Hermitage: history of creation. State Hermitage: address, history, museum collections

The content of the article

HERMITAGE State in St. Petersburg - art and cultural-historical museum. It is one of the best museums in the world, it holds the first place among the museums of Russia. The Hermitage presents historical and artistic monuments of East and West, from the Paleolithic era to the present day. It occupies 5 buildings connected with each other on the palace embankment: the Winter Palace (1754–1762, architect B.F. Rastrelli), the Small Hermitage (1764–1767, architect J.B.M. Vallin-Delamot), the Old Hermitage ( 1771–1787, architect Y. M. Felten), the New Hermitage (1839–1852, architect L. von Klenze), the Hermitage Theater (1783–1787, architect J. Quarenghi).

The diversity of the Hermitage collections.

Now the Hermitage collection consists of 6 sections: primitive culture, the ancient world, the culture of the peoples of the East, the history of Russian culture (includes palace interiors and the "Gallery of 1812" - portraits of the heroes of the Patriotic War of 1812, as well as the former Menshikov Palace, the Winter Palace of Peter I) , numismatics, Western European art.

In the department of Western European art, along with paintings, sculptures, furniture, porcelain, silverware, tapestries, and weapons are exhibited. Among them are many outstanding collections and genuine masterpieces. So, for example, the best collection of paintings by Rembrandt outside Holland (26 paintings), 42 paintings by P.P. Rubens, 2 paintings by Leonardo da Vinci (there are 14 in the world), works by the great masters of France of different eras (painters - brother Le Nain, N. Poussin, A. Watteau, J. O. D. Ingra, E. Delacroix, C. Monet, O. Renoir, P. Cezanne, sculptors - J. A. Houdon, O. Rodin). The collection occupies 52 halls of the Winter Palace, 2 floors. The French art of the late 19th - early 20th centuries, from the Impressionists to A. Matisse and P. Picasso, enjoys special attention of museum visitors. The Hermitage has 37 paintings by Matisse (including Dance And Music), 31 paintings by Picasso.

The Oriental Department has rare collections. It contains monuments of ancient civilizations: Egypt, Sumer, Assyria, Babylon, Urartu (the state that existed on the territory of Armenia in the 8th-6th centuries BC). Along with them, items created by the masters of China, India, Byzantium, Turkey and other countries of the East are kept. Among them are many famous collections that are not found anywhere else in the world, such as an outstanding collection of "Sasanian silver" - Iranian artistic dishes (3rd-7th centuries), decorated with images of hunting scenes, animals, birds. There is no such collection either in Iran itself or in other countries.

The Department of Primitive Culture (Department of Archeology) is world famous. It contains stone tools from the Paleolithic era, rock paintings, objects made from mammoth tusk, etc. Some of them were created 500,000 BC. The collection of Scythian things (8th-3rd centuries BC) found in the southern part of our country in ancient burial grounds is especially famous. The complex of objects made of gold, silver and precious stones found in the Maykop burial mound in the North Caucasus at the end of the 19th century belongs to the unique collections of the Hermitage. These things were created in 4 thousand BC. There are only two such complexes of ancient jewelry items in the world (the second one is in Bulgaria). There are many things here that are not found anywhere else.

Among the monuments of the department, the only collection in the world, both in terms of composition and preservation of things, stands out from the excavations of burial mounds in the Altai Mountains, carried out by S.I. Rudenko in 1929-1949. Well-preserved items made of fur, felt, leather, and fabrics were found here, which survived in the icy chambers of burial mounds of the 6th-4th centuries. BC. From one of them, the Pazyryk kurgan, comes the world's only carpet woven from wool in the 5th-4th centuries. BC. (probably made in Persia) and another made of felt with local appliqués.

The Antique Department occupies the entire first floor of the New Hermitage. It exhibits sculptures, vases, products of ancient artisans. Among them stand out the colossal statue of Jupiter (3.5 m high), carved by Roman craftsmen of the 1st century BC. AD and Venus Tauride, acquired under Peter I in Italy. Modern experts have come to the conclusion that this is a Greek original of the 3rd century BC. BC. There are very few such statues in the world. Unique products of ancient masters were discovered during excavations of the Greek cities of the Crimea. Feodosia earrings of the finest virtuoso work (4th century BC), pendants with the image of Athena (beginning of the 4th century BC) and a number of other antique gold items are world famous.

The department of Russian culture presents monuments reflecting various stages in the development of the art of our country. Paintings, sculptures, art objects are stored here. Particularly popular with museum visitors are the exhibits transferred to the Hermitage from the “study of Peter the Great”, where after his death his personal belongings were received: machine tools, tools, objects made by him (for example, an ivory chandelier), as well as the “Wax persona”. "- a documentary portrait of Peter I, created by the sculptor B.K. Rastrelli (father of the architect B.F. Rastrelli) immediately after the death of the king. B.K. Rastrelli removed the death mask from the face, hands, feet of Peter I, in order to be as accurate as possible.

The unique clock in the shape of an egg, made by the famous mechanic Ivan Kulibin from Nizhny Novgorod as a gift to Catherine II, is very famous. The mechanism consists of 427 parts. Every hour, the doors open and, accompanied by church hymns, small figures act out, which play out the gospel scene. At noon, the clock plays a melody composed by I. Kulibin himself.

The main halls of the Winter Palace also belong to the department of Russian culture. Many of them are associated with important events in the history of the country. So, in the gallery of 1812, the heroes of this war are glorified, thanks to whom the victory over the French army was won. The Petrovsky Hall commemorates the victory over the Swedes in the Great Northern War. Monuments of the October Revolution are the Malachite Hall, where the last meetings of the Provisional Government took place, and the Small Dining Room, where the ministers of the Provisional Government were arrested.

In all expositions of the Hermitage, only authentic items are exhibited. There are no copies, no casts among them. Currently, the museum stores more than 2 million 800 thousand exhibits (their number is constantly growing). More than 350 halls have been allocated to show the collections.

The history of the creation of the museum and the construction of buildings.

The name of the museum "Hermitage" (from the French ermitage) means in translation "hermit's dwelling", "secluded corner". The name is associated with the location of the first collections purchased by the Empress of All Russia Catherine II (b. 1729, 1762–1796). The paintings were in the building adjacent to the Winter Palace, which is now called the Small Hermitage. The Small Hermitage consists of two pavilions and two galleries surrounding the Hanging Garden, located on the roof of the first floor. The northern pavilion (previously called the Orangery House) was built by order of Catherine II by the French architect J.B.M.

In the northern pavilion, Wallin-Delamote created a room with two lifting tables. The tables, already set, were raised by mechanisms from the ground floor. Here they dined without servants. This room was called the "Hermitage", it usually gathered a small society of 12-15 people, invited by Catherine II herself.

The rooms and galleries of the Small Hermitage were quickly filled with works of art. Therefore, there was a need for another building, a larger one, to house the collections. It was built by Y. Felten along the banks of the Neva (1771–1787). It began to be called the Great Hermitage, and later the Old Hermitage. With the help of a covered bridge, it was connected to the theater building (architect G. Quarenghi, 1783-1787), built on the site of the dilapidated palace of Peter I. Soon, along the Winter Canal, Quarenghi created a repetition of the famous Vatican loggias of Raphael (1783-1792). The original loggias in Rome were built according to the project of D. Bramante, the paintings were made according to the sketches and under the direction of Raphael in 1516 - 1518. Raphael's loggias in St. Petersburg are located in a special building adjacent at right angles to the building of the Old Hermitage. Copies of the paintings by Raphael were performed by a group of artists led by H. Unterberger in Rome.

The buildings of the Small Hermitage, the Old Hermitage, the Raphael loggia, the theater lobby were filled with works of art bought by Catherine II. Since then, the name "Hermitage" has been assigned to the museum founded by her.

The New Hermitage is the first specially designed museum in Russia.

Until the middle of the 19th century. Hermitage collections were accessible to a small circle of people. Tickets were issued by the court office. So, on the recommendation of the poet V. Zhukovsky, A. Pushkin received a permanent pass to the Hermitage, as V. Zhukovsky put it, “a ticket for all eternity.”

However, in the middle of the 19th century. public museums sprang up everywhere in Europe. Such a museum was built in St. Petersburg in 1839-1852 according to the project of the Bavarian architect Leo von Klenze. The museum adjoined the buildings of the Old and Small Hermitage and was called the New Hermitage.

The New Hermitage was built as a museum intended for the general public, performing educational functions in society. It was the first professionally designed museum in Russia with special exhibition spaces dedicated to certain collections, which were systematized according to scientific principles. All the best exhibits from the royal collections were moved here. Other buildings: the Small Hermitage, the Old Hermitage, the Winter Palace were freed from the storage of art monuments. In 1850–1858 the interiors of the Small and Old Hermitage were rebuilt by the architect A. Stackenschneider. Then a number of luxurious rooms were created, including the famous, flooded with light Pavilion Hall, in place of the small rooms built by Vallin-Delamote. The rebuilt halls, which received a new design, were used as parts of the royal residence until the revolution.

The architect L. von Klenze, an outstanding master of the museum ensemble, scientist, archaeologist, painter, developed the project of the museum, taking into account the experience of European museum construction in the 19th century. All halls on the first floor were built in the spirit of Greco-Roman architecture, although the antique collection occupied only 5 halls. The rest of the halls were occupied by sculptures by Russian and Western European masters, as well as by the "museum of the book", a collection of engravings and drawings. The most valuable part of the ancient collection was a collection of antique vases found in Italy in those places where there were Greek colonies. The collection was located in the hall of the "Greco-Etruscan vases" (because the art of the Etruscans, the ancient population of Italy, was also presented there), later called "Twenty-column" - because of its architectural appearance. Klenze wanted to give a powerful "orchestration" to the best part of the collection through the solemn architecture of the hall, built in the form of a Greek temple and decorated with 20 gray granite columns. In the upper part of the walls, murals were made on the themes and in the style of Greek vase painting and Etruscan murals. This hall is still largely preserved in its original form as the most sustained exhibition ensemble of the mid-19th century.

On the second floor, Klenze designed halls designed to display paintings (according to the rules of that time, sculpture and painting were exhibited separately), as well as coins, medals and cameos. Separate halls were allocated for each national school: Italian, French, Dutch, Spanish, Flemish, and also Russian. In front of the entrance to the art gallery was located the Gallery of the History of Ancient Painting. 86 paintings, painted according to sketches by L. Klenze (almost all were executed on copper boards by the Munich artist G. Hiltensperger), represented the history of ancient painting: its origin, flourishing and death. Through the Gallery of Ancient Painting, the museum visitor got into the central halls - Large gaps, with overhead lighting. At the end of the tour of the art gallery, the visitor examined the halls of Russian art. They presented the famous paintings of K. Bryullov (among them - The death of Pompeii), F. Bruni, A. Ivanov, I. Aivazovsky and others. In 1898, when the Russian Museum was formed, the paintings of the Russian school were transferred there.

Until 1925, only the New Hermitage was a museum. The Winter Palace, most of the halls of which were refurbished in 1837-1839 after the great fire of 1837 (the fire did not spread to other buildings), the Small Hermitage, the Old Hermitage (the interiors were designed by A. Stackenschneider), the Hermitage Theater until the revolution remained the royal residence.

Acquisition of the first collections of the Hermitage during the reign of Catherine II.

The conditional date of foundation of the Hermitage collections is 1764, when the Hermitage received 225 paintings, mostly of the Dutch and Flemish schools, from the German merchant Gotzkowski on account of his debt to the Russian treasury. Gotzkowski collected this collection for the Prussian king Frederick II, who, after a long devastating war, could not pay for the purchase of paintings. Ekaterina P bought the collection to emphasize that things are going better in Russia than in Prussia. The purchase of paintings was elevated by her to the rank of an important direction of foreign policy.

Ambassadors, as well as trusted representatives of the queen, were instructed to buy all the best that appeared at auctions in Europe. A particularly important role in collecting collections was played by the Russian ambassador to France, D.A. Golitsyn, a very educated person, among whose friends were D. Diderot, J. L. D "Alamber and other prominent representatives of French culture. It was D. A. Golitsyn who bought for the Hermitage in Paris Return of the prodigal son Rembrandt. This painting is still considered the greatest masterpiece of the museum's painting. On the recommendation of D.A. Golitsyn, Catherine II bought the library of D. Diderot. However, she remained in Diderot's house until his death, and her former owner himself was appointed by the queen as a librarian and curator of the collection. Diderot received a monthly fee for this. The act of Catherine II, worthy of an “enlightened monarch” who patronizes cultural figures, was loudly publicized and contributed to an increase in the prestige not only of Catherine II herself, but also of Russia. Diderot considered himself the queen's debtor and tried to use all his knowledge and energy to help her acquire a good collection of works of art, no worse than those that were in the palaces of other kings of Europe. Diderot, indeed, was one of the best connoisseurs of art of his time. With his assistance, Catherine II managed to acquire a number of outstanding collections of paintings: the most famous among them was part of the Crozat collection (entered the Hermitage in 1772), which included such masterpieces of painting as Bacchus Rubens, Judith Giorgione (then considered a painting by Raphael), Danae Titian and Danae Rembrandt, as well as many other works of painting.

Diderot made exceptional efforts to ensure that this famous collection went to Catherine II. In his letter, he described the scandal that erupted in Paris on this occasion: "Amateurs scream, artists scream, rich people scream."

A number of other collections were acquired, among them the collection of the Minister of the King of Saxony, Brühl, who helped the king acquire the famous paintings of the Dresden Gallery. From the Brühl collection (entered the Hermitage in 1769), 600 first-class paintings, painted by great masters, were bought. These paintings greatly enriched the collection. One of the last big acquisitions of Catherine II was the collection of Lord Walpole (1779), bought in England. This collection included famous works by Van Dyck, Rubens, and Italian masters who adorned the Hermitage collection. Just as it was with the purchase of the Crozat collection, many in London expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that one of the best collections in England was sent to Russia. The question of this was even discussed in the British Parliament.

Catherine II acquired not only paintings by old masters, but also gave orders to outstanding contemporary Western artists: D. Reynolds, F. Boucher, E. M. Falcone and many others. The catalog of paintings of the Winter Palace already in 1774 includes 2080 works. Along with paintings, the collection received collections of engravings and drawings, ancient antiquities, works of Western European arts and crafts, glyptics (precious carved cameos), coins, medals, and books. As a result, Catherine II became the owner of one of the best collections in Europe.

In total, by the end of her reign, Catherine II had about 4 thousand paintings (some of them decorated country palaces).

Of course, not everything went smoothly. Sometimes fakes were brought to the queen, passing them off as works of great masters. So, for example, in 1779 a batch of paintings purchased by an agent of Catherine II in Italy was delivered to St. Petersburg. Almost all of them turned out to be miserable copies.

In 1771, a ship sank in the Gulf of Finland, on which there was a large collection of paintings acquired by D.A. Golitsyn in The Hague for the Empress. With the death of Catherine II in 1796, an important stage in the formation of the Hermitage collections ended. The first purchases determined the character and face of the museum, which took one of the first places in Europe. The best part of the collections of France of the 17th-18th centuries, Holland, Flanders, England of the modern Hermitage are the acquisitions of Catherine II. In addition, it was Catherine II who was the owner of one of the best collections of cameos in the world - carved images on stone, shells, bones (10 thousand in total).

Replenishment of the Hermitage collections during the 19th - early 20th centuries.

In the first half of the 19th century purchases continued, but were not carried out on such a scale. Then the Spanish collection was formed, almost not represented in the Hermitage under Catherine II. There was a large collection of Russian painting. The most important acquisition of Emperor Alexander I (r. 1777, 1801-1825) was the purchase of a collection of masterpieces that belonged to the wife of Napoleon Bonaparte, Josephine Beauharnais. Josephine gave Alexander I a unique Gonzaga cameo owned in the 16th century. one of the famous patrons of the Renaissance - the Duke of Gonzaga and named after him, although then it belonged to many other owners. The cameo was made in Alexandria in the 3rd century. BC, it depicts the ruler of Hellenistic Egypt Ptolemy and his wife Arsinoe. Now this cameo is one of the pearls of the Hermitage cameo collection.

The famous sculptures of A. Canova, the best sculptor of the late 18th - early 19th centuries, also come from the collection of Josephine Beauharnais.

Catherine II bought mostly paintings. In the first half of the 19th century a large collection of sculptures created by modern masters of Rome was bought, in 1861 - a wonderful collection of ancient monuments: sculptures, vases, art objects from the famous Roman collection of the Marquis Campana. Thanks to this purchase, the antique collection of the Hermitage became comparable with the best collections in Europe. The purchase of paintings continued. In 1865 she entered the Hermitage Madonna Litta(1490–1491), and in 1914 - Madonna Benois brushes by Leonardo da Vinci (from the collection of St. Petersburg architect Leonty Benois).

Purchased in 1870 Madonna Conestabile Raphael. Prior to this, the Hermitage collection had only one painting by Raphael holy family bought by Catherine II. In 1850, the Hermitage collection was replenished with 6 paintings by Titian from the Barbarigo Palace in Venice (now there are 8 of them).

In the second half of the 19th century Art objects also began to arrive at the Hermitage (they had not previously been exhibited in the museum), for example, the richest collection of applied art of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, bought from Bazilevsky in Paris in 1884. A collection of weapons from the Arsenal located in Tsarskoe Selo is transferred to the Hermitage also a collection of antique silver, porcelain and other objects of applied art.

In 1910, the Hermitage acquired a large private collection of paintings by Dutch masters (716 paintings) collected by the famous Russian traveler P.P. Semenov-Tyan-Shansky. However, these things came to the museum only after the revolution.

The Hermitage after 1917 and before the Great Patriotic War.

During the days of the revolution, when the Winter Palace was stormed, the collections gathered in the New Hermitage were absent. By order of A. Kerensky in September 1917 they were packed in boxes and transported to Moscow. Part of the collection was kept in the Kremlin, part - in the Armory and the Historical Museum. Only in 1922, with great effort, they were able to return back. Many then insisted that they stay forever in Moscow. Only because there was no building in Moscow that could house such a grandiose collection, the things were returned to the Hermitage.

In the post-revolutionary years, the Hermitage received many nationalized honest collections, incl. the richest collections of the Stroganovs, Sheremetevs, Yusupovs, Shuvalovs and others. A large collection was transferred from the Academy of Arts (collection of N. Kushelev - Bezborodko), thanks to which the Hermitage received works by French masters of the mid-19th century, which were previously absent from the museum.

The collections of the Stables Museum, where old carriages were kept, were transferred to the Hermitage; very valuable items from the Museum of Decorative and Applied Arts, founded by A.L. Stieglitz in 1881 and closed shortly before the Second World War.

Later, paintings by the French Impressionists came from Moscow, and in the post-war years, 316 paintings by Matisse, Picasso and other French artists from the Museum of New Western Art in Moscow, closed in 1948. In exchange, 700 paintings from the Hermitage collection were sent to Moscow. Many works of art from the Hermitage collection were transferred to museums in different cities of the country. In 1929–1932 some of the Hermitage's masterpieces were sold abroad.

Despite all this, the museum's collections in the post-revolutionary years increased by more than 4 times.

The buildings of the former royal residence were transferred to the Hermitage: the Winter Palace (its area is 46 thousand square meters), the Small and Old Hermitage, the Raphael theater and loggias. New departments were opened that did not previously exist in the Hermitage: the department of the East (1920), the department of primitive culture (1931), the department of Russian culture (1948).

During the war and the blockade, the Hermitage collections were evacuated to Sverdlovsk. This was the third evacuation. The first was produced by order of Alexander I in 1812.

During the war, the museum buildings were not destroyed, but they suffered great damage due to daily artillery shelling and bombing. After the war, restoration work began. Already in 1945, the collections were returned from Sverdlovsk. By November 8, 1945, the first 69 halls of the museum were opened for visitors.

Hermitage today.

Over the past decades, the Hermitage has received additional buildings to house the collections. In 1981, after restoration, the Menshikov Palace on Vasilyevsky Island (18th century, architects G. Fontana, G. Schedel, D. Trezzini, J.-B. Leblon, etc.) became a branch of the museum. 18th century

In 1992, after a complex restoration of the surviving part of the Winter Palace of Peter I (architects G.Mattarnovi, D. Trezzini, B.F. Rastrelli, 1719–1727), it was opened to the public. The Petrovsky Winter Palace is located under the stage of the Hermitage Theatre. During the construction of the theater, it was covered with construction debris. Now in the Winter Palace of Peter I (in which he died in 1725) is wax person, personal belongings of Peter I (including machine tools and tools), portraits of the tsar himself and members of his family.

In 1999, the Hermitage received the eastern wing of the General Staff Building on Palace Square (architect C. Rossi, 1827). The interiors created by Rossi were restored in the General Staff building and a number of exhibitions were launched: “Under the banner of the eagle”, “Pierre Bonnard and Maurice Denis. Decorative ensembles. This building also hosts temporary exhibitions of the Hermitage.

In 2003, the museum funds were opened to the public, located in the exhibition hall on the outskirts of the city in the Old Village. A special building was built for them, equipped in accordance with the latest technical achievements of the time.

In February 2001, the Hermitage took over the management of the museum of the Lomonosov Porcelain Factory, which has a collection of 35,000 exhibits.

Despite such an expansion of the museum's area, they are still not enough to display all the collections. Many things are still kept in the funds. In order to show them, various temporary exhibitions are constantly arranged, both in the Hermitage itself and in various cities of our country and abroad.

The modern Hermitage is a palace-museum. Here the visitor finds himself in a special solemn environment that sets him in a high mood. An important role in this is played not only by the palace luxury of its halls, but also by numerous objects made of malachite, jasper, lapis lazuli, placed in many halls.

In the Hermitage, not only exhibits are of interest, but also the interiors of the museum, created by the best architects of Russia, associated with important events in the life of the country. The Hermitage today is one of the most dynamically developing museums in the world. The number of its visitors (more than 3 million per year) and its popularity all over the world are growing rapidly.

Olga Morozova

Literature:

Georgi I.G. Description of the Russian-imperial capital city of St. Petersburg and sights in its vicinity. St. Petersburg, 1794
Pilyavsky V.I., Levinson-Lessing V.F. Hermitage Museum. History and architecture of buildings. L., 1974
Sokolova T.M. Buildings and halls of the Hermitage. L., 1982
Voronikhina L.N. State Hermitage. L., 1983
Levinson-Lessing V.F. History of the Art Gallery of the Hermitage. (1764 - 1917). L., 1985
Hermitage Museum. History of construction and architecture of buildings. Ed. B.B. Piotrovsky. L., 1989
Hermitage Museum. History and modernity. L., 1990
Piotrovsky B.B. History of the Hermitage: a brief outline: materials and documents. M., 2000
Gervits M. Leo von Klenze and the New Hermitage in the context of modern museum construction. St. Petersburg, 2003

The largest in Russia and one of the world's largest art and cultural-historical museums first appeared in 1764 as a private collection of Catherine II. The museum was opened to the public in 1852 in the building of the New Hermitage specially built for this purpose. Today, the main exhibition part occupies five buildings located along the Neva embankment.

The beginning of the story

The history of the State Hermitage collection officially begins with the reign of Catherine II. But her great predecessor, Peter I, also contributed. During his reign, many exhibits appeared in the private imperial collection, which are now in the Hermitage. For example, the famous "Scythian gold" - precious jewelry in the form of animals stored in the Golden Storeroom. They were bought by Prince Gagarin for the Siberian collection of Peter.

Until the Catherine era, there were almost no additions to the imperial collection, or they happened by accident. A striking example is the collection of "Mughal gold". In the middle of the 18th century, the Shah of Iran conquered the Mughal Empire, which was located on the territory of India. With the embassy, ​​he sent Tsarina Anna Ioannovna gold jewelry and other jewelry, literally showered with diamonds, rubies, sapphires. They were brought to Petersburg on elephants. However, the gifts were already received by Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, who ascended the throne as a result of a palace coup. Elephants have been disturbing the inhabitants of St. Petersburg for a long time, periodically escaping from enclosures. And the gifts were accepted and safely forgotten; they were transferred to the Hermitage collection after the revolution. At the end of the 20th century, it turned out that there were almost no Mughal treasures left in Iran, and the largest collection of jewelry from their era is in Russia.

Hermitage in tsarist times

One of the most important periods in the history of the museum is undoubtedly associated with the name of Catherine II, who is rightfully called its founder. To the Winter Palace, on her instructions, an extension was made, which was called the Hermitage. Here they gave dinners for the circle of close associates. The guests discussed politics and art. In this part of the palace, there was a special set of rules, such as: “leave all ranks outside the doors”, “argue without vehemence”, etc. A private collection of paintings by Catherine II was also kept here, it began with the acquisition of the collection of the merchant I. E. Gotskovsky , which included works by Dutch artists. During the reign of Catherine II, the collection was replenished with paintings by Titian, Rubens, Raphael and other great masters, the only sculpture in Russia by Michelangelo "Crouching Boy" was bought. Throughout Europe, the Empress's emissaries purchased dozens and even hundreds of paintings for her, often simply buying up already formed collections. In addition to many paintings, the Hermitage now has more than 10,000 coins and medals, more than 10,000 drawings, countless engravings, stones and books.

Paul I, alien to the views of his mother and having a strong dislike for her, nevertheless, continued to collect art, mainly Italian. However, he ordered to put the letter "P" on all the paintings in the collection. Thus, scientists were able to determine exactly which canvases arrived at the Hermitage before the beginning of the 19th century.

The reform carried out by Count Dmitry Buturlin is connected with the reign of Alexander I. The collection was divided into several parts, with each of them a custodian appeared. In the era of Alexander I, the Hermitage collection was replenished with Spanish and English paintings. But the most valuable acquisitions are associated with the central episode of his reign - the war of 1812. Like many members of the French nobility, the Countess of Beauharnais, the former wife of Napoleon Bonaparte, was concerned about maintaining privileges after the victory of the Russian army. She decided to make a gift to Alexander I, who refused to accept it for a long time, but Josephine insisted. Thus, the famous “Gonzaga Cameo” ended up in the Hermitage collection.

Nicholas I, keen on military affairs, left behind 600 paintings depicting battle scenes. During his reign, in 1826, the famous Military Gallery of 1812 was created. The emperor himself was fond of painting and often allowed himself to inscribe images of soldiers on the canvases of masters of battle painting. Under him, some exhibits from the collection were given away or destroyed. However, thanks to him, the New Hermitage appeared, the ensemble of existing buildings was reconstructed.

And in 1852, the museum was first opened to visitors under the name "Imperial Hermitage". For the next half century, his collection was replenished with varying degrees of intensity. One of the famous acquisitions of that time was the Benois Madonna by Leonardo da Vinci, bought in 1914.

The Hermitage in the 20th century

The history of the Hermitage in the 20th century is more reminiscent of an action-packed detective story, among the heroes of which are museum staff, the Soviet authorities and the Russian army. During the revolutionary period, the Hermitage collection surprisingly did not suffer. Serious leaks from it began in the first years of Soviet power.

First, in the 1920s, the collections of the museums of the Union republics were replenished at the expense of the royal collection. The Hermitage partially compensated for these losses with proceeds from nationalized private collections. But in general, the pre-war years of its history will pass under the auspices of maneuvering between the strict requirements of the authorities to open storerooms in order to sell exhibits to the west, and the sincere desire of employees to preserve the most valuable. Nevertheless, Titian's Venus in front of a Mirror, Raphael's Saint George and Alba Madonna, Tiepolo's Feast of Cleopatra and many other masterpieces of French and Italian painting were sold abroad. The confrontation between the Soviet agency Antikvariat, which was engaged in the sale of valuables, and the employees of the Hermitage vividly illustrates the episode with the department of the East, which was headed by Joseph Orbeli. A commission from the Antikvariat agency came to the Hermitage to collect Sasanian silver for sale. Its representatives could not get inside. It is said that Orbeli threatened to swallow the key and bury the collection of the Oriental Department for a long time behind the heavy doors of the museum. A scandal erupted. Director of the Hermitage Boris Legrand and Joseph Orbeli went on a gamble. They wrote a letter to Stalin, who eventually supported them. The letter from the leader became the defense of the museum. All attempts by "Antiques" to confiscate a thing, not even related to the Department of the East, did not lead to anything. Any exhibit that was planned to be withdrawn unexpectedly ended up in storage in the East Department.

Thanks to the employees of the Hermitage, during the periods of the largest “sales” from the Hermitage collection, it lost a minimum number of the most valuable exhibits. But the price for this was very high. Over the years, more than fifty museum employees were repressed.

During the Great Patriotic War, the collection was evacuated to the Urals, but the museum buildings were significantly damaged. The list of building materials needed for restoration testifies to the damage that was done to them. It included 100 tons of cement, more than 60 tons of gypsum, 30 kilometers of fabrics and more.

After the end of the war, work in the Hermitage began with a vengeance. The museum had to accept trophy works of art, taken out in huge quantities from Germany. As you know, Hitler was going to open a museum, collecting all the best that he managed to capture in Europe. At the time of the capture of Berlin by Soviet troops, the museum was preparing to open. Quite by accident, its future director was captured, who told about the location of the storerooms. Works of art were exported from Germany by wagons.

Pearls of the European collection

Diptych by Robert Campin, Benois Madonna by Leonardo da Vinci, Judith by Giorgione, Portrait of a Woman by Correggio, St. Sebastian Titian", Caravaggio's "Lute Player", Rembrandt's "The Return of the Prodigal Son", "Lady in Blue Gainsborough".

Over the following years, something returned to European collections. But much remains on the territory of Russia to this day. Today, the Hermitage exhibits trophy paintings by Manet, Van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec and others. However, it is likely that the contents of some of the reserves are still not known to either the general public or the scientific community. Disputes around trophy works are still ongoing.

Today the Hermitage is also a major research center.

The complex of buildings of the Hermitage Museum

Winter Palace

The residence of Russian emperors, designed by Bartolomeo Rastrelli. Work on its construction began in the era of the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna and completed under Peter III in 1762.

Small Hermitage

Castle. Built under Catherine II by Yu. M. Felten and J. B. Vallin-Delamot.

Big Hermitage

The palace, built by Yu. M. Felten in 1787 to store the replenished collection of Catherine II.

Hermitage Theater

It was built by the decree of Catherine II by the architect Giacomo Quarnegi for performances and masquerades.

New Hermitage

The building was built under Nicholas I by the architect Leo von Klenze specifically to demonstrate the exhibits of the imperial collection.

In recent years, special exhibition halls connected with the Hermitage have appeared in famous museums of the world. Its new branches were opened: the Museum of Porcelain and the Museum of the Guards in the building of the General Staff.

To retell the entire history of the Hermitage is like recounting the history of Russia, this museum is such an important phenomenon in the life of the country. Being directly connected with many events in Russian history, the Hermitage has always remained home. No matter what happens, there is always someone living here. And everyone left behind something of their own.

In the Hermitage

The State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg is the oldest and largest treasury of foreign art in Russia and one of the world's largest art, cultural and historical museums.

His name - Hermitage (ermitage) - translated from French means "a place of solitude, seclusion." This is due to the fact that initially this place (a special palace wing - the Small Hermitage) was conceived by Catherine II as an intimate corner of the imperial palace, intended for recreation and entertainment. Here were placed the first 225 paintings by Dutch and Flemish artists, which she acquired in Berlin through agents from the commission agent I. Gotzkowski. Thus, the private collection of Catherine II in 1764 was the beginning of the Hermitage.

Hermitage Museum. Great Throne Room

Catherine's collectionsII

In the 18th century, thanks to Catherine II, interest in collecting arose in Russia. This passion then reached unprecedented proportions, Russia accumulated enormous wealth - outstanding works of Western European masters. Wanting to assert the glory of the “enlightened empress”, connoisseur of arts, and outshine the palaces of European rulers with the splendor of her court, she begins to collect works of art. Connoisseurs of painting, European scholars, among whom was the French philosopher-enlightener Denis Diderot, collected and purchased collections of paintings for the Russian Empress. In 1769, a rich collection of about 600 paintings by the Saxon minister Count Brühl was acquired for the Hermitage in Dresden, including about 600 paintings by Titian, the Flight into Egypt, views of Dresden and Pirna by Bellotto, etc.

Titian "Flight into Egypt" (1508)

Titian "Flight into Egypt"

The Flight into Egypt is Titian's first major work. It depicts the Mother of God with her son, they flee to Egypt from King Herod, accompanied by Saint Joseph. An angel is leading a donkey on which Mary and Christ are sitting, and numerous animals are walking on the grass ...

The artist chose a large canvas in an elongated format (206 x 336 cm), which made it possible to include a wide panorama of the area along which the holy family is heading to Egypt. And although the main characters are traditionally shown in the foreground, they are given less attention than the landscape, depicted with great care and poetry. The compositional arrangement of the figures - the group shifted to the left edge of the picture, the rhythmic placement of the characters one after the other - creates the impression of a long and tedious journey.

Giorgione "Judith"

In 1772, Catherine II bought a collection of paintings by Baron Crozat in Paris, which was dominated by paintings by Italian, French, Flemish and Dutch masters of the 16th-18th centuries. Among them are Raphael's Holy Family, Giorgione's Judith, Titian's Danae, Rembrandt's paintings, works by Rubens, Van Dyck, Poussin, landscapes by Claude Lorrain and Watteau's works.

Giorgione "Judith" (circa 1504)

Negotiations with Crozat's heirs on the sale of the painting took place at the initiative of the Russian envoy D. A. Golitsyn and with the participation of Diderot. "Judith" embodies the ideal of serene beauty. Despite the violence she inflicted, the Old Testament heroine is interpreted more like an ancient goddess than as an avenger on behalf of the oppressed people. The painting is based on an Old Testament story about the story of Judith and Holofernes. According to the book "Judith", the commander Holofernes, the commander of the army of Nebuchadnezzar, following his command to "complete ... vengeance on the whole earth", went to Mesopotamia, destroyed all its cities, burned all the crops and killed the men. Holofernes laid siege to the small town of Vetiluia, where the young widow Judith lived. The woman sneaked into the Assyrian camp and seduced Holofernes. When the commander fell asleep, Judith cut off his head. "Because her beauty captivated his soul, - the sword went through his neck!" The army, left without a leader, could not resist the inhabitants of Vetilui and was dispersed. Judith received the tent of Holofernes and all his utensils as a trophy and entered Vetiluja as a triumphant.

Many artists turned to this story, but Giorgione created a peaceful picture. Judith, holding a sword in his right hand, leans on a low parapet. Her left leg rests on Holofernes' head. Behind Judith, a harmonious seascape unfolds.

In 1779, the British Prime Minister Walpole's collection of paintings was acquired, which contained several Rembrandt masterpieces (for example, The Sacrifice of Abraham and The Disgrace of Haman) and portraits by Van Dyck. And in 1781, the Hermitage acquired more than 5,000 drawings from the Cobenzl collection in Brussels, which served to create a collection of graphics.

Another significant acquisition was the collection of the English banker Lyde-Brown, which included antique statues and busts, including Michelangelo's crouching boy.

Michelangelo "Crouching Boy" (1530-1534)

"Crouching Boy"- the only sculpture by Michelangelo in Russia, it is on permanent display in the State Hermitage. The sculpture is made of marble, height - 54 cm. According to one version, the sculpture was conceived for the project of the Medici Chapel in the Church of San Lorenzo. According to another version, it was made by Michelangelo during the Spanish attack on Florence in 1529-1530, when he took refuge in one of the monasteries. Some art historians believe that in this sculpture, Michelangelo reflected the oppressed state of the Florentines during this period. The Crouching Boy was purchased by Catherine II in 1785.

Michelangelo "Crouching Boy"

Then a collection of carved stones of the Duke of Orleans was bought in Paris. In addition, Catherine commissioned works from Chardin, Houdon, Roentgen and other masters. She also acquired the libraries of Voltaire and Diderot. In the posthumous inventory of Catherine's property in 1796, 3996 paintings are listed.

Further development of the Hermitage

Emperors Alexander I and Nicholas I pay great attention to the further development of the museum: they buy not only collections, but also individual works of artists. In Rome, at the sale of the Giustiniani collection, Caravaggio's Lute Player and Botticelli's Adoration of the Magi, which is now in Washington, were purchased. In 1819, the Madonna in a Landscape was bought, presumably by Giorgione. Josephine Beauharnais, Empress of France in 1804-1809, the first wife of Napoleon I, presented Alexander I with the Gonzaga cameo, and after her death, the entire gallery of the Malmaison Palace, which originated mainly from Kassel, was acquired. In 1814, a collection of Spanish paintings by Kuzvelt was acquired.

Caravaggio The Lute Player (circa 1595)

Caravaggio "The Lute Player"

This is one of the earliest paintings by Caravaggio. In the works of this cycle, the feeling of love is symbolically conveyed either through the images of fruits (as if inviting the viewer to enjoy their taste), or musical instruments: music is a symbol of fleeting sensual pleasure. The artist himself considered The Lute Player to be his most successful work of painting.

"Gonzaga Cameo" (III century BC)

"Gonzaga Cameo"

"Gonzaga Cameo"- famous cameo(jewelry or decoration made in the technique of bas-relief on precious or semi-precious stones or on a sea shell) from three-layer sardonyx, referring to the best examples of ancient glyptics(the art of carving on colored and precious stones). According to the generally accepted opinion, it is the most famous cameo of the Hermitage.

The cameo is a paired portrait of the Hellenistic spouses, the kings of Libya, Macedonia, Thrace and the Cimmerian Bosporus Lysimachus I and Arsinoe II. A paired portrait of the Hellenistic spouses is directed to the West. The cameo was made in the 3rd century. BC e. by an unknown author in Alexandria of Egypt.

It was under Nicholas I that the idea of ​​turning the Hermitage into a public museum was realized: in 1852 the Hermitage was opened to the public, although the entrance to it was still limited - it was necessary to obtain a special pass in the court office. Nicholas I also made a significant contribution to the replenishment of the Hermitage art gallery, but under the Soviet regime, the most important of the paintings he bought were sold in the United States. At the second sale of the Koosevelt collection, Raphael's masterpiece "Madonna Alba" and "Three Marys at the Crypt of Christ" by Annibale Carracci were bought.

In 1845, by will Tatishcheva(diplomat and collector) a diptych by Robert Campin “Trinity. Our Lady by the Fireplace”, an early diptych by van Eyck “Crucifixion. The Last Judgment” and other works of old masters. Around the same time, van Eyck's Annunciation, Sebastiano del Piombo's Pieta, and Gossaert's Descent from the Cross were purchased at an auction from the collections of King Willem II of the Netherlands. In Venice, they bought works by Italian Renaissance masters, including masterpieces by Titian (for example, Carrying the Cross) and Palma Vecchio.

New Hermitage

The New Hermitage is the first building in Russia specially built in 1852 for a public art museum. It is part of the museum complex of the State Hermitage. It is famous for its portico with ten giant statues of Atlanteans. By that time, the museum already had the richest collections of monuments of ancient Eastern, ancient Egyptian, ancient and medieval cultures, art of Western and Eastern Europe, archaeological and artistic monuments of Asia, Russian culture of the 8th-19th centuries. By 1880, up to 50,000 people a year were visiting the museum.

New Hermitage

In the 19th century, works by Russian painters began to systematically enter the Hermitage. But in 1895 they were transferred to the Russian Museum, which was founded by Emperor Nicholas I.

In the second half of the 19th century, donations and purchases from domestic collectors also became important sources of replenishment of funds. The materials of archaeological excavations are transferred to the museum. By the beginning of the 20th century, the museum already had thousands of paintings, and then new works of art appeared in its collection.

The museum began to significantly enrich itself at the expense of nationalized private collections and the collection of the Academy of Arts. Received paintings by Botticelli, Andrea del Sarto, Correggio, van Dyck, Rembrandt, Canova, Ingres, Delacroix. From the main collection of the Winter Palace, the museum received many interior items, as well as the Mughal treasures presented by Nadir Shah.

Canova "Three Graces" (charites)

Canova "Three Graces"

Charites- in ancient Greek mythology, beneficent goddesses embodying a kind, joyful and eternally young beginning of life. Hesiod's names are harit: Aglaya ("shining"), Euphrosyne ("good-minded"), Thalia ("blooming").
The names of the harites and their number in the variants of the myths are different. Charit could be two, sometimes four. Harites are close to Apollo. In the Delian temple, he holds three Charites in his palm, and in the Pythian temple of Apollo (Pergamon) there was their image.
Charites correspond to Roman graces.
In art, graces are usually depicted in such a way that the two extreme ones are facing the viewer, and the one in the middle is with her back, with her head turned halfway. Such was their ancient posture, known and copied during the Renaissance. In different centuries, graces were endowed with different allegorical meanings. Seneca describes them as radiant girls, naked or dressed in loose clothes, they personified the triple aspect of generosity: giving a favor, receiving a blessing, and paying for a blessing. Florentine humanist philosophers of the 15th century saw in them the personification of the three phases of love: beauty, which arouses desire, which leads to satisfaction. There is another interpretation: chastity, beauty and love.

In 1948 the Museum of New Western Art was closed and its cultural heritage was redistributed between the museums of St. Petersburg and Moscow. Parts of the Moscow collections of Sergei Shchukin and Ivan Morozov joined the Hermitage. Now the chronological framework of the collection has expanded significantly thanks to the works of the Impressionists, Cezanne, van Gogh, Matisse, Picasso and other artists of new trends.

Impressionism(fr. impressionnisme, from impression- impression) - a trend in art of the last third of the 19th - early 20th centuries, which originated in France and then spread throughout the world, whose representatives sought to most naturally capture the real world in its mobility and variability, to convey their fleeting impressions. Usually, the term "impressionism" means a direction in painting, although its ideas have also found their embodiment in literature and music.

Paul Cezanne "The Banks of the Marne"

Paul Cezanne "The Banks of the Marne"

The landscape of Cezanne is emphatically static: the almost horizontal line of the river bank is opposed by the strict vertical lines of the house and trees on the bank. The immobility of the landscape is enhanced by the fact that it is reflected in the mirror, as if frozen, water. The river seems to be frozen like a mirror, the trees along the banks stand in motionless backstage.

If for the Impressionists the world was sometimes dissolved in sunshine, in a constantly changing atmosphere of light and air, then for Cezanne it regains weight: the structure of the building and the volume of the mass of trees are emphasized in the landscape. The trees in the picture form a generalized mass, which is typical of the Impressionists.

But along with the acquisitions during this period of time, there were also heavy losses. The Diamond Room of the Winter Palace was transferred to the Moscow Kremlin, serving as the basis for the Diamond Fund. Part of the collection of paintings by old masters (including some works by Titian, Cranach, Veronese, Rubens, Rembrandt, Poussin) was transferred to the Moscow Museum of Fine Arts.

As a result of the sales of 1929-34, 48 masterpieces left Russia forever: the Hermitage lost the only work by Van Eyck, the best works of Raphael, Botticelli, Hals and a number of other old masters.

During the Great Patriotic War, the main part of the Hermitage collection (more than two million items) was evacuated to the Urals. The basements of the buildings of the Hermitage turned into bomb shelters, and as a museum it did not work. But the Hermitage staff continued to conduct scientific work and even arrange lectures on art history. Even before the end of the war, restoration work began in the halls of the museum, and shortly after the war, all the evacuated cultural values ​​returned to Leningrad, and the Hermitage was again open to visitors. Not a single exhibit was lost during the war, and only a small part of them needed to be restored.

After the end of the war, the Hermitage began to receive trophy art from the museums of Berlin, including the Pergamon Altar and a number of exhibits from the Egyptian Museum. In 1954, a permanent exhibition of these acquisitions was organized, then the Soviet government, at the request of the GDR government, returned them to Berlin in 1958. In early 1957, the third floor of the Winter Palace was opened to visitors, where works from the Museum of New Western Art were exhibited.

Currently

Museum complex Hermitage

Now the museum complex of the Hermitage consists of five buildings connected with each other on the Palace Embankment:

• Winter Palace of the architect B. F. Rastrelli;
• The Small Hermitage by architects J. B. Vallin-Delamote, Yu. M. Felten, V. P. Stasov. The Small Hermitage complex includes the Northern and Southern pavilions, as well as the famous Hanging Garden;
• The Great Hermitage by architect Yu. M. Felten;
• New Hermitage architects Leo von Klenze, V. P. Stasov, N. E. Efimov;
• the Hermitage Theater by the architect J. Quarenghi, which was erected over the partially preserved Winter Palace of Peter I;

Also included in the complex of buildings of the State Hermitage are the outbuildings:

• Spare house of the Winter Palace;
• Hermitage garage architect N. I. Kramskoy.

To date, the museum's collection includes about three million works of art and monuments of world culture from the Stone Age to the present century.

general information

The impression of visiting the State Hermitage is difficult to describe in words. From the very first steps on the solemn Jordanian staircase, the luxury and magnificence reigning here stun. Time itself seems to be frozen in majestic halls among huge malachite vases, Egyptian sarcophagi, Greek amphorae, paintings by the greatest European painters and sculptures by the most famous masters. It houses such world-famous masterpieces as Rembrandt's The Return of the Prodigal Son, Leonardo da Vinci's Madonna Litta and Benois Madonna, Raphael's Connestabile Madonna and Holy Family, Caravaggio's Lute Player, paintings by Titian, Murillo, El Greco and many other famous painters. The Hermitage in St. Petersburg has one of the world's finest collections of French paintings of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

History of the Hermitage

The construction of the complex began with the construction of the Winter Palace in the middle of the 18th century by order of Elizabeth. The architect Francesco Rastrelli worked on the building from 1754 to 1762. The original project was designed in a lush baroque style, but a significant part of the interiors were later changed in accordance with the requirements of classicism.

Catherine II, who came to power shortly after the construction was completed, not only sanctioned the appearance of the Big and Small Hermitage and the Hermitage Theatre, but also laid the foundation for the collection of the future museum in 1764. The first exhibits were Flemish and Dutch paintings by contemporary masters of the titled customer. At the same time, Yuri Felten built a two-story baroque-classicist house for the empress's entertainment. Five years later, a building designed by Jean-Baptiste-Michel Vallin-Delamote was attached to it, with which it was connected by a gallery of hanging gardens. The ensemble was called the Small Hermitage.

In 1771-1787, the Great Hermitage was also built on the banks of the Neva according to the design of Felten, since the collections of books and paintings grew and did not fit in the old premises. Five years later, Giacomo Quarenghi, the creator of the Hermitage Theatre, completed an addition to it. During the reign of Catherine, the museum's funds received works by the largest Italian masters, Rembrandt, and the luxurious St. George's Hall was decorated on the second floor of the Winter Palace.

Hermitage in the 19th century

After the end of the war with the French, the Hermitage received the collection of Josephine Beauharnais, Napoleon's wife. The Patriotic War of 1812 left its mark on the appearance of the Hermitage: during the reign of Nicholas I, everything was done to perpetuate the memory of the heroes of the battles. Portraits of generals, reliefs with patriotic symbols appeared in the halls of the complex.

During the Nikolaev period, Alexander Bryullov, the brother of the famous painter, worked on the interior decoration of the Hermitage. He designed the interiors of the Winter Palace, together with Vasily Stasov, restored the Petrovsky and Field Marshal's Halls after the devastating fire of 1837.

In 1852, a group of architects built the New Hermitage specifically for the collection of paintings, embodying the main details of the project of the German Leo von Klenze. Andrey Stackenschneider was working on the interiors of the Great Hermitage and the Winter Palace at that time. In the 60-80s, the collections of the museum were replenished with works by Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, samples of European arts and crafts, a collection of weapons from the Tsarskoye Selo Arsenal was transferred here.

The history of the complex in the XX century

During the First World War, a hospital was organized in the Hermitage. After the February Revolution, the Provisional Government met here, which was arrested right in the palace during the Bolshevik coup. On November 12, 1917, the Hermitage became a state museum. Before the Second World War, the collection grew significantly due to the nationalization of private collections and the merger of various museums; valuable exhibits came from the Union republics. During the war, the assembly was evacuated to Sverdlovsk, from November 1945 everything was returned to its place again.

Since 1981, the Menshikov Palace began to receive visitors to the Hermitage in St. Petersburg with an exposition dedicated to the culture and life of Peter the Great's time. The Winter Palace of Peter the Great opened in the Hermitage Theater in the 1990s. Part of the expositions moved to the General Staff.

Current state

In the 21st century, the State Hermitage opens its representative offices abroad and in Russian regions: these are exhibition centers in London and Las Vegas, Amsterdam, Kazan, Ferrara, Vyborg. The Great Front Yard is being reconstructed, a new entrance to the Hermitage is being opened. The collection of the museum of the Lomonosov Porcelain Factory is transferred to the complex.

Museum collections

It is physically impossible to view the entire collection in one visit, so visitors are encouraged to develop routes on their own in accordance with their interests. From an architectural point of view, the interiors of the Winter Palace are the most attractive. Painting masterpieces are concentrated in the halls of the Great and New Hermitage.

Winter Palace

The main exposition of the first floor of the Winter Palace is ancient art and archeology, the second floor is the painting of England and France of the 16th-18th centuries. and interiors of various eras, the third - the classical art of Asian countries. The halls on the second floor deserve special mention: the Throne, Alexander, Bolshoi, Concert, chamber rooms of Empress Maria Alexandrovna and the family of the last emperor.

Small Hermitage

The building is connected to the Winter Palace by a Sivkov passage with a platform where ancient Roman mosaics, sarcophagi and reliefs are stored. The name of the hall immortalizes the name of Alexander Sivkov, the architect of the Hermitage of the Soviet period, who united all the buildings into a common museum space. The pavilion hall, whose windows overlook the Neva, was decorated in the middle of the 19th century by Stackenschneider, who did not spare gilding and crystal for the walls and ceiling. Four copies of the Bakhchisaray fountain, mosaics and the Peacock clock are exhibited here. The bronze clock machine, made by English masters of the 18th century, is still functioning - its “singing” can be heard every Wednesday at 19:00. In the Romanov Gallery, from the side of the Winter Palace, medieval exhibits are kept, decorated with enamels, wood and ivory carvings, faience dishes. The gallery leads visitors to the hall of Dutch and Flemish painting. In the opposite Romanovskaya, Petrovsky Gallery, German paintings and sculptures of the 15th-18th centuries are kept.

Old (Large) Hermitage

From the first floor of the Old Hermitage to the second floor, the exhibition hall is led by a Soviet staircase made of white and pink marble. It was erected according to the project of Stackenschneider in the middle of the 19th century on the site of the former Oval Hall, from which a spiritually uplifting ceiling with images of the goddess Minerva and Russian youth remained. The name, contrary to popular belief, has nothing to do with the USSR: the State Council was located in this building back in the 19th century.

The Greater Hermitage is not at all large compared to the imposing Winter Palace and the New Hermitage. Modest volumes are offset by the value of the collections - it is here, in the Neva Enfilade, that the masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance are kept: frescoes by Fra Beato Angelico, reliefs by Antonio Rosselino, the altarpiece by Sandro Botticelli, Saint Sebastian by Pietro Perugino, Lamentation of Christ by Veronese, Saint George by Tintoretto. In the Leonardo da Vinci room, French interiors of the 17th century are reproduced. The famous Leonard's "Madonna Benois" and "Madonna Litta" are exhibited here. In the Titian hall you can see "Danae" and "Saint Sebastian".

New Hermitage

Since there was no longer a suitable place on the embankment of the Neva River, the main facade of the New Hermitage faces Millionnaya Street. It is decorated with the famous powerful granite figures of the Atlanteans by the sculptor Terebenev. This is exactly what is sung about them in the famous song by Alexander Gorodnitsky:

When the heart is heavy
And it's cold in my chest
To the steps of the Hermitage
You come at dusk
Where without drink and bread,
Forgotten for centuries
Atlantis hold the sky
On stone hands

Leo von Klenze's project provided for complete harmony between the exhibits and the design of the walls, ceilings, and parquet. That is why many halls are decorated with medallions and mosaics in the style of various historical eras. On the ground floor of the building are samples of ancient art. The Main Staircase of white marble, surrounded by granite columns, leads to the exhibition halls. The oldest finds are located in the colorful Twelve-Column Hall with mosaic floors, wall paintings imitating ancient Roman ones, and green granite columns.

In the center of the Great Vase Hall stands a 19-ton Kolyvan vase made in 1843 from greenish-gray jasper. Marble sculptures from the era of Emperor Trajan are placed around the perimeter of the room. In the vaulted hall of Jupiter, a huge statue of the Thunderer is exhibited, taken out of the country house of Emperor Domitian. In the antique courtyard with statues, the decoration of the houses of noble Romans and Greeks is reproduced. Marble figures adorn the hall of Dionysus. In the Greek halls of the classical times, copies of the works of famous sculptors are presented: Phidias, Myron, Polikteta, authentic vases.

The most valuable collections of paintings are stored on the second floor of the New Hermitage. The Rembrandt Hall contains 23 works by the Dutch master, including The Return of the Prodigal Son and the Danaë protected after a vandal attack with extra-strong glass. The Raphael Hall presents Italian ceramics, works by the famous painter's students and his masterpieces Conestabile Madonna and Holy Family.

The center of the building is formed by a suite of three halls with overhead lighting, the so-called "gaps". The small Italian skylight is decorated with colored stucco and the work of Russian stone cutters. Large-scale paintings by Italian artists are stored in the Great Hall, original furniture made according to sketches by Montferrand and von Klenze has been preserved. The works of Velasquez, Zurbaran, Murillo are exhibited in the Spanish Skylight.

The building was erected on the site of the former Winter Palace of Peter I. The architects managed to restore part of the basement and first floor in the rooms under the stage. You can see the study, the dining room and the front yard with the sleigh of Peter the Great from the side of the Palace Embankment.

The interior of the theater foyer is designed in grayish-blue tones, emphasizing the splendor of heavy chandeliers, the sophistication of medallions, stucco and ceiling paintings. In the auditorium, as in an ancient amphitheater, there are 6 semicircular rows of benches. Here, in ideal acoustic conditions for a chamber opera, performances and concerts are held by the company's own orchestra and singers invited from the Mariinsky Theatre.

Menshikov Palace

The baroque building, the first capital building of St. Petersburg made of stone, stands on Universitetskaya embankment. While Menshikov was in power, the main entertainment events of the royal court took place in the palace, the center of a huge estate. Subsequently, the unclaimed building fell into disrepair to such an extent that in the 20th century the reconstruction dragged on for several decades. Some rooms have not been restored to this day. After the transfer of the building to the Hermitage in 1981, it was decided to recreate the interiors of the first third of the 18th century - the enfilades of state rooms, the Walnut Cabinet.

General Staff Building

The latest acquisition of the museum is two buildings united by a semicircular triumphal arch, the creation of the architect Carlo Rossi in honor of the victory of the Russian Empire in the war of 1812. The new section of the museum is a strict three-story building with elongated facades, the monotony of which is broken only by snow-white Corinthian colonnades. For many years, the General Headquarters performed only an official function, now representatives of the military departments still sit in part of the building. At the moment, the halls of the building are being reconstructed in accordance with the tasks of the museum - part of the collections of European paintings from the Winter Palace will move here.

Tourists

The Hermitage is the largest and one of the oldest museums in all of Russia. It arose in 1764, being then a private collection of the Empress. Only after almost a hundred years the doors of the Hermitage were opened to visitors, and the gallery turned into a state museum. Then the collection of paintings occupied only one building, and today the main part of the exhibition is located in five buildings, which are located on the very bank of the Neva in the center of St. Petersburg.

The official history of the Hermitage's collection of paintings begins with Catherine II, who loved foreign art and commissioned paintings by the most famous artists of her time. It all started with the Winter Palace - a building near Palace Square, to which, at the behest of the Empress, a new part called the Hermitage was added. This place became the abode of art, science and refined conversations of the most revered guests of the ruler.

The first major acquisition of Catherine II was the Gortskovskiy collection, which is now the basis of the collection of Netherlandish painting in the Hermitage. Then the Empress acquired the works of Raphael, Ticin, Rubens and many other great masters of painting. Catherine's emissaries were engaged in the purchase of works of art throughout Europe, and as a result, the collection grew to enormous proportions.

The following rulers also tried to pay as much attention as possible to the Hermitage collection, because it has become a hallmark of Russia. Alexander I replenished the collection with English and Spanish paintings, the world-famous “Gonzaga Cameo”. Under Nicholas I, hundreds of paintings on the battle theme appeared in the museum, and in 1826 he opened the Military Gallery.

In 1852, the museum was opened to the general public and received the official name "Imperial Hermitage". In the 20th century, the collection suffered greatly due to the Soviet regime and numerous wars, famous exhibits disappeared from it, and there was practically no replenishment. The employees and curators of the Hermitage did their best to preserve its collection, and it is only thanks to them that many canvases still hang on its walls.

Today the Hermitage is not only the largest museum in Russia, but also the largest and most successful research center in Russia. Every year it is visited by millions of people, and branches appear in other cities. The Hermitage is the pearl of St. Petersburg, a favorite place for tourists and an obligatory point of the route for every visitor to the Northern capital of Russia.

Hermitage brief information.