Voronezh Kramskoy Museum of Fine Arts is located in the yard of a big YVZHD (Southeastern Railway) building with a tall tower opposite the Peter`s public garden. Voronezh Museum of Fine Arts was created in 1933. In 1947 its collections were placed in a beautiful baroque building of the 18th century.
Of the greatest interest are the collections related to ancient Egypt and ancient Greece. There you can see the authentic ancient Greek amphoras and statuettes dated back to 5 century B.C., as well as the sarcophagi and ritual objects from ancient Egypt dated back to 10 century B.C.
One of the first private Egyptian collections of the 19th century is on display at the fine arts museum of Voronezh. It was collected by an explorer-orientalist baron Otto Friedrich von Richter during his travels over Egypt. The collection contains household items, as well as cult objects. The most valuable exhibit is the sarcophagus of the great tsar`s scribe Nisupakherentakhat.
The collection of ancient Greek amphoras and vessels is of a great artistic value. The oldest exhibit of the collection is a Corinthian vase with geometrical patterns dated back to 9 century B.C. Karl Morgenstern began to collect this collection in 1803. He was the first director of the library of the University of Dorpat. During World War I the collection and the library of the University of Dorpat (then Yuryev) were evacuated to Nizhniy Novgorod and then to Voronezh.
After Estonia became an independent state there were negotiations about returning the collection and the library to Tartu. Some part of the library was returned, but the collection of ancient art remained in Voronezh. Russian treasury alloted money for the formation of a museum in Tartu (Yuryev), so actually, it was a Russian property.
As to painting, you can pay you attention to the pictures of Argunov, Tropinin, Repin, Kramskoy, Aivazovsky and many other Russian painters. There are also interesting pictures of western painters, including the altar with the painting «The Adoration of the Magi» by Gentile da Fabriano at the museum. It a copy of the 18th century. The original picture of 1423 is stored at the Uffizi Gallery (Florence).
