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main >> kiev museums >> museum of western and oriental art

Address: Tereshenkovskaya street, 15

Tel.: +38 (044) 235 32 90, +38 (044) 235 02 06

Working hours: Wednesday-Sunday from 10:30 till 17:30. Days off: Monday, Tuesday. The museum ticket office works till 17:00. On the first Wednesday of month ticket office works till 14:00

How to get: go to the metro station Lev Tolstoy Square, then go upwards Lev Tolstoy street to Tereshenkovskaya street

B. & B. Khanenkos' Museum

Museum of Art named after Bogdan and Varvara Khanenko is situated at one of the central streets of Kiev, in the building, constructed in the end of 19 century. Kiev Museum of Western and Oriental Art now bears the name of its founders, spouses Varvara and Bogdan Khanenko. Their private collection started the museum.

Museum of Art was opened in 1919. There were 1 250 art objects in the private collection of Khanenko at that time. Since then, thanks to sponsors, patrons of arts, the collection became 13 times as much. A major contribution to collection development was made by V.Shavinsky – he presented 200 artworks of Flemish, Dutch and Danish masters to the museum. Now there are about 17 000 pictorial and sculpture artworks in the museum collection. Unfortunately, area of Kiev Museum of Art named after Bogdan and Varvara Khanenko is not enough for simultaneous exhibition of more than 2 000 exhibits, therefore the most part of museum values is stored far from public accessibility.

B. & B. Khanenkos' Museum

The name of Taisia Zhasper – townswoman, married French ambassador serving in embassy of Beijing, became very important for the museum’s history. Taisia Zhasper made a gift of rare Chinese painting specimen of 16-20 centuries. Lovers of oriental art can appreciate unique ancient Chinese bronzes, rich collection of Chinese porcelain, Japanese engravings ukijo-e.

In spite of liberal gifts, the basis of Kiev Museum of Western and Oriental Art is the collection of spouses Khanenko, nevertheless. Bogdan and Varvara Khanenko collection consisted of ancient Egyptian statues, bronze sculpture, antique earthen- and glassware, sculpture of Greece and Rome, antiques from Byzantine Empire, icons, fabrics and ornaments of Kievan Russia. Museum gests may admire creations of painters and sculptors from Japan, China, Persia, Turkey, Flanders, Spain, Italy, and also many other countries.

Infanta Margarita, Velasquez

Among the gems of Museum of Art of Bogdan and Vavara Khanenko is the portrait of Infant Margarita painted by Diego Velasquez, which is exposed in the Spanish hall. This picture is known by everyone, who is interested in painting history a little. It is known that Bogdan Khanenko bought the portrait in a sale of Consul Weber collection in Hamburg. Khanenko told nobody about the purchase. Picture presentation took place at a banquet, which Khanenko arranged after returning to Kiev. Those present were stunned, when the collector pulled a shawl off the picture and Velasquez canvas appeared. Purchase of such grandiose picture became an important event in Kiev cultural life, and still remains the same. Among other masterpieces, visitors may see Rubens's originals, Bellini, Surbaran, and domestic Ukrainian heritage - the cap of Bogdan Khmelnitskiy, which Varvara Khanenko gave to the museum in 1911.