Visual art

The collection of engravings preserves the sheets, executed by A. F. Zubov, I. Schonebeck, the samples of the Peter's era, panoramas of St. Petersburg and its environs in the middle of the XVIII century by M. I. Makhaev, as well as engraved views of St. Petersburg and its suburbs in the first quarter of the XIX century by D. Atkinson, B. Patersen, C. F. Galaktionov and the city views of the ... ↓ second half of the XIX century. ↑

The collection of paintings includes works of famous St. Petersburg artists F. Y. Alexeev, M. N. Vorobyov, A. M. Maksimov, I.N. Kramskoy, I.K. Aivazovsky, the works of the artists of the Russian avant-garde M. V. Matyushin and E.I. Guro, and picturesque shopping signs of the early XX century.

In the collection of drawings there are landscapes of St. Petersburg, genre sketches, portraits. Among the famous authors are J.B. De La Traverse, I.I. Charlemaine, V.S. Sadovnikov, Alex. N. Benoit, P. E. Scherbov and many others.

Collection of lithographs can be considered quite complete because it includes views of St. Petersburg of different periods, the city panoramas, genre scenes and portraits.

In the section of architectural graphics there are projects and drawings of the famous St. Petersburg architects of the XVIII and XIX centuries: F.-B. Rastrelli, I. E. Starov, A. Rinaldi, J. Quarenghi, A. D. Zakharov, A. N. Voronikhin, K. Rossi, O. Montferrand, A. I. Stackenschneider and many others. The St. Petersburg’s architecture of the XX century is presented by the projects of L. A. Ilyin, ... ↓ A. I. Gauguin, N. V. Vasiliev, A. A. Ol, M. G. Langbard, etc. ↑

Art collection of the Fund has 254 paintings dating back to XIX – XX centuries. It presents paintings and sketches of the domestic and Western European masters.

The collection presents the works of I. E. Repin, G. K. Lukomsky, I. I. Shishkin, L. O. Premazzi, architects Y. G. Gevirtz, R. A. Goedicke, A. A. Ol

The collection of engravings has 20217 items and chronologically covers the period from the late sixteenth to mid-twentieth century. The urban views of Europe, Asia, Africa, North and South America form the largest part of the collection. In addition, there are images of ancient monuments, as well as prints based on paintings of various genres.

Collection of lithographs of the Fund has 6698 images dating back to XIX – XX centuries. Most of the collection consists of cityscapes and views of natural wonders of Western Europe, Asia, the Middle East and America. Views of the cities of Russian Empire: Moscow, Vladimir, Novgorod, Kazan, Kiev, Kostroma, Nizhny Novgorod, Odessa, Pskov, Romanovo-Borisoglebsk, Rybinsk, Tomsk and many others ... ↓ form a smaller but important part of the collection. ↑

The painting collection includes two thousand works of art, executed in oil painting on various supports (canvas, wood, hardboard, cardboard, paper). These include figurative and abstract paintings of various genres: landscape (primarily urban), portrait, historical, genre, and still life. The most significant works in the collection are those by P.N. Filonov's students, completed in 1927 for ... ↓ display at the House of Printing (21 Fontanka River Embankment). The exhibition at the House of Printing was the first major exhibition of the MAI (Masters of Analytical Art) association, in which all its members participated. Of the 10 works from that exhibition that have survived to this day, four are held in our museum's collection: "My Home is My Fortress" by B.I. Gurvich, "New Life (May 1)" by E.A. Kibrik, "Kinto (Tiflis Bazaar)" by D.P. Krapivny, and "Worker Sitting at a Table" by E.A. Tenisman. ↑

The "Drawings and Watercolors" section features over 15,000 works of fine art executed in watercolor, gouache, ink, various types of pencils, including sanguine and dry pastel, and mixed media. Various genres are represented: cityscapes, portraits, still lifes, genre compositions, architectural sketches, sketches of city holiday decorations, sketches for posters, book illustrations, ... ↓ decorative and applied art objects, advertising and packaging, film and theater sets and costumes, and wallpaper sketches, created by Petrograd, Leningrad, and St.Petersburg artists and architects from 1917 to the present times. ↑

The "engravings" and "lithographs" sections, collectively known as printmaking, comprise approximately 6,000 works created using the techniques of high-press, intaglio, flat-screen, and screen printing (etching, aquatint, linocut, woodcut, monotype, silkscreen, and lithography). The collection features works by prominent representatives of the Leningrad graphic school.

The collection of architectural drawings from the 17th to 20th centuries comprises 14,000 museum items. Among them are architectural drawings by renowned architects such as A.V.Belogrud, A.I.Dmitriev, A.I.Krakau, L.A.Ilyin, F.I.Eppinger, and others. The collection reflects the historical aspects of global urban development from ancient times to the mid-20th century. It includes theoretical works ... ↓ on architecture and fortification, as well as materials on architecture and planning, transportation, roads and bridges, sewerage, and urban water supply. ↑

The collection of maps and plans includes maps of countries on all continents, including the Russian Empire and the USSR, as well as plans of Russian and foreign cities and fortresses, published from the 17th to the 20th centuries. It comprises 4,000 items. The most comprehensive collection includes maps of the Russian Empire, its provinces, and plans of Russian cities (Moscow, Pskov, Novgorod, ... ↓ and others), as well as provincial and district capitals. The collection also includes plans of European cities and resorts (especially French and German), as well as maps of European countries. ↑

This period is represented by 318 items in the collection. More than 50 of them came from the Museum of Old Petersburg and the Museum of the City, including the gifts of the famous architect, Chairman of the society of architects-artists, count P.Y.Suzor, President of the Museum Council, the publisher of the magazine "Old years" P.P.Weiner, a member of the Museum Board, art historian, ... ↓ historian of St.Petersburg V.Y.Kurbatov, member of the Museum Board, collector, philanthropist L.I.Zheverzheev. The portrait gallery of the Russian Grand Dukes, tsars, emperors and empresses forms a significant part of the collection. Among them there are portraits of Chancellor N.P.Rumyantsev, General A.P.Yermolov, engineer A.A.Ioss. Among the exhibits received from the City Museum, housed from 1918 to 1928 in the Anichkov Palace, there are elements of the decoration of the Palace interiors. In 1949 the Artillery Museum has passed to our museum the portraits of Grand Dukes Konstantin Pavlovich and Mikhail Pavlovich, horse images of emperors Nicholas I and Alexander II, formerly in the collections of regimental museums and the Museum of the Society of Zealots of History. ↑

This section mainly presents the works by St. Petersburg sculptors. A large group of sculptures were received from the Museum of Defense of Leningrad after its liquidation in 1949. These are the portraits of the defenders of Leningrad: pilots V.A.Matsievich, I.M.Shishkan, S.G.Litavrin, partisans: C.D.Karitskoy, A.W.Herman, B.I.Eren-Price, A.Petrova, Junior girls - air defense fighters, nurses. ... ↓ In 1950-1970-ies the collection was replenished with the active participation of the Culture Committee of the Leningrad Executive Committee. The works of sculptors were purchased at the annual exhibitions of the Leningrad branch of Union of Artists of the USSR. At this time the Museum actively cooperated with the factories of the Leningrad branch of the Art Fund of the USSR. Orders of the Museum for the manufacture of the series of sculptures for thematic exhibitions of the Museum were performed by famous masters T.F.Linde, B.E.Kaplyanski, M.M.Kharlamova and also young sculptors who just started their careers — A.G.Traugot, L.K.Lazarev. Today these items represent independent artistic value. ↑

This section has a little over 200 units. The objects, typical for the interior decoration of the St. Petersburg houses in XIX – early XX centuries, which reflect the tastes of different segments of the population form the bulk of the collection. The gifts to the city from foreign delegations of about twenty countries worldwide form a separate group, illustrating the wide foreign relations of ... ↓ Leningrad. The gifts to the 70th anniversary of I.V.Stalin were received from Communist organizations and individuals and given to the Museum after the disbandment of the Exhibition of gifts to Stalin, held in the Museum of the Revolution and the State Museum of the History of Art. ↑

The first section is composed of early post-revolutionary projects, most of which have not been implemented. Stylistically, most of them are connected with the search for the lapidary language of the "new classic". These include projects of the first Soviet architectural competitions in Petrograd-Leningrad, landscaping projects and the creation of urban communications networks, projects ... ↓ of typical buildings for various purposes.  ↑

Architectural projects of the second half of the 1920s - early 1930s reflect the avant-garde period of the development of Soviet architecture. Our museum has the most studied and probably the richest collection of architectural graphics of the Leningrad avant-garde. The same period (and partly the previous one) includes a group of materials created by the employees of the Otkomkhoz of Lensovet ... ↓ directly for the expositions in our museum. These objects reflect not only the history of the city and the graphics of the avant-garde era, but also that period in the history of our museum, when it served as one of the first centers in the world for the comprehensive study and design of the urban structure and environment, what we now call “urban studies”.  ↑

In the complex of materials of the 1930s and first half of the 1950s, projects of quarterly development of Moscow Avenue and the creation of a new city center, projects of public buildings such as the Udarnik House (architect N.A.Trotsky), the House of the Medical Worker (architect N.A.Miturich), competitive projects of the lighthouse monument in the Leningrad port (authors I.G.Langbard, ... ↓ N.A.Trotsky and others), competitive projects of the House of Soviets.  ↑

The collection of maps and plans comprises over 500 sheets. It includes both printed maps of Petrograd/Leningrad/St. Petersburg and its environs, as well as original graphic works. Among the latter are plans for urban infrastructure development. A significant portion of this collection is directly related to the City Museum and the urban development commission that existed within it in the ... ↓ 1920s. These materials were created at the museum and served both as visual exhibits illustrating the city's development and as theoretical materials. Translated into modern terms, one could say that the City Museum at that time served as a unique urban studies institute. Some of the cartographic materials collected by the museum at that time related to other countries and later they were passed to Paintings and graphics of cities of the world, but some sheets, often related to the work of Leningrad architects in other cities of the country, remained in the fund. ↑

The era of Leningrad architectural modernism - 1960-1980s is represented quite fully in the collection. These are projects of residential buildings, public buildings, memorial complexes, layouts of blocks under construction, interior design projects. In this part of the collection it is worth noting the representative complexes of works by architects G.P.Morozov, N.M.Zakharyina, S.I.Evdokimov, ... ↓ I.N.Kuskov, E.M.Poltoratsky, V.N.Sherbin. ↑

The post-Soviet period of the architecture of St.Petersburg is currently presented in the collection only by several dozen sheets. Nevertheless, this part of the collection reflects various aspects of St.Petersburg’s architecture - from residential buildings and restaurants to metro stations and memorial complexes.

2 400 units. The collection presents different types of posters, published in pre-revolutionary Russia in the printing house "Association of R.Golike and A. Vilborg", chromolithographic factories of T. Kibbel and of E. Marcus and other print institutions of St.Petersburg.

The State Museum of St. Petersburg has formed a unique collection of Soviet posters, numbering about 15,000 items. The collection covers the period from 1918, from the appearance of the first Soviet political posters, to present days. The collection was based on items moved from the State Hermitage, the State Public Library, the Museum of Defense of Leningrad, a branch of the Central Museum of ... ↓ V.I.Lenin, as well as the results of the collection work of the museum’s scientists and large gifts, for example, the gift of collector and art critic G.S.Ginger. Various poster genres are widely represented in the collection: political, military, industrial, agricultural, etc., as well as the works of creative associations: “ROSTA Satire Windows”, “TASS Windows”, “Battle Pencil”, “Baltic Spotlight”. The collection of posters of the “Battle Pencil” association is one of the most complete in our country. The posters made by famous masters: V.V. Lebedev, D.S.Moor, M.M.Cheremnykh, V.N.Deni, the Kukryniks, V.V.Suryaninov and others are the real treasures of the collection. V.V.Lebedev's poster "Uncle Prov", made using the stencil technique, is a rare copy of the poster of the 1920s. Posters created during the war of 1941-1945 comprise the largest collection about 4,000 items. The posters of the war years reflect the main events of the Great Patriotic War. The works of the Chief artist of the Political Administration of the Baltic Fleet S.S.Boim are of historical interest. With the accuracy of a documentary, he was able to show life in the besieged Leningrad. His poster "The blood of Leningraders calls for revenge" (1944) is an example of it. Post-war posters cover a wide range of political topics. The theme of elections to various authorities is widely reflected in the Soviet poster. The work of V. V. Suryaninov "For the happiness of children" (1954) stands out among these posters. A significant part of the collection form information and advertising posters. They were produced annually and were timed to holidays and memorable dates. A typical example of such a poster is the work by M.A. Gordon “Leningrad is 250 years old” (1957). The posters of the 1980-1990s, the period of Perestroika, are characterized by an acute political focus on the fight against bureaucracy, bribery, and corruption. One example of a political poster of those years is the poster “Perestroika. Such people - off the road! ” (1988) by P.V.Serkin. Over the past decade, museum was replenished with the gifts of famous St. Petersburg graphic artists and heirs of artists: J.V.Efimovsky, G.V.Covenchuk, V.M.Menshikov, Y.V.Trunev, V.A.Travin. In 2011, the museum received a gift from L.B.Mikhailov, director of the St.Petersburg Rock Opera Theater. It was over 80 theater posters of the famous St.Petersburg artist G.P.Korbut. These sheets have supplemented a special section of the collection devoted to spectacular advertising. In 2019, the collection of theatrical posters was replenished with the gifts of the Honored Artist of the Russian Federation Georgy Nikolayevich Rashkov, which he created for the Leningrad theaters. These posters illustrate the pages of the theatrical life of Leningrad from 1984 to 1989, reflect the style of those years, performances relevant to that time based on the works of V.Shukshin, V.Rozov, N.Pavlova and other authors. The performances were on the stages of the Leningrad Academic Drama Theater named after A.S.Pushkin, as well as those that were part of the Lenconcert association - the “Young Theater” and the “Vremya Theater Studio”. The presented artistically decorated sheets for the productions of the A.S.Pushkin Theatre are a rarity, since the theater mainly preferred the production of font posters. ↑

The materials cover the period from the end of the XIX century to the present day and have more than 20 thousand storage units. Pre-revolutionary materials show the variety of theatrical, exhibition, musical, literary life of the capital. Along with posters of outstanding productions of the Imperial theaters, there are also posters and programs of theaters that were popular in the early XX ... ↓ century but have not survived to our days (for example, “Nevsky Farce”, Intimate Theater, Musical Drama Theater, “Crooked Mirror” Theater and other). In the pre-revolutionary posters and programs there are names of recognized masters of world art Fyodor Chaliapin, Ivan Ershov, Matilda Kshesinskaya. The materials on the history of the celebration of the 200th anniversary of St. Petersburg, the 300th anniversary of the Romanovs dynasty, events on the occasion of the coronation of Emperors Alexander III and Nicholas II are of special value. In addition to the significant collection of film posters of the pre-revolutionary period, the collection also contains font movie posters and film show programs from the 1890-1910s. They give an idea of the development of the capital's film distribution from the moment of its occurrence until 1917. Among the rare ones are two film programs at 46 Nevsky Prospect, where films of the company of the Lumiere brothers were screened on May 6, 1896. These programs give an idea of the nature of the first sessions - short tapes on various subjects with breaks between acts. Nevsky Prospekt, the main cinematic street of pre-revolutionary Russia, is represented by programs of six cinemas, including the “Parisiana” cinema, which was fashionable at that time. It was renamed “October” cinema after the revolution. In the 1910s, cinema confidently conquered St. Petersburg. The collection includes cinema programs “Lux”, “Sporting Palace”, “Olympia”, “Fantasy”. Alexander Blok often went to the last one. Silent movie stars shone on the artistic horizon of Petrograd. One of the brightest stars is reminded by the program of the movie “By the Fireplace” with Vera Kholodnaya. Posters of the Scientific Cinema Association indicate that great importance was attached to the educational role of cinema. The repertoire of screenings included screen versions of literary works, popular science films on natural history. The posters of the cinema that existed in the Tsarskoye Selo City Hall are of special interest. From them you can find information about the cost of tickets for the sessions - from 45 kopecks to 1 ruble 15 kopecks and the existence of certain restrictions for visitors, as the lower ranks were ordered to take places in the choirs. The 1920s and 1930s are represented by exhibits dedicated to the diversity of the artistic searches of the masters of the Soviet theatrical, visual, and musical arts, whose activities are associated with pre-war Leningrad. Among the most interesting samples are the posters of the Exhibition of Masters of Analytical Art (Filonov’s school), posters for theatrical productions of Vsevolod Meyerhold. The collection contains a unique collection of Blockade posters, programs and invitations, including a poster for the first performance of the Seventh Symphony by Dmitry Shostakovich in August 1942. Post-war materials are devoted to theatrical premieres of Leningrad, circus performances, touring performances by Leningrad artists, the activities of gardens, parks, cinemas, stadiums, exhibitions of city museums. The complexes were collected on the history of the city festivals "White Nights", "Leningrad Musical Spring", football tournaments, the Olympics-80 and events on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg. ↑

More than 500 copies of the wall, flip, souvenir (with ads of trading firms of Petersburg), "eternal" calendars. Chronologically the collection covers the period of 1880-ies - beginning of the XXI century.

The collection of menus, numbering about 500 items, was taken to the Museum since the creation of the Museum of Old Petersburg. It is one of the best in the country.

The collection of the postage stamps; police stamps and address fees; municipal stamps, savings, charitable stamps, etc.

The labels collection presents the pre-revolutionary and post-revolutionary periods (end of XIX - the beginning of XXI century) and has more than 9,000 items.