The Winter Palace was the official residence of the Russian Emperors for nearly 200 years between 1732 and 1917. (If 1917 sounds like a familiar year, that’s because it is the year of Red October, or the October Revolution. The palace was stormed/assaulted on 26 October. And the beginning of the end of the Russian Empire began earlier that same year.). It is said to have over 1,000 rooms, nearly 2,000 windows, and more than 1,700 doors. Now it is part of the State Hermitage Museum.
The museum was started when Empress Catherine the Great purchased a collection of paintings from a merchant named Johann Ernst Gotzkowsky in 1764. She had the Small Hermitage built in order to store and admire those works. Catherine went on to acquire some of the very best collections of art, purchased from the estates of some of the most well-known collectors of the time. As her collection increased, the museum was expanded to house the growing catalogue. Even after Catherine’s death, expansion continued into the 19th century. During Catherine’s lifetime, it is said that the museum contained 10,000 drawings, 10,000 gems, nearly 40,000 books, 4,000 paintings, and more items that she had collected. Two entire wings of the museum are dedicated to Empress Catherine’s collections of curiosities and natural history.
It is now the second-largest art museum in the world, after the Louvre, as you might have guessed.
The State Hermitage Museum is not a single building, but six, including the Winter Palace. Only five of them are open to the public. There are an estimated three million (!) artifacts in the museum’s collection, not all of which are on display. If you like precise figures, according to the Hermitage Museum’s site, there are 3,150,428 items in inventory as of 31 December 2016. The unseen pieces are in storage. It is said that if you spend just one minute viewing each piece in the collection, it will take you almost six years to see them all. And that does not include breaks for eating or sleeping.
In 1837, during the reign of Tsar Nicholas I, there was a fire. Most of the interior of the museum was destroyed. But because the fire spread slowly, palace staff and guards were able to save much of the contents by carrying them outside. I could impress you with numbers about the size of the palace but you can get an idea from photos. I say that to give you an understanding of the scope of what the tsar asked (he either didn’t understand or didn’t care) when he ordered the palace be rebuilt within a year.
We entered the museum but were not given booties to wear like we had in Catherine Palace. Surprising, because the parquet floors here are just as magnificent as the floors in Catherine Palace.
Our guide Natasha once again proved why she is worth her weight in gold. Her knowledge is boundless. Especially here at the Hermitage. Seems she knows almost every piece of art and its history.
Starting with the Jordan Stairs, she led us effortlessly through the different galleries and halls with much familiarity, explaining the history behind most of them. Same with the vast majority of the works of art.
She did all of this without notes; at least none that I could see. In one of her free moments she told my wife and I about her education and background. If she ever chose to switch professions and become a college instructor, I’m sure her students will become the best in the world in whatever field of art or history they choose to enter.
Soon after Natasha told us about the first few rooms and collections we saw, it was evident that there was no way I’d remember all of what we were being shown, not even half of it. Trying to take in all that information was like trying to drink from a fully pressurized fire hose. My head was ready to explode. That happened quite a lot during our time in St. Petersburg. Thankfully, I did have my camera; I could do more research when I returned home based on the photos.
Having those earphones we were issued yesterday turned out to be a blessing. At times some of the rooms were so crowded we could not see Natasha. And forget about being able to hear her. Those earphones enhanced the visit and allowed us to hear all of the information, facts, background, and other stories she presented to us as we moved from hall to hall, gallery to gallery.
In the museum, the masters are well represented: da Vinci, Gaugin, Matisse, Michelangelo, Monet, Picasso, Renoir, Titian, and many others; their works are all here.
Obviously, due to time constraints, we only saw a portion of the museum and its contents. I won’t try to give you a full rundown of everything we did see, but here are a few highlights:
An unexpected sight was the two throne rooms. These are enormous halls for what I imagine are for guests to see the emperor sit on his elevated throne and maybe deliver a speech or two.
In the War Gallery of 1812 or Military Gallery, there are well over 300 portraits, all framed in gold. They are portraits of military commanders. Tsar Alexander I gets pride of place. His portrait is located at the end of the hall and is almost shrine-like.
Pavilion Hall features more than two-dozen chandeliers; an octagonal mosaic with a Medusa at it center, set in the floor of the hall, and protected by fencing; and the gold Peacock Clock. It still works.
The Raphael Loggia is a recreation of the gallery of frescoes in the Vatican Palace. The ceiling vaults are painted with biblical scenes, sometimes called Raphael’s Bible. The walls provide a nice contrast with themes of their own.
And those doors!
In addition to the paintings and sculptures, there were numerous vases, tapestries, and busts on display.
The Egyptian Collection
During a short period of free time, my wife and I happened upon the Egyptian Collection. The collection is located in the large hall that used to be the main buffet of the Winter Palace. From what I was able to gather about the collection after we returned home, it was started in 1852 and grew through purchases, gifts, and acquisitions.
We ended up spending most of our free time browsing through the collection, photographically documenting much of it.
If you ever get a chance to go to St. Petersburg and visit the State Hermitage Museum, I hope you would get Natasha as your guide. But if you are not so fortunate, you can take this ‘walking tour’ of the museum. On it, you’ll read about some of the rooms we saw, but it goes more into detail about the paintings. Or you can take this virtual tour of the complex. This virtual tour covers EVERYTHING.
I was utterly amazed at the amount of art contained in this museum. Until after I read up on the museum, I wondered how they were able to amass such a collection. I will say this: that Empress Catherine was one clever woman.
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