The St. Petersburg Museum of Fine Arts, also known as the Academy of Fine Arts, was a working school for many years and it has pieces created by its students and their instructors on display, dating back to the beginning of the Academy. Many of the students went on to become some of Russia's most prominent artists. The Academy is the oldest art institute in Europe and was founded in 1756.
The museum features many of the projects created by students using various media, from oils to watercolors to sculpture. You can see how students progressed through the years of their training, and see how styles changed throughout the years. Artists chosen to study at the Academy usually did so for six years.
The St. Petersburg Museum of Fine Arts sits on the bank of the Neva River in a large palace-like structure, built during the reign of Catherine the Great. Any serious student of the arts will want to visit this museum while in St. Petersburg. The Academy is also home to the famous Repin Institute that was named after the famous realist painter Ilya Repin.
Tour the St. Petersburg Museum of Fine Arts
The St. Petersburg Museum of Fine Arts is included in many art tours of St. Petersburg that are available online. This museum, along with the Hermitage and the State Russian museum, is an important artistic and cultural fixture in St. Petersburg, and should not be missed. You can see pictures of the museum and examples of the works it houses online.
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