Ochakov is a small town, but it is in this small seaside town that Ukraine’s only museum of marinist painting is located. The museum is also unique because it keeps and exhibits a large collection of paintings by the marinist painter, academician of painting R.G.Sudkovskiy. The museum also presents the best works of the marinist genre of the second half of the nineteenth century, Soviet and contemporary artists.
Ochakovsky Museum of Marinist painting named after R.G.Sudkovsky. R.G.Sudkovsky was opened in April 1982 as a department of the Nikolaev Regional Art Museum named after V.V.Vereshchagin. V.V.Vereshchagin.
In April 2012, the museum celebrated its 30th anniversary.
The building of the Ochakovo Museum was built in the nineteenth century as a military barracks. During the Soviet period it housed a polyclinic. In 1981, the building was reconstructed as a museum and an art school.
The architectural and artistic design of the building is made in the classical style, in the style of the era when our great countryman Rufin Sudkovsky lived. The reconstruction of the building was carried out according to the project of Nikolaev Art and Production Combine, architect-designer S.E.Prosandeev, and designer of metal art decorations of the building Y.T.Steshin.
The museum’s holdings include five hundred and fifty works of art and one hundred and eighty archival documents.
The exposition of the museum is located in three halls. The first hall familiarizes with the life and work of the Marinist painter, academician of painting R.G.Sudkovsky. The second hall presents marinist paintings by artists of the nineteenth century.
The exposition of the third one is constantly changing. There the visitor can see works by Soviet and modern artists, thematic exhibitions are often held.