On the exhibition that is dedicated to the 150th anniversary of Princess Maria Tenisheva and the 110th anniversary of the Russian Museum the best artworks from the collection of Maria Tenisheva, which are the pride of the museum, will be presented. For the duration of the history the most part of these artworks was shown on different exhibitions and published in albums. And now the viewers will get the opportunity to enjoy the masterpieces of watercolours and drawings by the Russian art school of the 19th – the beginning of the 20th century once again and appreciate the taste of the collector, her passions and generosity of her gift.
The exhibition will contain more than hundred artworks. Among the artworks of the first half of the 19th century the prominent names of the epoch will be presented. They are: Aleksey Venetsianov, Orest Kiprensky, Karl Briullov, Pavel Fedotov and the others. Maria Tenisheva was very much obliged to Princess Ekaterina Svyatopolk-Chetvertinskaya, her friend and associate, for many sheets from this part of the collection.
The artworks of the second half of the 19th century may be separated conventionally on two unequal parts.
The lesser part contains the artworks by the prominent masters of that period. They are: Ivan Kramskoi, Ivan Shishkin, Ilya Repin, Isaac Levitan and other less known artists.
The larger part contains the artworks by the participants of "The Society of the Russian Watercolourists".
The artworks by such artists of the turn of the 19th and the 20th century as Mikhail Vrubel, Valentin Serov, Aleksandr Benois, Lev Bakst, Elena Polenova, Nikolai Roerich, are the centrepiece of the collection.
Alongside the sculpture and the archives from the Funds of the Russian Museum viewers will be able to get acquainted with photographs that imprinted the appearance of Maria Klavdievna Tenisheva.
The film that reconstructs the main stages of the life of Maria Tenisheva and the history of forming of her collection of watercolours and drawings are prepared for the exhibition.
