Somehow, despite all the time I’ve spent in Moscow visiting museums, I’d entirely overlooked the Pushkin Museum of Fine Art. Today I finally went there with a friend, someone I met at the center where I volunteer as a English teacher, and her daughter.

The Pushkin Museum has a huge collection of replicas of ancient statues. Unlike many museums that feature identical parquet floors and high ceilings in every room, the Pushkin’s interior spaces vary. They’re tastefully decorated such that they compliment the cultural artifacts on display.

Afterwards, we dropped by an art studio that was located just across the river. One of the artists was my friend’s classmate in university. When they met he was an engineering student but now he works full-time in the arts. For me, the stereotype of an artist is very different from that of a scientist, so sometimes I forget how similar the two fields can be. Both engineers and artists create, and it could be argued that in each field the most talented can produce works that are simultaneously valuable and aesthetic.

It is always encouraging to meet people who manage to not only devote themselves to art but also make a living of it. I was particularly impressed by how normal the two artists we met at the studio were. We sat down and had tea and chatted in the very same way people all over the world do. They were both very kind and intelligent, not at all the crazy graphic-designer types I might have expected. I left feeling very hopeful, despite the overcast day.