Plan of the Hermitage with the names of the halls. Culture of the Golden Horde

Art

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Someone calculated that it would take eight years to walk around the entire Hermitage, devoting only a minute to inspecting each exhibit. So, going for new aesthetic impressions to one of the main museums of the country, you need to stock up on enough time and the appropriate mood.

The main museum of the Hermitage is a collection of five buildings built in different time by different architects for different purposes, and connected in series with each other, but visually different in color facades (this can be seen especially well from the spit of Vasilyevsky Island): the Winter Palace is the creation of Bartalameo Rastrelli, commissioned by Empress Elizabeth, then comes the Small Hermitage, then - enfilades of halls of the Old Hermitage (the former living quarters of the imperial family), smoothly flowing into the building of the New Hermitage (designed by the European "museum" architect Leo von Klenze to accommodate the rapidly growing collection) and the Hermitage Theater.

Must-see masterpieces are marked on the museum plan with arrows and pictures - in principle, this is the traditional route of most guides and tourists.

Below is the optimal list of Hermitage must sees.

The classic excursion route around the main Hermitage Museum starts from the Jordan Staircase, or, as it is also commonly called, the Ambassador Staircase (it was through this staircase that noble guests of emperors and envoys of foreign powers passed to the palace). After the white-and-gold marble staircase, the road forks: a suite of state rooms goes forward and into the distance, to the left - the Field Marshal's Hall. The ceremonial halls stretching along the Neva look somewhat deserted and are now used to host temporary exhibitions. On the left, the second suite of ceremonial halls begins, resting on the Throne Room, which, in contrast to the main staircase, looks rather modest.

Part of the first floor, which can be reached by descending the October Staircase (straight from the Impressionists), is dedicated to the art of the ancient inhabitants of Asia - the Scythians. Hall number 26 presents rather well-preserved items made of organic material found during excavations of the royal necropolis in the Altai Mountains, the so-called fifth Pazyryk burial mound. The Pazyryk culture dates back to the 6th-3rd centuries. BC e. ‒ the era of the early Iron Age. All the items found were preserved in excellent condition due to the special climatic conditions – an ice lens formed around the mound, resulting in a kind of “natural refrigerator” in which items can be stored for a very long period. Archaeologists discovered a burial chamber, which was a four-meter-high wooden frame, inside of which were placed the mummified bodies of a man and a woman, as well as a horse burial located outside the frame. Items found during excavations indicate the high social status of the buried. In ancient times, the mound was robbed, but the horse burial remained untouched. The wagon was found disassembled, presumably, it was harnessed by four horses. A special pride of the collection is a well-preserved felt carpet depicting a fantastic flower, a male rider and a larger woman, apparently a deity. Archaeologists have not come to a consensus on when and why this carpet was made, detailed studies have shown that it was subsequently added, perhaps specifically for burial. Other interesting exhibits located in the window opposite are felt figurines of swans stuffed with reindeer fur. Swans have foreign black wings, presumably they were taken from vultures (funeral birds). Thus, the ancients endowed the swan with the property of transcendence, turning it into an inhabitant of all three levels of the universe: heavenly, earthly and watery. In total, four felt figurines of birds were found, which allows us to assume that the swans were related to the wagon in which they were supposed to be taken to afterworld the souls of the dead (during excavations, swans were found between the wagon and the carpet). “Imported finds” were also found in the barrow, for example, horse saddlecloths trimmed with Iranian woolen fabric and fabric from China, which allows us to speak about the contacts of the Scythian population of the Altai Mountains with the cultures of Central Asia and the Ancient East as early as the 6th-3rd centuries. BC e.

Main Museum Complex, Winter Palace, II floor, rooms 151, 153

If you are a little tired of the variety of paintings and sculptures, you can get a little distracted by switching to a small room french art XV-XVII centuries, where the ceramics of Saint-Porcher and Bernard Palissy are presented. There are only about 70 pieces of Saint-Porcher around the world, and in the Hermitage you can see as many as four copies. The Saint-Porcher technique (named after the supposed place of origin) can be schematically described as follows: ordinary clay was placed in molds, and then an ornament was squeezed out with metal matrices on the molds (there are as many ornaments as there are matrices), then the recesses were filled with clay of a contrasting color, the product was covered with transparent glaze and fired in a kiln. After roasting added decorative painting. As you can see, as a result of such an intricate and laborious process, an extremely elegant and fragile little thing was obtained. In the showcase opposite, another type of ceramics is presented - ceramics of the circle of Bernard Palissy - the most famous master ceramist of the 16th century. Colorful, unusual, so-called "rural clays" are immediately striking - dishes depicting the inhabitants of the water element. The technique of making these dishes is still a mystery, but art historians believe that they were made using casts from prints. It was as if a stuffed sea reptile was smeared with fat, and a piece of clay was placed on top and burned. An effigy was pulled out of the burnt clay and an impression was made. There is an opinion that the reptiles, during the time when clay was applied to them, were only immobilized by the ether, but by no means dead. Casts were made from the resulting impression, which were attached to dishes, everything was painted with colored glaze, then covered with transparent and fired. The dishes of Bernard Palissy were so popular that he had a myriad of followers and imitators.

Main Museum Complex, Winter Palace, II floor, rooms 272‒292

If you pass through the enfilade of front rooms along the Neva, you will find yourself on the spare half of the rooms with residential interiors - here and strictly classic interiors, and living rooms decorated in the style of historicism, and rococo-intricate furniture, and Art Deco furniture, and the Gothic wooden two-tier library of Nicholas II with old folios, easily immersing you in the atmosphere of the Middle Ages.

Main Museum Complex, Winter Palace, II floor, rooms 187–176

Few people get to the third floor, to the department of the countries of the East. If you go a little further from the world of Matisse-Picasso-Derain, overcoming the temptation to go down the wooden stairs, then you will find yourself in the department of the countries of the East. In several exhibition halls Far East and Central Asia” placed partly lost, partly restored with the help of computer technology wall frescoes dating back hundreds of years. They represent the incredibly refined art of painting cave and ground Buddhist temples from the Karashar, Turfan and Kuchar oases, located along the route of the Great Silk Road. The frescoes serve as a unique evidence of the unity of the Buddhist world in India, Central Asia and China of the pre-Mongolian period. A few years ago, part of the frescoes from the collection was transported to the restoration and storage center " Old village where they are now on display.

Main Museum Complex, Winter Palace, 3rd floor, halls 359‒367, exposition "Culture and Art of Central Asia"

Impressionist works (Monet, Renoir, Degas, Sisley, Pizarro) are presented on the third floor of the Winter Palace. One of the true gems of the collection is Claude Monet's Lady in the Garden of Sainte-Adresse (Claude Monet, Femme au jardin, 1867). By the dress of the girl, one can definitely determine the year the picture was written - it was then that such dresses came into fashion. And it was this work that adorned the cover of the catalog of the exhibition of Monet's works from around the world, which took place a few years ago in Paris at the Grand Palais. The collection also abounds with post-impressionist works by Cezanne, Gauguin, Van Gogh and others. French artists early 20th century: Matisse, Derain, Picasso, Marquet, Vallotton. How did this wealth end up in the museum's collection? All paintings were previously in the collections of Russian merchants Morozov and Shchukin, who bought works in Paris French painters thus saving them from starvation. After the revolution, the paintings are nationalized soviet state and places them in the Moscow Museum of the New Western art. In those years, Alfred Barr, the founder of the New York Museum, visited Moscow contemporary art, for which the Shchukin and Morozov collections served as a prototype for his future brainchild. After the war, the museum was disbanded due to its anti-national and formalistic content, and the collection was divided between the two largest museums in Russia - Pushkin in Moscow and the Hermitage in St. Petersburg. Special thanks also deserve the then director of the Hermitage, Joseph Orbeli, who was not afraid to take responsibility and take away the most radical works of Kandinsky, Matisse and Picasso. The second part of the Morozov-Shchukin collection can be admired today in the Gallery of European and American Art of the 19th-20th centuries. Moscow Pushkin Museum that on Volkhonka.

Main Museum Complex, Winter Palace, III floor, rooms 316‒350

Just as all roads lead to Rome, so all the paths through the Hermitage go through the Pavilion Hall with famous clock, familiar to everyone from the intro of the Kultura TV channel. The marvelous beauty of the peacock was made by the then fashionable English master James Cox, purchased by Prince Grigory Potemkin-Tavrichesky as a gift to Catherine the Great, delivered to St. Petersburg disassembled and already assembled on the spot by Ivan Kulibin. To understand where the clock is located, you need to get to the fence and look under the feet of the peacock - there is a small mushroom in the center, and it is in its cap that the clock is located. The mechanism is in working order, once a week (on Wednesdays) the watchmaker enters the glass cage, and the peacock turns and spreads its tail, the rooster crows, and the owl in the cage spins around its axis. The pavilion hall is located in the Small Hermitage, and it offers a view of the hanging garden of Catherine, - once there was real garden with bushes, trees and even animals, partially covered with a glass roof. The Small Hermitage itself was built by order of Catherine II for dinners and evenings in an intimate circle of friends - “hermitages”, where even servants were not allowed. The design of the Pavilion Hall belongs to the later, post-Catherine period and is made in an eclectic style: marble, crystal, gold, and mosaics. In the hall you can find many more extremely interesting exhibits‒ these are graceful tables placed here and there inlaid with enamel and semi-precious stones (mother-of-pearl, garnet, onyx, lapis lazuli), and Bakhchisarai fountains of tears, located symmetrically opposite each other on both walls. According to legend, the Crimean Khan Girey, bitterly mourning the death of his beloved concubine Dilyara, ordered the craftsmen to build fountains in memory of his grief - drop by drop, water falls from one shell to another like tears.

Main Museum Complex, Small Hermitage, II floor, room 204

The usual path from the Throne Room leads straight to the clock with a peacock, which is immediately along the gallery with applied arts Medieval left. But if you turn right and walk a little, you can see a very interesting collection Dutch painting XVI-XVII centuries For example, here is an altarpiece by Jean Bellgambe dedicated to the Annunciation. Once in the possession of the church, the triptych is valuable because it came to in full force to the present day. In the center of the triptych, next to the archangel Gabriel, who brought the good news to Mary, there is a donor (the customer of the painting), which for the Dutch painting of the 16th century. was a very bold move. The central part is built as if in perspective: the scene of the Annunciation occupies the foreground, and in the background the Virgin Mary is already busy with her everyday affairs - sewing diapers in anticipation of the birth of a baby. It is also worth paying attention to two group portraits of the corporation (guild) of the Amsterdam shooters by Dirk Jacobs, which in itself is a rarity for any museum collection painting outside the Netherlands. Group portraits are a special pictorial genre, characteristic of this particular country. Such paintings were commissioned by associations (for example, shooters, doctors, trustees of charitable institutions), and, as a rule, remained in the country and were not taken out of its borders. Not so long ago, an exhibition was held in the Hermitage group portraits brought from the Amsterdam Museum, including two paintings from the Hermitage collection.

Main Museum Complex, Small Hermitage, II floor, room 262

Currently, there are 14 surviving works by the famous Renaissance painter Leonardo da Vinci in the world. The Hermitage has two paintings of his undeniable authorship - " Madonna Benois and Madonna Litta. And this is a huge treasure! An outstanding artist, humanist, inventor, architect, scientist, writer, in a word, a genius - Leonardo da Vinci is cornerstone all the art of the European Renaissance. It was he who started the tradition oil painting(before that, more and more tempera was used - a mixture of natural color pigments and egg yolk), he also gave rise to a triangular composition of the picture, in which the Madonna and Child and the saints and angels surrounding them were built. Also be sure to pay attention to the six doors of this hall, inlaid with gilded metal details and tortoiseshell.

Main Museum Complex, Big (Old) Hermitage, II floor, room 214

The main staircase of the New Hermitage rises from the historic entrance to the museum from Millionnaya Street, and its porch is decorated with ten atlantes made of gray Serdobol granite. Atlantes were made under the guidance of the Russian sculpture Terebenev, hence the second name of the stairs. Once upon a time, the route of the first visitors to the museum began from this porch (until the mid-twenties of the last century). According to tradition - for good luck and in order to return - you need to rub the heel of any of the Atlanteans.

Main Museum Complex, New Hermitage

You won't be able to get past this hall. Prodigal son» is one of the latest and most famous paintings Rembrandt is marked on all plans and guides, and in front of him, just like in front of the Parisian La Gioconda, whole crowds always gather. The picture glares, and it can only be seen well with a raised head, or a little from afar - from the platform of the Soviet stairs (named not in honor of the country of the Soviets, but in honor of the State Council, which gathered nearby, in the hall on the ground floor). The Hermitage has the second largest collection of Rembrandt paintings, rivaled only by the Rembrandt Museum in Amsterdam. Here is the infamous Danae (be sure to compare with Titian's Danae - two great masters interpret the same plot), - in the eighties, a museum visitor splashed sulfuric acid on the canvas and inflicted two knife blows. The painting was carefully restored in the Hermitage workshops over the course of 12 years. There is also a beautifully mystical “Flora”, which supposedly depicts the artist’s wife, Saskia, as the goddess of fertility, as well as a less popular, as if intimate picture, “David’s Farewell to Jonathan”. It depicts the farewell of the young commander David and his true friend Jonathan - the son of the envious King Saul. Men say goodbye at the Azel stone, which means "separation" in translation. The plot is taken from the Old Testament, and before Rembrandt there was no tradition of iconographic depiction of scenes from the Old Testament. The painting, filled with subtle light sadness, was painted after the death of Rembrandt's beloved wife and reflects his farewell to Saskia.

IN Hermitage I wanted to get a very, very long time! This is one of major museums not only in Russia, but also in the world! And given my interest in art in general, this museum was my number one on my list of early plans!

P.S. Attention! Under the cut there is a lot of information and about 110 photos!

State Hermitage, - It is not simple great museum, because at first the building, where an infinite number of people go today, was conceived as the Winter Palace, the main residence of the Russian tsars! It was the center of the empire, which was conceived by Peter I. The fate and history of Russia was decided here! Many years later, a museum fit in perfectly here, which originated in 1764, as a private collection Catherine II, after the first 225 valuable paintings were transferred to her from Berlin.

It is not known why she bought them, because the paintings did not particularly interest her, but thanks to this purchase, the great history of the museum began!

Hermitage Collection significantly replenished thanks to greed and Catherine's decrees to buy paintings in bulk! The exposition was complemented by the interests in art of Russian aristocrats, resellers and a large number excavations of ancient burial mounds. Subsequently, Russian tsars and queens received many works of art as a gift, as a sign of respect! In just 20 years, a huge number of unique exhibits have been collected, and new buildings have been built to store the best collection in Europe!

Gradually, the museum received the name "Hermitage", which is translated from French "Ermitage", means Personal peace, or Hermitage. In general, it was so, only selected dignitaries could get here under the grandson of Catherine II, Alexander I, solely on recommendations or passes in the amount of no more than 5 people, accompanied by a footman, and then not in the Palace part, but only in the attached new buildings ! The Winter Palace was closed to everyone for a long time! Then there was a certain division of the collection, which was sorted into cases, something was going to be shown to selected people, and vice versa, in order to hide some exhibits from unwanted eyes.

The history of the museum is not so long, but managed to tell a variety of events, so December 17, 1837 he survived one of the biggest fires in history Russian Empire. As a result of a monstrous fire, the second and third floors of the Winter Palace were completely burned out, including interiors by F. B. Rastrelli, Quarenghi, Montferrand and Rossi! Surprisingly, very much still survived. The fire lasted about 30 hours, and the building itself smoldered for almost three days. It took more than a year to restore the damaged palace.

Also, few people know, but until the beginning of the 30s of the 20th century, the facade of the Winter Palace was painted in different colors - from yellow to red! It was gradually repainted in azure green in the 1950s.

Here is a frame from documentary film shown on TV channel Russia 2, - Hermitage, National Treasures.

In the 20th century, the Hermitage also faced a difficult fate! There was an intensive industrialization and the country needed money for the development of the economy. The management decided to start selling the collections! It was very difficult to confront the Soviet bureaucracy. That is how, from 1928 to 1934, at auctions in London and Berlin, knightly armor, ceremonial service, Scythian gold, antique coins, icons, and then paintings went under the hammer. Imagine, it turns out that Catherine and her followers did everything right, because before the public publicity of the collection, they carefully guarded it, and only replenished it! Even in a fire, almost everything was saved, but at the cost of many human lives, and then they just took it and decided to sell something that doesn’t lie well and gather dust on the wall. In two years, the number of items seized from the Hermitage reaches 20,000! Among which there are almost 3000 paintings!

Unfortunately, this is true, but many of the works that Catherine herself bought are now hanging in museums in London, New York, Lisbon, Washington, Paris. Even with all this disgrace that was going on in Soviet years, The Hermitage is still considered a world-famous museum and collection!

Then only the museum staff knew about the sale of the collection, because only in 1954 it was opened to the public! For the first time, people saw the richest collections of monuments of ancient Eastern, ancient Egyptian, ancient and medieval cultures, the art of Western and of Eastern Europe, archaeological and artistic monuments Asia, Russian culture of the VIII-XIX centuries. There were lines for miles!

I visited it in August 2015, and I can say that those wishing to visit the museum have not diminished! A few days before the visit, I purchased an electronic ticket on the Internet, because I knew how much time I could lose in queues. I recommend choosing this particular method, you will bypass all the queues and immediately get to the museum's ticket office, where you exchange your electronic ticket for a regular one.

You can purchase it from the link below: Electronic tickets to the Hermitage.

Getting to the museum is easy! It is located in the very center of St. Petersburg and, as it were, embraces Palace Square cities all around! The nearest metro station, - Admiralteyskaya.

Official website of the Gallery: https://www.hermitagemuseum.org/

The main building of the Hermitage, also known as the Winter Palace of Peter the Great. The day was wonderful, and the bright sun shone over St. Petersburg!

Opening hours of the State Hermitage:

Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday: 10:30 - 18:00 pm.
Wednesday, Friday: 10:30 - 21:00 pm.

Every first Thursday of every month, admission to the museum is free!

It is allowed to take pictures without a flash.

Ticket price varies from 300 to 600 rubles, depending on the number of visited objects. E-tickets as a rule, they are more expensive and reach up to 1000 rubles per ticket, but they have a number of advantages, which I have already mentioned.

I would like to tell you what is inside the Hermitage today!

Cash register.

Here I exchanged a ticket from an electronic one to a regular one.

Ticket.

They also gave a very detailed Museum floor plan not to get lost! I'm posting it here, because I think that it can be very useful for many people to plan their visit.

The Hermitage consists of several buildings, namely, the Winter Palace, the Small Hermitage, New Hermitage, the Big (Old) Hermitage and the Winter Palace of Peter the Great with the Hermitage Theatre.

1st Floor.

2nd Floor.

3rd Floor.

Once inside, I realized that Hermitage Museum, It's also a museum within a museum! After all, the interior of the palace is amazing, and its interior decoration, columns and murals delight! Tour guides say it will take 11 years to explore it up and down! The total length of the corridors is 22 kilometers!

First I got into Hall dedicated to Antiquities of the Near East.

Then he gradually moved to egyptian hall, where there were tombs of the rulers of Egypt and limestone tablets with hieroglyphs.

Hall of Jupiter with sculptures at the head of which sit the supreme god of the Romans, - Jupiter.

Goddess of love Venus.

IN antique patio I met Eros with a shell.

Asclepius,- Ancient Greek god of medicine.

Athena,- goddess of war It looked like she was taking a selfie with her phone. :)

Amphora.

And here Hall of culture and art of ancient cities of the Northern Black Sea region, which presents many exhibits found during excavations on Mount Mithridates, in the city of Kerch And Taman Peninsula Krasnodar Territory . All exhibits are from the time of the Bosporan kingdom.

Marble sarcophagus from Myrmekia.

The lion standing on the tomb.

Wooden sarcophagus with carved arches.

A hall cultures of the Hellenistic era Coins and jewels are presented.

Laurel golden wreath.

Gold necklaces and earrings.

Also gold rings.

Plaster cast of the Gonzaga Cameo. Ptolemy II and Arsinoe II(was temporarily in the Hermitage).

Cameo. Zeus. Sardonyx. Gold.

Hellenistic gold and silver coins.

Mosaic glass bowl.

Hall of a large vase. Here stands a bowl made of Revnevskaya jasper from Altai. It is considered the largest vase in the world!

Very beautiful Hall of twenty.

Big Hydria, also known as "Queen of Vaz".

I decided to go up the stairs.

Another Vase was waiting for me when I returned, this time from Malachite.

1469-1529. Giovanni della Robbia - Christmas.

There has been a significant increase in people here, and they look not only at the exhibits in a frame behind glass, but also at the walls and ceiling! Because he is incredibly beautiful.

And here is the Leonardo Da Vinci Hall. hang here famous works artist! To see and photograph his paintings had to stand in line for about 5 minutes.

1478-1480. Leonardo da Vinci - Madonna and Child.

Leonardo da Vinci - Madonna and Child (Madonna Litta).

1512-1513. Sodoma (Giovanni Antonio Bazzi) - Leda.

1508-1549. Giampietrino (Gian Pietro Rizzoli) - Penitent Mary Magdalene.

Foyer of the Hermitage Theatre.

Loggia Raphael! She strongly reminded me of a similar corridor in the galleries in Florence!

The Italian art did not end there!

1740. Michele Giovanni - Rialto Bridge in Venice.

1726-1727. Antonio Canal (Canaletto) - Reception of the French Ambassador in Venice.

The halls of the Italian schools are magnificent! Not without reason, because it was built by Nicholas I and named as "New Hermitage".

1730. Giovanni Battista Tiepolo - Triumph of the commander Mania Curia Dantata.

1647. Paulus Potter - Punishment of the hunter.

1651. Salomon van Ruysdael - Ferry crossing in the vicinity of Arnhem.

1611-1613. Peter Paul Rubens - Head of an Old Man.

1612. Peter Paul Rubens - Christ in the crown of thorns.

In general, Rubens was given a whole room here!

1640. Abraham Mignon - Flowers in a vase.

1530. Lucas Cranach the Elder - Madonna and Child under an apple tree.

1770. Peacock watch made of bronze and silver.

IN pavilion hall a copy of the antique mosaic floor has been laid out, the original is in the Vatican.

St. George's Hall (Large throne room).

Foot bench of the throne commissioned by Empress Anna Ioannovna in London.

Military portrait gallery The Winter Palace was designed by K. I. Rossi in 1826 in honor of Russia's victory over Napoleonic France. Built specially by Alexander I.

Armorial Hall! Designed for ceremonial receptions.

1876 Saber of Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolanvich the Elder.

Awards of Nikolai Nikolanvich the Younger.

Suddenly I was in Great Church of the Winter Palace or Cathedral of the Savior Not Made by Hands.

From one of the halls of the Hermitage there was an excellent view of Palace Square!

IN Alexander Hall items made of silver.

In the hall UK art costs Tub for cooling wine, performed by Charles Candler, is a unique work, which has no equal in any museum in the world.

1780. Thomas Gainsborough - Lady in blue.

1779. Joseph Wright of Derby - Fireworks. Castle of St. Angela (Girandole).

1766. Vigilius Eriksen - Portrait of Count Grigory Grigoryevich Orlov.

Sabers and breastplate of a cuirass.

Tray dish "Apotheosis of Catherine II" depicting an allegory for Catherine's journey to the Crimea in 1787.

Mug, decorated with Western European coins.

Uniform costume of Catherine II.

Malachite living room.

Large malachite bowl on a tripod in the form of winged female figures.

Concert hall.

It stands tomb of Alexander Nevsky Was under restoration.

IN Nicholas hall exhibition of British architect Zaha Hadid.

In the center Anteroom in 1958 was installed Rotunda with malachite columns and a gilded bronze dome.

Well, that's all, I went to the exit.

Leaving the Hermitage it was almost evening, it turns out that I spent half a day in the museum. And I looked at only a small part, but on the blog I told it still in a more concise version.

I must say, even this gives an idea of ​​the grandiose scale of the museum and its amazing collection!

I went out to Palace Square on which stood a carriage drawn by horses. It feels like I was transported many hundreds of years into the past during the time of Peter and Catherine!

It was great! The Hermitage left very pleasant experience! Thanks to everyone who maintains and keeps such a priceless treasure in the center northern capital Russia!

This is not just a museum, it is a real palace and a museum within a museum, which is very nice to just walk around. The exposition shows the development of world art from the Stone Age to the end of the 20th century. This is a huge period that is very difficult to fit in one day. Therefore, many people come to St. Petersburg especially during the off-season, in order to dedicate a few days to the Hermitage and feel all its value.

If you came to St. Petersburg and did not visit its museums, then you have wasted your time! I highly recommend combining a city walk and a must visit State Hermitage And

The beginning of the museum's collection begins in 1764, when the German merchant Gotskovsky gave Russia his collection of 225 paintings as a debt. They were placed in the Small Hermitage. Catherine II gave the order to buy up all valuable works of art exhibited at auctions abroad. Gradually, the premises of the Small Palace were not enough. And works of art began to be placed in a newly built building, called the Old Hermitage.

Five buildings connected to each other on Palace embankment, make up the museum complex of the Hermitage:

* Winter Palace (1754 - 1762, architect B. F. Rastrelli)
* Small Hermitage (1764 - 1775, architects J. B. Vallin-Delamot, 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 (1771 - 1787, architect Yu. M. Felten)
* New Hermitage (1842 - 1851, architects Leo von Klenze, V. P. Stasov, N. E. Efimov)
* Hermitage Theater (1783 - 1787, architect G. Quarenghi)

View from the Neva to the complex of buildings of the State Hermitage: from left to right the Hermitage Theater - the Big (Old) Hermitage - the Small Hermitage - the Winter Palace; (The New Hermitage is located behind the Bolshoi)

Big (Old) Hermitage

Soviet stairs Since 1828, the State Council and the Committee of Ministers have occupied the first floor of the Great Hermitage, for which a new entrance and a new Soviet staircase (architect A.I. Stackenschneider) were built in the western part of the building.
The interior is designed in light colors: the walls are decorated with panels and pilasters made of white and pink artificial marble, the upper platform is decorated with white marble columns. The plafond "Virtues Present Russian Youth to the Goddess Minerva" decorated the Oval Hall, which was originally located on the site of the stairs. The only accent in the interior is a malachite vase (Yekaterinburg, 1850s). The name of the stairs is explained by the fact that in the XIX century. on the ground floor of the building were the premises of the State Council.

Upper platform of the Soviet stairs

Halls of the Great Hermitage

The first floor of the building is occupied by administrative offices, the directorate of the State Hermitage. Once these premises were occupied by the State Council, and since 1885 - by the Tsarskoye Selo Arsenal.

Halls Italian painting XIII-XVIII centuries

In the halls of the second floor (the former living rooms of the Nadvornaya enfilade and the halls of the Paradnaya enfilade along the Neva) the works of Renaissance masters are presented: Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Giorgione, Titian.

Hall of Titian The Titian Hall is one of the rooms in the Enfilade of the Old (Large) Hermitage, designed by A.I. Stackenschneider in the 1850s. These apartments were intended for noble guests of the imperial court. 19th century decoration preserved in the interior only partially. During the restoration carried out in 2003, the walls were painted to match the color of damask, which, according to archival data, was used to upholster the room. Paintings in the hall late period creativity of Titian (Tiziano Vecellio, 1488-1576) - the great Venetian artist the Renaissance. Among them - "Danae", "Penitent Mary Magdalene", "Saint Sebastian".
Danae

Penitent Mary Magdalene

Hall of Art of Italy XIII - early XV century.

The reception room, like all the halls of the front suite of the Old (Large) Hermitage, was decorated by A. Stackenschneider in 1851-1860. The hall is an excellent example of the interior of the era of historicism. Green jasper columns and painted pilasters, gilded ceiling and desudeportes ornaments, doors decorated with porcelain medallions give the hall a special splendor. The hall displays works Italian artists XIII - early XV century., Among them are the "Cross with the Image of the Crucifixion" Ugolino di Tedice, the fold of Simone Martini's diptych "Madonna" from the scene "Annunciation", "The Crucifixion with the Virgin Mary and St. John" Nicolo Gerini.

Madonna from the Annunciation scene by Simone Martini

Calvary Ugolino Lorenzetti

Hall of Italian art of the XVI century.

The hall was part of the outer suite of the Old (Large) Hermitage, designed by A. Stackenschneider in mid-nineteenth V. The interior decoration has not been preserved. In the course of restoration in 2003, the walls were painted to match the color of damask, which, according to archival data, was used to upholster the room. Now here are the works of Venetian painters of the 16th century, such as Jacopa Palma the Elder, Lorenzo Lotto, Giovanni Battista Cima de Conegliano. The masterpieces of the museum collection include the painting by Giorgione (circa 1478-1510) "Judith" - one of the few genuine works of the founder Venetian school.
Jacopo Palma the Elder - Madonna and Child with Clients

Giorgione - Judith

Leonardo da Vinci Hall

The Double-height Hall of the Old (Large) Hermitage presents the museum's masterpieces - two works by the greatest master of the Renaissance Leonardo da Vinci - Benois Madonna, one of the few indisputable works of the master, and Madonna Litta. The decoration of the hall (architect A.I. Stackenschneider, 1858) combines light stucco with colored stone (porphyry and jasper columns, lapis lazuli inserts in marble fireplaces) and gilding. The hall is decorated with picturesque panels and plafonds. The doors are decorated in the style of "boule" - plates of tortoiseshell and gilded brass.

Leonardo da Vinci. Madonna with a flower (Madonna Benois) (1478)

The most famous painting Hermitage. Leonardo da Vinci. Madonna and Child (Madonna Litta) (1490 - 1491)

Loggias of Raphael

The loggias of Raphael are in the Great Hermitage.
The prototype of the Loggias, built by order of Empress Catherine II in the 1780s. architect G. Quarenghi, served as the famous gallery Vatican Palace in Rome, painted according to sketches by Raphael. The copies of the frescoes were made in the tempera technique by a group of artists led by H. Unterberger. On the vaults of the gallery there is a cycle of paintings on biblical stories- the so-called "Bible of Raphael". The walls are decorated with a grotesque ornament, the motifs of which arose in the painting of Raphael under the influence of paintings in the "grottoes" - the ruins of the "Golden House" (the palace of the ancient Roman emperor Nero, I century).

Small Hermitage

Northern Pavilion of the Small Hermitage. View from the Palace Embankment.

South Pavilion of the Small Hermitage from Palace Square

pavilion hall

The pavilion hall of the Small Hermitage was created in the middle of the 19th century. A. I. Stackenschneider. The architect combined the architectural motifs of antiquity, renaissance and the east in solving the interior. The combination of light marble with gilded stucco decor and the elegant shine of crystal chandeliers give the interior a special showiness. The hall is decorated with four marble fountains - variations of the "Fountain of Tears" of the Bakhchisaray Palace in Crimea. In the southern part of the hall, a mosaic is built into the floor - a copy of the floor found during excavations of ancient Roman baths. The hall exhibits the "Peacock" clock (J. Cox, 1770s), acquired by Catherine II, and a collection of mosaic works.

Eduard Petrovich Hau

Tutukin, Petr Vasilievich - Types of rooms of the Winter Palace. pavilion hall

Kolb Alexander Khristoforovich - Types of halls of the Small Hermitage. pavilion hall

Wrote on October 12th, 2012

Original taken from bolivar_s a Walk through the halls of the Hermitage. Part 3

Walk through the halls of the Hermitage. Part 3. The word Hermitage comes from the French "ermitage" (secluded corner). In one of the premises of the Small Hermitage, by order of Catherine II, a room was arranged with two tables that were raised from the ground floor. The raised tables were already set and it was possible to dine without the help of servants, in this secluded corner.

The beginning of the museum's collection begins in 1764, when the German merchant Gotskovsky gave Russia his collection of 225 paintings as a debt. They were placed in the Small Hermitage. Catherine II gave the order to buy up all valuable works of art exhibited at auctions abroad. Gradually, the premises of the Small Palace were not enough. And works of art began to be placed in a newly built building, called the Old Hermitage.

Five buildings connected to each other on the Palace Embankment make up the Hermitage museum complex:

* Winter Palace (1754 - 1762, architect B. F. Rastrelli)
* Small Hermitage (1764 - 1775, architects J. B. Vallin-Delamot, 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 (1771 - 1787, architect Yu. M. Felten)
* New Hermitage (1842 - 1851, architects Leo von Klenze, V. P. Stasov, N. E. Efimov)
* Hermitage Theater (1783 - 1787, architect G. Quarenghi)

View from the Neva to the complex of buildings of the State Hermitage: from left to right the Hermitage Theater - the Big (Old) Hermitage - the Small Hermitage - the Winter Palace; (The New Hermitage is located behind the Bolshoi)

Big (Old) Hermitage

Soviet stairs Since 1828, the State Council and the Committee of Ministers have occupied the first floor of the Great Hermitage, for which a new entrance and a new Soviet staircase (architect A.I. Stackenschneider) were built in the western part of the building.
The interior is designed in light colors: the walls are decorated with panels and pilasters made of white and pink artificial marble, the upper platform is decorated with white marble columns. The plafond "Virtues Represent Russian Youth to the Goddess Minerva" decorated the Oval Hall, which was originally located on the site of the stairs. The only accent in the interior is a malachite vase (Yekaterinburg, 1850s). The name of the stairs is explained by the fact that in the XIX century. on the ground floor of the building were the premises of the State Council.

Upper platform of the Soviet stairs

Halls of the Great Hermitage

The first floor of the building is occupied by administrative offices, the directorate of the State Hermitage. Once these premises were occupied by the State Council, and since 1885 - by the Tsarskoye Selo Arsenal.

Halls of Italian painting of the 13th-18th centuries

In the halls of the second floor (the former living rooms of the Nadvornaya enfilade and the halls of the Paradnaya enfilade along the Neva) the works of Renaissance masters are presented: Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Giorgione, Titian.

Hall of Titian The Titian Hall is one of the rooms in the Enfilade of the Old (Large) Hermitage, designed by A.I. Stackenschneider in the 1850s. These apartments were intended for noble guests of the imperial court. 19th century decoration preserved in the interior only partially. During the restoration carried out in 2003, the walls were painted to match the color of damask, which, according to archival data, was used to upholster the room. The hall displays paintings of the late period of the work of Titian (Tiziano Vecellio, 1488-1576) - the great Venetian Renaissance artist. Among them - "Danae", "Penitent Mary Magdalene", "Saint Sebastian".
Danae

Penitent Mary Magdalene

Hall of Art of Italy XIII - early XV century.

The reception room, like all the halls of the front suite of the Old (Large) Hermitage, was decorated by A. Stackenschneider in 1851-1860. The hall is an excellent example of the interior of the era of historicism. Green jasper columns and painted pilasters, gilded ceiling and desudeportes ornaments, doors decorated with porcelain medallions give the hall a special splendor. The hall presents works by Italian artists of the 13th - early 15th centuries, including Ugolino di Tedice's "Cross with the Image of the Crucifixion", Simone Martini's "Madonna" diptych from the Annunciation scene, "Crucifixion with the Virgin Mary and St. John" by Nicolo Gerini .

Madonna from the Annunciation scene by Simone Martini

Calvary Ugolino Lorenzetti

Hall of Italian art of the XVI century.

The hall was part of the outer suite of the Old (Large) Hermitage, designed by A. Stackenschneider in the middle of the 19th century. The interior decoration has not been preserved. In the course of restoration in 2003, the walls were painted to match the color of damask, which, according to archival data, was used to upholster the room. Now here are the works of Venetian painters of the 16th century, such as Jacopa Palma the Elder, Lorenzo Lotto, Giovanni Battista Cima de Conegliano. Among the masterpieces of the museum's collection is the painting by Giorgione (circa 1478-1510) "Judith" - one of the few genuine works of the founder of the Venetian school.
Jacopo Palma the Elder - Madonna and Child with Clients

Giorgione - Judith

Leonardo da Vinci Hall

The Double-height Hall of the Old (Large) Hermitage presents the museum's masterpieces - two works by the greatest master of the Renaissance Leonardo da Vinci - Benois Madonna, one of the few indisputable works of the master, and Madonna Litta. The decoration of the hall (architect A.I. Stackenschneider, 1858) combines light stucco with colored stone (porphyry and jasper columns, lapis lazuli inserts in marble fireplaces) and gilding. The hall is decorated with picturesque panels and plafonds. The doors are decorated in the style of "boule" - plates of tortoiseshell and gilded brass.

Leonardo da Vinci. Madonna with a flower (Madonna Benois) (1478)

The most famous painting in the Hermitage. Leonardo da Vinci. Madonna and Child (Madonna Litta) (1490 - 1491)

Loggias of Raphael

The loggias of Raphael are in the Great Hermitage.
The prototype of the Loggias, built by order of Empress Catherine II in the 1780s. the architect G. Quarenghi served as the famous gallery of the Vatican Palace in Rome, painted according to the sketches of Raphael. The copies of the frescoes were made in the tempera technique by a group of artists led by H. Unterberger. On the vaults of the gallery there is a cycle of paintings on biblical subjects - the so-called "Raphael's Bible". The walls are decorated with a grotesque ornament, the motifs of which arose in the painting of Raphael under the influence of paintings in the "grottoes" - the ruins of the "Golden House" (the palace of the ancient Roman emperor Nero, I century).

Small Hermitage

Northern Pavilion of the Small Hermitage. View from the Palace Embankment.

South Pavilion of the Small Hermitage from Palace Square

pavilion hall

The pavilion hall of the Small Hermitage was created in the middle of the 19th century. A. I. Stackenschneider. The architect combined the architectural motifs of antiquity, renaissance and the east in solving the interior. The combination of light marble with gilded stucco decor and the elegant shine of crystal chandeliers give the interior a special showiness. The hall is decorated with four marble fountains - variations of the "Fountain of Tears" of the Bakhchisaray Palace in Crimea. In the southern part of the hall, a mosaic is built into the floor - a copy of the floor found during excavations of ancient Roman baths. The hall exhibits the "Peacock" clock (J. Cox, 1770s), acquired by Catherine II, and a collection of mosaic works.

Eduard Petrovich Hau

Tutukin, Petr Vasilievich - Types of rooms of the Winter Palace. pavilion hall

Kolb Alexander Khristoforovich - Types of halls of the Small Hermitage. pavilion hall

The State Hermitage, located in St. Petersburg near the Neva River, is without exaggeration known all over the world. This is a museum that is rich in a huge number of exhibits that help to study the development of world artistic culture and history. It should be noted that the Hermitage as a museum plays a huge role and is not inferior to other museums located abroad.

Uniqueness of the Hermitage

The rich history of this museum began during the reign of Catherine II. As the story goes, the Empress first accepted some of the paintings from a German merchant, who gave them away to pay off his debt. The paintings fascinated Catherine, and she created her own collection, which gradually became larger and larger. The Empress specifically hired people who traveled to Europe to purchase new canvases. When the collection became very large, it was decided to open a public museum, for which a separate building was built.

How many rooms and floors in the Hermitage

The Winter Palace is a three-story building with 1084 rooms. Among the most famous are:

Note! In total, the museum has about 365 rooms. Among them are the Small Dining Room, the Malachite Living Room, the chambers of Maria Alexandrovna. The map of the Hermitage halls with names will help the tourist to navigate in all these rooms.

Hermitage: floor plan

The Hermitage is a whole complex, which includes 5 buildings built in different years.

Winter Palace

This is the central building built famous architect B. F. Rastrelli in the second half of the 18th century in the Baroque style. It is necessary to pay tribute to those craftsmen who restored the building after the fires.

On a note. Now inside the Winter Palace, which previously acted as imperial palace, the main exposition of the Hermitage is located. The building is built in the shape of a quadrangle, inside which there is a courtyard.

Small Hermitage

It was built a little later than the Winter Palace. Its architects: Yu. M. Felten and J. B. Vallin-Delamot. It was so named because Catherine 2 spent entertaining evenings here, which were called small hermitages. The building includes 2 pavilions - the North, which housed the winter garden, and the South. Another component of the Small Hermitage is a hanging garden with picturesque compositions.

Big Hermitage

It was built after the Small Hermitage, and since it was larger than it, it got its name. Although this building is more strict forms, it fits perfectly into the ensemble and, moreover, complements it. The interiors are decorated with expensive woods, gilding and stucco. Architect - Yuri Felten.

On the second floor of the Great Hermitage there are halls of Italian painting, where you can see the works outstanding artists: Leonardo da Vinci, Titian or Raphael. Copies of frescoes by the last artist adorn the so-called loggias of Raphael - a gallery located in the Great Hermitage.

Note! Many arches of the gallery divide it into several compartments. The walls are decorated with copies of frescoes. The Apostolic Palace in the Vatican was taken as the basis.

New Hermitage

The main facade of this building is known for its porch. This is a portico that previously served as an entrance. It differs in that it has granite statues of Atlanteans holding a balcony. It took 2 years to work on them. Everything else is made of limestone. The sculptures amaze with fine workmanship and elegance of execution, giving the building a sublime and noble appearance. The building itself was built in neo-Greek style.

Hermitage Theater

Architect - J. Quarenghi, style - classicism. The theater is connected to the rest of the buildings of the complex by an archway where a gallery was opened. Many talented artists performed on this stage, balls were often held here. It should be noted that the theater played an important role in the development cultural life. In the foyer, ceilings from the 18th century have been preserved. Inspiration for theater hall became the Italian theater Olimpico.

Where can I get the Hermitage guide

In order not to get lost in the huge halls of the Hermitage, next to the ticket offices at the main entrance, a plan of the Hermitage is offered free of charge. It shows the scheme of the Hermitage with all the halls available for visiting, their names and numbers.

Hermitage map

Museum exhibits

How many exhibits are in the Hermitage? Their number exceeds 3 million! This is definitely a huge number. What is in the Hermitage? Among the most unique exhibits from interesting history the following can be distinguished:

• watch "Peacock" in the Hermitage. They were brought by order of Potemkin. The master is D. Cox from England. To deliver the watch in safety, they had to be disassembled. But the subsequent assembly turned out to be quite difficult due to the loss or breakage of parts. And only by the end of the 18th century, the clock started working again, thanks to the efforts of a skilled Russian master. This exhibit strikes with its beauty and luxury: the cage with the owl rotates, and the peacock even spreads its tail;
• Feodosia earrings. The technique that was used to make them is granulation. These are small gold or silver balls that are soldered onto jewelry. These earrings depict a composition showing the competitions in Athens. Although many jewelers tried to replicate this masterpiece, they did not succeed, since the method of creating Theodosian earrings is unknown;
• figure of Peter 1, made from wax. Foreign craftsmen were invited to create it. A red-robed figure sits majestically on a throne.

As a separate exhibit, for which it is also worth visiting this museum, one can name its interiors. Inside the Hermitage, you can see quite majestic, somewhere refined, halls decorated with a variety of elements. Walking on them is a pleasure.

Watch "Peacock"

How many paintings are in the Hermitage

In total, the Hermitage houses about 15 thousand of the most different paintings, which came out from the pen of artists of the 13th-20th centuries. Now such paintings are of great interest and cultural value.

The Hermitage collection began with 225 paintings donated by a German dealer. In the second half of the 18th century, paintings collected by Count Brühl were brought from Germany and paintings from the collection of the French Baron Crozat were bought. Thus, the works of such artists as Rembrandt, Raphael, Van Dyck and others appeared in the museum.

1774 is a memorable date when the first museum catalog was published. It already had over 2,000 paintings. A little later, the collection was replenished with 198 works from the collection of R. Walpole and 119 paintings from Count Baudouin.

On a note. Do not forget that at that time the museum kept not only paintings, but also many memorable items, such as figurines, stone products, coins.

The turning point was the fire of 1837, as a result of which the interiors of the Winter Palace did not survive. However, thanks to the quick work of the masters, a year later the building was restored. The paintings managed to endure, thanks to which the masterpieces of world art did not suffer.

Those who want to visit the Hermitage should definitely see the following canvases:

• Leonardo da Vinci "Madonna Litta"(work of the Renaissance). There are 19 pictures of this in the world famous artist, of which 2 are kept in the Hermitage. This canvas was brought from Italy in the 19th century. The second canvas of this artist is the Benois Madonna, painted with oil paints;
• Rembrandt The Return of the Prodigal Son. The canvas is written based on the Gospel of Luke. In the center is the returned son, kneeling before his father, who graciously receives him. This masterpiece was acquired back in the 18th century;
• V. V. Kandinsky "Composition 6". The canvas of this famous avant-garde artist takes pride of place in the museum. There is even a separate room dedicated to his work. This picture strikes the audience with a riot of colors;
• T. Gainsborough "The Lady in Blue". It is believed that this is a portrait of Countess Elizabeth Beaufort. Her look is very light and natural. Refinement and airiness is achieved with the help of light strokes, a dark background and light colors for the image of a girl;
• Caravaggio "The Lute Player". The details in this picture are worked out to the smallest detail. Both a crack on the lute and notes are depicted. In the middle of the canvas is a young man playing. His face expresses many complex emotions that the author was able to skillfully portray.

Paintings from the Hermitage collection

More detailed information describing what is in the Hermitage can be found on its official website.

The Hermitage can be called one of the most important cultural centers, which is of great importance for the whole world, because it contains the masterpieces of the most different artists most different times. This is one of the richest and most important collections in the world.