The Rumyantsev Museum evolved from the personal library and historical collection of Count
Nikolay Rumyantsev
Count Nikolai Petrovich Rumyantsev (; 3 April 1754 – 3 January 1826), born in Saint Petersburg, was Russia's Foreign Minister and Chancellor of the Russian Empire in the run-up to Napoleon's invasion of Russia (1808–12). He was the son of ...
(1754–1826). Its origin was in
St. Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
in the Rumyantsev house or mansion, building number 44 on the
English Embankment
The English Embankment (russian: Англи́йская на́бережная; ''Angliyskaya Naberezhnaya'') or English Quay is a street along the left bank of the Bolshaya Neva River in Central Saint Petersburg. It has been historically one of t ...
overlooking river
Neva
The Neva (russian: Нева́, ) is a river in northwestern Russia flowing from Lake Ladoga through the western part of Leningrad Oblast (historical region of Ingria) to the Neva Bay of the Gulf of Finland. Despite its modest length of , it ...
. After
Nikolay died in 1826, his brother Sergei converted the house into a museum. It was opened to the general public in 1831, initially for one day a week, and the remaining days were for study.
Maintenance difficulties were among the reasons for the shift of Rumyantsev Museum to Moscow, despite it being affiliated to the
Public Library in Saint Petersburg since 1845. In 1862, Nikolay's collection was combined with others, including paintings from the
Hermitage Museum
The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is the list of ...
, and renamed the Moscow Public Museum and Rumyantsev Museum. By 1917 there would be four name changes and the collection grew to 1.5 million items. This increased to 2.7 million in the next three years following an expropriation and nationalisation campaign. A number of notable people used the library such as
Dmitri Mendeleev
Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev (sometimes transliterated as Mendeleyev or Mendeleef) ( ; russian: links=no, Дмитрий Иванович Менделеев, tr. , ; 8 February Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._27_January.html" ;"title="O ...
,
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky (russian: Константи́н Эдуа́рдович Циолко́вский , , p=kənstɐnʲˈtʲin ɪdʊˈardəvʲɪtɕ tsɨɐlˈkofskʲɪj , a=Ru-Konstantin Tsiolkovsky.oga; – 19 September 1935) ...
,
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (, ; rus, Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский, Fyódor Mikháylovich Dostoyévskiy, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj, a=ru-Dostoevsky.ogg, links=yes; 11 November 18219 ...
and
Leo Tolstoy
Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...
.
In 1921 the museum and library were administratively and formally separated. A second
deposit copy was permitted. In 1924, weeks after the death of Lenin, despite there being some contenders for Lenin's legacy such as the
Public Library in Saint Petersburg, Rumyantsev Museum was reorganized as the Lenin Library. The Rumyantsev library became a part of the Lenin Library while other holdings were dissolved among the
Tretyakov Gallery
The State Tretyakov Gallery (russian: Государственная Третьяковская Галерея, ''Gosudarstvennaya Tretyâkovskaya Galereya''; abbreviated ГТГ, ''GTG'') is an art gallery in Moscow, Russia, which is considered th ...
,
Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts
The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts (russian: Музей изобразительных искусств имени А. С. Пушкина, abbreviated as ) is the largest museum of European art in Moscow, located in Volkhonka street, just oppo ...
and the
State Museum of Oriental Art among others. The Lenin Library would go on to become the
Russian State Library
The Russian State Library (russian: Российская государственная библиотека, Rossiyskaya gosudarstvennaya biblioteka) is one of the three national libraries of Russia, located in Moscow. It is the largest librar ...
in 1992.
History
St. Petersburg (1828–1861)
On the death of Count
Nikolay Rumyantsev
Count Nikolai Petrovich Rumyantsev (; 3 April 1754 – 3 January 1826), born in Saint Petersburg, was Russia's Foreign Minister and Chancellor of the Russian Empire in the run-up to Napoleon's invasion of Russia (1808–12). He was the son of ...
in 1826 his brother Count inherited his property. Sergei knew that his brother Nikolay had wanted his personal art and book collection to be accessible to society. For this he decided to use the , located on the
English Embankment
The English Embankment (russian: Англи́йская на́бережная; ''Angliyskaya Naberezhnaya'') or English Quay is a street along the left bank of the Bolshaya Neva River in Central Saint Petersburg. It has been historically one of t ...
in St. Petersburg,
where Nikolay's collections were already stored. The Rumyantsev Museum was established in 1828.
A decree was signed on 22 March 1828 regarding its establishment. The collection was gifted to the government. It was opened to the general public in 1831; initially one day a week for the general public and the remaining days for scholars.
The museum's collections, evolving from Count Nikolay Rumyantsev's own,
included books and manuscripts,
art, coins, medals, items from Russian voyages and circumnavigations,
and from places such as the
Museum of Antiquities in Vilnius
The Museum of Antiquities ( lt, Senienų muziejus, pl, Muzeum Starożytności) in Vilnius (Vilna, Wilno) was a museum of archaeology and history established by Count Eustachy Tyszkiewicz in 1855 at the premises of the closed Vilnius University. It ...
. The collection of valuable books totaled to about 29,000 while other items numbered in the hundreds.
The library included books from between the twelfth and nineteenth centuries. In his lifetime Rumyantsev had funded expeditions and excavations across the world.
He also personally sent people across Russia to find books. Employees including a librarian and bibliographer helped Rumyantsev amass his collection. Assistant's included
Friedrich von Adelung
Friedrich von Adelung (February 25, 1768 – January 30, 1843) was a German-Russian linguist, historian and bibliographer. His best known works are in the fields of bibliography of Sanskrit language and the European accounts of the Time of Troubles ...
who was known for collecting foreign reports on Russia. Collaborators included
Alexander Vostokov
Alexander Khristoforovich Vostokov (born Alexander Woldemar Osteneck; russian: link=no, Алекса́ндр Христофо́рович Восто́ков; – ) was one of the first Russian philologists.
Background
He was born into a Baltic ...
and
Eugene Bolkhovitinov
Meropolitan Eugene (russian: Митрополит Евгений, secular name: Yevfimy Alekseyevich Bolkhovitinov, russian: Евфимий Алексеевич Болховитинов; –) was the Orthodox Metropolitan of Kiev and Galici ...
. Students of history such as
Nikolay Karamzin
Nikolay Mikhailovich Karamzin (russian: Николай Михайлович Карамзин, p=nʲɪkɐˈlaj mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ kərɐmˈzʲin; ) was a Russian Imperial historian, romantic writer, poet and critic. He is best remembered for ...
used these historical resources.
![NP Rumyantsev Mansion 1720-1730, 1820 - panoramio (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/NP_Rumyantsev_Mansion_1720-1730%2C_1820_-_panoramio_%28cropped%29.jpg)
An architect was involved in the conversion of the house(s) into a museum. It was at this stage in the mid-1930s when 12 columns were added to the front built up from the first floor. A pediment was added with sculpting by
Ivan Martos
Ivan Petrovich Martos (russian: Иван Петрович Мартос; uk, Іван Петрович Мартос; 1754 — 5 April 1835) was Ukrainian and Russian sculptor and art teacher who helped awaken Russian interest in Neoclassical ...
. The sculpting on the pediment is inspired by mythology connected with
Mount Parnassus
Mount Parnassus (; el, Παρνασσός, ''Parnassós'') is a mountain range of central Greece that is and historically has been especially valuable to the Greek nation and the earlier Greek city-states for many reasons. In peace, it offers ...
,
Apollo-Musagets,
Mnemosyne
In Greek mythology and ancient Greek religion, Mnemosyne (; grc, Μνημοσύνη, ) is the goddess of memory and the mother of the nine Muses by her nephew Zeus. In the Greek tradition, Mnemosyne is one of the Titans, the twelve divine chil ...
and the
Muses
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the p ...
, a shout-out to the buildings' purpose as a museum as well as a reference to Rumyantsev. At a later date the pediment was engraved with the words of
Nikolay, "for (the) good (of) enlightenment", also translated as "for the benefit of education", with the entire engraving reading as, "From the State Chancellor Count Rumyantsev for the good enlightenment" (Russian: ).
Since 1845 the Rumyantsev Museum was affiliated with the
Imperial Public Library in St. Petersburg.
Dmitry Buturlin
Dmitry Petrovich Buturlin (russian: Дмитрий Петрович Бутурлин; 11 May 1790 – 21 October 1849) was a Russian Empire general and military historian from an old noble family of Ratshid stock. He was admitted into the Govern ...
, the director of the Imperial Public Library, was the museum director.
Vladimir Odoevsky
Prince Vladimir Fyodorovich Odoyevsky (russian: Влади́мир Фёдорович Одо́евский, p=ɐˈdojɪfskʲɪj; Владимир Федорович Одоевский. Библиографический указатель. Энц ...
was actively associated with the library for about 15 years and during its shift to Moscow, continued as the library director. During the last few years of the museums' life in St. Petersburg the maintenance of the library proved difficult.
In 1863 the Rumyantsev house was sold to the editor of a newspaper. Further changes were made to the house by successive owners. 1930s onwards the house was used by the Museum of the History of Leningrad, now the
State Museum of the History of Saint Petersburg
The State Museum of the History of Saint Petersburg (russian: Государственный музей истории Санкт-Петербурга) is a museum of the history of the city of Saint Petersburg, Russia.
The headquarters of the mu ...
.
Moscow (1862–1924)
![Pashkov house](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Pashkov_house.jpg)
In May 1861 under the vision and advice of and his predecessor a decree for the "first public museum in Moscow" was framed and during the following year approved by
Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II ( rus, Алекса́ндр II Никола́евич, Aleksándr II Nikoláyevich, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ftɐˈroj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ; 29 April 181813 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Poland and Gra ...
, then the emperor.
The contents of the Rumyantsev Museum in St. Petersburg was shifted to Moscow and combined with other items including those from the
Moscow University
M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...
.
Pictures were transferred from the
Hermitage Museum
The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is the list of ...
.
There had been certain discontentment among sections of society in St. Petersburg related to the shift of the library to Moscow.
![Torvald Mitreiter Alexander Ivanov Hall Moscow Rumyantsev Museum 1881](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Torvald_Mitreiter_Alexander_Ivanov_Hall_Moscow_Rumyantsev_Museum_1881.jpg)
The official founding date of the Moscow Public Museum and Rumyantsev Museum (MPRM) is 19 June 1862 when the regulations related to it were passed. While some collections such as the zoological collection were transferred to Moscow University, the Rumyantsev Museum, at the turn of the century, had a library and departments for antiquities, paintings, and ethnography among others. Katia Dianina of the department of Slavic Languages and Literatures of the University of Virginia writes that the shift of the museum to Moscow and its opening was the beginning of the city's "cultural renaissance".
![Alexandr Ivanov 005](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Alexandr_Ivanov_005.jpg)
The museum has undergone a number of changes in name,
Its collection included paintings from the
and some more recent artists.
Fyodor Pryanishnikov's collection was part of the museum.
Leonid Pasternak
Leonid Osipovich Pasternak (born ''Yitzhok-Leib'', or ''Isaak Iosifovich, Pasternak''; russian: Леони́д О́сипович Пастерна́к, 3 April 1862 ( N.S.) – 31 May 1945) was a Russian post-impressionist painter. He was the ...
's painting of Tolstoy was hung there.
Pavel Tretyakov
Pavel Mikhaylovich Tretyakov (russian: Па́вел Миха́йлович Третьяко́в; 27 December 1832 – 16 December 1898) was a Russian businessman, patron of art, collector, and philanthropist who gave his name to the Tretyakov Ga ...
gave the museum
Vladimir Borovikovsky
Vladimir Lukich Borovikovsky (russian: Влади́мир Луки́ч Боровико́вский, ukr, Володи́мир Лýкич Боровикóвський, ; July 24 O.S. (August 4, N.S.) 1757, Mirgorod – April 6 O.S. (April 18, N. ...
's "Portrait of Amvrosy Podobedov".
In 1862 the ''
Ahasuerus and Haman at the Feast of Esther
The painting ''Ahasveros and Haman at the Feast of Esther'' is one of the few works of Rembrandt van Rijn whose complete provenance is known. The origin of the painting can be traced back to 1662, two years after its completion.
Subject
The sub ...
'' was given to the museum''.'' The collection included the ''
Archangel Gospel
The Archangelsk Gospel (russian: Архангельское Евангелие) is a lectionary in Old Church Slavonic dated to 1092. It is the fourth oldest Eastern Slavic manuscript.Башлыкова М. Е., ''Архангельское Ева ...
.''
Ivan Tsvetaev
Ivan Vladimirovich Tsvetaev (; 16 May Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O._S._4_May.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/> O._S._4_May">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html"_;"title="nowiki/>Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates ...
was a curator until he went on to found the
Pushkin Museum
The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts (russian: Музей изобразительных искусств имени А. С. Пушкина, abbreviated as ) is the largest museum of European art in Moscow, located in Volkhonka street, just oppo ...
in 1912.
In 1915 a new gallery opened with different floors holding Italian, French, Dutch and Russian works. There was also a section for Japanese and Chinese art.
In 1900 the first dedicated space within the Pashkov House was created for the work of
Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov
Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov (russian: link=no, Алекса́ндр Андре́евич Ива́нов; July 28 (July 16 Adoption of the Gregorian calendar#Adoption in Eastern Europe, S, 1806 – July 15 (July 3 S, 1858) was a Russ ...
and would remain the only named hall, the Ivanov Hall, of the museum library.
In December 1921 the museum and library were administratively separated. The library was given the name "State Rumiantsev Library". A second deposit copy was permitted.
Dmitri Mendeleev
Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev (sometimes transliterated as Mendeleyev or Mendeleef) ( ; russian: links=no, Дмитрий Иванович Менделеев, tr. , ; 8 February Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._27_January.html" ;"title="O ...
,
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (, ; rus, Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский, Fyódor Mikháylovich Dostoyévskiy, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj, a=ru-Dostoevsky.ogg, links=yes; 11 November 18219 ...
and
Leo Tolstoy
Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...
used the library.
Sophia Tolstaya
Countess Sophia Andreyevna Tolstaya (née Behrs; russian: Со́фья Андре́евна Толста́я, sometimes anglicised as ''Sophia Tolstoy''; 22 August 1844 – 4 November 1919), was a Russian diarist, and the wife of Russian writer ...
visited the library a number of times, including visits related to her husband Leo. Lenin also used and interacted with the library.
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky (russian: Константи́н Эдуа́рдович Циолко́вский , , p=kənstɐnʲˈtʲin ɪdʊˈardəvʲɪtɕ tsɨɐlˈkofskʲɪj , a=Ru-Konstantin Tsiolkovsky.oga; – 19 September 1935) ...
, without the means to enroll in formal education during the period of 1873–1876 in Moscow, used the library's scientific literature during those three years. By 1917, the collection included 1.5 million items. This almost doubled to 2.7 million by 1920 following an expropriation and nationalisation campaign.
Lenin died on 21 January 1924. His name carried weight and to name an institution after him was an incentive for ensuring state funding in a difficult period. Despite the presence of contenders for Lenin's legacy, for example the
Public Library in Saint Petersburg, on 5 February 1924 it was communicated that the Rumyantsev museum library would be renamed after Lenin and in the coming months it was made a national library.
This change in name and designation also allowed for the highlighting of the working conditions in the library, including the health of the staff, one-fourth who had tuberculosis. The first director of the Lenin Library or Leninka (as the V. I. Lenin Russian Public Library was popularly known as) was
Vladimir Nevsky
Vladimir Ivanovich Nevsky (Russian: Влади́мир Ива́нович Не́вский; 14 May Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates">O.S._2_May.html" ;"title="Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/> O.S._2_May">Old_Style_and_New_Style_ ...
.
The museum's collection of manuscripts and
incunabula
In the history of printing, an incunable or incunabulum (plural incunables or incunabula, respectively), is a book, pamphlet, or broadside that was printed in the earliest stages of printing in Europe, up to the year 1500. Incunabula were pro ...
was reorganized as the
Lenin Library
The Russian State Library (russian: Российская государственная библиотека, Rossiyskaya gosudarstvennaya biblioteka) is one of the three national libraries of Russia, located in Moscow. It is the largest librar ...
; its holdings of Russian art went to the
Tretyakov Gallery
The State Tretyakov Gallery (russian: Государственная Третьяковская Галерея, ''Gosudarstvennaya Tretyâkovskaya Galereya''; abbreviated ГТГ, ''GTG'') is an art gallery in Moscow, Russia, which is considered th ...
; the collection of old masters formed the nucleus of the
Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts
The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts (russian: Музей изобразительных искусств имени А. С. Пушкина, abbreviated as ) is the largest museum of European art in Moscow, located in Volkhonka street, just oppo ...
; this included the ''
The Appearance of Christ Before the People
''The Appearance of Christ Before the People'' (russian: Явление Христа народу ''Yavleniye Khrista narodu'') or ''The Apparition of the Messiah'' is an oil painting on canvas, measuring 540 cm × 750 cm, by the Russ ...
'';''
'' collections went to the
State Museum of Oriental Art;
the Dashkov Museum (and Department of Foreign Ethnography
) was incorporated into the
Museum of the Peoples of the USSR
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...
.
References
;Notes
;Citations
;Works cited
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Further reading
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;Collections
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External links
* A virtual reconstruction by the
Russian State Library
The Russian State Library (russian: Российская государственная библиотека, Rossiyskaya gosudarstvennaya biblioteka) is one of the three national libraries of Russia, located in Moscow. It is the largest librar ...
, under construction
{{Authority control
Museums in Moscow
Museums established in 1831
1927 disestablishments in the Soviet Union
1831 establishments in the Russian Empire
Defunct museums in Russia
Historic house museums in Saint Petersburg