Universal Art
The Russian Art Collection of the National Museum of Art of Moldova includes 924 works of painting, miniatures, and icons, acquired through purchases from collectors in Moscow and St. Petersburg, as well as transfers from central museums in Russia and donations from private collectors. Thus, valuable works from Russian painting have been brought to Chișinău: in the late 1940s, the museum was donated several excellent paintings, including Young Woman Bathing by Zinaida Serebreakova, the study Head of a Boy by Aleksandr Ivanov, and Portrait of Yulia Proshinskaia by Boris Kustodiev. In 1975, the museum acquired famous paintings such as Girl with Grapes by Orest Kiprenski, At the Tavern by Vladimir Makovski, and a series of graphic works by Valentin Serov, Filip Maleavin, and others. Other notable names include Karl Briulov, Ilia Repin, Pavel Fedotov, Ivan Shishkin, and Ivan Aivazovsky.
Currently, the National Museum of Art of Moldova’s collection includes all genres of Russian plastic arts (with the exception of medieval wooden sculpture). Chronologically, the collection reflects almost all stages of the development of art in this country – from medieval icons to Soviet-era painting and graphics.
Noteworthy for their refinement and elegance are the Russian miniature works by renowned artists such as Vladimir Borovikovski (Portrait of a Man with a Turban), Lev Kriukov (Portrait of a Man), and Aleksandr Košelev (Portrait of Mrs. E. Tatarinova), done in gouache, watercolor on ivory, metal, and porcelain.
In 1976, the first Russian icons were acquired from a private collection, laying the foundation for the establishment of the Russian icon section at the NMAM. In 1979, 1980, and 1982, the Veliciko family donated several Russian icons to the museum. Additional icons were acquired by the Ministry of Culture's acquisition commission from private collections, and in the 1990s, a series of Russian religious artworks completed the museum's collection, transferred from the Leușeni customs. Today, this section includes 194 works from the 15th-16th centuries. Most of them are created in oil, tempera on wood or canvas with pressed ground; some are gilded or silvered. A small number of icons feature metal coverings, which originally served to give the icon the value of jewelry, in addition to its religious significance.
Although modest in volume, the Russian icon collection at the NMAM still convinces visitors that ancient Russian painting is an integral part of universal art.
