Pavel Tretyakov and Vera Mamontova: the only love of the founder of the famous gallery. Pavel Tretyakov - the founder of the Tretyakov Gallery: biography, family, interesting facts Tretyakov who gave his whole life to the gallery

Before you is the biography of the brilliant man Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov, the founder of the Tretyakov Gallery. He was born into a wealthy family on December 27, 1832, belonged to a merchant family.

As a child, he received an excellent home education. Growing up, he helped his father in commercial matters. After the death of his father, his mother led the family business, and when she died, Pavel took the initiative into his own hands.

With his brother Sergei, he built several factories in the Kostroma province. The case was a success. A lot of people worked at the factories, the enterprise was profitable.

In 1865, Tretyakov married Vera Mamontova. Vera loved music and, like her husband, was keenly interested in art.

Pavel Mikhailovich is known to us primarily as the founder of the Tretyakov Gallery. Where did his passion for collecting begin?

In 1854, he bought paintings from the Sukharevskaya Tower, his first acquisitions were canvases by Dutch artists. A few years later, Tretyakov acquired paintings by Khudyakov and Schilder. The paintings of these artists became the basis for a future outstanding collection.

In 1860, Pavel Tretyakov formulated the idea of ​​creating a Russian national art gallery. He collected mainly works of his contemporaries, acquired paintings at art exhibitions, and looked into workshops, where he bought freshly painted paintings. Tretyakov did a lot to support Russian artists.

Pavel Mikhailovich was not limited to single purchases. From Vasily Vasilyevich Vereshchagin, for example, I bought as many as 144 paintings at once and another 127 drawings written in pencil. I bought 102 sketches from Vasily Polenov, and collections of his sketches were bought from Viktor Vasnetsov.

The Tretyakov collection featured the best works of the best Russian artists. Paintings by Repin, Perov, Kramskoy, Levitan, Surikov, Serov - everything was collected in one big expensive collection.

In the 90s of the 19th century, Pavel Mikhailovich drew attention to ancient Russian painting. Icons begin to replenish the collection. Brother Sergei shared his passion and also collected paintings, albeit by European artists. In 1892, Sergei died, and he bequeathed his collection to Pavel.

Thus, the Tretyakov Gallery was replenished with halls of artists of the Western school. The collection became more and more significant. The fame of her spread not only throughout all the cities and towns of the Russian Empire, but also in Europe. Europeans who came to Russia, by all means wanted to see a stunning collection.

In the last summer month of 1892, Tretyakov donated his collection to his city, Moscow. In the collection of Pavel Mikhailovich, there were many paintings, icons and drawings. A year later, the Moscow City Gallery of Pavel and Sergei Mikhailovich Tretyakov was opened.

After the collection of paintings became state-owned, he did not give up his favorite business, continuing to buy paintings and help artists in every possible way, year after year, replenishing his museum with new works of Russian art.

The philanthropist Pavel Tretyakov left a huge mark on Russian history, having collected a magnificent collection of paintings. He helped artists find the application of their talent in life. The fate of many talented painters was not easy, and Pavel Mikhailovich managed to make it a little better. Pavel Tretyakov died at the end of 1898 and was buried in Moscow.

One of the notable events of the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Tretyakov Gallery was the arrival in Moscow of the descendants of P.M. Tretyakov living in the USA. Thanks to the efforts of the staff and management of the gallery, who tracked down the Siloti family and made her visit to Russia a reality, for the first time there was a meeting of those who belong to the once numerous family that lived in the Tretyakov house in Tolmachi.

Tretyakov family.
From left to right: Vera, Vanya, Vera Nikolaevna, Masha and Misha, Maria Ivanovna, Pavel Mikhailovich, Sasha and Lyuba.
Moscow. 1884

“If childhood can really be happy, then my childhood was. That trust, that harmony between loved ones who loved us and cared for us, was, it seems to me, the most valuable and joyful, ”Vera Pavlovna Ziloti, the eldest daughter of Pavel Mikhailovich and Vera Nikolaevna Tretyakov, wrote in her memoirs about the atmosphere that prevailed in their house. This atmosphere of love, mutual respect, harmony has been the cornerstone of the existence of the family for more than one generation. Everyone who knew Pavel Mikhailovich recalled his trusting relationship with “mother,” as he called her until the end of his life, Alexandra Danilovna, his friendship with his brother Sergei Mikhailovich, the attention and care that Tretyakov showed to numerous close and distant relatives.

In 1865, Pavel Mikhailovich married Vera Nikolaevna Mamontova, who came from a large merchant family. This marriage was not only successful, it can be called ideal. Vera Nikolaevna fully shared her husband's views and convictions, and, above all, in what concerned the main goal of his life - the creation of a museum of Russian fine arts. Being the mother of six children, the mistress of a large house, where there were constantly many guests, Vera Nikolaevna found time and energy for charitable work: from October 1867, at the suggestion of the City Duma, she became a trustee of the newly opened Pyatnitsky City Primary Women's School, and then Member of the Board of Trustees of the Arnold School for the Deaf and Dumb Children. She took an active part in the life of schools and introduced her daughters to this, as V.P. Siloti: “We attended all the exams, at the annual Christmas tree, played games with the children. Everyone was known by name, they knew the fate of each girl. And they were there. In my life it was like this before my marriage and departure abroad. My sisters, who lived in Moscow, subsequently stood close to the school.

It united the Tretyakov family and love for art. Visiting theaters, especially operas, concerts, museums in Moscow and while traveling in Russia and Europe was an integral part of their lives. Possessing a delicate taste and an undoubted musical talent, Vera Nikolaevna, who herself was seriously involved in music, strove to convey her attitude towards art and children. “Vera Nikolaevna played at home every day in the morning. I well remember a clear morning: I sit on the parquet warm from the sun in the living room and play puppet theater. And nearby, in the hall, connected to the living room by an arch, a mother plays. What things she played, I learned much later, but I knew these things and could not remember myself without them. She played nocturnes by Field, etudes by Henselt and Chopin. Chopin without end.

Similarly, I do not remember myself without pictures on the walls. They have always been,” A.P. wrote in her book “Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov in Life and Art”. Botkin.

As a memento for the children, Vera Nikolaevna kept a diary in which she wrote down not only funny stories from their lives, but also her thoughts about their development. In the preface addressed to her daughter Alexandra, she wrote: “Wishing to give myself the pleasure of experiencing with you every hour of your life, I decided to write down especially pleasant moments, the manifestation of a special attachment in you to something, also the gradual development of spiritual life in you, I thought to make it pleasant for you and leave a memory for yourself and your father as people who care to make real people out of you. This desire was so sincere and strong that it would be impossible to doubt at least half for the good influence of all undertakings.

Addressing Vera, the eldest daughter, Vera Nikolaevna wrote: “Feeling that music ennobles a person, makes him happy, as I saw it on myself and on Aunt Zina (Zinaida Nikolaevna Yakunchikova, Vera Nikolaevna’s elder sister. - E.Kh.), I have decided to convey this art to you as best as possible.

Your father also loved and understood music, yet he was more attached to painting and served this art with complete devotion, buying the best works of the old and newest schools. ... Many consoled me that for the first age of a child, it would be impossible to wish for a better environment than yours. Due to the impression of the eye, you had to think, and the music developed other sides in you, more spiritual, sensitive.

In such an environment, the children of the Tretyakovs grew up - Vera (b. 1866), Alexandra (b. 1867), Lyubov (b. 1870), Mikhail (b. 1871), Maria (b. 1875) and Ivan (b. 1878). And I think that it was the special spiritual atmosphere of this family that always helped to withstand the trials that fell to its lot.

Pavel Mikhailovich and Vera Nikolaevna had to endure two of the most tragic experiences for parents - the incurable illness of their son Mikhail, who was born with a mental defect, and the sudden death from scarlet fever of eight-year-old Vanya, everyone's favorite, an extremely sensitive and gifted child.

Soon after Vanya's death, the eldest daughter of the Tretyakovs, Vera, married the musician Alexander Siloti, who played a significant role in the history of Russian culture. An outstanding pianist, favorite student of N.G. Rubinstein and F. Liszt, cousin and teacher of S.V. Rachmaninov, a close friend of P.I. Tchaikovsky, Siloti was a piano professor at the Moscow Conservatory, then chief conductor of the Moscow Philharmonic Society, but he became most famous as an organizer and participant in the famous A. Siloti Concerts. In these concerts, which took place until 1917 in St. Petersburg, where the Siloti family lived since 1903, the largest musicians of the world took part.

Vera Pavlovna to a certain extent repeated the character and fate of her mother - she was also a person of broad cultural interests, a talented musician, her marriage was just as successful and long, she also had six children, she also had to endure the illness and death of her seven-year-old son. But she, like the other two daughters of the Tretyakovs - Lyubov and Maria, had to endure something that their parents could never even imagine - the loss of their homeland and ties with their relatives. In 1919, when a real threat to life arose
Alexander Ilyich, the Siloti family was forced to go abroad, first to Finland, then to Germany, and in 1922 to the USA. “One hundred percent “Moskovka”, as she called herself, Vera Pavlovna died in 1940 in New York, where, shortly before her death, she wrote a wonderful book of memoirs “In the Tretyakov House”, published in America in 1954, and in Russia only in 1998th.

The next, in 1920, Maria Pavlovna left Russia with her family. Her husband, Alexander Sergeevich Botkin, a hereditary doctor, naval officer, participant in many expeditions, who during the First World War held the honorary position of Military Mediator in Finland, took the side of the White movement during the Civil War. From the Crimea, the Botkins left for Italy and since 1923 settled in San Remo, where Lyubov Pavlovna lived with them.

The family life of Lyubov Pavlovna was not as successful as that of her sisters. Her first husband is marine painter Nikolai Nikolaevich Gritsenko, a student of A.P. Bogolyubov, died six years later of tuberculosis. The second marriage, with the artist Lev Bakst, quickly broke up, although it was Bakst, who had lived in Paris since 1910, who was the initiator and organizer of the departure from Russia in 1922 of Lyubov Pavlovna and their son Andrei, who also later became an artist.

Thus, the only one of the children of the Tretyakovs in Russia after the revolution was Alexandra Pavlovna. Perhaps this had its own pattern: by nature, she most of all resembled her father, she had the same external restraint, which later A.N. Benois defined the expression "silent monumentality", prudence, depth and at the same time, as her mother noted, a special sensitivity "to everything good and great." Not without reason, in one of his letters, Pavel Mikhailovich called her "my most beloved girl."

The father's collection was an integral part of life for Alexandra Pavlovna. When the first brick was laid in the courtyard of the Tretyakov House for the construction of a new gallery building, she was five years old. Before her eyes, a gallery was being built, paintings were being hung, and free access was opened for visitors.

The decision of Pavel Mikhailovich to donate his collection to the city of Moscow in 1892 was not a surprise for Alexandra Pavlovna, as well as for the whole family. She had no regrets - truly her father's daughter, she was also convinced that this collection is a national treasure. The gallery still remained Alexandra Pavlovna's home, although by this time she was already married to Sergei Sergeevich Botkin and lived in St. Petersburg.

When, after the death of P.M. Tretyakov in 1898, the question was decided who, according to the will expressed in his will, would enter from the family into the Gallery Council, I.S. Ostroukhov wrote to I.E. Repin: "We all hope that the family will choose either Alexandra Pavlovna or Sergei Sergeevich, which is the same thing." To which Repin replied: “It cannot be bypassed in any way. The closest heiress of Pavel Mikhailovich, most familiar with the sympathies and plans of the late father. Although still young, but smart, energetic person, with great love and understanding of art as she grew up in this gallery.

Alexandra Pavlovna worked actively on the Gallery Council for twelve years, after which Vera Pavlovna replaced her. Among its tasks, the Council considered the creation of a memorial room and an extensive biography of P.M. Tretyakov. Alexandra Pavlovna took an active part in the collection of archival materials for the implementation of this. She was also engaged in the selection of works for the gallery at various exhibitions and in the workshops of artists.

More than other daughters, Alexandra Pavlovna inherited from her father an attraction to collecting works of art. A definite impetus to the development of this attraction was her marriage to Sergei Sergeevich Botkin. Following in the footsteps of his father, Sergei Petrovich Botkin, he became a famous physician, professor at the Military Medical Academy. In the Botkin family, love for art and a passion for collecting were a family trait. Uncle Sergei Sergeevich, Mikhail Petrovich Botkin, was a famous painter; another uncle, Dmitry Petrovich, had one of the finest collections of Western art in Russia; major collectors were his cousins ​​- Peter and Sergei Ivanovich Shchukin.

Sergei Sergeevich collected works of Russian art, mainly drawings by Russian artists. In 1901, the Novoye Vremya magazine called his collection so rich and rare, "which, perhaps, even the Tretyakov Gallery can envy." Of course, Alexandra Pavlovna also participated in replenishing this collection.

The Botkins' house in St. Petersburg was as cozy and hospitable as the Tretyakovs' house in Moscow. And as once in the Tretyakov family, artists, musicians, artists constantly visited the Botkins' house. Following family traditions, Sergei Sergeevich and Alexandra Pavlovna constantly provided financial assistance to the artists. When the World of Art magazine was on the verge of closing due to lack of funds, the Botkins supported it financially, and this was done, according to D. Filosofov, "without noise, somehow imperceptibly and modestly."

The sudden death of Sergei Sergeevich in January 1910 was a terrible shock not only for the family, but also for all friends and acquaintances. After the death of her husband, the fate of the collection became the subject of special concern for Alexandra Pavlovna. In 1912, she began to work on the preparation of the publication of an illustrated catalog, but the outbreak of the First World War and the ensuing revolution prevented the implementation of her plan. A week before the October coup, Alexandra Pavlovna, on the advice of P.I. Neradovsky, gave the collection for temporary storage to the Russian Museum, where it remains to this day.

The Botkins' house in St. Petersburg was nationalized and transferred to communal apartments. Alexandra Pavlovna returned to Moscow, where her eldest daughter Shura lived, who became the wife of the artist of the Moscow Art Theater K.P. Khokhlova. By a strange intersection of fates, Konstantin Pavlovich's father, Pavel Ivanovich Khokhlov, was once an employee in P.M. Tretyakov, V.P. recalls him in his book. Siloti.

In the early twenties, Alexandra Pavlovna, like most people of her circle, had to endure many hardships of that time - deprivation of rights, compaction, lack of funds, a half-starved existence in an overcrowded communal apartment and, most importantly, parting with loved ones - those who left, were arrested, shot, disappeared forever.

But, despite everything experienced, Alexandra Pavlovna never complained. She helped her daughters - Alexandra, who became a film actress, and Anastasia, who worked in the theater museum in Leningrad, raised her grandson, returned to the gallery again, where she was a member of the academic council for many years, and in 1937 began working on a book about the history of the creation of the Tretyakov Gallery. This book, the first edition of which was published in 1951, and now the sixth edition is being prepared, Alexandra Pavlovna dedicated to the memory of her father, Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov.

December 27, 1832 was born Pavel Tretyakov, entrepreneur, founder of the Tretyakov Gallery.

Russian businessman, philanthropist, collector of works of Russian fine art, founder of the Tretyakov Gallery Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov was born on December 27 (15 according to the old style) in Moscow in a merchant family.

Educated at home, he began a career in trade, working with his father. Developing the family business, Pavel, together with his brother Sergei, built paper mills, which employed several thousand people. After the death of their father, in 1850, the brothers continued his business and from a variety of trade in shops (linen, bread, firewood) in the Old Gostiny Dvor moved on to serious business.

In the 1850s, Pavel Tretyakov began amassing a collection of Russian art. The first paintings Tretyakov acquired in 1856 were the works "Temptation" by Nikolai Schilder and "Clash with Finnish smugglers" by Vasily Khudyakov (this year is considered to be the year of foundation of the Tretyakov Gallery).

The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources

She flatly refuses to be photographed. It does not allow taking photos of children and grandchildren. Although, it would seem, someone else, and Muscovites should know them by sight. But... “We don't need publicity. My great-great-grandfather, who interests you so much, was a very modest person” - such is the position of ... the only descendant of Tretyakov living in Russia.

Nevertheless, Ekaterina Sergeevna Khokhlova agreed to talk about her famous ancestor. And about amazing facts from the life of the gallery, for example:

- When expanding the building of the gallery violated the will of the founder of the legendary Tretyakov Gallery;

The merchant Tretyakov, who spent thousands of silver rubles on art, counted every penny in everyday life;

Due to the theft of four paintings, the gallery was closed for two years.

The legendary Tretyakov Gallery is 150 years old! For a century and a half, it has turned from a repository of art objects into a world-famous gallery. The mansion in Lavrushinsky Lane is listed in the tourist prospectuses of guests from the Russian outback, foreigners and government delegations. It would seem that everything is known about the state museum. However... The great-great-granddaughter of the philanthropist Ekaterina Khokhlova made an appointment at the publishing house where she works as the editor-in-chief...

In her office one can feel the master's hand: clean, tidy, every thing knows its place. She smiles kindly and offers tea. I carefully examine Ekaterina Sergeevna - tall, fair-haired, with large features.

“Pavel Tretyakov and his wife Vera Nikolaevna (nee Mamontova) had six children: Vera, Alexandra, Lyubov, Maria, Mikhail, Ivan. Vanya died of scarlet fever at the age of eight. And Misha was born sick and was incapacitated - he died before reaching adulthood.

Vera married the pianist Alexander Siloti. Alexandra's husband was the famous doctor Sergei Botkin, and his brother Alexander, also a doctor, married Maria. Love in her first marriage was married to the artist Nikolai Gritsenko, and in the second - to the painter Lev Bakst. During the revolution, only one daughter of Tretyakov, Alexandra Pavlovna, did not leave Russia. To date, the descendants of the famous philanthropist have remained only from his two offspring: Vera and Alexandra. The heirs of the first live in the United States. By the way, this year they will come to the homeland of their famous ancestor for the first time. Descendants from Alexandra live in Russia - this is Ekaterina Sergeevna Khokhlova.”

* * *

- Ekaterina Sergeevna, do you look like your famous ancestor Pavel Tretyakov?

Judging by family photographs, I look like my great-grandmother Alexandra Pavlovna, the second oldest daughter of Pavel Mikhailovich. I remember her well - when she died, I was already 12 years old. In my memory, she remained restrained, even silent. In character, my grandmother was very similar to her father. And she devoted her whole life to the Tretyakov Gallery.

- What was the legendary philanthropist like?

Pavel Mikhailovich was very modest, even shy. In his youth, friends nicknamed Tretyakov Archimandrite. He matured early, after the death of his father at the age of 20 he was already doing business with his mother Alexandra Danilovna, and at 24 he began to collect paintings by Russian artists. It is surprising that in his first will, written when he was only 28 years old, Pavel Mikhailovich already expressed his desire to transfer his collection to the people.

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One of the first paintings purchased by Tretyakov was Khudyakov's Skirmish with Finnish Smugglers. It happened in 1856, and this year is considered the birth of the gallery. Initially, the canvases were placed in the living room of the Tretyakov house in Lavrushinsky Lane. However, when by 1872 the collection already consisted of about 150 works, the merchant decided to rebuild a two-story building specifically for the paintings. The new vault adjoined the southern wall of the house. Two halls were connected by an internal passage with the residential part, but had a separate entrance from the street. In August 1892, the philanthropist donated the collection to Moscow.

Grateful descendants did not fulfill the famous merchant's behest - not to rebuild the gallery. He requested this in a special postscript to the will. As you know, in the 20th century the building of the Tretyakov Gallery was expanded more than once.

An interesting detail - Pavel Mikhailovich often wondered if he offended his family by devoting quite a lot of time to the gallery. In one of the letters he even admits: they say, he was thinking about the question of whom he loves more - the gallery or his wife. I came to the conclusion - still a spouse ... By the way, Tretyakov's marriage to the beautiful Vera Nikolaevna produced the effect of an exploding bomb in Moscow society. Indeed, in his youth, Tretyakov was singled out for modesty and restraint ... For example, Pavel Mikhailovich did not miss a single post. True, the famous merchant fasted in a very original way: he ate a steak and drank wine - nothing more. So he kept himself...

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- Ekaterina Sergeevna, is it true that the founder of the gallery could not stand when he was praised?

This is true. He did not like to be the center of attention and tried to avoid the celebrations associated with honoring him. When in 1894 a congress of artists and art lovers was organized with great pomp in honor of the opening of the city Tretyakov Gallery, Pavel Mikhailovich left for St. Petersburg under the pretext of business.

- In that case, he would not like the solemn events on the occasion of the current anniversary of the gallery?

I think that he would like the exhibitions that the gallery is opening these days. But he would hardly have been present at the gala evening in the Hall of Columns. Indeed, in addition to the peculiarities of his character, one must take into account the attitude of Pavel Mikhailovich to business - and the gallery was no less important business of his life than entrepreneurial activity. He didn't waste time just talking. And don't waste money either. He believed that you need to be able to live in such a way as not to ask. When his eldest daughter Vera married musician Alexander Siloti, at the beginning of their life together, the young people experienced financial difficulties. And then my great-grandmother wrote a letter to Pavel Mikhailovich asking him to help Vera. In his response letter, Tretyakov expressed his point of view, which, in my opinion, is still very relevant today.

From a letter from Pavel Tretyakov: “It is obligatory for parents to give their children education and upbringing, and it is not at all necessary to provide them. (...) The provision must be such as would allow a person to live without labor.”

* * *

It is known that Tretyakov in the management of the economy took into account every penny. The account lists of the famous merchant have been preserved in the gallery to this day.

Natalia Primak has been working in the museum's archives since 1955. She shows a unique document: the expenses for the year are neatly written out in a column - for the maintenance of the house, for food, for horses, for Vera Nikolaevna (wife), for hay, for the carriage, for servants, for daughters, for a dress from a French dressmaker .. It is these lists that testify that the richest merchant of that time was extremely economical. For example, I spent 500-600 rubles on a trip to Europe. For comparison: his wife - about four thousand. At the end of the 19th century, it was possible to rent a two-story house for 200 rubles, maintain a servant and a cook, and even not deny yourself anything for a whole year ...

Natalya Primak explains Tretyakov's frugality by the fact that he knew the value of money. After all, the philanthropist made his fortune himself, and did not receive it by inheritance. But he did not deny his beautiful wife the pleasures of women: sewing toilets from the best French dressmakers was the norm. He himself ordered a new frock coat, when the old one was already becoming unusable.

* * *

Ekaterina Sergeevna, the Tretyakovs left Russia during the revolution. And only one of his daughters - your great-grandmother Alexandra Pavlovna - remained. Probably suffered during the Stalinist repressions?

Alexandra Pavlovna was not arrested or exiled. But morally, of course, she had a hard time. After all, they had a large and very friendly, loving family. The Tretyakovs were related to the Mamontovs, Yakunchikovs, Alekseevs... There was a spiritual relationship between them and a common range of interests, almost all of them loved art, played music, collected paintings. After the revolution, of this large family, Alexandra Pavlovna was left almost alone ...

What her condition was in those years can be seen, for example, from a letter written by her in 1918, shortly after the execution of the royal family, along with which her husband's brother, Dr. Evgeny Sergeevich Botkin, was also shot. But neither Alexandra Pavlovna nor her daughter, my grandmother Alexandra Sergeevna Khokhlova, ever complained about their fate or the Soviet regime, never regretted that they had lost some material wealth. In the 1920s, like many of the "former" ones, they were declared "disenfranchised", as people were called who were deprived of a number of rights under Soviet rule. In the early 30s, a grandmother who was an actress (“On the Red Front”, “Death Ray”. - OH.), banned from filming. But she taught at VGIK and even made several films as a director (“We are from the Urals”, “Sasha”, “Toys”. - OH.).

* * *

In the Tretyakov family, wives were devoted to their husbands. Judge for yourself. Vera Nikolaevna did not interfere with Pavel Mikhailovich, even when her husband spent crazy money on buying paintings. After all, when the merchant bought several paintings by Vereshchagin, a rumor spread around Moscow: Tretyakov went crazy - he spent 90 thousand on art ...

But most of all, Pavel Mikhailovich dreamed of buying the gallery of the Privy Councilor Fyodor Pryanishnikov, where the best canvases of Russian painting were collected: Borovikovsky, Fedotov. And the legendary philanthropist all his life wanted to buy the “Last Supper” by Ge. But he did not get it - the Grand Duke bought the canvas. The most favorite work of the merchant - "Christ in the Desert" by Kramskoy - nevertheless ended up in the gallery. By the way, because of this canvas between Tretyakov and Tolstoy, heated disputes flared up for many hours. Lev Nikolaevich assured, they say, the best works on the theme of Christ were by Nikolai Ge, Tretyakov had no doubt - by Kramskoy ...

For the legendary philanthropist, the facts of theft in the gallery were a real shock. After all, by 1891 attackers stole four paintings from the house in Lavrushinsky. Pavel Mikhailovich ordered the gallery to be closed for two long years... Later, two canvases were still returned.

Meanwhile, after the 17th year and to this day there has not been a single theft in the gallery. Despite the fact that even at the end of the 50s there was no alarm system in the legendary Tretyakov Gallery. Night attendants, who had only a telephone at their disposal, locked the front door and carefully examined the halls every two hours. Just in case. Only in the 90s, an ultra-modern alarm system was installed in the Tretyakov Gallery. Today there are three lines of protection in the gallery. First: the alarm is installed on the doors and windows. Second: the so-called volumes. That is, if the robber manages to get inside the gallery already, the alarm will work on air vibrations. And third: each item is connected to an individual alarm. The gallery exhibits more than a thousand exhibits.

* * *

- What traditions have been preserved in your family since the time of Tretyakov?

Easter has always been my favorite holiday. They also celebrated something that was not accepted in Soviet times - name days. I still have things given to me by my great-grandmother: an old toy purse, a small handbag embroidered with beads - something that was given to her in childhood. Children's books, one of which has an inscription that Pavel Mikhailovich gave it to his daughter Alexandra when she was nine years old. Now this book - "Journey of a Young Naturalist" - in our family is already the sixth generation reading with pleasure.

Of course, some things remained, although in the 20s and 30s a lot was sold. After all, you had to live on something. In those years, shops were opened that were called "Torgsin" - trade with foreigners. There handed over things many of the so-called former. But they only sold what they could live without. But family photographs, letters, some trinkets, which, perhaps, had no material value, were preserved. My great-grandmother was fond of photography. She photographed family members, friends, and among them were famous people: for example, Sergei Diaghilev, Vatslav Nijinsky, Tamara Karsavina, Alexander Benois, Konstantin Stanislavsky, actors of the Moscow Art Theater, and pasted photographs into albums. So these huge albums survived, despite all the changes and moves, and are still kept at home, in bookcases, which, by the way, were still in the Kurakino estate near Moscow, where the Tretyakovs usually spent their summers.

- I read that Tretyakov gave his daughters pearls worth four thousand rubles as a dowry.

Possibly, although I've never heard of it. Neither my great-grandmother nor my grandmother ever had jewelry in my memory. And about things I can tell one funny story. A few years ago, I handed over to the Tretyakov Gallery a large box in which Vera Nikolaevna, the wife of Pavel Mikhailovich, kept silverware. After some time, this box was being prepared for the exhibition, and when it was opened, they found a second bottom in it, where 12 table knives had remained since the Tretyakov period. And the Tretyakov Gallery and I divided them equally.

- Ekaterina Sergeevna, have you maintained relations with relatives who ended up abroad?

In the early 30s, all ties were interrupted, and today we are trying to establish them ...

Tretyakov spent 90,000 rubles on Vereshchagin's Turkestan paintings. In terms of today's money, this amount is about 9 million dollars!

For this amount today you can buy: 9 of the most expensive cars in the world - McLaren piece assembly, or three mansions on the Rublevo-Uspenskoe highway, or 20 luxury apartments in the center of New York. And if you add another 5 million, then you can become the owner of the island in any part of the world ...

The Tretyakov Gallery is one of the greatest assets of world art. I wonder what was the Tretyakov family like?

The merchant family of the Tretyakovs traces its history from the county town of Maloyaroslavets of the Kaluga vicegerency, from where in 1774 P.M. Tretyakov’s great-grandfather Elisey Martynovich (1704-1783) arrived in Moscow with his wife and sons. The next generations of the Tretyakovs successfully expanded trade and increased capital. Things went especially well with Mikhail Zakharovich Tretyakov (1801-1850), which was facilitated by his successful marriage to the daughter of a major merchant exporting fat to England, Alexandra Danilovna Borisova (1812-1899). On December 29, 1832, their first child was born, the future founder of the famous art gallery, Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov. Sergei (1834-1892), Elizabeth (1835-1870), Daniil (1836-1848), Sofia (1839-1902), Alexandra (1843-1848), Nikolay (1844-1848), Mikhail (1846-1848) were born after him. ), Hope (1849-1939).
In 1848, grief befell the family: four children died of scarlet fever, and in 1850 Mikhail Zakharovich Tretyakov himself died. After his death, all movable and immovable property went to two sons, Pavel and Sergey, who successfully continued their father's trading business.

Mother remained the complete mistress of the house. According to the last will of Mikhail Zakharovich, the eldest of the sisters, Elizabeth, who was only 15 years old, was preparing to marry the senior trusted clerk Vasily Dmitrievich Konshin. Wanting Konshin to enter the business, M.Z. Tretyakov decided to seal the cooperation with marriage. Relatives did not heed the daughter's desperate pleas, and in 1852 Elizabeth, obedient to the will of her father, got married. In connection with this marriage, a spacious house was previously bought in Moscow, in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bmodern Tolmachevsky lanes, where the Tretyakov family and the Konshinas moved in.

Until 1859, merchant affairs were conducted on behalf of Alexandra Danilovna Tretyakova, who was "temporarily" considered a merchant's wife of the 2nd guild. On January 1, 1860, the trading house “P. and S. Tretyakov brothers and V. Konshin.

By this time, the youngest of the Tretyakov brothers, Sergei, was already married; in 1856, his wedding took place with Elizaveta Sergeevna Mazurina (1837-1860). Unfortunately, the happy marriage did not last long, having given birth to a son, Nikolai (1857-1896), Elizaveta Sergeevna soon died. In 1868, Sergei Mikhailovich entered into a second marriage with Elena Andreevna Matveeva.

The eldest of the brothers Pavel did not marry for a long time. Only in August 1865 did his wedding take place with Vera Nikolaevna Mamontova (1844-1899), a cousin of the famous philanthropist Savva Ivanovich Mamontov (1841-1918). It was the beginning of a long happy family life. In 1866, the eldest daughter Vera (1866-1940) was born, then Alexandra (1867-1959), Lyubov (1870-1928), Mikhail (1871-1912), Maria (1875-1952), Ivan (1878-1887). Everyone in the family loved each other. Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov wrote to his wife:

“Many years later, recalling those days, the eldest of the daughters, Vera Pavlovna, will write in her memoirs: “

". In 1887, Vanya, everyone's favorite, his father's hope, died of scarlet fever complicated by meningitis. There was no limit to the grief of Pavel Mikhailovich.

The second son, Mikhail, was born sick, weak-minded and never brought joy to his parents. Tretyakov's daughter Alexandra recalled: “

In 1887, the eldest daughter, Vera, married the talented pianist Alexander Ilyich Siloti, cousin of the composer S. V. Rakhmaninov. Vera herself was a capable pianist. A relative of the Tretyakovs, composer P.I. Tchaikovsky, advised her to enter the conservatory. But Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov adhered to traditional views on raising children: he gave his daughters an excellent home education. Music, literature, foreign languages, concerts, theaters, art exhibitions, travel - these are the components of home education in the Tretyakov family. Their house was visited by artists, writers, musicians, including I.S. Turgenev, P.I. Tchaikovsky, A.G. Rubinstein, I.E. Repin, I.N. Kramskoy, V.M. .G.Perov, V.D.Polenov and many, many others.

The Tretyakovs loved to travel, with and without children, in their native country and abroad. Pavel Mikhailovich himself made long, long trips every year. Already at the end of his life, admiring the beauties of nature in the Pyrenees, he wrote to his wife: “ Again I felt that it was worth living to see and enjoy this supreme pleasure.».

Both Pavel Mikhailovich and Vera Nikolaevna were people who subtly felt nature, art, and music. Their children grew up the same way. The eldest daughter married a musician and was happy with him all her life. Lyubov Pavlovna, during the life of her father, with his blessing, married the artist N.N. Gritsenko.

In her second marriage, she was married to the famous artist L.S. Bakst, known not only for his paintings, but also for the design of ballets for the Russian Seasons of S.P. Diaghilev in Paris. Two other daughters married the Botkin brothers, sons of the famous clinician Sergei Petrovich Botkin (1832-1889). Alexandra - for the doctor and collector Sergei Sergeyevich Botkin, Maria - for the sailor, doctor, inventor, traveler Alexander Sergeyevich Botkin.

Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov did not prevent his daughters from dating, although he tried to influence their choice. Having provided for the family financially, he believed that money should serve better purposes than just spending it on momentary needs.

A letter from P.M. Tretyakov to his daughter Alexandra has been preserved, where he writes: “ My idea was to make money from a very young age so that what was acquired from society would also return to society (the people) in some useful institutions [underlined]; this thought has never left me in my whole life ... The provision should be such that it would not allow a person to live without labor". Pavel Mikhailovich himself worked hard and had few free minutes.

Most of the time was taken up by commercial and industrial affairs - the management of the Kostroma flax-spinning factory, shops and others, and the rest of the time was devoted to the beloved brainchild - the gallery (visiting exhibitions, artists, construction work in the gallery, hanging, compiling a catalog, etc.). There were also charitable activities. P.M. Tretyakov devoted much energy to the Arnold School for the Deaf and Dumb, of which he was a trustee. He also took part in the activities of the Orthodox Missionary Society, took care of the poor, was a member of the Commercial Court, and of course was a member of various societies - artistic, charitable, commercial. Pavel Mikhailovich did a lot of good things in his life, and even then ... According to his will, large sums of money were allocated for the maintenance of the gallery, for the Arnold School, for various scholarships, etc.