Museum of arts and crafts attached to the Higher arts school to V.I. Mukhina (former Museum of the Central school of engineering drawing of baron A.A. Shtiglits) is on the agenda today. To say the truth, I was sure that it was Mukhinskoye school itself (people call it "Mukha" - "Fly" in english) when I was shooting it. I don't remember where I've got this idea, but actually it's not that important. School itself is situated a bit to the right, in the same Solyany pereulok.
Museum was built by architect Maximilian Mesmakher in 1885..1895.
This style is called "neo-renaissance", as I was suggested.
There are portraits of the artists and sculptors above columns.
I'll take a risk to remark that in my opinion appearance of the museum associates with later, stalin's time buildings than with buildings of the XIX century.
Museum is quite stretched out in itself, but it was hidden by leaves in the right and in the left.
There is glass cupola over the central exhibition hall of the museum.
This shot was made in the early spring from the opposite side. (Letny(Summer) garden is in the left, Moyka is in the right).
Allegories of architecture, painting, sculpture, crafts of all kinds. But there is architect himself in the center in the right :-)
Besides designing this building, Mesmakher also had been director of the school for 18 years.
And financing of the construction and functioning of the school was provided by baron A.A. Shtiglits.
There are several differently arranged halls containing decorative but useful things of all kinds (crockery, furniture, sculpture etc.) inside the museum (I did not go there, but was told).
Two interesting lamps by the museum. As the source of information says:
".. with vase-formed part, chubby putti-boys doing drawing, modeling, engraving and painting.."
Putti - means "infant" (from italian "putti, putto")
I am not a specialist but, on my opinion, this very putti is doing something different from what's listed :-)
Windows and doors
And this house is situated almost opposite the museum. The house itself was quite usual but in 1946 its wall was designed as a huge memorial board:
"GLORY
TO THE GREAT SOVIET
PEOPLE!
BOARD WAS ESTABLISHED
IN THE HONOUR
OF HEROIC DEFENSE
OF HANKO PENINSULA
(22 of June - 2 of December 1941)
DURING THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR
1941-1945.
GLORY
TO THE COURAGEOUS
DEFENDERS
OF HANKO PENINSULA!"
Monument was built near Panteleimonovskaya church (to St. Panteleimon) on purpose, the church itself was built in memory of earlier victories of the russian fleet in the battles by Gangut (the same - Hanko) and Grengam.
