The Department of Russian Art spans a period starting from the eighteenth century. The portraits of F. Rokotov and D. Levitsky exhibited in this department provide an illuminating insisight into this genre’s flourishing in eighteenth century Russia. The Portrait of Unknown Woman by F. Rokotov is notable for its consummate draughtsmanship. A deep psychological insight into the inner world of the sitter is characteristic of the luxurious formal The Portrait of Unknown Woman by D. Levitsky.

One of the finest works in the gallery’s collection of painting of the first half of the nineteenth century is the Portrait of M. Bek, executed by K. Briullov in a refined, bright colour scale.

Works of Vasily Surikov, a leading figure in Russian realistic painting of the second half of the nineteenth century, is represented by his Head Studies of a Gossak, Portrait of a Woman, studies for the picture Stepan Razin  and others. Vasily Polenov, who developed the traditions of the lyrical landscape, was one of the originators of plein air painting. His Farmyard. Bulgaria kept at the Gallery is charming in its sincerity of feeling and its clarity and resonance of colours.

Among the works made by Russian artists in the gallery there is I. Levitan’s landscape Reaped Field distinguished for the laconism of its subject, the depth of its content and the fusion of the lyrical and epic aspects.

One of V. Serov’s masterpieces, Portrait of M. Akimova, is striking in its powerful sonorous colours, its flowing musical rhythm and its sophisticated and many-faceted psychological characterization.

A delicate colouristic quality singles out V. Borisov-Musatov’s painting Lady in Blue Dress. The superbly arranged Still Life with Balalaika by A. Karev is captivating in the beauty of its combinations in colours. The poetical landscape Apple trees in Blossom by M. Larionov belongs to the early Impressionist stage of the artist’s career.

The constructional clarity of forms and the depth and intensity of colouring are the hallmark of the Gallery pictures by I. Mashkov, P. Konchalovsky, V. Rozhdestvensky, P. Falk, N. Goncharova and A. Kuprin produced in 1910s.

FEDOR ROKOTOV                                     DMITRY LEVITSKY

Portrait of an Unknown Woman, 1770        Portrait of an Unknown Woman

KARL BRIULLOV                                        VALENTIN SEROV

Portrait of M. Bek, 1840                               Portrait of M. Akimova, 1908

VIKTOR BORISOV-MUSATOV                  PAVEL KUZNETSOV

Lady in a Blue Dress                                   Still Life