Cora_v
It was only in the third try that I finally managed to get to the Kirovograd Art Museum. It hosted a wedding on Saturday, was closed on Monday, and it was only thanks to my passion for arts (and some free time I had) that I came back there for the third time. Its collection was surely worthy my persistence. Not at all large, but with quite a few masterpieces. Unfortunately, the core artworks of permanent funds are squeezed in two small halls: of Sacral Art and of Western and Russian Art. Sacral art exposition of XVIII-XX looked richer than in the Russian Art Museum in Kyiv. Its most significant item is by no means the unique Hunter’s gonfalon of XVIII, oil-painted on both sides of deer’s horns. And one of the most touching is Mother of God with the Child of XIX that looked very much like famous Madonna by Vasnetsov in St.Volodymyr Cathedral in Kyiv. As soon as I entered the Western and Russian Art Hall, my attention was immediately drawn to The Wacky by Pavlo Svedomskiy. It was only few month before that I saw it on Adrian Prakhov’s exhibition in Kyiv, and I was sorry to see it losing much of its power here, in the small room, stuck among other paintings of different theme, colour and style. «On the Terrace» by Wilhelm Kotarbinski - another picture I always liked - left pretty much the same impression. Among the other works exhibited in this hall I’d mention Shishkin’s «Pine Forest», Savrasov’s «Sunset», Robilliard’s «Portrait of a the Girl with a Coral Thread in Hair», a pencil sketch by M.Rerich, Shilder’s «Portrait of Maria Fedorovna». Unfortunately, they match together so poorly, that the entire hall rather resembles a private apartment of an enthusiastic collector. The works of the local artists are exhibited along the stairs to the upper floors and largely depict familiar places of interest in Kirovograd. The upper hall exhibits some decorative and contemporary arts, but it was under rearrangement when I visited. There is also a small hall for contemporary tempo exhibitions downstairs. Amateur photography is allowed inside, paid separately for each hall. I was offered to first see the exhibition and then pay for as many halls as I felt tempted to shoot. Impressive trust in people that I appreciated. Unbearable heat was the only thing that nearly spoilt my experience. It must have been for cost-saving that they wouldn’t turn the A/C on, and without it, my visit was much shorter than it could have been. Such a shame.
