#Tretyakov Gallery

Masterpiece Stories

Masterpiece Story: The Major’s Marriage Proposal by Pavel Fedotov

When you think of 19th-century Russia, images of Anna Karenina with black furs and white diamonds may come to mind. The lives of the wealthy...

James W Singer 19 March 2024

Love Story

Unhappily Ever After: Unequal Marriage by Vasili Pukirev

Vasili Pukirev’s painting, Unequal Marriage, has a legend surrounding it. Allegedly, after looking at it all the elderly grooms refused to marry...

Elizaveta Ermakova 19 March 2024

Artist Stories

Marc Chagall in 10 Paintings

Marc Chagall is one of the most well-known artists of the 20th century. His works exhibit elements from various movements such as Surrealism,...

Jimena Escoto 22 October 2023

Valentin Serov, Russian Master of Portraits

Valentin Serov (1865–1911), was a student of Ilya Repin, and heir to the best traditions of the Russian realistic school. From the very beginning...

Elizaveta Ermakova 17 February 2021

Russian History through the Eyes of Vasily Surikov

In the 19th century Russia historical painting was freed from formality and canons. We find a good example of this in the work of Vasily Surikov...

Elizaveta Ermakova 18 January 2021

Rococo

The Government Venus: Top Five Portraits of Elisabeth of Russia

Elisabeth of Russia (1709-1761) was the most beautiful empress from the Romanov dynasty. Contemporaries called her “the sparkle of Peter the...

Guest Profile 12 August 2020

History

Mona Lisa at the Battlefield: The History of Saving Art During World War II

During walks through the halls of museums, few people think about how these art masterpieces were not always in their place. In turbulent war years,...

Elizaveta Ermakova 3 July 2020

Artist Stories

A Queer World in Konstantin Somov’s Artworks

Konstantin Somov (1869-1939) was a Russian painter, co-founder of the artistic movement Mir Iskusstva and well known for his watercolors associated...

Guest Profile 22 June 2020