New exhibition Pushkin Museum. Pushkin dedicated to meeting the famous collector of NS Mosolov (1847-1914). The 50 etchings by Rembrandt, and more than 100 etchings and paintings by Dutch masters of the XVII century

Pushkin Museum. Pushkin, October 10, 2012 - January 13, 2013
Department of Private Collections
st. Boston, 10

In Pushkin Pushkin Exhibition "Under the Sign of Rembrandt. Art collection of family Mosolovs "within the series" Portraits of collectors, "which introduces the audience to the history of collecting in Russia, as well as with modern private collections.

new draft presented at the Department of Private Collections, dedicated to meeting the famous Russian engraver and hereditary collector Nikolai Semenovich Mosolov (1847-1914). Collection bequeathed Solomin Mosolov Rumyantsev Museum, and later became part of the collection Pushkin Museum. Pushkin, were created through the efforts of three generations of the family.

• Self. 1639
  Source: arts-museum.ru
• Rembrandt with disheveled hair
  Source: arts-museum.ru

The founder of the art collection was Nicholas S. Mosolov Sr. (1775-1859). According to contemporaries, Nicholas S. and his brother Fedor Semenovich was close to Count Alexei Orlov-Chesmensky, Catherine's brilliant aristocrat. Largely due to his friendship with Count Orlov brothers Mosolovs enthusiastic breeding of thoroughbred horses and art collecting. Meeting Mosolovs brothers were well-known among his contemporaries.

In his estate Zhernovka Tula province Solomin Mosolov assembled a gallery of paintings, a small but containing rare works. The main section of the meeting was a collection of old masters of Italian, Flemish and Dutch schools. Some paintings were derived from the famous royal collections. Thus, a family heirloom - "Saviour" Dzhanpetrino - once belonged to the collection of King Charles I, and the "Return of the hunt" by F. Wouwerman is in the collection of Queen Christina of Sweden. Painting complement sculpture, engraving collection that includes lists of different schools with a preference for Italian Prints Marcantonio Raimondi, magnificent library. An integral part of the estate was broken master garden, in which, as in the collection that have been planted trees of different species, and which he decorated flower gardens and a grotto, "where he was carved out of a tree hermit with a book." Mosolov estate - a great example of estate culture of the Enlightenment. Free from the obligations imposed by the service or the life of the world, and even of a large estate farms Solomin could study art and paint.

Collection Nikolai Semenovich Mosolov Sr. was inherited by his only son, Semyon Mosolov (1812-1880), who became the true successor of his father. Inheriting the family tradition, he was not only a collector, but also a painter and printmaker, an amateur. Sure, childhood and adolescence spent among the works of art, brought the taste and artistic flair. However Semyon had its own preferences in art. The first acquisition was the collection of seeds of N. Rembrandt's etchings, which he bought in 1853. Since then, Rembrandt became his "hero" for life. He supplemented his collection until his death, having collected a total of 367 Rembrandt etchings and prints of artists of his school.

Moreover, Semyon wrote an essay on the work of the great Dutch, gathered an extensive body engraved reproductions of paintings and drawings by Rembrandt made masters of different schools in the XVIII-XIX centuries, and also the engraved copies of Rembrandt's etchings. It is no accident in a portrait, executed Kribelem Ludwig (1859), he appeared in a beret and cape «alla Rembrandt».

Semyon significantly expanded and picturesque part of the collection of his father. These were paintings from the collection of his uncle FS Mosolov, including the famous work "The Flute Player" A. van Ostade, "Shepherd with a donkey" C. Dujardin, "Self Portrait" MV Kvadalya, Marina C. Vernet and others, as well as works by Dutch, French and German artists, acquired by collectors and at auctions. And a decisive advantage in the collection began to make works of the Dutch and Flemish schools. In such a small hobby Dutch said individual taste of the collector. However, he shared it with many of his contemporaries, who in the middle of XIX century with the development of the realistic style of art were passionate genre and landscape painting masters Holland XVII century. Paintings such impressed and connoisseurs of art and common people of the time for its small size, themes, easy to understand, and reasonable prices. After the reform of 1861, the flow of paintings from being ruined homesteads poured into the capital and flooded the auctions where they differed not only in antique shops, but also in private homes. This trend was particularly true of Moscow, where the scale of the collections did not differ Petersburg scale.

Moving to Moscow from the Tula province, acquired from the heirs of his uncle, FS Mosolov, the estate at the Lubyanka allowed SN Mosolov strongly disturb the old insulation, to maintain constant communication with other collectors to be aware of the artistic life. Closest aide and associate of Semyon Nikolayevich had a son, Nicholas S., Jr.. With their father in touch not only their relationship, but also a common cause and interests. Semyon's son helped in the printing of etchings. That, in turn, often running errands father while traveling abroad on their own affairs, especially in the last years SN Mosolov.

Following family tradition, Nicholas S. Mosolov (1847 - 1914) continued to replenish the collection. The collecting passion Nikolai Semenovich Jr. became only the Dutch and Flemish schools. It limits the choice of artists Netherlands. Such a "specialization" in a European school schedules was uncommon for the time. Determined the choice of Mosolov powerful advance in the form of outstanding collection of etchings by Rembrandt and other Dutch Etchers, created by his father.

• Descent from the Cross by torchlight
  Source: arts-museum.ru
• 

collection of etchings by Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn (1606-1669), (and it is 365 pages), owned by the family Mosolov, has been mostly composed more Semyon Mosolov. Solomin added many new pages of early states, and better safety.

The exhibition features 50 etchings by Rembrandt from the collection Mosolovs. This is such masterpieces as "Christ, surrounded by sick (sheet of one hundred guilders)" (1643-1649), "Christ before the people" (1653-1655), "The Three Crosses (Christ, crucified between two thieves)" (1653) , landscapes "Three Trees" (1643) and "Six's Bridge" (1645), as well as reprints of one state to the Japanese paper - "St. Jerome under a willow tree stump "(1648)," Christ at Emmaus "(1654)," Christ and the Samaritan "(1657-1658) and others. Etching on display at "Portrait of Old Haring" (c. 1655) - "print barhatnago tone extremely rare specimen with many notches," wrote Nikolai Semenovich, especially cherishes the acquisition. One of the photos is also on display, he is shown with this leaf in his hand.

addition, the exhibition features more than 100 drawings and etchings by the Dutch masters of the XVII century, which determined the flowering " Golden Age "of Dutch art: Adriaen van Ostade, Cornelis Bega, Hendrick Avercamp, Jan Lievens, Jan van Goyen, Jacob van Ruisdael, Nicholas Berchem, Karel Dujardin, Allarta van Everdingen, Ludolf Bakheyzena of meeting Mosolovs.

Collected NS Mosolov collection - about two thousand prints - exhaustively presents the work of Dutch Etchers XVII century, led by Rembrandt, and 200 drawings give a convincing picture of the development of this type of graphic art in the Netherlands 'golden age'.

Among the artists' school of Rembrandt "Solomin Mosolov particularly singled Jan Lievens (1607-1674). The proximity of the artist to Rembrandt, the mutual influence can be traced in their early work, when they shared a studio in Leiden and worked with some models, the controversy surrounding the authorship of several works - all this, besides the artistic quality of etchings Leavens, attracted the attention of many collectors to this artist.

Artwork Adriaen van Ostade (1610-1680) is represented in the collection Mosolovs also sufficiently complete and diverse (210 sheets). Throughout the XVIII - XIX centuries Ostade was the most popular Dutch artist with collectors schedules after the great Rembrandt. Leading master of the peasant genre painting, Ostade and etching held on the same topic. The heroes of his prints became farmers, dancing or quietly chatting in the pub, the gossips in the village street, the peasant family, praying before dinner, a street musician, a shoemaker. However, these "low genre" has been etchings rare delicacy and beauty. Ostade has created a total of 50 etchings, but most, including even the tiniest, have several states, from 4-6 to 10-12, and the difference between these two states is sometimes just a few strokes. Easy tone, skillfully cam on the board, giving the printing image "sfumato» ( Italian . «Shaded", "exhale") by immersing objects in aerial haze, gives many of his etchings beautiful tonal transitions. By finely graded Superb examples are pure etching of "Barnyard", "Spinner", presented at the exhibition.

Each etching Mosolovs collection presented in several states, and often in different print options that allow Tracing the evolution from the first impression to the last, and to evaluate the development of design and beauty of early prints. One of the finest examples gives a selection of prints of etchings "Harlemskie rhetoricians" Ostade. A reprint of the first state passes finished composition: prominent in the group of peasants listening "oratorshu" sight-read by candle-light, the effect of "night scene" gradations of shadow passed down to the deep, where a thick cross-hatching is discharged into the stain. Apparently, this option did not satisfy the artist, because with this impression he made the impression to the dark side: the so-called kontreprev (contre-épreuve), laminated under pressure instead of the board itself imprint, to have them in front for further work in composition the same form as on the board (the image in the engraving to the board always get a mirror image). Completing several pustovat top sheet depicting a twisted branch of wild grapes hanging pot and spoon, and thus strengthening the shadows giving greater prominence of the figures to make them more volume, and game highlights on faces contrast, the master considered the work complete, ready-to-print run, and set below the signature : A. v. Ostade fecit et excud. ("A. van Ostade performed and published»).

• Returning from hunting
  Source: arts-museum.ru
• hay barge on the river near Audekerk
  Source: arts-museum.ru

N. S. was a great connoisseur of Mosolov the Dutch charts. He followed his father to catalog his collection, allowing you to see how changing and growing collection. Powerful tool in scientific work was a great library of books on the general history of art, reference to the engraving, art magazines, catalogs, auctions - in all about 2,000 volumes.

addition XVII century Dutch graphic Nicholas S. etchings collected artists of the XIX century, not missing a single bright phenomenon of original graphics - from romance E. Delacroix to Dutch impressionist JB Jongkind. He particularly singled out the works of J. F.Mille, Corot, Daubigny and other Sh Barbizon. He was small, but the selective collection of bronzes, including works by outstanding sculptors AL Bari, F. and C. Each Meunier. He did not stay on the sidelines and on the fads of modernity - hobbies Japanese art. But unlike most collectors, collecting Japanese prints, Mosolov attracted miniature sculpture of bone - netsuke. All of these sections are also presented at the exhibition.

Besides graphics Dutch masters, the exhibition presents etchings by Solomin Mosolov in the second half of the XIX century. As an engraver Solomin Mosolov is one of the most important representatives of the tradition of engravings, who worked in Russia in the second half of the XIX century. Position of the Mosolov-engraver in the history of Russian art in many ways unique. On the one hand, he had virtually no competition in the country, because he was the only one in this period consistently engaged reproducing works of the old Dutch and Flemish masters. On the other, artistic activity Mosolov extremely blended harmoniously in the European context, as fully responsible for the characteristic of Europe at the time, interest in art of the past and the desire to explore and popularize it.

N. S. Mosolov was one of the most respected experts and the first popularizers of art by Rembrandt in Russia. The fact that he chose the engraving on copper - technically laborious and cheapest method of reproduction, is not accidental. Beginning in the 1860s, gradually revived interest in etching as an original technique, which gives not only reproduction, but also wonderful artistic, expressive power. In addition, affected the desire to emulate their idols - the old masters, many of which etching machine and the needle was no less important attributes of craft than a brush and palette.

In the 1870s, Mosolov spent much time in the museum's collections in Europe - was in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, Royal galleries of the Mauritshuis in The Hague, the Louvre, picture galleries of Dresden and Kassel, Munich Pinakothek, the Belvedere in Vienna, London's National Gallery. The result of these trips are another 26 prints of the works of Rembrandt.