Masterpieces of the Hermitage. Paintings by Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael Santi, Titian Vecellio

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

One person was not too lazy and considered that it would take 8 years to completely bypass the entire Hermitage, while devoting only one minute to inspecting one exhibit. Therefore, when going for some aesthetic impressions to this museum of our country, be sure to stock up on a lot of time, as well as the appropriate mood. In this article, we will look at the most important masterpieces of the Hermitage, which everyone who visits this museum should see.

General information

The Hermitage Museum is a set of 5 tasks that were built at different times and by different architects for completely different purposes. Consistently, these buildings are interconnected, but visually they have differences in the shade of their facades. For example, the Winter Palace is the creation of Bartolomeo Rastrelli, who was commissioned by Empress Elizabeth herself. After that comes the Small Hermitage.

Following him, the museum includes suites of rooms of the old Hermitage. They smoothlyflow into the building of the new Hermitage, designed by a European architect named Leo von Klenze to house a rapidly growing art collection. Concludes the entire complex of museums theater.

For the convenience of tourists, all must-see masterpieces of the Hermitage are marked on the museum plan with pictures and arrows. This is the traditional route for most tour guides. So, let's take a closer look at the Hermitage's most famous masterpieces that you must see.

Jordan stairs

As a rule, all excursion routes around the main building of the museum begin with a visit to the Jordanian staircase, which is also called the embassy staircase. It was on this staircase that all distinguished guests and envoys of foreign powers walked. If you don’t know what to see in the Hermitage, then you definitely won’t miss this staircase, because it is decorated with white and gold marble, which is simply impossible not to notice. This staircase bifurcates, the path goes forward to the front rooms, and if you turn left, you can get to the field marshal's hall.

All the ceremonial halls that stretch along the Neva, outwardly look a little deserted and are currently used to host temporary exhibitions there. On the left side begins another suite of ceremonial halls, which abut against the throne room. In contrast to the front staircase, it looks rather modest.

Pazyryk Kurgan

So, what to see in the Hermitage if you are here for the first time? If you go down the October stairs tofirst floor, you will find yourself in a room that is dedicated to the art of the inhabitants of ancient Asia, that is, the Scythians. This hall is presented at number 26, it has preserved well things from organic materials that were found during excavations of the royal necropolis located in the Altai Mountains.

It is this necropolis that is called the Pazyryk Mound. Its culture belongs to the third century BC, which is the era of the early Iron Age. The things that were found in this Kurgan are still in good condition, due to the special climatic conditions.

Gallery of portraits of the Romanov dynasty

A tour of the Hermitage is not complete without a visit to the gallery of portraits of the Romanov dynasty. If you walk around this place, you can fill in all your gaps in knowledge about what the Romanov dynasty was, which ruled the Russian Empire from the 17th century. This story is presented in the form of paintings, which depict the nobility.

Madonna by Leonardo da Vinci

And what is worth seeing without fail when visiting the large Hermitage? Of course, you should definitely admire the painting. Leonardo da Vinci's painting "Madonna Litta" is a great treasure. This outstanding artist, inventor, humanist, scientist, architect, writer and genius is a kind of cornerstone of absolutely all art belonging to the European Renaissance. It was Leonardo da Vinci who first laid down the tradition of oil painting.

BeforeFor this, mixtures of natural pigments, as well as egg yolk, were used to paint pictures. Leonardo da Vinci was also the first to use the triangular composition of the painting, where the Madonna herself and the child are embedded, as well as the Angels and Saints surrounding them. Be sure to pay attention to the doors of the hall in which the painting is exhibited. They are decorated with gold-plated metal details, as well as a tortoise shell.

Raphael's loggias in the Hermitage

The entire Hermitage gallery is a copy of the gallery that was located in the palace of the Pope. This gallery was painted by Raphael's students according to his sketches. The gallery was reproduced in St. Petersburg at the request of Catherine II. On the end wall of this gallery, Catherine asked to place a portrait of Raphael. In this room, the walls are painted with unusual ornaments inspired by ancient paintings called gratesques.

Rembrandt Hall

What else do the guides show tourists, giving them a tour of the main museum of the country? One such place is the Rembrandt Hall in the Hermitage. No one will pass by him. One of Rembrandt's latest and most popular paintings is The Prodigal Son. It is indicated absolutely on all guidebooks and plans. This work is like the Parisian Mona Lisa in the Louvre. Huge crowds of tourists always gather around it. The picture is very glare, so you can only see it well if you raise your head, or stand on the platform of the Soviet stairs.

Netherlands painting

Not only Italian painting gained great popularity during the Renaissance. The museum houses a collection of Netherlandish paintings from the 16th and 17th centuries. The usual path leading from the throne room goes straight to the clock with a peacock, which is located near the gallery of applied art of the Middle Ages. If you turn right, walk a little, you can admire the collection of Netherlandish paintings. For example, here is the altarpiece of Jeanne Bellgamba, which is dedicated to the Annunciation.

Previously, he was in the possession of the church, but he was able to reach in full force to the present day. In the center, near the Archangel Gabriel, who brought the good news to Mary, Dannottar is depicted, who is the customer of this apartment, which was a rather bold step for the Netherlandish painting of that time. The central area is depicted as if in perspective, in the foreground is the Annunciation scene itself, and behind it is the Virgin Mary, who is sewing diapers, expecting a baby.

Mummy

Petersburg holds the world record for the number of mummified corpses. The most famous mummy is the body of the ancient Egyptian priest Pa-di-ista. This exhibit is located in the Egyptian hall, lying under a special case made of glass. This is due to the fact that it is impossible to allow air to enter under the dome. A whole legend is connected with this mummy. One caretaker of the Egyptian hall said that some time before the new moon, in the spring of 2004, a muscle on the left shoulder of the mummy twitched.

A couple of days laterin the same place, a growth the size of a walnut was formed, moving up and down the arm. A week later, these unusual phenomena ceased, and the tumor disappeared from the body of the mummy on its own. To this day, no one knows if this is true or false. This mummy is far from being the only dead man in the Hermitage. There are at least 5 of them in this museum.

Watch "Peacock"

The Peacock clock mentioned above is a wonderful mechanical invention invented by Friedrich Urey and James Cox. This watch came to the territory of Russia thanks to Potemkin, who bought it as a gift to Catherine II. The favorite of the Empress, unfortunately, did not find out whether the gift was to the taste of the Empress, since Potemkin died before the clock was delivered to her. Initially, the clock was in the Tauride Palace, and after that it was transferred to the Winter Palace, where it is still located.

Two times they were repaired by the famous Kulibin, as some parts were damaged during transportation. However, in general, these unique mechanisms have survived to our times without any changes. The clock is the only known large mechanical device from the 18th century that still works to this day without fail.

Portico with Atlantes, Terebenevskaya stairs

The main entrance of the new Hermitage is equipped with a staircase that rises from the entrance to the museum from Millionnaya Street, and the porch is decorated with 10 atlantes fromgray granite. They were made under the guidance of the famous Russian sculptor Terebenev, from where the name of the stairs came from. Once upon a time, the routes of the first tourists of the museum began from this porch. There is one tradition: in order to return to the museum again, as well as to gain good luck, each visitor must rub the heel of some Atlantean.

Snyders' Stalls

A wide-format canvas painted by a Dutch artist depicts meat, fish and fruit shops in colorful juicy details. This canvas was intended to decorate the dining room in the palace of the bishop, who ordered the artist to write this work. Ignoring the fact that Snyder wrote in the style of a "dead nature" still life, in this masterpiece he presented a blooming, living world, as well as people who served only as decorations for the image, delighting their eyes and stomachs with stalls of seductive and mouth-watering vegetables, game and fish.

In conclusion, it is worth noting that these are, of course, far from all the exhibits and masterpieces of the Hermitage, which you should definitely see when you visit here. As mentioned earlier, it will take a huge amount of time to get acquainted with all the works stored in the Hermitage.