Moscow’s premier foreign-art museum displays a broad range of European works. The main building is the original location of the museum, which opened in 1912 as the museum of Moscow University. The highlight of the museum are the Dutch masterpieces from the 17th century.
Located in rooms 1 and 2, the Ancient Civilisation exhibits contain an excellent collection, complete with ancient Egyptian weaponry, jewellery, ritual items and tombstones. Most of the items were excavated from burial sites, including two haunting mummies. Room 3 houses the impressive Treasures of Troy exhibit , with excavated items dating back to 2500 BC. A German archaeologist donated the collection to the city of Berlin, from where it was appropriated by the Soviets in 1945.
Located in rooms 9 through 11, the highlight of the museum are the Dutch masterpieces from the 17th century. Rembrandt is the star of the show, with many paintings on display, including his moving Portrait of an Old Woman .
The Greek and Italian Courts (rooms 14 and 15) contain examples from the museum’s original collection, which was made up of plaster-cast reproductions of the masterpieces from Ancient Greece and Rome, as well as from the Renaissance. You’ll find more plaster casts upstairs, including a special room devoted to Michelangelo (room 29).
The 17th and 18th centuries dominate the second floor. Room 17 contains a diverse collection of Italian paintings , including some formidable large-scale canvases. Rooms 21 through 23 are devoted to France, with a separate gallery for the Rococo period, featuring some appropriately dreamy paintings by Boucher.
