The Penaty Estate Museum is located 50 kilometers from the center of St. Petersburg, on the northern shore of the Gulf of Finland. This estate belonged to the great Russian artist Ilya Repin. He lived in the Penaty for 30 years and was buried here. Now in the Penaty you can visit a museum dedicated to the work of Repin.
The village where the Penaty estate Museum is located is now called Repino, and at the beginning of the 20th century it was called Kuokkala. The Karelian Isthmus in those years was part of the Finnish province as part of the Russian Empire. In 1917 Finland gained independence, and Ilya Repin estate turned out to be abroad.
Ilya Repin was born in 1844 in the city of Chuguev, Kharkiv region. His talent did not reveal itself in childhood and Repin did not pass the first exams to the Academy of Arts of St. Petersburg, however, the next year he entered the study. At the academy, he became friends with Vasily Polenov, Arkhip Kuindzhi and many other artists who later became famous. Repin considered Ivan Kramskoy to be his teacher.
In the 1870s Repin became one of the most famous artists of Russian realism. He was an active member of the Mamontov`s Society, which met in the Abramtsevo Estate, Moscow region. Savva Mamontov was one of the richest people in Russia of those years. He invited artists to Abramtsevo who could live, work, and exchange experiences there. Besides Repin, Polenov, the Vasnetsov brothers, Vrubel, Nesterov, Serov and many others often came there.
In 1894 Ilya Repin returned to the Art Academy of St. Petersburg. Initially, he became the head of the painting workshop, and in 1898 he took the position of rector of the Academy. In 1899, Repin bought a plot in the village of Kuokkala. He wanted to live near St. Petersburg, but in a secluded place. Repin named his estate "Penaty", in honor of the Roman gods – guardians of the hearth. Ilya Repin lived here for 30 years until his death in 1930.
After the Russian-Finnish War of 1939, the territory on the Karelian Isthmus became part of the USSR again. In 1940 , in the Penaty estate was created the Repin Memorial Museum. Before the start of the war, all the furniture and Repin`s personal belongings were evacuated inland. During the WWII, the territory of the Penaty estate was destroyed.
After the war, Repin`s house in the Penaty Estate was restored to its former appearance. All the furniture and personal belongings have been returned to their original place. In 1962, Ilya Repin`s Estate-Museum "Penaty" reopened its doors to visitors. Here you can visit the artist`s house, and then walk through the park among the huge fir trees. Many pavilions and Ilya Repin`s grave have been preserved in Penaty Park.
