July 21: Moscow, Day 2

Dear Friends and Relatives,

Finally catching up with my blogs and getting a handle on them.  Today, with a marvelous sunshiny day that lasted a few hours, we were back to the Kremlin, precisely to the State Armory.  The collection of the State Armory represents the wealth accumulated by Russian princes and tsars throughout the centuries.  The first written mention of a state armory occurs in 1508.  Gold- and silversmiths, workshops producing icons and embroidery, and the office of the Royal Stables eventually moved into the Kremlin.  We saw some unbelievable objects, including Fabergé eggs, arms and armor made in the Kremlin workshops, carriages and sleds, diamonds, crowns, jewelry and state regalia; ambassadors' gifts, thrones, and coronation dresses.  It was an absolute cornucopia of amazing objects which were not allowed to be photographed, so the remembrance of them is securely locked away in my mind.    From there, we went to the Cathedral of the Assumption and actually went inside.  From the early 14th c., the Cathedral of the Assumption was the most important church in Moscow.  It was here where princes and tsars were crowned and the metropolitans and patriarchs of the Orthodox church were buried.  The pillars that stand in the center of the cathedral are painted with over 100 figures of canonized martyrs and warriors.  Frescoes adorn the central dome, and the Holy Virgin of Vladimir (1514) has pride of place.  It is a very dark interior, with the burning of thousands of candles over the years being responsible for its burnished aspect.  

From the Cathedral, we drove by bus and in a huge deluge accompanied by some hail to our lunch venue, a restaurant where the great writer Anton Chekhov had met the acting theatrical director Stanislawsky for lunch many a time.  In fact, a photo showing Chekhov reading his short stories to an audience graced one of the floors of the restaurant.  The meal was excellent, and featured a salad on bruschetta, sauerkraut soup, beef with vegetable kabobs, and éclairs for dessert.  

From there we walked back to the hotel, dropped our things, and walked over to the famous Tretyakov Gallery, close to us and in a lovely pedestrian zone which made walking fun.  The Tretyakov was founded in 1856 by the wealthy merchant Pavel Tretyakov.  He presented his private museum of Russian art to the city in 1882.  HIs brother Sergey also donated a number of works, and the gallery's collection has been expanding ever since.  Today, the Treyakov has the largest collection of Russian art in the world.  The front of the museum, designed in 1902 by Viktor Vasnetsov, is a wonderful example of the Russian Revival style, and its frieze is reminiscent of medieval manuscripts.  And then there was the art.  We did not focus on the icons, but concentrated on 19th c. art in particular.  Vasily Surikov and of course my beloved Ilya Repin were well represented, although, due to a few exhibition rooms being closed, I sorely missed  Repin's portrait of his little son Yuri, but thrilled at his large and epic "Religious Procession in Kursk Province."  I guess I shall have to come back and see what I missed!

Although there was no biography of Repin present in the bookstore, there was a comprehensive book on all the art in the Tretyakov in German, which I gladly snapped up for future reading.  

After the Tretyakov visit, several of us went with Olga and Lena to the metro station, bought a ticket and went to visit several important and decorative metro stations.  We toured about 5 different metro stations, the best of which, in my opinion, is the Komsomolskaya station, a palatial hallway of gold and stucco, supported by neoclassical marble tiers and lit by chandeliers, honoring the Communist Youth Organization.  Amazing!

I returned to the hotel, ordered a chicken club sandwich and drank some water while watching the shank of the evening end the day in a soft light, and then started on my blog.  Judy has just returned from dinner with three other members of our group.  I was asked to go, but wanted a little time to myself.  As it is now about 11:30 pm, I will be off to bed.  Need some shuteye!  Feet tired tonight!  As ever, Sylvia V