subject: Sights of Odessa Ukraine: The Odessa Archeology Museum, Art Museum in Odessa Ukraine [print this page] Sights of Odessa Ukraine: The Odessa Archeology Museum, Art Museum in Odessa Ukraine
The Odessa Archeology Museum is one of the oldest museums in Ukraine, founded in 1825 with the help of assistance of Odessa Society of History created in 1839 and antiquities which were excavated in the south of Russian Empire.
There are over 160 thousand exhibits, the largest assembly on ancient history of Northern Black Sea Coast. There are also collections of monuments of Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greecea and Ancient Rome. Smart coin and medal collection is represented.
The best samples of an antique sculpture are exposed in a lobby of the building specially constructed in 1883. In first two halls the materials represented from Homo Sapiense times up to up to the second millennium A.D. In the first millennium A.D. the cities-colonies have been based on the Northern coast of The Black Sea region: lvia, Tyras, Panticapaeum, Chersonese: painted vessels, sculpture, inscriptions and other subject matters of art craft.
The culture of the Scythian and Sarmatian tribes, who lived in steppes of Black Sea Coast before Slavic tribes, is presented by materials from settlements and burial places, subject matters of arms, bronze boilers and other utensils, ornaments. Formation of the Slavic Nations, which were united in IX century in the state "Kievan Rus". Neighbours of Slavs at various times were hazars, polovtsy, pechenegi..
The Golden collection of the museum is represented by original things from precious metals, most ancient of them concern to the beginning of the second millennium B.C. The ornament from Scythian and Sarmatian burial grounds, medieval burials of nomads, a product slavic masters attract the attention of visitors.
50 thousand coins collection is exhibited in the museum: the most rare gold and silver coins, issued by Ancient Greek, Rome and Byzantium. In section of Russian numismatics coins of prince Vladimir are presented, and of course coin stamping collection of Russian Tsars, medals.
The collection of Egyptian antiquities is the third on size in the former USSR. Here are wooden and stone with sarcophagi, funeral stock, stone plates and fragments of papyruses with hieroglyphs.
Collection of fine arts of the Odessa art museum is one of the most significant in Ukraine. It covers all types of the fine arts: painting, graphics, sculpture, arts and crafts and includes works of Russian and Ukrainian masters of icon drawing from XVI century up to the present days, in total more than 10 thousand original works.
The Odessa art museum was opened in 1899 under the initiative of the Odessa fine arts society (based in 1865). The first paintings of Odessa museum assembly were the pictures, presented by the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts.
The museum is located in the center of Odessa, above the Black Sea, in a palace, being a monument of architecture of the beginning of XIX century and having an artificial underground grotto opened for visitors.
The exposition of a museum is placed in 26 halls and constructed in chronological sequence with compliance with a monographic principle of presentation of works of each author.
The exposition opens wonderful creations of icon painters XVI-XV centuries and early secular portraits full of an originality XV centuries. XV the beginnings of XIX century acquaint the portraits created by the best masters of that epoch: D.Levitsky, V.Borovikovsky, O.Kiprensky, V.Tropinin and others.
The museum has nice collection of paintings of marine painter I.Ajvazovskiy. The museum has works of artists of a democratic direction in Russian art of second half of XIX century: I.Kramskoy, A.Savrasov, I.Levitan, I.Shishkin, A.Kuindzhi, I.Repin, V.Surikov and many other things.
No doubt the best collection of Odessa Art Museum is art of the end of XIX and beginning of XX century. Such creative painters are represented: V.Serov, M.Vrubel, N.Rerih, B.Kustodiev, A.Benua, K.Somov, V.Kandinsky. Here the unique collection of painting of masters of "South Russain Group" based in Odessa in 1890 is exhibited. Unique works of K.Kostandi, G.Ladyzhenskiy, G.Golovkov, P.Nilus has generated bases of the Odessa picturesque school.
The department of the modern art represents an art life of Odessa since 20th years up to now. The best works of artists of Odessa city and other regions of Ukraine are presented.
