National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus, located at 20 Lenin Street in Minsk, is the largest art museum in the country and one of the richest museums in Eastern Europe. Founded in 1939 as the State Art Gallery, it has undergone many trials, including significant losses of its collection during World War II. Today, the museum houses more than 30,000 exhibits, representing Belarusian, Russian, Western European, and Eastern art from the 15th to the 20th centuries.
The building that now houses the museum was originally designed as the State Art Gallery. The project was the work of renowned Soviet architect Mikhail Ivanovich Baklanov. During the construction, completed in 1957, changes were made to the original design, including adjustments to the architectural elements of the façade. For example, instead of the thematic high-relief in the entrance area, other sculptural compositions were created by Belarusian sculptors Andrei Bembel, Petr Belousov, Sergei Adashkevich, and the Roberman brothers. The museum's façade, executed in the classical style, combines triumphant grandeur and monumentality, making it an important architectural landmark of Minsk.
The main entrance to the museum is adorned with a colonnade of the composite order and a stylized attic-pediment, crowned with sculptural compositions. These architectural elements give the building a solemn and majestic appearance, emphasizing its important cultural significance. The museum's interior is also designed in a grand style—a two-story vestibule with a three-flight staircase connects the first and second floors, where exhibition halls are arranged in a suite.
The museum's history dates back to 1939, when the State Art Gallery was founded by decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the BSSR. The first director, Nikolai Mikholap, played a key role in shaping the museum's collection, which initially included works of Belarusian and Soviet art. During World War II, a significant part of the collection was lost, but in the postwar years, museum workers began the process of restoration, and by 1946, the collection had been significantly replenished. In 1957, the museum received a new building, along with a new name—the State Art Museum of the BSSR. With the independence of Belarus in 1991, the museum received national status and was renamed the National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus.
Today, the museum has over 30,000 works of art, including ancient icons, sculptures, paintings, graphics, and decorative and applied arts. The collection of Belarusian art covers the period from the 12th to the 20th centuries and includes iconography, wooden sculpture, church utensils, as well as painting and graphics of the 19th-20th centuries. A special place in the exhibition is occupied by the frescoes of the Annunciation Church in Vitebsk, portraits of representatives of the Radziwill and Sapieha noble dynasties, and works by artists such as Ivan Khrutsky and Vitold Bialynitsky-Birulia.
Russian art is represented by works of masters such as Ilya Repin, Ivan Shishkin, Ivan Aivazovsky, and Valentin Serov. The museum features more than 5,000 works of Russian art from the 18th to the 20th centuries. Western European art includes works by artists from Italy, Holland, France, and Flanders from the 16th to the 20th centuries.
One of the most notable exhibits is a portrait of a young Marc Chagall, painted by his teacher Yudel Pen. However, works by Chagall himself, as well as those of other masters closely associated with Belarus, such as Kazimir Malevich and Valentin Vankovich, were absent from the museum's collection for a long time. This is because many works were taken by the Nazis to Germany during World War II, and only a few were returned.
The museum is actively involved in exhibition and research activities. It regularly hosts exhibitions, master classes, lectures, and interactive tours. The museum also has several branches, including the "Vankovich House" museum and the Museum of Belarusian Folk Art in Raubichi. The National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus collaborates with museums around the world, organizing exchanges of exhibitions and scientific materials.
In addition to exhibition work, the museum conducts restoration projects, scientific research, and publishes catalogs and albums. The museum also houses a library, a film club, a children's art studio, and an art café, making it not only a repository of artistic treasures but also a cultural and educational center for residents and visitors of Minsk.
