Tomorrow, instead of revisiting the Peterhof Fountains again (as Princess and I achieved yet another tourism fail and missed 2/3 of the fountains), Princess and I are planning on going to the Russian Museum. What I failed to realize is that a museum with such a deceptively simple name could have such a rich history behind it.
Flash to Moscow: There was a very wealthy merchant named Tretyakov who only sponsored young Russian artists. He knew that the young artists could use the money, and he had very good tastes; and using his money, he created a huge collection of young Russian artwork that he then donated to Moscow, on the condition that the world knew that it was HE who had given the art. Thus, Tretyakovskaya Gallery was born, an all-Russian museum in Moscow.
St. Petersburg upon seeing this was aghast. How could Moscow have an all-Russian museum while St. Petersburg did not? Thus, a palace was built, and the Russian museum was born, St. Petersburg's all-Russian museum.
This is just one episode in the epic rivalry between St. Petersburg and Moscow. Apparently, it's always been St. Petersburg and Moscow competing to one up each other. When Moscow had the Tretyakovskaya Gallery, St. Petersburg built the Russian Museum; when St. Petersburg got the Hermitage, Moscow built the Pushkin Museum. It's amazing how much two cities bickering can advance culture, is it not?
Flash to Moscow: There was a very wealthy merchant named Tretyakov who only sponsored young Russian artists. He knew that the young artists could use the money, and he had very good tastes; and using his money, he created a huge collection of young Russian artwork that he then donated to Moscow, on the condition that the world knew that it was HE who had given the art. Thus, Tretyakovskaya Gallery was born, an all-Russian museum in Moscow.
St. Petersburg upon seeing this was aghast. How could Moscow have an all-Russian museum while St. Petersburg did not? Thus, a palace was built, and the Russian museum was born, St. Petersburg's all-Russian museum.
This is just one episode in the epic rivalry between St. Petersburg and Moscow. Apparently, it's always been St. Petersburg and Moscow competing to one up each other. When Moscow had the Tretyakovskaya Gallery, St. Petersburg built the Russian Museum; when St. Petersburg got the Hermitage, Moscow built the Pushkin Museum. It's amazing how much two cities bickering can advance culture, is it not?
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