Who was the founder of the Tretyakov gallery?
Monument to Pavel Tretyakov in front of the gallery; Portrait of Pavel Tretyakov by Ilya Repin Legion media; Tretyakov Gallery A successful merchant, collector, art connoisseur and honorary citizen of the city. How a private individual, using his own money, opened a painting gallery destined to become the most important one in Moscow.
The scion of big business
Pavel Tretyakov came from an old merchant family. In the second half of the 18th century, his great grandfather had moved to Moscow from the town of Maloyaroslavets in Kaluga Region. The future founder of Moscow’s principal picture gallery was born in 1832. His father, Mikhail Zakharovich, was a successful merchant, who traded in linen goods and, what is more, married well - his wife was the heiress of a businessman who exported pork fat to England.