Collection

The icons have become synonymous with Russian Art and their origins can be traced back to the Sacred Panel Paintings of the Byzantine Period. Though icon painting had strict formal rules with fixed repetitive patterns, the Russian artists of the Orthodox Faith added their own interpretations of the local Saints and religious history to those of the traditional Biblical sources.

Despite its dramatic fate at the beginning of the 20th Century, the icon painting tradition has survived in Russia. Those icons exhibited in the Marvol Museum were created by the artists of the Icon Painters Association founded in Moscow a few years ago to revive and develop the heritage of icon painting in Russia.

The majority of the art works exhibited in the Marvol Museum were created by contemporary Moscow artists who follow the rich traditions of Russian realism of the 19th Century. This style of painting is known now to art collectors as Soviet Realism or Russian Impressionism of 30-90th. These canvases, mainly landscapes, still-life and genre paintings, bare the distinct features of Russian Nature and ancient architecture, as well as the great variety of Russian characters, traditions and historical events.

Currently the Marvol Museum is expanding its collection with the paintings by Russian artists of different modern trends.

The best examples of the most popular traditional Russian handcrafts such as Gzhel porcelain and Majolica, Easter eggs painted in icon-tradition painting tradition and Palekh lacquer miniatures, artistic Matrioshka dolls and Khokhloma wood painting, Russian embroidery and Zhostovo trays, form a special part of the Marvol Museum permanent collection. These handicrafts originate from several small ancient Russian towns located within the vicinity of Moscow. Since the earliest memories these towns have been the Russian decoraive art centres and the secrets of the craftmanship have been passed down through generations.

Fabergé (St. Pietersburg 1846 - Lasagne 1920) was the son of a French Huguenot extraction. Just the mention of the name "Fabergé", recalls images of brilliant, glittering jewellery, the magnificient Imperial Easter eggs made for the Russian Tsars and exquisite ornaments favoured by Europe's grandest families.

Each of the Fabergé eggs on display at the Marvol Museum is created as one of a limited edition and originates from the only workmaster in the world licensed nowadays to produce original jewellery work of art bearing the " Fabergé" hallmark - Victor Mayer of Pforzheim in Germany.