The Ermitage- from a gold-plated peacock clock to the military gallery

Hi Hive friends,

today I want to tell you something about the Ermitage, in which I have been a little longer ago, but wanted to share with you the impressions in any case! It is located in St Petersburg near the Neva River, which flows through the whole of St. Petersburg. Close to the water, the Hermitage looks even more beautiful:) I visited it with friends in one day, but if you are planning a trip there, I would recommend you to visit it in 2 days, because there is really a lot to see and it is almost impossible to do it in one day without missing some nice parts.
It is an ancient art museum since 1918 and thus houses many art treasures that are particularly valuable and beautiful to look at and was collected by the Tsarina Catherine II. The museum is divided into five buildings: the Winter Palace, the Small and Great Hermitage, the New Hermitage and the Hermitage Theater. In this theater you can also watch an evening performance, e.g. Swan Lake, which I unfortunately did not do but will definitely make up for on my next visit to St. Petersburg!:) Since it dates back to the time of the tsars, the halls are very splendidly decorated and you can look at weapons, jewelry and even clothes of the tsar's family.

The Winter Palace, decorated in gold, white and pale green, was created by architect Bartolomeo Rastrelli in 1754. It was the headquarters of the tsars for a long time. Catherine II eventually had the Hermitage built as an annex to the Winter Palace.

Shortly after the entrance I was already standing on the Jordan stairs and guessed approximately what would expect me inside - the view was incredible!

The historical art of Michel Angelos and his very own interpretation

The crouching boy by Michelangelo- This statue from 1524 shows a naked boy who is relatively muscular and probably trying to pull a nail out of his toe. The sculpture creates a certain impression of pain and anxiety, which I could not quite escape. Even today it is uncertain for whom exactly the statue was intended: whether for the tomb of Giuliano de' Medici (which most art scholars assume today) or whether for the tomb of Pope Julius II. One of the main theories is that the boy expresses the pain of an unborn soul. But surely every viewer can give free rein to his own interpretation!:) What I really liked was that the audio guide provided additional information about the exhibits:)



Madonna Litta -I just couldn't walk past this painting without taking a photo: The "Stillenede Madonna" painted (probably) Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio in the Italian Renaissence. For some time the painting was attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, but nowadays it is probably reasonably certain that it is the work of Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio, among others. In addition, the artist Marco d'Oggiono is believed to have been involved. In 1865 Tsar Alexander acquired the painting and added it to the Hermitage. For me, this painting has something very soothing, which is perhaps due to the predominant blue tones and the look of the Madonna.As you can see here you can only look at them behind glass, which made taking pictures a bit more difficult. What is particularly striking: the ornate gold frame is disproportionately wide in relation to the picture - which makes the picture even more impressive in my opinion!:)

Raphael loggias after ital. Model in the new Ermitage

The festive Armorial Hall

Here you can see the festive Armorial Hall with gilded columns-my personal favorite of the museum. Here you can see the festive Armorial Hall with the gilded columns-my personal favorite of the museum. You just have to let these impressions sink in! You feel a bit like you're in another world, and everywhere visitors take lots of photos to capture the impressions. In this special hall the tsar received his guests. Almost everything here is gilded: columns, chandeliers and pilasters. The chandeliers are also decorated with the coats of arms of the Russian territories.

Sculpture of the Early Russian Warriors in Armorial Hall, the Winter Palace

Equestrian portrait of Alexander I: It was painted by Franz Krüger and added to the war gallery around 1835. I noticed that the emperor is wearing the uniform of a gneral, a blue ribbon of the Order of St. Andreas,the medal commemorating the Russian campaign and a star (on closer inspection). Paris is supposed to be depicted in the background, and he is supposed to have come to Paris on this very horse in 1814.

In the this room the military gallery from 1812 was waiting for us: there are a lot of paintings of generals who took part in the Russian campaign in 1812, if I remember correctly there were about 330 of them. The portraits were painted by George Dawe, and his assistant, Alexander Polyakov and Wilhelm Golicke. In 1837 a fire broke out in the gallery, but fortunately the paintings were saved from the flames. The hall was subsequently reconstructed.The large painting shows Emperor Franz I, in the background you can see the capital of Austria, Vienna. It can be found in the Commandery Gallery, as he supported Tsar Alexander I.

This last picture shows the peacock clock: it is a mechanical chime with clockwork! The clock is decorated with various golden plants and animals, such as the peacock sitting on an oak trunk, from where the clock got its name. It is made of copper and has been gilded. All the plants and animals are life size replicas. It comes from England and was given to Catherine the Great. The rim of this clock was even set with rhinestones - it leaves no doubt that this clock served primarily as a status symbol.
I hope you liked my post and maybe there are art lovers among you, who I could give an incentive with this post to travel to St. Petersburg and see this unique art museum! Of course, I would also appreciate feedback from you!:)