The staff of the Ilya Repin Museum-Estate "Zdravnevo" has been awarded a special prize of the Union State
The awards were received by the General Director of the National Art Museum of Belarus Vladimir Prokoptsov, Russian composer, actor, singer Gleb Matveychuk, People's Artist of the RSFSR Lev Leshchenko, and, which is especially pleasant for us, the staff of the Ilya Repin Estate Museum "Zdravnevo". The diploma was presented to the permanent head of the museum, Alexey Sukhorukov, by the State Secretary of the Union State Grigory Rapota.
And a little earlier that day, as part of the Day of the Union State, Grigory Rapota visited the Ilya Repin Estate Museum "Zdravnevo". This year marks the 125th anniversary of the artist's acquisition of this picturesque place near Vitebsk, where he spent eight summer seasons and painted a series of paintings that later became famous – "Belarusian", "Autumn Bouquet", depicting his daughter Vera, "A Lady Strolling Among a Herd of Cows", "On the Hunt", and others.
Today, high-quality copies of these and other works, donated by the Permanent Committee of the Union State, adorn Ilya Repin's former workshop.
– The estate is an unusual place, it attracts people of art and youth. We have been coming here for four years and see the results of joint work. We have tried to ensure that copies of Ilya Repin's paintings appear here, so that the exhibition is interesting for people of different generations. Someone, visiting the museum, will recall their acquaintance with the artist's work, and for someone else, the first encounter with his works will take place right here, in "Zdravnevo". This is not just a museum, it is an educational complex. Plein airs and various events for children are held here. It is in this direction that we will continue our work, because children are very responsive when their endeavors are paid attention to, – noted Grigory Rapota.
And this time, the State Secretary did not come empty-handed – Grigory Rapota presented the estate museum with a copy of the portrait of Alexander Zhirkevich painted by Ilya Repin, which is kept in the funds of the Ulyanovsk Museum. You can learn about the hero of the painting – a talented lawyer, poet, prose writer, publicist, public figure, and collector, who was acquainted with outstanding cultural and art figures of his time – at the exhibition that opened these days in "Zdravnevo".
Alexander Zhirkevich and Ilya Repin were united by more than 20 years of close friendship. By the way, in the spring of last year, Alexander Zhirkevich's granddaughter, Natalia Zhirkevich-Podlesskikh, visited the museum and spoke not only about her famous grandfather but also about her great-grandfather, Ivan Stepanovich Zhirkevich, who headed the Vitebsk province in 1836-1838.
Grigory Rabota, as well as the Chairman of the Regional Council of Deputies Vladimir Terentyev, laid flowers at the monument to the artist and took part in the round table "Artistic and Literary Heritage for Future Generations".
Tatyana Pasternak, "Vitebskiye Vesti". Photos by the author and BelTA.