One of the most interesting for all guests of Kerch museums is Picture Gallery on the basis of Kerch Historical and Cultural Reserve. The exposition of the gallery opens the most important moments from the life of the ancient city in the juiciest, deepest colors to the visitors of the museum. Here are collected objects of art and culture of Kerch from the ancient period to the present day, thanks to which it is here you can plunge into the history of the region with the head and truly feel what lived and breathed for 26 centuries, one of the most ancient cities in the world.
The Picture Gallery is located in a beautiful two-storey building in the Classicist style. This building is part of the architectural ensemble of the Great Mithridatic Staircase and is located at the foot of the mountain in the heart of the city. The light, light mini-palace with a four-columned portico is a monument of architecture of the XIX century, which already attracts attention to it. It first opened its doors as an art gallery in 1985, although the history of the art gallery began much earlier.
One of the founders of the museum was the famous artist Nikolai Yakovlevich But — Honored Artist of the RSFSR, who worked in the military studio named after M.B. Grekov. M.B. Grekov. He presented the Kerch Historical and Archaeological Museum with a series of his works «Adzhimushkay. 1942», dedicated to the heroic defense of the city during World War II. The artist completed this cycle in 1967, it included 29 paintings, as well as sketches for these paintings, drawings and other works — a total of more than 150 works. After the cycle was shown in different cities, since 1968 it became a permanent exposition of one of the halls in the Museum of History and Archaeology, and then served as a basis for the art gallery opened in 1985.
Today, as a quarter of a century ago, the cycle «Adzhimushkay. 1942» remains one of the main exposition objects of the museum. Skillfully, mesmerizingly painted by the artist pictures about courage, selflessness of people who defended the Motherland, make a strong impression. N. Booth was able to reflect on the picturesque canvases bitter truth of the war, the sacrifices that were on the verge of life and death people of different ages. Booth’s works tell about the war in all colors, as if coming to life in front of your eyes and taking you back to that difficult time — every visitor of the museum becomes a witness of those tragic events.
The Kerch Picture Gallery has continued to expand over time, presenting new interesting exhibitions to its guests. Today another permanent exhibition of the gallery is the exposition «Antique Monuments of Kerch», offering to admire archaeological finds more than a thousand years old — painted vases, terracottas, glassware, plastic, sculpture and many other ancient exhibits. Guests of the gallery can familiarize themselves with the ancient traditions of painting, sculpture and icon painting.
The Kerch Art Gallery constantly hosts exhibitions of art objects, covering the culture of Kerch from the ancient period to the present day, as well as temporary art, personal exhibitions and exhibitions of funds of other museums, reflecting the culture and art of Ukraine, different peoples and countries.
The gallery’s own fund of paintings is more than two thousand units of storage. The tourists who came to holiday in Kerch are very interested in such unique exhibits of the gallery as a copy of the mosaic of the XII century «Christ Pantocrator», presented to M. Gorbachev in 1986.Gorbachev in 1986 by Pope John Paul II, a diorama of the most ancient sights of Kerch — the Church of St. John the Baptist, reflecting its appearance at different times, as well as many other items of art. Everyone will be interested in visiting this place!