The Institute traces its lineage to the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, founded in 1865. It quickly emerged as a rival to the prestigious Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg, attracting a generation of artists devoted to realism and impressionism. Following the Bolshevik Revolution, these styles were dismissed as bourgeois and fell out of favor. But by the mid-20th century, under Stalin’s cultural directive, Russian realism was re-embraced as a symbol of national strength and identity.
In 1948, the Moscow School was formally reorganized into two separate institutions: one for architecture, and the other for painting and sculpture. The latter was renamed the Surikov Institute, in honor of the esteemed realist painter Vasily Surikov. Today, it remains one of the most influential centers of realist art in the world.
Vasily Surikov was a towering figure in Russian realist painting — a contemporary of Ilya Repin, whose name now graces the renowned St. Petersburg Academy. Surikov was associated with the Peredvizhniki (The Wanderers), an influential group of Russian painters who democratized art by breaking down barriers between the elite and the everyday, bringing powerful, narrative-driven work to the public.
States of Nature and landscape are always fleeting. The ability to grasp and convey the very first and poignant feeling to the spectator has been a matter of honor for any landscape artist. As a painter devoted to the Realist school, I strive to understand and interpret the reality of life—to find the essence of nature._
Eventually, Surikov left the Peredvizhniki and aligned with the Union of Russian Artists, reflecting a shift toward formal institutions. He later co-founded a school alongside architect Leonid Chernyshev, laying the groundwork for what would become a national standard in realist education.
The Institute Today
In 1948, on the centenary of his birth, Moscow’s principal art school was renamed the Surikov State Academic Institute in his honor — a symbolic reaffirmation of realism’s central role in Russian culture and a tribute to one of its greatest masters.
