil on cardboard

Arkhip Kuinji. 1842-1910. Sunset. Oil on cardboard

Dmitry Levitsky. 1735-1822. Portrait of E. Vorontsova. 1783. Oil on canvas

Dmitry Levitsky. 1735-1822. Portrait of E. Vorontsova. 1783. Oil on canvas

Fiodor Matveyev. 1758-1826. Mediterranean shore. Oil on canvas

Fiodor Matveyev. 1758-1826. Mediterranean shore. Oil on canvas

Fiodor Rokotov. 1735-1808. Portrait of N. Rumyantsev. Oil on canvas

Fiodor Rokotov. 1735-1808. Portrait of N. Rumyantsev. Oil on canvas

Fiodor Vasilyev. 1850-1873. Boys in a pine-tree forest. 1870. Oil on canvas

Fiodor Vasilyev. 1850-1873. Boys in a pine-tree forest. 1870. Oil on canvas

Firs Zhuravliov. 1836-1901. Clerk. 1874. Oil on canvas

Firs Zhuravliov. 1836-1901. Clerk. 1874. Oil on canvas

Grigory Miasoyedov. 1835-1911. The grandfather of the Russian Navy. 1871. Oil on canvas

Grigory Miasoyedov. 1835-1911. The grandfather of the Russian Navy. 1871. Oil on canvas

Ilya Repin. 1844-1930. Portrait of N. Repina. 1895. Oil on canvas

Ilya Repin. 1844-1930. Portrait of N. Repina. 1895. Oil on canvas

Isaak Levitan. 1860-1900. Landscape with a peasant hut. 1899. Study for the Summer Evening (1899, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow)

Isaak Levitan. 1860-1900. Landscape with a peasant hut. 1899. Study for the Summer Evening (1899, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow)

Isaak Levitan. 1860-1900. Portrait of E. Kolosovskaya. Gouache and pastel on paper

Isaak Levitan. 1860-1900. Portrait of E. Kolosovskaya. Gouache and pastel on paper

Isaak Levitan. 1860-1900. Portrait of E. Kolosovskaya. Gouache and pastel on paper

Isaak Levitan. 1860-1900. Portrait of E. Kolosovskaya. Gouache and pastel on paper

Isaak Levitan.1860-1900. A sunny day. 1880. Oil on canvas

A sunny day. 1880. Oil on canvas. Artist Isaak Levitan.1860-1900

Ivan Kramskoy. 1837-1887. Portrait of E. Kornilova. 1879. Variant of the portrait of the same title (1880, Russian museum, Leningrad). Oil on canvas

Ivan Kramskoy. 1837-1887. Portrait of E. Kornilova. 1879. Variant of the portrait of the same title (1880, Russian museum, Leningrad). Oil on canvas

Ivan Shishkin. 1832-1898. Forest Landscape. 1872. Oil on cardboard

Ivan Shishkin. 1832-1898. Forest Landscape. 1872. Oil on cardboard

Ivan Shishkin. 1832-1898. Mill in the forest. 1897. Oil on canvas

Ivan Shishkin. 1832-1898. Mill in the forest. 1897. Oil on canvas

Karl Briullov. 1799-1852. Head of a man. Study. Oil on canvas

Karl Briullov. 1799-1852. Head of a man. Study. Oil on canvas

Konstantin Trutovsky. 1826-1893. The arrival of a new Teacher. 1885. Oil on canvas

Konstantin Trutovsky. 1826-1893. The arrival of a new Teacher. 1885. Oil on canvas

Lavr Plakhov. 1810-1881. Heymakers resting. 1840s. Oil on canvas

Lavr Plakhov. 1810-1881. Hey makers resting. 1840s. Oil on canvas

Leonty Miropolsky (Mitropolsky). 1749-1819. Portrait of Lomonosov. Repetition of a similarly entitled portrait (1785, Lomonosov museum, USSR Academy of Sciences, Leningrad). Oil on canvas

Leonty Miropolsky (Mitropolsky). 1749-1819. Portrait of Lomonosov. Repetition of a similarly entitled portrait (1785, Lomonosov museum, USSR Academy of Sciences, Leningrad). Oil on canvas

Nikolay Gay. 1831-1894. Portrait of M. Teplov. 1885. Oil on canvas

Nikolay Gay. 1831-1894. Portrait of M. Teplov. 1885. Oil on canvas

Mikhail Klodt. 1832-1902. Landscape with cows. 1870. Oil on canvas

Mikhail Klodt. 1832-1902. Landscape with cows. 1870. Oil on canvas

Nikolay Karazin. 1842-1902. Falconry. 1891. Water-color on paper

Nikolay Karazin. 1842-1902. Falconry. 1891. Water-color on paper

Nikolay Sverchkov. 1817-1898. Hunting scene. 1871. Oil on canvas

Nikolay Sverchkov. 1817-1898. Hunting scene. 1871. Oil on canvas

Nikolay Yaroshenko. 1846-1898. Dismissed. 1883. Oil on canvas

Nikolay Yaroshenko. 1846-1898. Dismissed. 1883. Oil on canvas

Orest Kiprensky. 1782-1836. Portrait of a boy. 1819. Oil on canvas

Orest Kiprensky. 1782-1836. Portrait of a boy. 1819. Oil on canvas

Richard Sommer. 1866-1939. Chaikhana (Tea-house). Oil on canvas

Richard Sommer. 1866-1939. Chaikhana (Tea-house). Oil on canvas

Rufin Sudkovsky. 1850-1885. Venice. 1879. Oil on canvas

Rufin Sudkovsky. 1850-1885. Venice. 1879. Oil on canvas

Semion Nikiforov. 1881-1912. Portrait of S. Rykova. 1903. Oil on canvas

Semion Nikiforov. 1881-1912. Portrait of S. Rykova. 1903. Oil on canvas

Sergey Ammosov. 1837-1886. Approaching storm. 1874. Oil on canvas

Sergey Ammosov. 1837-1886. Approaching storm. 1874. Oil on canvas

Unknown artist of the first half of the 18th century. Portrait of a Polish nobleman. Oil on canvas

Unknown artist of the first half of the 18th century. Portrait of a Polish nobleman. Oil on canvas

Unknown artist of the first half of the 18th century. Portrait of A. Chernyshova. Oil on canvas

Unknown artist of the first half of the 18th century. Portrait of A. Chernyshova. Oil on canvas

Unknown artist of the first half of the 19th century. View of the Fontanka in St. Petersburg. Oil on canvas

Unknown artist of the first half of the 19th century. View of the Fontanka in St. Petersburg. Oil on canvas

Valery Yakobi. 1834-1902. A. Volynsky at the council of ministers. 1875. Oil on canvas

Valery Yakobi. 1834-1902. A. Volynsky at the council of ministers. 1875. Oil on canvas

Vasily Perov. 1833-1882. Grandfather and grandson. 1871. Oil on canvas

Vasily Perov. 1833-1882. Grandfather and grandson. 1871. Oil on canvas

Vasily Polenov. 1844-1927. Elephantine Island. 1881. Oil on canvas

Vasily Polenov. 1844-1927. Elephantine Island. 1881. Oil on canvas

Vasily Surikov. 1848-1916. Streets woman. 1879. Study for the Morning of the Execution of the Streltsy (1881, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow). Oil on canvas

Vasily Surikov. 1848-1916. Streets woman. 1879. Study for the Morning of the Execution of the Streltsy (1881, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow). Oil on canvas

Vasily Tropinin. 1776-1857. Portrait of A. Obolenskaya. 1845. Oil on canvas

Vasily Tropinin. 1776-1857. Portrait of A. Obolenskaya. 1845. Oil on canvas

Yermolay Yesakov. 1790-1840. Gostiny Dvor (Warehouses) in St. Petersburg. Oil on canvas

Yermolay Yesakov. 1790-1840. Gostiny Dvor (Warehouses) in St. Petersburg. Oil on canvas

Alexey Venetsianov. 1780-1847. Portrait of a functionary. Oil on canvas

Alexey Venetsianov. 1780-1847. Portrait of a functionary. Oil on canvas

Source:
Illustrated album
Art Museum of the Uzbek SSR. Painting. Aurora Art Publishers. Leningrad. 1975