Catherine the Great is known to be one of the greatest art collectors in history and it was she who established the Hermitage. The collection in the museum is said to consist of more than three million items, and only a small fraction of them is on permanent public display. What makes the Hermitage unique is that it is set in a palace, and you are not only awed by the great art but also by the grandeur of the rooms in which they are housed.
Once you enter, you are greeted by the lavish Grand Staircase. Imagine that, we were just at the entrance and even then we were already being wowed. (My photo below doesn't do it justice, you have to see it in person to be truly impressed.)
We were then taken through a series of rooms, each one just as impressive as the next. The resplendent Armorial Hall has gilded columns and was one of the palace's main reception areas.
You can find the Great Imperial Throne at the far-end of the The St. George Hall (or Large Throne Hall). This opulent room has a very intricately-decorated ceiling included a bas-relief of St. George slaying the dragon. What makes this hall even more astonishing, and I would never have noticed if our guide didn't point it out, is that the parquet floor has been designed to look like a reflection of the ceiling decorations, including the chandeliers. Amazing!
Our guide from Marina Wilson tours told us that the Hermitage contains artwork from every significant artist in the world. Not that I know every important artist, but I thought it was a bit of an exaggeration. However, as we started going through the displays, I realized that statement may actually have been more accurate than I initially thought. Among the displays are an early painting by Leonardo Da Vinci called Madonna with a Flower. (He actually has another Madonna and Child painting at the Hermitage. Both paintings are located in the same room.)
Madonna and a Flower by Leonardo Da Vinci
There is a large section of paintings by Rembrandt, who is probably one of my favorite painters because of his mastery of chiaroscuro, or the use of strong, dramatic contrasts between light and shadow. We stopped at this next painting, The Return of the Prodigal Son, as our guide pointed out to us the hands of the father. You will see that one hand is wide and masculine while the other is soft and almost feminine, which seems to suggest fathering and mothering at the same time.
The Return of the Prodigal Son by Rembrandt
We also got to see some paintings from Vincent Van Gogh, including this one entitled Memory of the Garden at Etten (Ladies of Arles).
Memory of the Garden at Etten (Ladies of Arles) by Vincent Van Gogh
Pablo Picasso was also well-represented in the Hermitage. His painting Friendship demonstrates his popular style of cubism and was completed during his African Period.
Friendship by Pablo Picasso
The sculpture Crouching Boy is the only work of Michelangelo that can be found in the museum. While it seems unfinished or unpolished, some people feel that it was intentionally sculpted this way.
Crouching Boy by Michelangelo
The Raphael Loggias were modeled after the famous gallery at the Vatican. I initially thought that these frescoes were painted by Raphael himself but apparently he supervised his students who were the ones who painted the walls and columns in this hallway.
Raphael Loggias
What I love about museums is that you get to see and appreciate beautiful work of artists you haven't heart of before. Our guide directed our attention to this magnificent painting called Departure for the Market (Autumn Morning) by Constant Troyon, a French painter who mastered the art of painting animals. I also love how he rendered this painting with an early morning mist.
Departure for the Market (Autumn Morning) by Constant Troyon
I was also impressed by this painting entitled The Angel of Death by Horace Vernet.
The Angel of Death by Horace Vernet
This sculpture, called The Three Graces, was created by Italian artist Antonio Canova. It's impressive how this piece was created out of marble and yet it looks exceptionally delicate and soft. Take a closer look, especially at the hands and fingers of the women.
The Three Graces by Antonio Canova
Our tour lasted only 3 hours but my mom and I decided to stay a bit more so we could spend more time looking at the artwork and cultural artifacts on display in the museum (and also to buy souvenirs). We could easily have spent more time inside if not for the fact that we had tickets to a ballet that same night so by around 4pm we left the museum to head back to our hotel.
Our guide (coincidentally, her name was also Irina, similar to our walking tour guide) told us that in each trip she takes to the Hermitage, she always sees or learns something new. Not hard to imagine given the size of the museum and the vastness of the collection. The Hermitage is a definite must-see when you visit St. Petersburg and it is now probably my favorite museum in the world.
Next post: Palaces around St. Petersburg.
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