Pavel Tretyakov facts for kids
Pavel Mikhaylovich Tretyakov (born December 27, 1832 – died December 16, 1898) was a very important Russian businessman. He loved art and collected many paintings. He was also a philanthropist, which means he gave a lot of money to help others.
Pavel Tretyakov is famous because he created the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow. This gallery is a huge art museum named after him. His brother, Sergei Tretyakov, was also a big supporter of art and helped many people.
Contents
Becoming an Art Collector
Pavel Tretyakov started collecting art in 1854 when he was 22 years old. His very first art purchases were 10 paintings by old Dutch artists. But his main goal was to create a special art gallery just for Russian art. He wanted to show the world the amazing talent of Russian painters.
He collected the most valuable and important artworks. From 1870, he especially focused on artists from a group called the Peredvizhniki, or "Wanderers." These artists traveled around Russia to show their art to more people.
Pavel bought paintings directly from art shows and from artists' studios. Sometimes, he bought entire series of artworks. For example, in 1874, he bought the "Turkestan series" by Vasily Vereshchagin. This included 13 pictures, 133 figures, and 81 studies! Later, in 1880, he bought Vereshchagin's "Indian series."
He also collected many studies and sketches by famous artists. He had over 80 studies by Alexander Ivanov. In 1885, he bought 102 studies by V.D. Polenov from his travels in places like Turkey and Egypt. He also got sketches by Viktor Vasnetsov from his work on a big cathedral in Kiev.
Tretyakov had the largest collections of works by artists like V.G. Perov, Ivan Kramskoi, Ilya Repin, Vasily Surikov, Isaac Levitan, and Valentin Serov. He wanted to show how Russian art started and grew over time. So, he also bought paintings from the 1700s and early 1800s.
Creating a Portrait Gallery
Pavel Tretyakov also had an idea to create a "Russian pantheon." This was a special collection of portraits of famous Russians. He asked leading artists like Nikolai Ge, Kramskoi, Perov, and Repin to paint these portraits just for his gallery.
In the 1870s and 1880s, he began collecting illustrations. By 1893, he had 471 of them. In 1890, he started collecting icons, which are special religious paintings. These icons were kept in his study and not shown to the public during his lifetime. He also had a small collection of sculptures.
The Tretyakov Gallery Opens
At first, Pavel Tretyakov kept his huge art collection in his own house in Moscow. But as he bought more and more art, his house became too small! So, he had to rebuild and expand his house many times to fit all the artworks. An architect named Alexander Kaminsky helped him with these changes.
Tretyakov wanted to give his art collection to the city of Moscow quietly, without a lot of attention. But it was impossible to keep such a big gift a secret!
His gallery became very popular. By 1885, about 30,000 people visited it each year. In 1892, he received even more paintings from his brother's collection, which included art from Western Europe. These were placed in two special rooms.
Pavel Tretyakov's collection became as important as the biggest museums in Russia. It was one of the most famous sights in Moscow. In August 1892, he officially gave his entire collection and his private home to the city of Moscow. At that time, the collection had 1287 Russian paintings, 518 Russian drawings, 75 Western European paintings, 8 Western European drawings, 15 sculptures, and many icons.
On August 15, 1893, the museum officially opened. It was called the "Pavel and Sergey Tretyakov City Art Gallery." Today, it is known simply as the Tretyakov Gallery. By the 1890s, up to 150,000 people visited it every year! Pavel continued to add to the collection even after he donated it. For example, in 1894, he gave 30 paintings and a marble statue by Mark Antokolsky. He also helped create the gallery's first catalog in 1893.
Helping Others
Besides collecting art, Pavel Tretyakov was very active in charity. Helping others was as natural to him as creating his art gallery.
He was an important member of groups that supported arts and music. He gave a lot of money to these groups to help them with their educational projects. He also helped families of soldiers who died in wars, like the Crimean and Russo-Turkish War.
Pavel also set up scholarships for students in schools in Moscow. He often gave money to artists and took care of their savings. He even lent money to his friends who were painters, like I.N. Kramskoi.
With his brother Sergei, he strongly supported the Moscow School for the Deaf. This school was founded in 1860. In 1900, the school was renamed the Arnoldo-Tretyakov School in their honor.
His Legacy
Pavel Tretyakov passed away in December 1898. He was buried in Danilov Cemetery, but later his remains were moved to Novodevichy Cemetery in 1948.
In his will, Pavel Tretyakov left half of his money for charity. He made sure there was enough money to keep the gallery running. He also set up a special home for the widows, young children, and unmarried daughters of artists who had died.
He also left a large amount of money for the school for the deaf. He bought a big stone house with a garden for the school. About 150 boys and girls lived there and were cared for until they were 16 years old. Pavel Tretyakov made sure the school had the best teachers and studied the best ways to teach.
A small planet in space, called 3925 Tretʹyakov, is named after Pavel Tretyakov and his brother Sergei. It was discovered by a Soviet astronomer in 1977.
Pavel Tretyakov's daughter, Vera, married a famous musician named Alexander Siloti. His other daughter, Lyubov, married an artist who painted pictures of the sea, Nikolay Gritsenko.
See also
In Spanish: Pável Tretiakov para niños
