RYUMIN KONSTANTIN IVANOVICH. ST. PETERSBURG (1841–1889)

Konstantin Ryumin came from an ancient and rich Ryazan merchant family. His grandfather was known not only as a rich businessman but as a person investing great sums of money into construction. He built a luxurious mansion in Ryazan, known as ‘Ryumin’s Grove’. His grandson, Konstantin, lived in St. Petersburg and travelled a lot in Europe where he amassed a great collection of graphic art. Not having any direct heir and caring to preserve his collection, he gave it in 1873, long before his death, to the young Rumyantsev Museum of Moscow. The collection included 2500 drawings and prints. As the donator himself indicated, the items were bought in 1866–1873 in Russia, Germany, Belgium, Holland, France and Italy and the collection was priced at 30,000 French Francs in Paris. Among sheets donated by Ryumin to the Rumyantsev Museum there were prints by Dürer and his contemporaries.