Russia 2019 (51) SAINT PETERSBURG - Treasures of the Hermitage

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There are eleven buildings in the Hermitage complex. In the original section, which we saw first, there are five connected buildings-- Winter Palace, Small Hermitage (the original museum building), Old Hermitage, New Hermitage, and Hermitage Theatre. Before Covid-19 started, 30,000 people visited per day.

We entered at 09:00. Even at that time there was a loooong queue waiting for the 10:30 formal opening. It was worth the extra money we paid for the "Privileged Access" tour of the museum to get in early. We felt like royalty bypassing the line and getting out of the inclement weather so quickly. See the start of the line in the lower right of this pix.

As we passed through the entry hall, we saw cat paintings for sale. In 1745, Empress Elizabeth (PtG's daughter) made the decision that cats be "employed" to control vermin in the palace. Today 60 cats (mostly black and white and neutered) have luxury quarters in the palace basement. Three caretakers watch over them and facilities include a hospital and kitchen. Although they do not wander the halls today, they have access to the grounds in the summer. Citizens make application and 12 kittens per year are raffled off to the public. They are considered very prestigious pets.

We can't begin to show even a tiny fraction of the works of art and antiquities found here, but here is a sample.

One of the first rooms we entered was the Military Gallery. Located here are portraits of 332 generals from the Patriotic War of 1812. The artist is George Dawe and his assistants. There are four green blanks of generals who died before their portraits were completed. See one in the upper right of this pix.

At one end of the hall is this huge painting of Alexander I.

We found this golden Peacock Clock, a prominent piece of the collection, in the Pavilion Hall. It is a large and elaborate automaton featuring a life-size peacock, owl, and rooster. They all move and make bird sounds to chime the time. It was created in 1777 by Englishman James Cox and acquired by Catherine the Great with the influence of her lover (or possible secret husband) Grigory Potemkin. This 3-minute video is worth watching: See how the clock works.

Here is an example of Florentine majolica porcelain.

Lots of inlaid and mosaic works of art. This floor mosaic includes mythical beasts, human hunters, and Medusa at its center. Its probably 20 feet in diameter.

This table was made of micro-mosaic pieces, maybe 1/8-inch in size at largest. Titled 24-Hours in Rome.


Detail.

An inlaid table.

 

I think this is a micro-mosaic of Catherine the Great. Bigger than life size. Just amazing!!

I had mentioned that Nicholas I liked monumental vases and I must admit I was intrigued also. These were all taller than Mike. This one is polished rhodonite, which ranges from pink to rose to red.

Not sure about this one, but commemorating something or someone.

This Neoclassical vase is made of polished malachite. The top of Mike's head barely reached the bottom of the gold handle. Malachite is a rich resource in Russia's Ural Mountains, although not mined much these days.

One could take a bath in this one. It was carved from a single piece of jasper by the Kolyvan Lapidary Works in 1843. This company was 5,000 km (3,106 miles) from SP. It took 154 horses harnessed to a giant sledge and 770 workers to move it to the capital. The size is stupendous-- 2.57m (8.5 feet) tall, 5m (16.5 feet) long, 3.25m (10.5 feet) wide, and weighs 19 tons.

And, of course, paintings abound. Here's Leonardo da Vinci's Madonna and Child circa 1495.

This one by Rembrandt is titled Danae circa 1640. In 1985, a maniac threw sulphuric acid on it and slashed it twice with a knife. It was repaired and retuned to the gallery in 1997. Because of that incident, liquids are no longer allowed in the museum.

I liked this cat painting. I don't have any background on this one though.

Landscapes. Titled New Market-Place in Desden by Bellotto circa 1747.

This big hall includes some "monumental"-sized paintings.

Located there is Rembrandt's Return of the Prodigal Son circa 1668, a museum highlight. Size is 262x205 cm (about 8.5h by 6.75w feet).

Antiquities--Greek, Roman, Russian, more.

Sculpture. The first is a bronze of Girolamo Giustiniani, a Venetian scholar from the mid-16th century.

 Unfinished Crouching Boy by Michelangelo circa 1530.

Love this one. It was by the ladies room. It is Sleeping Ariadne by Triscornia, Italian, late 18th-century. The cloth "draping" is superb.

Not on purpose, but seems I added a lot of Italian works here. Outside the USA, that is my favorite country--the food, history, culture, landscape, romance. Ahhh! I call myself an Italian-o-phile.