Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts (The)

Description:

• This rich and worthwhile museum is often overlooked in favor of St. Petersburg's Hermitage Museum. In fact, the two complement each other, and both deserve a look. Most visitors head straight for the impressive collection of French Impressionist works, though the museum also boasts ancient Greek sculptures and Egyptian bronzes, as well as works by Rembrandt, Rubens, and the Italian masters of the Renaissance. There is also a small but worthwhile collection of post-Impressionist and modernist art. Be sure to view the ever-expanding exhibition of controversial paintings stolen from European Jews by the Nazis and later seized by looting Soviet troops (Russians call them "rescued" artworks), including pieces by Renoir, Daumier, and van Gogh. Note that this Pushkin Museum is merely named after Russians' favorite author Alexander Pushkin; if you want to see a museum about him, skip ahead to the "Literary Moscow" section below.

• © Frommer's 2012

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Highly Recommended 2010