What places do tourists visit most often when they come to St. Petersburg? The Hermitage, the Kunstkamera and the cruiser Aurora.
What makes the Hermitage unique?
This is the world's largest art and cultural-historical museum. It is as famous and popular as the Louvre, the British Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The State Hermitage keeps 3 million exhibits, of which there are 15,000 paintings alone. It has been calculated that if you devote only 1 minute to each exhibit of the museum, then it will take … 8 years to view all the collections of the Hermitage! And this is taking into account only permanent exhibitions, but not temporary exhibitions. The Hermitage organizes a dozen of these every month. And the length of all corridors is 20 km. But the main highlight of this museum is not in the scale and not in the number of historical items stored, but in the fact that there are originals of many masterpieces of world painting and other types of art.
Where is it?
The location of the museum is on the Palace Embankment. The State Hermitage is a complex of five buildings (the Winter Palace, the New Hermitage, the Great Hermitage, the Small Hermitage and the Hermitage Theatre). The main entrance is located at: Palace Square, 2.
Work Schedule
The State Hermitage Museum is ready to receive visitors from Tuesday to Sunday, starting from 10.30. End of work - 18.00, but on Wednesday - 21.00. Day off - Monday. But attention: ticket offices stop selling tickets an hour before closing. It is better to plan a tour of the Hermitage for hours before lunch and on weekdays - there are fewer people. But on weekends, sometimes you have to stand in line for about an hour.
Ticket prices
Tickets to the Hermitage are relatively inexpensive. For citizens of Russia, the price will be 100 rubles, for pensioners, students and children - free of charge. Foreigners will have to pay 350 rubles. But every first Thursday of the month is a free day for everyone.
History of Creation
In 1764, Catherine II purchased 225 paintings from the collection of the German merchant Johann Gotzkowski. This collection was intended for King Frederick II of Prussia, but due to financial problems, he could not redeem it. The enterprising merchant offered to do this to the Russian Empress, and she agreed without hesitation in order to show off in front of the German monarch. Since Gotzkowski did not have a deep knowledge of art, the collection included paintings that were rather mediocre (compared to those that came later). These were mainly works by Dutch and Flemish masters, as well as some works by Italian artists of the 17th century. But among them, the works of Hals and Sten should be noted.
This year (1764) is considered the year of foundation of the Hermitage, although there was no museum in the modern sense of the word. In five yearsthe following acquisition took place: 600 paintings from the private collection of Count von Brühl. Here were the most valuable exhibits: "Portrait of an Old Man in Red" by Rembrandt, "Perseus and Andromeda" by Rubens and others.
Another 400 paintings bought from French collector Pierre Crozat. Thus, the "Holy Family" by Raphael, "Judith" by Giorgione, "Danae" by Titian, "Portrait of the maid of Infanta Isabella" by Rubens, "Self-portrait" by Van Dyck appeared in St. Petersburg.
For Catherine, the acquisition of masterpieces of world art was primarily a political gesture to show that the Russian Empire is a developed and non-poor country that can afford such a luxury. In 1774, 2080 paintings were in the possession of the Empress, but there was no public access to them. Catherine's famous phrase that only she and mice admire this period belongs to this period. Although later access to the galleries was opened, but with special permissions.
Later, the Hermitage received valuables taken from the mansions of the nobility and other royal palaces. The museum was replenished with private collections of the Yusupovs, Stroganovs, Sheremetevs. Other institutions also donated their exhibits to the Hermitage.
Painting collection
Thanks to the exhibits of the Hermitage, one can trace the history of world painting and observe how the art of England, Belgium, Holland, Spain, Italy, France and other countries developed. For example, the collection contains 7,000 paintings by European artists only, starting fromMiddle Ages and ending with the last century. In addition to the permanent exhibitions, there are also temporary exhibitions. The Hermitage carefully monitors the preservation of the valuable cultural heritage of the past, so some samples are open to the public for only a few weeks a year in order to preserve them.
The halls of Western European art are decorated according to the chronological and geographical principle, that is, one contains the works of painters of a particular country over a specific period of time. For example, the gallery of Italian paintings of the 13th-18th centuries boasts such masterpieces as Simone Martini's Annunciation, Benois Madonna and Litta Madonna by Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael's Holy Family.
The exposition of the Flemish fine art of the 17th-18th centuries is very rich. The pride of the collection is 32 paintings by Rubens ("Union of Earth and Water", "Bacchus" and large monumental and decorative cycles), 24 works by his student Van Dyck ("Self-portrait").
The gallery of Spanish painting of the 15th - early 18th century contains paintings by El Greco ("The Apostles Peter and Paul"), Velasquez ("Breakfast"), de Goya ("Portrait of the Actress Antonia Zarate"). One can observe the development of gothic and realistic tendencies, as well as caravaggism.
An exceptionally rich collection of paintings (about 1000) by Dutch artists, including early and late Rembrandts.
As wide as in the Hermitage,English painting is represented only in Great Britain itself. Of great interest are the works of court portrait painters. One of the world-famous paintings is "Portrait of a Lady in Blue" by Thomas Gainsborough.
In the exhibition hall of French painting of the XV-XVIII centuries, the most important place is occupied by the works of the classicist Nicolas Poussin. And the collection of works of the second half of the XIX - XX centuries is rightfully considered one of the best in the world. There is also the famous impressionist Monet ("Lady in the Garden", "Waterloo Bridge"), and Renoir ("Girl with a Fan"), and Degas ("Concorde Square"). The pride of this collection is 38 originals by Matisse and 31 by Picasso.
In the hall of German art, the masters of the Berlin and Munich schools stand out. Also noteworthy are the battle canvases dedicated to the Patriotic War of 1812 and the works of Friedrich in the style of romanticism.
Recently, the State Hermitage acquired Malevich's Black Square. This is one of the most famous works of Russian art of the last century.
What is the conclusion? You can talk for a long time about the architectural monuments and sculptures of the Hermitage. But reading about the masterpieces of painting is much less exciting than enjoying the beauty with your own eyes. Therefore, without hesitation, you should go and buy tickets to the Hermitage for the whole family. It will be educational.
