Russia (bbabo.net), - Today, February 16, marks the 170th anniversary of the birth of Dmitry Gennadievich Burylin, a successful Russian manufacturer, philanthropist and passionate collector. In his native Ivanovo-Voznesensk, he created the first real museum and donated to the city, which does not have deep cultural roots, a collection of rarities and antiquities, unique in its value. Historians are sure that Burylin's place is on a par with Tretyakov, Mamontov, Morozov, Shchukin, and his legacy is the property of not only Ivanov, but the whole country.

The Gene of Gathering

Dmitry Gennadyevich Burylin was born on February 16, 1852 in Voznesenskaya Sloboda near the village of Ivanovo. When he was growing up, the founder of the dynasty, grandfather Diodor Andreevich, was still alive. Being a serf of Count Sheremetev, the quick-witted Old Believer peasant managed to open his cotton-printing factory, so the boy was destined to become an entrepreneur. And a collector, apparently, too: it is possible that Dmitry inherited the gene for collecting from his grandfather. He collected old books, coins, manuscripts, icons. He showed his treasures to his grandson many times and talked about them. All this aroused the most lively interest in the boy. After grandfather's death, there was no doubt about who to transfer such an inheritance to. The collection went to Dmitry.

Burylin did not receive a classical education: he was taught at home. The factory has become a school of life. At 24, Dmitry Burylin became a merchant of the second guild, at 37 - the first, which gave him a pass to the highest echelon of Russian business of those times. Ten years later, he established the D. G. Burylin Manufactory Partnership and the Shuya-Yegorievsk Manufactory Partnership, essentially becoming the head of a small but firmly standing textile empire.

A wonderful family man, Burylin was very fond of children and appreciated homeliness. In 1884, a cruel blow awaited him: at the age of 28, his wife Maria Stepanovna died. Four children were left orphans. Two years later, fate gave a second chance: Dmitry Gennadievich met 19-year-old Anna Noskova, the daughter of a Yaroslavl cloth merchant, and married again. In a happy marriage, five more children were born.

Daughter Ksenia recalled that all household members "loved, respected and appreciated the head of a large family for his kind, sympathetic and energetic character": "He always tried to instill in us children a love for work, for camaraderie and for everything beautiful, especially for art and antiquity". The child-loving father sought to give all children a good education, even girls, which was not accepted in those days. “Father said: “It’s not for us to live, but for them - let them go according to the inclination of the heart,” wrote daughter Sophia.

A million samples

In those days, Dmitry Burylin was considered, as they would say now, a prominent public figure. For 28 years he was a vowel (deputy) of the City Duma, held various positions in 57 city institutions and public organizations. As a philanthropist, he helped the educational institutions of the city, generously donated to hospitals, shelters and other charitable causes. In 1910, in the immediate vicinity of his own mansion, he arranged a boulevard, which was recognized as one of the most beautiful corners of the city.

For his work for the benefit of Ivanovo-Voznesensk, Dmitry Burylin received the hereditary title of honorary citizen of the city.

The seething energy of this man was enough for many things, but his main passion was collecting. In the business circles of Ivanovo-Voznesensk, Burylin was known as an eccentric. Paying tribute to his natural sharpness, other prominent manufacturers could not understand how such a talented businessman manages to spend gigantic sums on all sorts of nonsense.

About the duality of his nature, Dmitry Gennadievich himself spoke like this: "The museum is my soul, and the factory is a source of funds for life and its replenishment."

In search of "rarities and antiquities" Burylin traveled all over Russia, traveled around Europe and Asia - was in England, Germany, Italy, Greece, Turkey. He brought a real mummy from Egypt in 1913. I saw it in the archaeological museum and bought it.

In order to understand the cyclopean scale of the Burylin collections, it is enough to start listing them. A collection of objects of Buddhist worship, which had no analogues in Russia at that time. No less unique Masonic collection, for which the Americans offered a lot of money, but Burylin did not sell. Collection of Russian and European porcelain and faience of the first half of the 19th century, collections of smoking pipes, Russian metal inkwells, playing cards, ancient women's jewelry from Central Asia and the Caucasus, Russian, Western European and Oriental clothes.....

For his work for the benefit of Ivanovo-Voznesensk, Dmitry Burylin received the hereditary title of honorary citizen of the cityThe crown of the watch collection is the world's only universal astronomical clock, made by the Swiss master Albert Billete in 1873. The numismatic collection in 1885 included up to 100 thousand coins, orders and medals from 236 states and cities. The collection of paintings collected by Burylin includes works by Polenov, Shishkin, Aivazovsky, Vereshchagin, Benois, Makovsky.

Books were the subject of special worship. The indefatigable collector bought them in incredible quantities - both ancient (including Fedorov's "Apostle", a psalter with engravings by Durer and the first edition of Dante), and modern ones.

Most impressive is the textile collection, which Dmitry Gennadievich, knowing a lot about this, purposefully collected for many years. It includes about a million (!) samples of fabrics from Russia, China, Persia, Japan, Western Europe. It is believed that no such collection in the world can be compared with Burylin's in its diversity.

Life in art

Thanks to his passion, Burylin gained weight in the community of collectors and antique dealers, corresponded with many. He showed his collections at exhibitions, including international ones - in Chicago and Paris.

The time has come when the collected wealth became cramped in the Burylin family home. Even in his travels around the world, Dmitry Gennadievich was interested in organizing European museums. It's time to build your own.

The Museum of Industry and Art opened its doors to the public on December 26, 1914. The three-storey building was built in neoclassical style. Inside, it was possible to create a unique exposition space that amazes visitors today.

In 1896, Burylin bequeathed all his collections to Ivanovo-Voznesensk.

After the October Revolution of 1917, the collector managed to find a common language with the head of the newly formed Ivanovo-Voznesensk province, Mikhail Frunze, and with the new government in general. True, the factory was taken away from him, the mansion too. He asked to return at least the house - unsuccessfully, the family huddled in the basement of their own estate. The Bolsheviks nationalized the museum, but left Dmitry Gennadievich as its chief curator. The former manufacturer served in this position until 1924, until he was accused of embezzling museum valuables and suspended from work.

Burylin could not live without the museum. He died on September 13, 1924.

One of the urban legends in Ivanovo was a story about the interest of an entrepreneur-collector in esotericism and the idea of ​​life after death. Like it or not, Dmitry Gennadievich found his recipe for immortality. It is simple: you need to forever remain in the memory of grateful descendants. Burylin did it.

Direct speech

Alexander Semenenko, historian, local historian (Ivanovo):

- Burylin is one of the pillars of our identity. His museum is not just a piece of regional history. Ivanovo land gave the world two outstanding museum workers: Ivan Vladimirovich Tsvetaev and Dmitry Gennadievich Burylin, whose significance for our country has yet to be assessed.

Five interesting facts

- Together with his brother, the philanthropist dreamed of opening the first higher technical educational institution in Ivanovo-Voznesensk, but the First World War prevented these plans.

- Burylin's social circle included many famous people, but the collector especially valued communication with Leo Tolstoy, with whom he was personally acquainted and corresponded. In 1915, he bought a collection of more than 1,600 newspaper and magazine clippings with articles about the great writer.

- They say that in 1912 Burylin bought a ticket for the Titanic, but did not get on the flight due to pneumonia. After the tragedy, Dmitry Gennadievich considered that this was a sign of fate. He never made it to America.

- In order to get to the museum from the mansion and not go out, Burylin ordered to dig an underground passage. It wasn't just a tunnel between buildings. It was decorated with bas-reliefs depicting ancient scenes and Masonic symbols, possibly having a sacred meaning.

- In 2014, a monument to Dmitry Gennadievich Burylin was opened in Ivanovo. The Regional Museum of Local History bears his name.

bbabo.Net