There are many paradoxes in our world, and one of them is that the Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow bears the name of the great poet A.S. Why in honor of the poet, and not one of the artists, because the Russian land is also not deprived of them at all? Did it happen by chance, or was it intentionally designed? Are you going to change the name of this institution in the future?
State Museum of Fine Arts A.S. Pushkin wear exactly that name. It has been featured since the end of the 19th century, and over the period of its existence it has been renamed several times.
The history of the Pushkin Museum
The idea of creating this museum belongs to Ivan Vladimirovich Tsvetaeva, the father of Marina Tsvetaeva. And the idea was implemented, Russia received a new educational-type museum accessible to the people, the base for which was the Cabinet of Fine Arts and Antiquities, which was previously present at Moscow University. A separate building was built, the first collections were collected for the museum - this was done with funds from private donations and with the personal money of the founders.
Many people willingly donated funds to create this museum - 150 thousand rubles were received from the executives of Varvara Alekseeva, the widow of one of the merchants. In exchange, she asked only to name the museum in honor of Alexander III, so that the institution must bear his name.This request was not a condition; it came from the donor orally. The museum was opened in 1912, a celebration was held in honor of this. The institution received its original name in honor of Alexander III, and the imperial family headed by Nicholas II came to the opening.
How did the modern name of the museum appear?
During and after the revolution, the museum could not retain its former name. It was renamed in 1923 for ideological reasons. For this year, the museum loses its affiliation with the university and becomes the State Museum of Fine Arts. But he became Pushkin in 1937, then it was the anniversary of the death of the poet. The cultural and public policies of the time, as well as the opinions of individual officials, contributed to the establishment receiving such a name.
The name of the museum has survived to this day, most Russians, and even foreign tourists know that the institution is called the Pushkin Museum. It’s not even necessary to specify - if they say that any exhibition has opened in Pushkinsky, it means that this institution is in question. Despite all the paradoxicality, and even the inappropriateness of this name, it has taken root well and has now become generally accepted. And even if the renaming occurs, the people will probably retain the original name, the new one risks not taking root.
Why not the Tsvetaev Museum?
Many people believe that it would be wise to call the museum Tsvetaevsky, in honor of its founder. This is a completely logical statement, but for the sake of truth it is worth noting that this person was not forgotten here.In addition to the idea of founding the museum itself, he was thinking about the possibility of creating a whole “musem town”, and these days they started to realize the project on Volkhonka.
Interesting fact: Tsvetaev’s name is the building of the Pushkin Museum. Pushkin called Educational Art Museum. You can visit it by heading to Chayanov Street, 15. And the museum also issues the Tsvetaev Prize. There is also a bust of the founder on the territory of the museum, and every excursion begins with it. The founder of the institution is by no means forgotten.
Will the museum be renamed?
Of course, in the early Soviet era, the museum could not bear the names of the kings, but also he could not bear the name of Tsvetaev. It was necessary to emphasize that it became a public property, therefore it was renamed. Today, more and more disputes arise about whether it is worth leaving the institution its former name, or whether it would be more reasonable to restore historical justice, to call the museum Tsvetaevsky in honor of the founder. But also many people insist on the need to maintain an established name, which everybody has grown accustomed to for decades. In the end, the museum spent the bulk of its history under the name of Pushkin. The question is still under discussion, and what will be the result is unknown.
Thus, the museum did not bear the name of the great poet from the beginning; the modern name came to it with renaming in the early Soviet period due to the politics and worldviews that prevailed then. Today, everyone is accustomed to calling this museum Pushkin, and few people have already noted the paradox of this name by virtue of habit.Perhaps in the future the museum will really be renamed. Or maybe this will not happen. Indeed, renaming it is already pointless, people in Russia and abroad are accustomed to the name that has been established over decades.
