Gorky's house on Nikitskaya. Mansion of S.P. Ryabushinsky on Malaya Nikitskaya. Prayer room - hidden space

Ryabushinsky's mansion (Russia) - description, history, location. Exact address, phone number, website. Tourist reviews, photos and videos.

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The Ryabushinsky family is one of the brightest examples of a Russian merchant dynasty. The most famous representative of the clan is Stepan Pavlovich, an Old Believer, banker, philanthropist, collector, founder of an automobile plant, the future ZIL. He harmoniously combined a sharp mind, commercial talent, delicate taste, love for antiquity and modern art. He ordered the house for himself not just anyone, but to his friend Fyodor Shekhtel, a modernist architect, the forerunner of the great Antonio Gaudi. The Ryabushinsky mansion that he built on Malaya Nikitskaya Street in Moscow caused a mixed reaction from critics, but today it is perceived as a new word in the architecture of the 20th century.

Art Nouveau style in Europe is more often called Art Nouveau, and in America - Tiffany. It is characterized by the rejection of right angles and straight lines, the combination of dissimilar materials, floral motifs in the decor, and careful artistic elaboration of all details.

Masterpiece of Russian Art Nouveau

The house stands close to the street, its facades are lined with light finishing bricks and decorated with a frieze depicting blooming irises. The varied shapes of windows and balconies with wrought iron grilles create a whimsical, unique pattern.

In the hall behind the front door, the guest is greeted by the main decoration of the interior - a white marble staircase in the shape of a falling wave. A chandelier hanging high under the ceiling looks like a jellyfish; in the window there is a huge stained glass window depicting the wings of a butterfly. Even the bronze seahorses where the door handles are are in keeping with the overall theme. The floor and walls in blue-green tones resemble a pond covered with duckweed. The capitals of the columns were made according to the drawings of Mikhail Vrubel, another friend of the owner of the mansion.

During construction, the Old Believers were still outlawed, so the architect, at the request of the client, built a secret prayer room inside the house, which is not visible from the outside. Its interior repeats in miniature a church with a dome, iconostasis and paintings. Ryabushinsky bought ancient icons and organized the first workshop in Russia for their restoration in his home. Most of his collection after 1917 settled in the Tretyakov Gallery. They say that in the dark, letters and patterns glow on the ceiling of the chapel.

Ryabushinsky's mansion today

Date of creation: 1900 - 1902 Architect: Shekhtel F.O.

Ryabushinsky's mansion on Malaya Nikitskaya Street is a classic example of an early modern mansion. In contrast to the “facade” architecture, the cubic volume triumphs here, emphasized by the horizontals of the cornice slabs that are strongly set forward and the whimsically asymmetrical projections of the walls, massive porches, balconies, each time individually unique and therefore asserting the equivalence of all facades.

The cladding with light glazed bricks and the wide mosaic frieze with images of irises, covering the top of the building, reveal the aesthetic expressiveness of the surface of the walls, cut through by squares of large windows.

The rationalism of the layout of the interior spaces, grouped around the main staircase, is combined with the irrationality of sophisticated and refined forms of decoration (the parapet of the main staircase, the relief decorating the fireplace, the metal lattice in the tympanum of the arch of the dining room doorway and its wooden frame, the iron frame of chandeliers, etc.) . Each room, thanks to the architect’s rejection of the enfilade principle of arrangement of rooms, acquires independence and isolation; at the same time, the desire to unite the internal space and its free fluidity is clearly expressed. All details of interior decoration, right down to door handles, lighting fixtures, furniture, are carefully thought out and endowed with aesthetic value; care for beauty and comfort is visible in everything.

Moscow and Moscow region. M., Art. 1979. P.500

After 1917, the Ryabushinsky mansion became the property of the city and belonged alternately to the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs, the State Publishing House, the Psychoanalytic Institute, and the kindergarten.

Since 1931, M. Gorky lived in the mansion. Nowadays, the Ryabushinsky mansion is occupied by the Gorky Memorial House-Museum.

Stepan Pavlovich Ryabushinsky (1874-1942) was a representative of the famous dynasty of industrialists and bankers in pre-revolutionary Russia. The foundations for the future prosperity of the Ryabushinsky family were laid by his paternal grandfather, Mikhail Yakovlevich (1787-1858), who arrived in Moscow from the Kaluga province to trade fabrics in Gostiny Dvor. A devout Old Believer, a “thrifty man”, close to the working people, who survived the ruin and invasion of Napoleon, he was still able to save money through hard work and acquire several manufactories, where he himself often worked as a foreman. He left his heirs a capital of two million rubles - unheard of money at that time!

His eldest son Ivan, having married against the will of his parents, was excommunicated from home and from the family business. But the younger sons Pavel and Vasily turned out to be very enterprising, with them the family income grew and became stronger. In 1882, the Ryabushinskys received the right to depict the state emblem on their goods - a sign of high quality products. Pavel Mikhailovich took an active part in the life of his class: he was elected to the Moscow Duma, the commercial court, and was an elected member of the Moscow Exchange Society. The family also paid great attention to charitable activities: during the famine of 1891, the Ryabushinskys used their own money to build a shelter and a free public canteen, which could accommodate up to a thousand people a day

In the summer of 1900, construction began on a luxurious mansion on Malaya Nikitskaya for Stepan Pavlovich Ryabushinsky, one of the representatives of the third generation of the dynasty. Malaya Nikitskaya in those years looked very provincial: low wooden or stone houses, chickens walking along the cobblestone streets, the aroma of samovar smoke. To place here an urban estate with an exquisite house, courtyard and services - laundry, janitor, storage room, garage and stables - required an experienced architect who could think outside the box. The order for construction was received by Fyodor Osipovich Shekhtel (1859-1926), whose work Stepan Pavlovich especially liked.

An amazing dreamer and great experimenter, Shekhtel was the most brilliant and prolific master of the Art Nouveau style in Russia. Moscow celebrities gladly gave him orders, and the buildings he built largely determined the appearance of old Moscow. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the main customer of professional craftsmen was the Russian merchant class, which replaced the impoverished nobility. Industrialists and bankers sought to show themselves not only as masters of life, but also as highly educated people keeping up with the times. Modernity has come to the court.

By 1902, construction work was completed, and the luxurious mansion immediately became a tourist attraction. Three publishing companies - M. Kampel, P. von Girgenson and Sherar, Nabholz and Co. - published postcards depicting the Ryabushinsky estate in 1903-1905.

The main highlight of the house was the main staircase of the hall, made in the shape of a wave. A cascade of marble waves throwing a jellyfish chandelier high up, greenish walls imitating the sea element, dim lighting, and door handles in the shape of a seahorse create a picture of the underwater world. Shekhtel continued this game in the design of the remaining rooms - plant motifs, marine themes, fancy snails and butterflies disguised in interior details - this house is full of special life.

The mansion also has its own secrets - a secret Old Believer chapel located in the attic of the northwestern part of the house; You can't see it from the street. The walls and dome of the chapel are covered with a unique abstract temple painting - the small room is maximally stylized as an ancient church. To get into the secret room, you had to go up to the second floor, walk along a narrow gallery and up the back staircase. Outsiders had no idea that there was such a room in the house.

The Ryabushinskys were deeply religious people; faith in God and the desire for moral perfection were passed down in this family from generation to generation as the highest value. And even in difficult times, when, by order of Nicholas I, who fought against the “schismatics,” Old Believers were not accepted into the merchant guild, and their children were threatened with a 25-year conscription, the Ryabushinskys were adamant, while many merchant families could not withstand the pressure and left from the "schism". The Old Believers received full equal rights with the official church only in 1905 after the manifesto of Nicholas II on religious tolerance. That’s why the prayer room in Stepan Pavlovich’s house was a secret.

Stepan Pavlovich Ryabushinsky went down in history not only as an entrepreneur and philanthropist, but also as a scientist and collector who collected icons. He was one of the first to begin restoring icons and proved their artistic and historical significance. Ryabushinsky even planned to open an icon museum in his mansion. Probably, the rooms on the second floor, the walls of which were covered with leather, were intended for this purpose.

The whirlwind of the October Revolution crippled the fates of more than one family. The Ryabushinskys, prosperous and successful, after 1917 became a symbol of the domestic bourgeoisie and synonymous with the anti-people essence of Russian entrepreneurship. Forced emigration became their only salvation from the attacks and accusations of the new regime.

Shekhtel’s fate was also tragic. Fyodor Osipovich remained in Russia and refused very tempting offers received from foreign customers. He sincerely tried to find his place in the new, alien country of socialism. Shekhtel's family was evicted from their mansion on Bolshaya Sadovaya, and the great architect, who stood at the origins of Russian Art Nouveau, building for the Morozovs, Ryabushinskys, Smirnovs, until the end of his days wandered around rented communal apartments and died sick and poor. Today, the history of architecture is studied based on his projects, and there is a small planet in the sky named after him...

Main facade. Drawing. History of urban art volume 2

D. Andreev. Perspective of the Ryabushinsky mansion. Ink, watercolor

D.B. Barkhin. Remake of Ryabushinsky's house. Side western façade.

1st floor plan. Shekhtel's drawing.

F. O. Shekhtel. Staircase in the Ryabushinsky mansion in Moscow. 1902 - 1906.

Sukharev N.I. Paper. Italian pencil.

Ryabushinsky's mansion on Malaya Nikitskaya Street is a classic example of an early modern mansion. In contrast to the “facade” architecture, the cubic volume triumphs here, emphasized by the horizontals of the cornice slabs that are strongly set forward and the whimsically asymmetrical projections of the walls, massive porches, balconies, each time individually unique and therefore asserting the equivalence of all facades.

The cladding with light glazed bricks and the wide mosaic frieze with images of irises, covering the top of the building, reveal the aesthetic expressiveness of the surface of the walls, cut through by squares of large windows.

The rationalism of the layout of the interior spaces, grouped around the main staircase, is combined with the irrationality of sophisticated and refined forms of decoration (the parapet of the main staircase, the relief decorating the fireplace, the metal lattice in the tympanum of the arch of the dining room doorway and its wooden frame, the iron frame of chandeliers, etc.) . Each room, thanks to the architect’s rejection of the enfilade principle of arrangement of rooms, acquires independence and isolation; at the same time, the desire to unite the internal space and its free fluidity is clearly expressed. All details of interior decoration, right down to door handles, lighting fixtures, furniture, are carefully thought out and endowed with aesthetic value; care for beauty and comfort is visible in everything.

Moscow and Moscow region. M., Art. 1979. P.500

After 1917, the Ryabushinsky mansion became the property of the city and belonged alternately to the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs, the State Publishing House, the Psychoanalytic Institute, and the kindergarten.

Since 1931, M. Gorky lived in the mansion. Nowadays, the Ryabushinsky mansion is occupied by the Gorky Memorial House-Museum.

Stepan Pavlovich Ryabushinsky (1874-1942) was a representative of the famous dynasty of industrialists and bankers in pre-revolutionary Russia. The foundations for the future prosperity of the Ryabushinsky family were laid by his paternal grandfather, Mikhail Yakovlevich (1787-1858), who arrived in Moscow from the Kaluga province to trade fabrics in Gostiny Dvor. A devout Old Believer, a “thrifty man”, close to the working people, who survived the ruin and invasion of Napoleon, he was still able to save money through hard work and acquire several manufactories, where he himself often worked as a foreman. He left his heirs a capital of two million rubles - unheard of money at that time!

His eldest son Ivan, having married against the will of his parents, was excommunicated from home and from the family business. But the younger sons Pavel and Vasily turned out to be very enterprising, with them the family income grew and became stronger. In 1882, the Ryabushinskys received the right to depict the state emblem on their goods - a sign of high quality products. Pavel Mikhailovich took an active part in the life of his class: he was elected to the Moscow Duma, the commercial court, and was an elected member of the Moscow Exchange Society. The family also paid great attention to charitable activities: during the famine of 1891, the Ryabushinskys used their own money to build a shelter and a free public canteen, which could accommodate up to a thousand people a day

In the summer of 1900, construction began on a luxurious mansion on Malaya Nikitskaya for Stepan Pavlovich Ryabushinsky, one of the representatives of the third generation of the dynasty. Malaya Nikitskaya in those years looked very provincial: low wooden or stone houses, chickens walking along the cobblestone streets, the aroma of samovar smoke. To place here an urban estate with an exquisite house, courtyard and services - laundry, janitor, storage room, garage and stables - required an experienced architect who could think outside the box. The order for construction was received by Fyodor Osipovich Shekhtel (1859-1926), whose work Stepan Pavlovich especially liked.

An amazing dreamer and great experimenter, Shekhtel was the most brilliant and prolific master of the Art Nouveau style in Russia. Moscow celebrities gladly gave him orders, and the buildings he built largely determined the appearance of old Moscow. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the main customer of professional craftsmen was the Russian merchant class, which replaced the impoverished nobility. Industrialists and bankers sought to show themselves not only as masters of life, but also as highly educated people keeping up with the times. Modernity has come to the court.

By 1902, construction work was completed, and the luxurious mansion immediately became a tourist attraction. Three publishing companies - M. Kampel, P. von Girgenson and Sherar, Nabholz and Co. - published postcards depicting the Ryabushinsky estate in 1903-1905.

The main highlight of the house was the main staircase of the hall, made in the shape of a wave. A cascade of marble waves throwing a jellyfish chandelier high up, greenish walls imitating the sea element, dim lighting, and door handles in the shape of a seahorse create a picture of the underwater world. Shekhtel continued this game in the design of the remaining rooms - plant motifs, marine themes, fancy snails and butterflies disguised in interior details - this house is full of special life.

The mansion also has its own secrets - a secret Old Believer chapel located in the attic of the northwestern part of the house; You can't see it from the street. The walls and dome of the chapel are covered with a unique abstract temple painting - the small room is maximally stylized as an ancient church. To get into the secret room, you had to go up to the second floor, walk along a narrow gallery and up the back staircase. Outsiders had no idea that there was such a room in the house.

The Ryabushinskys were deeply religious people; faith in God and the desire for moral perfection were passed down in this family from generation to generation as the highest value. And even in difficult times, when, by order of Nicholas I, who fought against the “schismatics,” Old Believers were not accepted into the merchant guild, and their children were threatened with a 25-year conscription, the Ryabushinskys were adamant, while many merchant families could not withstand the pressure and left from the "schism". The Old Believers received full equal rights with the official church only in 1905 after the manifesto of Nicholas II on religious tolerance. That’s why the prayer room in Stepan Pavlovich’s house was a secret.

Stepan Pavlovich Ryabushinsky went down in history not only as an entrepreneur and philanthropist, but also as a scientist and collector who collected icons. He was one of the first to begin restoring icons and proved their artistic and historical significance. Ryabushinsky even planned to open an icon museum in his mansion. Probably, the rooms on the second floor, the walls of which were covered with leather, were intended for this purpose.

The whirlwind of the October Revolution crippled the fates of more than one family. The Ryabushinskys, prosperous and successful, after 1917 became a symbol of the domestic bourgeoisie and synonymous with the anti-people essence of Russian entrepreneurship. Forced emigration became their only salvation from the attacks and accusations of the new regime.

Shekhtel’s fate was also tragic. Fyodor Osipovich remained in Russia and refused very tempting offers received from foreign customers. He sincerely tried to find his place in the new, alien country of socialism. Shekhtel's family was evicted from their mansion on Bolshaya Sadovaya, and the great architect, who stood at the origins of Russian Art Nouveau, building for the Morozovs, Ryabushinskys, Smirnovs, until the end of his days wandered around rented communal apartments and died sick and poor. Today, the history of architecture is studied based on his projects, and there is a small planet in the sky named after him...

Main facade. Drawing. History of urban art volume 2

D. Andreev. Perspective of the Ryabushinsky mansion. Ink, watercolor

D.B. Barkhin. Remake of Ryabushinsky's house. Side western façade.

1st floor plan. Shekhtel's drawing.

F. O. Shekhtel. Staircase in the Ryabushinsky mansion in Moscow. 1902 - 1906.

Sukharev N.I. Paper. Italian pencil.

With the arrival of spring and warmth, Kvartblog began to travel around his city much more often and with great pleasure, like most Russian people who are not afraid of long and leisurely walks. Finally, I decided to fulfill my old dream and signed up for an excursion to one of the most amazing places for me and iconic for all of Moscow - the Ryabushinsky mansion, which today houses the museum-apartment of M. Gorky.

Ryabushinsky's mansion in Moscow

Of all the many creations of the architect Shekhtel, this mansion is perhaps the best embodiment of his unique style, nicknamed “Russian Art Nouveau”, because in his projects Fyodor Osipovich often followed the architectural traditions of Ancient Rus'.

In two years, from 1900 to 1902, this mansion with adjacent buildings grew up on a small plot along Malaya Nikitskaya Street, and from 1903 to 1905, as many as three publishing companies were already producing large editions of postcards with his photographs.

Its shape, at first glance similar to a cube, echoes the shape of the Church of the Great Ascension standing opposite. A garden has already begun to bloom around the mansion; buildings intended for various employees of the Ryabushinsky family are scattered throughout it. A.N. Tolstoy lived in the servants' wing after the revolution; now his apartment-museum is located there.

The facades of the mansion are decorated with original patterns of window frames, made according to Shekhtel’s sketches, and a mosaic with giant orchids, which was created in Frolov’s St. Petersburg workshop, also according to the architect’s sketches (this motif of exaggeration of details is often found in his works, for example, strawberries on the Yaroslavsky railway station building). This mosaic is especially beautiful on sunny days thanks to the pieces of golden smalt inserted into it. One of the researchers of the Art Nouveau style called it “a precious shimmering belt encircling the facades of the Ryabushinsky mansion.”


We enter the house through an entrance that was once black, but it was the one that was usually used by the Ryabushinskys, the Gorky family, and Stalin, who often visited the writer.

Stepan Pavlovich Ryabushinsky, a famous entrepreneur, banker, collector and philanthropist, ordered Shekhtel to build this house for himself, his wife and son when he was 26 years old. He was the fourth brother of P.M. Ryabushinsky’s eight children. All the brothers studied and worked a lot, were engaged in science and charity. Together with his brothers, Stepan managed the affairs of the textile factory they had inherited in the village of Zavorovo, and together with his brother Sergei, they created the first automobile plant in Russia, AMO.


The Ryabushinsky family - Stepan Pavlovich, Anna Alexandrovna and little Boris

Bourgeois practicalism also shaped the architectural concepts of that time. The economical merchant Ryabushinsky was not interested in building rooms that would not be used constantly, such as aristocratic ballrooms. The center of the house is a large staircase leading to the second floor, around which the dining room, study and other living rooms are located. This project turned out to be so rational that not only private but also apartment buildings began to be built in its likeness.


The fact that, for all his frugality, a Russian entrepreneur is capable of thoughtless spending is evidenced by an interesting fact gleaned from the surviving expense book of Ryabushinsky’s wife, to whom this house was registered. Anna Alexandrovna meticulously and point by point wrote down each of her expenses in this book, including tips to waiters and expenses for a cab driver, however, if they traveled abroad, one summary entry appeared in her register, for example, “Trip to Paris - 5 thousand” - a funny detail , relevant for the modern model of travel behavior.

The rooms of the mansion are the result of huge investments of both money and labor. Expensive types of stone and wood are decorated with complex and beautiful patterns that look like waves. The entire first floor is connected with the water element. Being in the living room, it’s as if we are standing at the bottom of a pond, and on the ceiling we can see large dahlias looking down into the surface of the water. Please note that the pattern of the window frame is also reflected in the ceiling stucco.




The floor in the front hallway resembles a surface of water into which a stone has been thrown. There used to be two beautiful stained glass screens here, reminiscent of dragonfly wings. They have now been removed for safety purposes, but, according to the tour guide’s promises, they will soon be returned to their place. And the glass wardrobe has survived to this day thanks to its magic handles. Not only were they pretty, but they also protected the glass doors if one of the guests decided to lean on them.


The stained glass landscape decorating this hallway is very important for the overall stylistic and philosophical concept of this house. Art Nouveau, as we know, draws inspiration from nature and actively borrows its images. It is also well known that beautiful nature is fickle and changeable. Throughout the day, this stained glass window changes its appearance, depicting either an evening, or a day, or a morning, or a night landscape, depending on the lighting and viewing angle.


From here we find ourselves in a room that served as an office for both Ryabushinsky and Gorky. Its common motif is the laurel - since ancient times a symbol of success, glory and prosperity. Laurel can be found here in the wood trim, on the door handles and on another stained glass window. At first glance, it depicts a mountain landscape, but upon closer inspection, we can see the head of a bearded man sitting in thought under a laurel tree.


By the way, the door handles in the mansion, according to one of the style researchers, form a separate symphony. In each room they are as original as the pattern of stucco or parquet.


Modern architectural space is always a space that has its own philosophy. According to Shekhtel, the procession through this house is the path to elevating the soul. If the first floor was an underwater world, then an incredible wave staircase, which is the center of the hall and the entire house, can take us up from the watery depths. Its appearance reminds us of Gaudí's architecture. By the way, Shekhtel and Gaudi knew each other well, met more than once and exchanged ideas. Gaudi was almost 20 years older and had undoubted authority over Shekhtel; both architects died in 1926.


The staircase railing smoothly transitions into a bench. The impressive lamp from below looks like a giant jellyfish swimming above you, and from above it looks like a turtle swimming underwater.


An interesting little balcony above the stairs looks like a dragon or an owl. The eyebrows of this animal form the Moscow Art Theater seagull - a symbol drawn by Shekhtel for A.P. Chekhov. Theatricality, mysticism and the desire to lead away from reality are characteristic of the Art Nouveau style in general, and Shekhtel managed to brilliantly embody these features in architecture.


The confrontation between good and evil is also reflected in the decor of the column on the second floor near the stairs: it is ringed by a composition of disgusting salamanders and beautiful pure lilies.


The entire second floor was once occupied by the famous collection of icons of S.P. Ryabushinsky. His collection was the largest in Russia, and, according to art critic N. Punin, it gained enormous fame “for the artistic and historical value of the icons included in it.” In the same house there was a restoration workshop, where restoration artists father and son Tyulin were engaged in the restoration of these icons. Now in the room where the exhibition of icons was located, there is an exhibition dedicated to M. Gorky.


The Ryabushinskys were Old Believers. In the attic of their house, accessible by a back staircase, there is a chapel; it logically crowns this symbolic world. The Old Believers were given equal rights with other believers only in 1905, and before that they were subjected to persecution, accompanied by the “sealing” of the altars of the Rogozhskoe cemetery, which were religious to them. Therefore, the chapel, built in 1904, was a secret. Its appearance is as close as possible to traditional churches, because at that time Old Believer services moved to the private chapels of wealthy merchants. At the base of the dome, the inscription in ancient Greek is repeated four times: “True Christian women will receive holiness for their suffering on the day of the Last Judgment.”


After the revolution and the emigration of the Ryabushinskys, the house alternately belonged to the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs, the State Publishing House of the RSFSR, the State Psychoanalytic Institute with an orphanage-laboratory, the kindergarten "Preschool Commune at the All-Russian Central Executive Committee" and the "All-Union Society for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries." In 1931, against their wishes, the family of Maxim Gorky moved here. Next week we will talk about how the house changed during Gorky’s life here and what surprises the Soviet government prepared for the writer within its walls.

Quartblog Digest

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The museum-apartment of A. M. Gorky is located in the former Ryabushinsky mansion, built for the family of a young Russian entrepreneur by the famous Moscow architect F. Shekhtel. The luxurious house on Malaya Nikitskaya, in which the writer lived in the last years of his life, is a true masterpiece of architecture of the early twentieth century. It is made in the Russian Art Nouveau style, unusual for Moscow of those years, and its history is connected with three outstanding people who lived at the same time, but had very different destinies. And only one of them is mentioned on the memorial plaque installed on the facade.

The mansion is one of the few similar objects open to the public located in the center of the capital. Some buildings house government agencies and embassies, where ordinary citizens are not allowed to enter. Its interior decoration has been preserved almost in its original form, conceived and implemented by F. Shekhtel.

Ryabushinsky's mansion

An unusual house with multi-level and multi-format windows, a mosaic frieze with floral motifs and glazed brick trim is considered an adornment not only of Malaya Nikitskaya Street, but of the entire capital. The splendor of the interior decoration is hidden from the eyes of passers-by, but you can see it with your own eyes by visiting the museum-apartment of A. M. Gorky.

The mansion was designed by F. Shekhtel under the influence of European Art Nouveau combined with fashion trends of Art Nouveau - a style characterized by the preferential use of natural smooth curves in the architectural appearance and interiors, rather than straight lines and clear angles. A feature of this area also includes the use of new, non-standard technologies. Despite the borrowing of stylistic solutions, F. Shekhtel managed to harmoniously fill them with his own decorative elements and details.

The mansion bears the name of the customer and the first owner of the house - Stepan Ryabushinsky. He was a famous entrepreneur and collector, but most importantly, he belonged to the wealthy Ryabushinsky dynasty and became its worthy follower. Stepan Pavlovich had one of the best collections of icons in Russia and organized grand exhibitions of icon painting, including for the 300th anniversary of the House of Romanov. Thanks to his participation, scientific research was carried out, which made it possible to discover and restore real iconographic masterpieces.

After the October Revolution, Ryabushinsky was forced to leave the country. His collection of icons was confiscated. Some of them were sold, the rest were donated to museums. Fortunately, most of the collection has been preserved and is located in the Tretyakov Gallery. Today there is talk about organizing a permanent exhibition of icons collected by Stepan Pavlovich in one of the Ryabushinsky houses.

During Soviet times, the mansion was replaced by several owners from among government agencies. During this time, unique pieces of furniture, lamps and the original fireplace portal, made of marble specially brought from Carrara, disappeared. In addition, the house's unique ventilation system was damaged. The salvation from the final ruin of the mansion was the settlement of the family of a proletarian writer in it in 1931.

Architecture of Shekhtel's house

The Ryabushinsky mansion was built under the direction of the architect from 1900 to 1902-03. The main facade with the front porch faces Malaya Nikitskaya Street. At the moment, you can enter the building from Spiridonovka through the “black” door, originally intended for servants.

Shekhtel was responsible for creating designs for more than 210 buildings in the capital and Moscow region, built at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Among them are the Yaroslavsky railway station, Morozova’s mansion on Spiridonovka, and the Khudozhestvenny cinema on Arbat. Most of the 86 surviving objects are today under state protection. The architect himself lived out his life in his daughter’s apartment, which was turned into a communal apartment after the revolution.

Shekhtel's house on Malaya Nikitskaya became a real masterpiece of the master. Due to the spectacular stepped arrangement of window openings, the building looks multi-story. Streamlined forms of arched vaults, window grilles in the form of curly branches and spiral curls of balcony railings give the exterior additional lightness. A low fence opens up a view of the facade, decorated with a wide mosaic frieze. The plant motifs depicted on it hide mysteries and symbols.

The central terrace, hanging over the main entrance, rests on massive columns united by figured lintels. Two of them come close to the “red” line. On the side facades there are balconies with decorative railings. On the territory of the estate there is an outbuilding with a stable attached to it. The rooms were intended for servants. One of the premises was rented by A. Tolstoy during the Second World War. Today it houses the writer's museum-apartment.

The front part of Shekhtel's house may go unnoticed by passers-by, especially in the summer, when the mansion is hidden behind the treetops. All the most interesting and amazing things are revealed to visitors to the Gorky House Museum.

Interior features

Shekhtel successfully complemented the architectural innovation with the technical equipment of the mansion. The ventilation system allowed air to circulate throughout the entire space of the house. From the kitchen to the dining room, dishes were delivered via elevator.

The first thing that catches the eye of everyone who enters is the famous Shekhtel staircase with its gracefully curved railings. According to the author's idea, it symbolizes the endless movement of waves. At its base stands an original jellyfish lamp, miraculously preserved during the years of “modernization” of the mansion by representatives of government agencies.

Colored stained glass windows in sunlight give an amazing play of colors on the walls and matte ceilings. Detailed decorative elements successfully complement the interior. Here, even the door handles are shaped like seahorses, and the capitals of the columns are decorated with salamanders surrounded by lilies.

There is a secret room on the third floor, not even mentioned in the insurance inventories. It was decorated in the early Christian style and was intended for prayers. The secrecy was associated with the ban on the presence of religious buildings in private homes. But the Ryabushinskys belonged to the Old Believers, and they needed a chapel.

It is quite difficult to imagine the interiors of the mansion from descriptions and photographs, so it would be better to visit it.

History of the Gorky Apartment Museum

The Ryabushinsky mansion was given to the Gorky family in 1931. He was categorically against moving into “palace rooms,” rightly believing that this would negatively affect the opinions of proletarians forced to live in barracks and communal apartments. Nevertheless, Gorky, who returned from abroad, was brought straight from the station to Malaya Nikitskaya to an already renovated and furnished house.

According to contemporaries, the Ryabushinsky mansion did not suit the writer either in spirit or in status. Here he felt uncomfortable, called the rest room “the ballerina’s bedroom” and never used the Shekhtel staircase, since it was difficult for him to climb to the second floor. Over time, Alexey Maksimovich became accustomed to the furnishings and features of the house, especially since several of his requirements were met. In particular:

  • the workroom was decorated in accordance with the furnishings of his previous offices;
  • the living room was converted into a library, filling the walls with multi-tiered cabinets;
  • the bedroom was placed in one of the offices;
  • the half-naked figures that decorated the interior were removed.

Under Gorky, the house on Malaya Nikitskaya turned into the cultural center of literary Moscow, where it was always crowded and noisy. The life of a writer has become busy and a little tiring. Social activities and constant creative meetings, including the famous night meetings with Stalin and members of the Politburo, at which the fate of writers and their works had to be decided, distracted from the main activity. But despite the fact that there was too little time left to write his own works, Gorky continued to work on novels and plays.

In 1934, Alexei Maksimovich had to endure the tragic events associated with the death of his son, who lived on the second floor of the Ryabushinsky mansion with his family. In recent years, his daughter-in-law and granddaughters remained with the writer. After Gorky’s death (1936), Nadezhda Peshkova, or Timosha, as her family called her, with the direct participation of the official widow of the writer Ekaterina Pavlovna Peshkova, tried to preserve the legacy of her father-in-law, his things and the environment in which he lived and worked in the period 1931-36 gg.

Nadezhda Alekseevna (daughter-in-law) remained in the mansion until 1965, the year of the opening of the Gorky Memorial Museum-Apartment on Malaya Nikitskaya. It is thanks to her efforts and enthusiasm that contemporaries have the opportunity to plunge into the atmosphere that surrounded the writer in the last years of his difficult life.

Exhibitions

In the 5 rooms of the mansion, located on the ground floor, the furnishings of 1936 have been completely preserved. These are the writer’s office and his bedroom, the library and secretarial room, as well as the dining room. Here you can find furniture from those years, personal belongings and Gorky’s book collection, arranged in the same order as in his time. On the second floor there is an exhibition telling about the life of Alexei Maksimovich after his return to his homeland from Italy. Part of the premises is given over to the storage of the museum fund. In the equipped basement there is an exhibition giving an idea of ​​Ryabushinsky and Shekhtel.

Operating mode

You can visit the Gorky Museum and get acquainted with the interiors of the mansion every day from 11:00 to 17:30, except Monday, Tuesday and days on which official public holidays fall. The last Thursday of every month the institution holds a sanitary day.

Ticket prices in 2019

The cost of entry to the Gorky Apartment Museum is:

  • for adults - 300 rubles;
  • for children from 7 to 15 years old and pensioners - 100 rubles;
  • for students and pupils - 150 rubles;
  • for non-residents of the Russian Federation - 400 rubles.

For a group excursion (up to 20 people) you will have to pay 3,000 rubles. For foreigners, such a service will cost 4000-5000 rubles. Groups of up to 10 people are served individually. The price of the tour for residents of the Russian Federation is 1500 rubles, for non-residents of the Russian Federation - 2000 rubles.

How to get to the museum-apartment of A. M. Gorky

The nearest metro stations are located 1-1.5 km from the mansion:

  • “Barrikadnaya” and “Pushkinskaya” - line 7;
  • "Tverskaya" - line 2;
  • "Arbatskaya" - lines 3 and 4.

The museum can be reached by buses No. 15, 39, A, 243, m6. Stop "Nikitsky Gate".

Mobile taxi services in Moscow - Uber, Gett, Maxim, Yandex. Taxi

Ryabushinsky Mansion: video