The Museum of Fine Arts of Kaluga was established in 1918. Nowadays, the collection is located in one of the most beautiful mansions in Kaluga, which was built by the merchant Bilibin. The museum exposition was based on the collection of a local doctor and collector Nikanor Vasiliev, and for more than 50 years the museum was located in his house.
After the nationalization of paintings and art objects in noble estates, the collection of the Kaluga Museum of Fine Arts grew rapidly. In 1969, the museum`s collection was moved from Nikonor Vasiliev`s house to the more spacious Bilibin mansion. It underwent reconstruction and restored the interiors of the 19th century. Next door is the Church of the Nativity of the Virgin and the Shopping Mall of Kaluga.
The mansion, where the Museum of Fine Arts of Kaluga is now located, was built in 1809 in the classical style. The project was prepared by architect Ivan Yasnygin, who at the same time supervised the construction of the Trinity Cathedral in the Central Park of Kaluga. Later Bilibin`s house was bought by a family of merchants-Old Believers Chistokletov. Therefore, now it is called the Estate of the Bilibins-Chistokletovs.
The Museum of Fine Arts has a large collection of paintings by famous Russian artists of the 19th century: Ivan Shishkin, Vasily Polenov, Alexey Savrasov, Vasily Surikov, Viktor Vasnetsov, Isaac Levitan, Ivan Aivazovsky and many others. There are also sculptures and household items.
In the museum you can see several paintings by Nikolai Yaroshenko, who lived in Kislovodsk in his last years. Yaroshenko`s paintings were brought to the Kaluga Museum from the Pavlishchev Bor estate, which belonged to Vasily Yaroshenko, Nikolai Yaroshenko`s brother.
