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Sorry this one is so wordy, but I think you will still find it interesting. Also, the history is MUCH more complicated that I have summed up here. To learn the whole story, you could read this book given to us by the Viking staff. It was on our bed when we returned at the end of the day from our Hermitage tours. Thank you, Viking!
Up until the time of PtG (reigned 1682-1725) the treasures at the Winter Palace were private collections acquired and displayed at the pleasure of the imperials. After visiting museums in Western Europe, he founded Russia's first public museum on Vasilevsky Island, just downriver from the Winter Palace.
It was called Kunstkammer, meaning cabinet of curiosities. There were a few paintings displayed. He particularly like sea-faring subject matter. Also, shells, gems, gold and silver objects, coins, craft works, recovered antiquities, and architectural drawings of early SP buildings. Dentistry was a hobby of PtG and he liked showing off his tools and the teeth of those he had worked on with labels like "a person who made tablecloths" or a "fast-walking messenger."
Other things displayed were more "circus sideshow," like a "Korkodil;" anatomic samples of plants and animals and Siamese twins preserved in vinegar or vodka; his own stuffed pet dog and his Persian stallion Liserta; and even live human specimens such as a young hermaphrodite and a child born with only two fingers and two toes on each appendage.
There was even a wax likeness of himself, in the Madame Tussaud style. PtG was an imposing 6'8", but had a small head for his stature. Most artists painted him with head more in proportion to his body so as not to insult. This waxwork statue by Rastrelli, however, was true to life in scale.
Sorry this one is so wordy, but I think you will still find it interesting. Also, the history is MUCH more complicated that I have summed up here. To learn the whole story, you could read this book given to us by the Viking staff. It was on our bed when we returned at the end of the day from our Hermitage tours. Thank you, Viking!
It was called Kunstkammer, meaning cabinet of curiosities. There were a few paintings displayed. He particularly like sea-faring subject matter. Also, shells, gems, gold and silver objects, coins, craft works, recovered antiquities, and architectural drawings of early SP buildings. Dentistry was a hobby of PtG and he liked showing off his tools and the teeth of those he had worked on with labels like "a person who made tablecloths" or a "fast-walking messenger."
Other things displayed were more "circus sideshow," like a "Korkodil;" anatomic samples of plants and animals and Siamese twins preserved in vinegar or vodka; his own stuffed pet dog and his Persian stallion Liserta; and even live human specimens such as a young hermaphrodite and a child born with only two fingers and two toes on each appendage.
There was even a wax likeness of himself, in the Madame Tussaud style. PtG was an imposing 6'8", but had a small head for his stature. Most artists painted him with head more in proportion to his body so as not to insult. This waxwork statue by Rastrelli, however, was true to life in scale.
The next huge contributor to the development of the museum was Catherine the Great (reigned 1762-1796). She formally opened her palace collection to outsiders on a regular basis--mainly gentry, diplomats, and well-vetted guests.
Her favorite treasures included 4,000 Old Master paintings (Rembrandt, VanDyck, Rubens); furniture from Marie Antoinette's favorite cabinetmaker); Classical sculpture (Michelangelo); engraved gems and cameos (her's is probably the world's largest collection of fine jewels today); and tableware. The 944-piece Green Frog service for 50 from Wedgwood is most notable. Each piece has a unique painting of English gardens, buildings, or landscape and a green frog insignia to assure its authenticity.
She also enjoyed reading and collected 40,000 books. The French philosopher Voltaire was an avid penpal, although she never met him. After his death, she bought his personal library of 7,000 books from his heirs. To house them, she added a library as well as a theater onto the Winter Palace. Eventually, these and many others books were transferred to the Pushkin Library.
Most of Catherine's acquisitions were made through trusted agents. They were purchased, bartered, or acquired through payoffs for war, gambling, or other unfortunate debt. She added two pavilions to the palace expressly to display her new favorite art objects.
During the reign of Paul I (reigned 1796-1801, Catherine's son) and Alexander (reigned 1801-1825, Catherine's grandson), the museum became more institutionalized. Administrators handled business and visits became more open to the public and foreign travelers.
Paul, however, acquired over 300 cases of impressive 17th-century sculpture through a Venice merchant.
<-- Alexander I's big coup was obtaining art from Josephine's collection (estranged wife of Napoleon) after her death by paying off her personal debt for her heirs.
She also enjoyed reading and collected 40,000 books. The French philosopher Voltaire was an avid penpal, although she never met him. After his death, she bought his personal library of 7,000 books from his heirs. To house them, she added a library as well as a theater onto the Winter Palace. Eventually, these and many others books were transferred to the Pushkin Library.
Most of Catherine's acquisitions were made through trusted agents. They were purchased, bartered, or acquired through payoffs for war, gambling, or other unfortunate debt. She added two pavilions to the palace expressly to display her new favorite art objects.
During the reign of Paul I (reigned 1796-1801, Catherine's son) and Alexander (reigned 1801-1825, Catherine's grandson), the museum became more institutionalized. Administrators handled business and visits became more open to the public and foreign travelers.
Paul, however, acquired over 300 cases of impressive 17th-century sculpture through a Venice merchant.<-- Alexander I's big coup was obtaining art from Josephine's collection (estranged wife of Napoleon) after her death by paying off her personal debt for her heirs.
Catherine's grandson Nicholas I (reigned 1825-1855) was the last major royal contributor to the museum. He also added another extension to the palace. His obsession was monumental vases (more later), arms and armor, medals and coins, and paintings with military subjects. Alexander's sister Louise provided a notable collection of watercolors.
In 1837, a fire gutted the palace. To save them, artworks were dumped into the snow. Bridges and hallways between buildings were destroyed to slow the spread. It originally took eight years to build the palace (1754-62), but only 18 months to restore.
Most of the interim tzars, and those after Nicholas I, did not have as big a passion for the arts as those above. So, although they contributed some to the collection, the museum waxed and waned through their reigns. Due to the political climate, during the last reign of Romanov tzars (Nicholas II and Alexander) the Hermitage became an institution rather than a personal collection of the imperials.
In the late 19th and early 20th-centuries two families competed for the best of Impressionists and Post-Impressionist artwork (Renoir, Gauguin, Picasso, Matisse, VanGogh)--the Shchukins and the Morozovs. They greatly influenced the start of Russian avant-garde artists. Although this art was much admired by them and their followers, they were not valued by the revolutionary movement and were even considered detrimental to society in the early 1900s.
In the bigger picture, it was a miracle that the Winter Palace and Hermitage were not destroyed during the takeover of the revolution. There was some looting, but the new leaders made it clear that these properties and their contents were now owned by the "people" and should be respected. Thank goodness they appreciated the cultural, historical (and monetary) value of these objects. Many of the original staff remained in place after the takeover, at least for a time.
After the Revolution of 1917, the Winter Palace and Hermitage complex were nationalized and gradually combined to become the State Hermitage Museum. In 1918, Stalin decreed that ALL museum and private art collections (including the Shchukins and the Morozovs) in the country be confiscated and owned by the State. As you can imagine, this greatly expanded the assets of the Hermitage.
During WW II, much damage was done to the Hermitage and its contents by the German invasion and bombing. After that war, "trophy art" was negotiated between the two countries. Russia wanted Germany to give up some of its art to replace items that it had destroyed. Negotiations regarding that issue continue to this day.
The Hermitage Museum is the largest in Russia and second in the world, only after the "Extended" Louvre. It has over three million works of art and antiquities. If you spent one minute for eight hours a day, it would take over 15 years to see every item. There would have been many more invaluable objects, if they had not been sold in the 1920-30s to fund government operations of the then USSR. There is a branch of the museum in Amsterdam, one of PtG beloved cities.
An aside:
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