20 paintings from the Tretyakov Gallery were exhibited at the NGHM for the 250th anniversary of Alexander Stupin.

      On August 1, 2026, at 11:07, the exhibition (6+) "The Arzamas Academy. To the 250th anniversary of the birth of the founder of the first provincial private art school in Russia, A.V. Stupin" opened at "NGHM|Russian Art". The project partner was the State Tretyakov Gallery, as reported by the regional Ministry of Culture.

      The exhibition is dedicated to Alexander Stupin (1776−1861) — an artist and educator who founded the first private art school in Russia in Arzamas in the early 19th century. Over the years of the institution's operation, about 150 students were trained there.

      The head of the regional Ministry of Culture, Natalia Sukhanova, noted that today the region is rediscovering for viewers the history of Stupin and the school he created.

      "Once, the personality of Alexander Vasilyevich Stupin did not need an introduction, and now we are retelling the story of this amazing artist and educator who created the first private art school in provincial Arzamas in the early 19th century," she said.

      According to her, an important feature of the Arzamas school was that many of its graduates continued to work in small towns, where there was a high demand for professional artists. Thus, Stupin was effectively creating a system for training specialists for the regions.

      The exhibition project features about 100 works of painting and graphics from the collections of the Nizhny Novgorod State Art Museum and the Arzamas Historical and Art Museum. The preparation of the exhibition also involved the State Tretyakov Gallery, the State Russian Museum, and the Research Museum of the Russian Academy of Arts.

      Thanks to cooperation with leading museum institutions in the country, the exhibition includes works from the rich heritage of the Arzamas art school. The exhibition tells about the history of the school, the personality of Alexander Stupin, as well as the fates of his students — Rafail Stupin, Nikolai Alexeev, Ivan Gorbunov, Vasily Raev, Pavel Vedenetsky, Nikolai Rachkov, and Yevgraf Krendovsky.

      Visitors will be able to see study drawings, portraits, landscapes, and genre compositions created by Stupin and his students at different periods of their creative work. Among the earliest exhibits is Alexander Stupin's work "The Model" from 1801, created during his studies at the Imperial Academy of Arts. One of the most recent and well-known exhibits is Vasily Perov's painting "Hunters at Rest" from 1871 from the collection of the State Tretyakov Gallery.

      The Deputy Director of the State Tretyakov Gallery for Scientific Work, Doctor of Art History Tatyana Yudenkova, emphasized the significance of the project for studying the heritage of the Arzamas school.

      She noted that the Tretyakov Gallery provided 20 works for the exhibition, including iconic pieces from its collection. Among them is the famous canvas by Vasily Perov "Hunters at Rest," which has recently undergone restoration.

      According to Yudenkova, the exhibition also draws attention to Pavel Tretyakov's interest in the work of Alexander Stupin's students. The collection of the gallery's founder includes a portrait of A.V. Stupin by Alexander Varnek and works by the students of the Stupin school.

      "Every major, well-thought-out exhibition — and this project, which is undoubtedly one of them, is significant for museum and art history science, for specialists. I am sure there will be a lot of incredibly interesting discoveries here," added Tatyana Yudenkova.

      In addition to the works of Stupin's students, the exhibition features works by his teachers, friends, and contemporaries — Ivan Akimov, Vasily Shebuev, Alexei Yegorov, Alexander Varnek, Karl Bryullov, Jean-Laurent Monier, and Johann Lampi.

      It should be noted that tickets for the exhibition are available, including for holders of the "Pushkin Card". The program is implemented as part of the national project "Family". A virtual card can be issued by Russians aged 14−22 through the "Gosuslugi. Culture" app. NIA "Nizhny Novgorod" has channels on Telegram and MAX. Subscribe to stay updated on major events, exclusive materials, and timely information. Copyright © 1999—2025 NIA "Nizhny Novgorod". When reprinting, a hyperlink to NIA "Nizhny Novgorod" is mandatory. This resource may contain materials 18+.