About museum

In 1913–1916, according to a design by the brothers Viktor, Leonid and Alexander Vesnin, a building was erected on the Upper Volga Embankment commissioned by the well-known Nizhny Novgorod shipowner, merchant and public figure Dmitry Vasilyevich Sirotkin.

The architects drew on motifs of Russian Classicism, and their work was so successful that the house gained a prominent place in the history of Russian architecture.

In 2009 the Nizhny Novgorod State Art Museum (NGHM) opened here. Today this building houses the permanent exhibition of foreign art.

The collection is based on large art holdings from noble estates, as well as works from central state institutions. The exhibition features more than 50 works of painting and sculpture from the 15th to the early 20th century by masters such as Auguste Renoir, Jacopo Tintoretto, El Greco and others.

In addition, the NGHM building houses the exhibition of the unique painting by K.E. Makovsky, 'The Appeal of Minin'. The work, presented to Nizhny Novgorod by Emperor Nicholas II and preserved to this day, is kept in our city. It is not only one of the central exhibits of the Nizhny Novgorod Art Museum but also an outstanding monument to the feat of the citizens of Nizhny Novgorod and the militia.

The exhibition space has been significantly expanded and now includes several thematic sections. One of them is devoted to the history of the Nizhny Novgorod militia and the role of Kuzma Minin in the fate of the city and the country. The exhibition is supplemented by original museum items from the late 15th–17th centuries, including a unique exhibit — a liturgical Gospel that was presented as a gift to the Transfiguration Cathedral of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin by militia participant Archpriest Savva Yefimyev in 1625.

Another section of the exhibition is dedicated to the biography of K.E. Makovsky. It tells about the artist's life and the period when he worked on the painting. The exhibition includes archival photographs, excerpts from memoirs, and a 3-D model of the structure that was in the artist's studio in France while he was working on the canvas.

A key change in the updated exhibition will be a section with VR installations created by the non-profit organization 'Gorky Tech' in collaboration with AVM Technology. Thanks to computer technologies, visitors will be able to immerse themselves in the era of the early 16th century, feel like participants in the events and experience the atmosphere of a large-scale and fateful historical event for our country.

Recall that 'The Appeal of Minin' is one of the largest easel paintings in Russian art (698×594 cm) on a historical-patriotic theme. The work is dedicated to a momentous event in the history of the city and the whole country — the creation of the Nizhny Novgorod militia, which in 1612 saved Moscow and all Rus' from foreign invaders. At the center of the canvas is the zemsky elder Kuzma Minin, calling on his fellow citizens to give money and property for the liberation of the Fatherland.