Museum of Circus Art

Categories / Science. Education/Museums
MUSEUM OF CIRCUS ART was the Museum of Circus and Variety Art before 1965. It is the first ever and the only Russian museum of this kind. The museum is located at 3 Fontanka River Embankment. It was opened at the circus of Cinizelli in 1928 on the initiative of V. Y. Andreev and on the basis of his collection, with the participation of E. M. Kuznetsov and E. P. Gershuni. V. Y. Andreev was a collector of materials on the history of theatre, variety art and circus. The funds of the museum number over 80,000 exhibits reflecting the development of foreign and Russian circus art from old times to the present day. The collections include costumes, props, scale models, drawings, posters, programmes, and photos. The unique library contains publications about the circus in many languages. The exhibition is housed in two halls of the building of St. Petersburg Circus (1876-77, architect V. A. Kenel). A considerable part of the exhibits tells about the history of Cinizelli circus.

References: Музеи Санкт-Петербурга и Ленинградской области: Справ. СПб., 2002. С. 69-70.

A. D. Margolis. Andreev Vasily Yakovlevich
Cinizelli Gaetano
Gershuni Evgeny Pavlovich
Kenel Vasily Alexandrovich
Kuznetsov Evgeny Mikhailovich
Fontanka River Embankment/Saint Petersburg, city, house 3
Музеи Санкт-Петербурга и Ленинградской области: Справ. СПб., 2002 Cinizelli's Circus