What does the concept of a classic museum look like? It’s a succession of exhibition halls, paintings and sculptures competing for visitors’ attention, huge crowds of tourists eager to see the masterpieces… No joke — to walk through all the halls of the Hermitage takes five hours, and to see every item in a museum collection of three million works of art would take thirteen years. If you’re tired of storming museums and art galleries, be sure to visit the Museum of One Painting in Penza.
Museum of One Painting, 11 Kirov Street
The Museum of One Painting is a one-of-a-kind cultural institution, ranking third in a list of six unique museums according to Forbes. The museum was opened on February 12, 1983, in the former police chief’s house, a 19th-century mansion. The concept and implementation of the project were handled by Georg Vasilyevich Myasnikov, secretary of the Penza regional committee of the CPSU, and arts figure V.P. Sazonov. The museum exhibits canvases from the Russian Museum, the Tretyakov Gallery, the Hermitage, the Samara Art Museum, and the Penza Regional Art Gallery. Some paintings were brought in twice.
Visiting the museum is like going to the cinema: before admiring the painting, visitors watch a documentary film that immerses them in the era, the artist’s biography, and the history of the masterpiece’s creation. Each film is specially made for the Museum of One Painting: over the years the voice-over texts were read by leading actors from the capital’s theaters — M. Ulyanov, O. Yefremov, O. Tabakov, R. Plyatt, and others. Since 2015 the documentaries have been produced by Penza directors and actors.
Each session lasts about 45 minutes: visitors watch the film and then can closely examine the exhibited painting. After the session visitors can go to the lounge with a photo exhibition of works that have been brought to the museum since its founding. For its 40th anniversary the museum was modernized and equipped with the latest-generation projectors and a climate control system necessary for antique canvases. Two servers responsible for the graphical components and the technological processes of lowering screens and curtains were automated and connected.
The museum is open every day except Thursdays. Sessions begin on the hour and run from 10:00 to 18:00. On Fridays the museum is open from 12:00 to 20:00. Standard tickets range from 130 to 200 rubles. A private showing costs 800 rubles. In 2023 the museum is exhibiting Paul de Voss’s canvas "The Crow in Peacock Feathers".
