Ivan Tsvetkov and His Gallery

Tsvetkov’s memoirs mention three ten-year periods of his collecting activities. Between 1881 and 1891, he acquired a relatively modest number of pictures – mainly at occasional sales and at a low price. He was just buying pictures that he liked, with no intention to start a collection. In 1891-1901, he conceived the idea to build a small collection, a sort of painting chrestomathy. For this purpose, he made a collection plan defining the artists that ought have been regarded as the most prominent representatives of their epochs, and which painting genre –the most characteristic one – was to represent each of these artists in his collection. In spring 1901, when he moved to a new house at Prechistenskaya Embankment, Tsvetkov started actively developing his collection and systematising the display of the Gallery.

In Tsvetkov’s collection, paintings of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries were significantly outnumbered by graphic art works, but in terms of their quality and prominence of the artists who had created them, the former were in no way inferior to the latter. These paintings included portraits by A. Antropov, V. Borovikovsky, G. Ugryumov, K. Bryullov, O. Kiprensky, A. Varnek, S. Zaryanko; landscapes by S. Shchedrin, A. Martynov, Maxim and Sokrat Vorobyov, K. Rabus, A. Mordvinov, brothers Grigory and Nikanor Chernetsov, and even a sketch by A. Ivanov. The collection was particularly rich with genre portraits by V. Tropinin (20) and A. Venetsianov (18), often showing people dressed in folk costumes (Tropinin’s Portrait of Simbirsk Merchant V. Yakovlev, Khokhol, and Khokhlushka; Venetsianov’s Countrywoman in Blue Sarafan, Wet Nurse and Baby, and Portrait of the Artist’s Wife Marfa Afanasyevna in Russian Costume). Apparently, this passion of Tsvetkov to folk types and national costumes was related to the fact that he was from the grassroots of the society and had a patriarchal upbringing.

In addition to the portraits and landscapes, the collection included genre paintings (Infant Baptism by I. Tupylev, To the Hunt by Ye. Krendovsky, Old Soldier’s Story by L. Plakhov), paintings based on religious motifs (A. Yegorov’s Joseph and Potiphar's Wife and Angel Appearing to Shepherds; F. Bruni’s Madonna and Child with Roses and Holy Great Martyr Alexandra). Allegorical (Satyr and Bacchantes by M. Scotti, Awakening of Graces by F. Bruni) and historical (Death of Alcibiades by Ya. Kapkov) paintings are less usual for this collection, while still lifes are not present at all (although works by I. Khrutsky and F. Toropov might have been of interest to the collector).

Along with paintings by famous masters, Tsvetkov acquired works by unrenowned artists, such as Peasant Family before Dinner by F. Solntsev.

Following his taste and passions, his level of education in arts, and the opportunities in his life, I. Tsvetkov, like P. Tretyakov and I. Ostroukhov, established a museum of Russian panting and graphic arts, which was a great contribution to the Russian culture studies.

N. Presnova

Tsvetkov’s taste in collecting Russian art was influenced by his visits to the Tretyakov Gallery (started in 1874), the Society for Travelling Art Exhibitions, and the Moscow Society of Art Lovers.

In 1881-1891, along with works by old European and Russian masters, Tsvetkov acquired paintings by V. Vereshchagin, A. Kiselyov, I. Levitan, F. Vasilyev, and others. Later, only a few things acquired in the 1880s remained among Tsvetkov’s possessions (including such canvases as Bylina Teller Nikita Bogdanov by V. Polenov, Satyrs in Happy Arcadia by V. Khudyakov, and Landlord Congratulating the Newlyweds by G. Myasoyedov). Since the end of the 1880s, he started adding to his collection works by V. Makovsky, N. Nevrev, V. Surikov, and I. Pryanishnikov. These artists were his friends, and his interest to their art did not cease in the following years.

By the agency of V. Makovsky, Tsvetkov got acquainted with P. Tratyakov at the end of the 1880s. In the 1890s, the collector was developing his network with Moscow and St. Petersburg artists, and building a gold reserve of works by the Itinerants, who were favoured by Tretyakov (V. Perov, I. Shishkin, I. Kramskoi, F. Vasilyev, K. Huhn, V. Maksimov, and others); his collecting activities were gradually becoming goal-directed.

Unlike Tretyakov, Tsvetkov did not seek to acquire many works produced by a selected artist. His stated principle of a representative collection (“My humble collection will be a brief summary, using which one will be able to easily trace almost all history of the Russian painting art development”) had its exceptions. In the Tsvetkov Gallery, paintings by V. Makovsky (22) and I. Repin (19) were in the majority.

Tsvetkov was close with the early Itinerants and purchased works by K. Lemokh; A. Korzukhin; A. Litovchenko,; N. Shustov; K. Makovsky; students of I. Pryanishnikov (A. Korin and V. Komarov – Tsvetkov posed for them to make his portraits) and of V. Makovsky (V. Kuznetsov and N. Bogdanov-Belsky); friends of Makovsky (I. Tvorozhnikov) and K. Savitsky (N. Grandkovsky); and others. At the Moscow Society of Art Lovers drawing evenings, Tsvetkov demonstrated a particularly strong interest in the artists who were working there, and sought to discover individuality in each of them.

A distinctive feature of Tsvetkov’s collection was a substantial number of studies and sketches by contemporary artists – they were appropriately sized for the collector’s relatively small house. The collection included early studies for such paintings as Surikov’s Boyarynya Morozova, Maksimov’s Sorcerer Сomes to a Peasant Wedding, etc., as well as sketches for paintings that had been planned but never actually painted. Tsvetkov was also interested in paintings produced by artists as copies of their own original works. Sometimes the collector even commissioned them personally (Dark People, a painting dated 1874 and finished by Savitsky in 1893, and his canvas Paying Their Respects to the Icon).

Due to the house built at Prechistenskaya Embankment (1901), Tsvetkov was able to purchase a number of large paintings, including official and semi-official portraits. In the middle of the 1900s, a gallery of images of painters, singers, performing artists, scientists, and writers started to emerge within Tsvetkov’s collection. In the 1900s, Tsvetkov was increasing the number of contemporary paintings in his collection. Doing his best to keep up with trends, he bought works by K. Yuon, K. Korovin, V. Serov, and M. Nesterov.

E. Yevseyeva

Graphic art works by Russian masters and foreigners who worked in Russia make the biggest and the most precious part of the comprehensive art collection of Ivan Tsvetkov. It is worth mentioning that it was a graphic art work which marked the beginning of the collection. Tsvetkov called the first drawing that he acquired at an ironmonger's shop at the Arbat in 1875 – I. Akimov’s Saturn – the cornerstone of his entire collection.

Tsvetkov started collecting drawings during the opportune period when other collectors, including P. Tretyakov, had little interest in them. Years later, he reminisced that he “had a good idea to start collecting drawings . . . produced by Russian artists.” Due to his enthusiasm and dedication to his dream, after more than thirty years, Tsvetkov became an owner of a very rich collection. It embraced an extremely diverse range of interesting works made with the application of different techniques during the period from the 18th to the early 20th century. These oeuvres included studies, sketches, drafts of paintings, and independent pieces in all genres: landscapes, portraits, works based on historical and mythological motifs, genre scenes, allegories, and still lifes. The best among them were pencil and pen drawings, watercolours, gouaches, and pastels by F. Matveyev, A. Orłowski, G. Quarenghi, K. Bryullov, P. Fedotov, M. Vorobyov, P. Sokolov, V. Tropinin, A. Savrasov, V. Perov, V. Makovsky, I. Repin, V. Surikov, V. Polenov, V. Vasnetsov, I. Levitan, V. Serov, and any many others.

In 1925, this collection with almost 1500 items became a basis for the graphic art reserve of the Tretyakov Gallery. The drawings, which Ivan Tsvetkov loved so deeply, are systematically exhibited – they continue bringing joy to everyone who is passionate about this visual art type.

M. Krylova

By 1915, the year when its Catalogue was published, 38 sculptures had been added to Tsvetkov’s collection. During the Tsvetkov Gallery closure in 1927, all of them were transferred to the Tretyakov Gallery. Two years later, after the order of the RSFSR People's Commissariat for Education to redistribute the collection, fourteen works, rather diverse in terms of impressiveness and technique, remained at the Tretyakov Gallery.

Tsvetkov’s sculpture collection was heterogeneous. He acquired works that were both usable and ornamental: vases, clocks, candle holders, inkpots, and statuettes. He preferred to buy bronze statuettes by the famous sculptor of the second half of the 19th century E. Lanceray. Tsvetkov’s collection had 12 works by this master, including two figurines Tsar’s Hunter of the 16^th Century (1870s, Tretyakov Gallery) and Courier from the Epoch of Ivan the Terrible (1870s, Tretyakov Gallery) cast at the F. Shopen Foundry. It is possible that Lanceray himself participated in the casting process. The sculptor made the Courier from the Epoch of Ivan the Terrible when he was working on models portraying characters from the Prince Serebrenni novel by A. Tolstoy, keeping in his mind the Courier of the 16th Century painting by the famous painter V. Schwarz (1868, Tretyakov Gallery). Tsvetkov considered a desk set by Lanceray (late 1870s, bronze, Dagestan Museum of Fine Arts) to be a gem of his collection. The following statuettes can be regarded as illustrative examples: Resting Dog (1865, bronze, Tretyakov Gallery) by N. Lieberich, an animal sculptor; Dog and Kennel by N. Sverchkov (1860s, bronze, Tretyakov Gallery); Rural Idyll by the Well (1890s, bronze) by V. Grachov; small-scale copies of To the Heroes of the 1812 War and Ivan Susanin monuments (unknown workshop, 1840-1850s, bronze, Tretyakov Gallery).

In 1890s, I. Tsvetkov started adding to his collection portraits of famous people from the world of art. A portrait sculpture of the well-known fabulist I. Krylov (1830, plaster, Tretyakov Gallery) by S. Galberg was particularly prominent. The collector also purchased portraits of his contemporaries. In 1911, he acquired the Artist V. Vereshchagin at Work figurine (1892, bronze, Ivanovo Regional Art Museum). On V. Makovsky’s recommendation, Tsvetkov bought his portrait (1906, bronze, Tretyakov Gallery) from V. Beklemishev, a sculptor, in 1906. In 1914, Tsvetkov’s collection was complemented by one more bust of V. Makovsky (1913, tinted plaster, Tretyakov Gallery), made by R. Bach. In 1902, Tsvetkov commissioned a portrait of himself to a sculptor from Moscow, Head of the Sculpture Workshop of the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture S. Volnukhin (1902, bronze, Tretyakov Gallery), and to V. Beklemishev six years later (1909, bronze, tretyakov Gallery). Due to Tsvetkov’s insistence, a bronze statue was cast on the basis of V. Vasnetsov’s plaster portrait of I. Repin (1880, bronze, Tretyakov Gallery).

In 1908, Tsvetkov purchased a small-scale copy of the famous statue Peter the First (1870, bronze, Samara Regional Art Museum) by M. Antokolsky. There are many copies of this statue, which have become a part of various museum and private collections. However, this casting was made at the F. Barbedienne Plant famous for its works that received awards at every world’s fair as their high quality and fine bronze details were always of high interest to the public. In 1910, Tsvetkov bought another small-scale replica – of the Gladiator in the Arena statue by P. Velionsky (1882, bronze, Tretyakov Gallery). For this sculpture, which was very famous and repeatedly copied in bronze, the sculptor was granted the Academician title and awarded a gold medal.

During the whole period of his collecting activities, Tsvetkov was aware of the fact that collecting sculptures was a great challenge. Due to constant searching, substantial expenses, and recommendations from P. Tretyakov, I. Repin, V. Makovsky, and V. Beklemishev, every sculpture acquired by Tsvetkov has taken its rightful place. The Tsvetkov Gallery items have become an integral part of the Tretyakov Gallery: today, Tsvetkov’s collection is an important addition to the collection of sculpture of the second half of the 19^th century and the early 20^th century.

Ye. Nikolskaya

In 1926, into the Tretyakov Gallery, along with the graphic and painting collections, entered a small part of Ivan Yevmenievich Tsvetkov’s personal library, bought from his widow. Ivan Yevmenievich Tsvetkov was born to a priest of a small, poor parish.

When the boy turned 11, his parents sent him to Alatyr Religious School and then to Simbirsk Seminary.

The training at those institutions was quite mediocre, accompanied with birching, and the accommodation turned out to be simply squalid — the young Tsvetkov’s poor parents were not able to help him financially. The difficult life conditions, which he compared to penal ones, became more endurable thanks to reading.

“Having warmed up to the book, I began to develop quickly. The reading and telling of various stories developed my memory and ability to express my thoughts”, remembered Tsvetkov. He read works by the Russian and foreign classics with a great interest.

The young Tsvetkov’s hard work, determination and tenacity helped him to enter gymnasium and obtain a higher education.

During his gymnasium and university days, Tsvetkov often had to “live on bread with herring and tea” because the money he earned from tutoring were spent on books and boots; it was easier for him to starve than to borrow money. Tsvetkov dedicated all his nights to self-education, which he considered to be above all other activities. “I would work on myself day and night… I wanted to engage in self-education instead of making a carrier”, he wrote in his memoirs.

After a trip to Europe as a tutor to Prince I. А. Gagarin’s children, he developed an “artistic instinct”, “conscious passion and need for artistic pleasures and activities”. With time, having attained prosperity and status, he would purposefully view both public and private collections, specially travel to Saint Petersburg to see the Hermitage Picture Gallery, and at nights he would read books on the history of art from antiquity to modern times.

After graduating from university, a wish “to makes one’s own contribution to Russia” led Tsvetkov to employment at the Moscow Land Bank, created in order to strengthen the agricultural industry after the abolition of serfdom. The work at the bank allowed Tsvetkov to start his collecting activities, as well as to build up his own library.

The constitution of Tsvetkov’s book collection points to his many-sided and deep interest in the history of culture, the visual arts and architecture. Some of the books bear the owner’s inscriptions and margin notes, dedicatory autographs.

The gem of Tsvetkov’s book collection is an ancient illuminated manuscript book bound in leather.

It is a convolute — two manuscripts are gathered in one binding: The Apocalypse (late 18^th – first quarter of the 19^th century) and The Sermon of Palladius the Monk on the Second Coming of Christ, and the Last Judgement, and the Future Torture, and the Tenderness of the Soul (1760-1770s).

Z. Shergina