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March 11, 2005
all about Gorky
So, as promised long ago, here are a few pictures of some of the inside of the Институт мировой литературы им. А.М. Горького РАН [A. M. Gorky Institute of World Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences], where I spend a bit of time. It's in an early 19th-century mansion, which you'll recall I got a tour of a few weeks ago. There's a Gorky museum in here with free admission. Some interesting stuff.
One room in the mansion. The ceiling is painted. My crazy tourguide (the Norweigan specialist) is sitting in the second picture.
But, alas, the ceiling needs some restoration. Hard to say if it will happen if the building is sold as expected.
This is the Музей-квартира А.М. Горького [A. M. Gorky Museum-Flat], also owned by the Institute and is also supposed to be sold. Supposedly it's the only surviving example of art nouveau architecture in Russia. It's another former mansion, and it's the last place Gorky lived.
Notice the detailed frescos (I think that's what you'd call them) under the roof overhang.
This is the staircase. The architecture of the whole mansion has an underwater theme. Gorky never liked it—far too bourgeois for him.
If you're interested in seeing more, you can get a Quicktime tour at the Virtual Gorky Museum-Flat to see a bit more. You'll have to fumble your way around the Russian interface.
Posted by kshawkin at March 11, 2005 11:45 PM