Volume 15. The Kaluga regional art museum

A. O. Karelin. N.I. Vasilev's Portrait.


N.I. Vasilev's house. P.I. Gusev. 1832. Kaluga,
street Dzerzhinsky, 81. Here with 1918 on 1927
settled down The Kaluga art museum.
Photo from scientific archive


City manor Zolotarev-Kologrivov.
The beginning of XIX century here since 1918
settles down. The Kaluga regional museum of local lore.
Modern kind


Wing of city manor Zolotarev-Kologrivov.
The beginning of XIX century Here with 1927 on 1969
was in the beginning Art department of the Kaluga
state Regional museum, then the Kaluga regional
Art museum. A picture of 1947 the Photo From
meeting MOIRE. Collection МРА. № 13790


The first exhibition of products of the Kaluga artists.
1923. The Kind of a part of an exposition indoors
Art museum (N.I. Vasilev's house).
Photo from scientific archive


Impress of a seal with accession
number of the Kaluga art museum.


Impress of a seal of the Kaluga provincial
section on affairs of museums and art protection.
It is reproduced from a back of drawing
from funds KOHM.


Impress of a seal of library of princes
of Gorchakov from a manor of "Borjatino".
It is reproduced from the remained book
from library from a manor of "Borjatino"


Ex-libris of prince S. D. Gorchakov.
It is reproduced from the remained
edition from library of S.D. Gorchakov


The impress of a seal of the Kaluga
city library, the book from which were
in meeting of scientific library
of a museum.

City manor Zolotarevyh-Kologrivovyh. The Courtyard. The beginning of XIX century.
Kind of a farmstead court yard from outside colonnades. In the centre the main building of manor, which was occupied with the Kaluga museum of local lore is visible; at the left the wing part, where there was a Kaluga city art museum is visible. During occupation in the main building of manor the staff of 13th army case, then commandant's office settled down in the beginning. In a wing there was a hostel for soldiers. A picture of 1930 the Photo from meeting MOIRE. Collection № 2529

Boxes with marks "Gen. Kdo. XIII A. К. Nurnberg", intending for export of works of art from museum meeting to Nuremberg, in an art museum. Shooting N.M. Maslov in the first days after clearing of Kaluga. January, 1942. Photo from I.D. Belova's personal collection


Н. M. Maslov near to the pictures rescued by it from the museum meeting, intended for export to Nuremberg. The picture is made Н.M. Maslov an automatic release method in the first days after clearing of Kaluga. January, 1942. Photo from I.D. Belova's personal collection


Part of an exposition of department of Russian art. 1938.
Numbers note the pictures lost during occupation of Kaluga in 1941 1. N.A. Jaroshenko. The Old man-shepherd. 1892 2. Rjabkov. A copy from I.E. Repin picture "Barge hauliers on Volga?". 3. V.A. Golynsky. Fishing. 4. V.E. Makovsky. A head of the old man. An etude. 5. A.I. Meshchersky. Marina. 1865 6. I.K. Ayvazovsky. A moonlight night on the sea. 1852 7. L.-A.L. Poplavsky. At coast (?). 8. The picture is not established. It is reproduced from a photo from archive KOHM.


Interior of one of halls of an art museum after clearing of Kaluga.
The picture is made Н.M. Maslov in the first days after clearing of Kaluga. January, 1942 the Photo from I.D. Belova's personal collection


Krichevsky's house. The main facade. The beginning of XIX century.
Picture of January, 1942 the Building has not remained. A photo from meeting MOIRE. Collection Г № 666


Part of an exposition of an exhibition of new receipts Museum on which K.N. Korygin's picture is visible "Old man-guerrilla". 1941.
It is reproduced from a photo in the newspaper "Commune" from the January, 30th, 1941, stored in scientific archive


Part of an exposition of an exhibition of drawings and etchings from museum meeting. 1938.
There is the manager of art department of KGKM M.M.Dneprovsky at the show-window. It is reproduced from a photo in the newspaper "Commune" from the January, 30th, 1941, stored in scientific archive

Kaluga Regional Art Museum was founded in 1918, the basis of its collection was the collection of Kaluga resident Nicanor Vasiliev. In the collection there were works by artists of the Russian school: Ivan Aivazovsky, Bogolyubov, L. Lagorio, Ivan Shishkin, N. Dubovsky, Vladimir Makovsky, Pryanishnikova and other Western European part of the collection included works by Italian, French, Dutch, Belgian, German painters and sculptors of the XVI - XIX centuries.

After 1917 the museum was supplemented by many valuable artifacts of the mansions and manors of Kaluga and Kaluga region. The State Museum Fund, gave watercolors and drawings by the artists Alexander Benois, S. Vinogradov, A. Lentulus, Dobuzhinsky, G. Yakulov to the museum in May 1925.

In 1928 the museum took sketches by Levitan, etchings and drawings by Ivan Shishkin, M. Wrubel, V. Borisov - Musatov, paintings by K. Korovin and Polenova from the Tretyakov Gallery.

In 1934, the Hermitage had been transferred 18 paintings by Italian, Dutch, Flemish, English artists.

During the Great Patriotic War the Kaluga Regional Art Museum, which, like the local history one, wasn’t evacuated, lost one-third of his collection.

The occupation of Kaluga continued 79 days - from the 13 October to the 30 December 1941.

The collection of both museums were confiscated, and museums merged into one town's museum. One part of the works from the museum collection was appropriated by the German general Felber. They were 16 works by Italian, Dutch, Flemish, French artists of XVI-XIX centuries. In general there were still lives, landscapes, religious and genre paintings, and 233 engravings and 23 figures by Western European masters. Among the selected paintings there were works by Russian artists of the XIX century.

Other works were for sale.

As a result, 48 works by Western European artists were lost.

42 paintings by Russian artists were lost too. Among the lost works there were landscapes by painters I. Aivazovsky, I. Levitan, Ivan Shishkin, works by Polenova, Vinogradov, Pryanishnikov, P. Petrovichev, one sketch by Borisov-Musatov. At that time 13 drawings by Russian artists of XIX century were lost, Including the works by I. Levitan, Polenov, Sokolov, Sverchkova, Beggrow, etc.

Many works of Russian and Soviet paintings and drawings were killed during the chaos and confusion of the occupation period.

If works lost during the occupation are preserved, some of them may be in private collections in the descendants of officers of the 13th Army Corps, and officers serving in the commandant's office and in the 278-th part of the occupation troops stationed in the Kaluga.

The Museum was reopened to the public on Nov. 7, 1944.

Only during the recent years thanks to the work of specialists from the Ministry of Culture of Russia a question about the actual search and the possibility of returning lost works from the museum collection appeared. Because of it the problem of the authorship of works of foreign artists, lost during the war, appeared. The fact that in the prewar period pieces from the museum's collection were badly studied. Objectively, it is connected with the development of art history at that time, as well as professional capabilities of staff of the provincial art museum, among which there were no art critics. Fellows and the Director of the museum in the 20's and 30's of the last century were professional artists. Before the war they were engaged in the research of collections, and in the issues of the attribution of the works. The level of scrutiny of the collection was determined by their knowledge and professionalism.