The Hermitage of St. Petersburg: Museum of Art and Architecture

The State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia is one of the most important art museums in the country and was once the residence of the Romanov Czars. It can be found in the historic center of the city.

The Hermitage is made up of five buildings and hosts approximately 3 million items, from the Stone Age through the present. It also includes paintings by old masters. It’s more than just a museum. It’s an architectural masterpiece of art.

The Winter Palace was built by Empress Elizabeth of Russia in 1754. It took eight years to construct and was designed by Bartolomeo Rastroelli. Catherine the Great expanded the building, and many of the interiors were transformed into neoclassical designs. This was the current architectural trend.

Catherine was also an avid art collector, so new buildings in neoclassical styles were built next to the royal residence in order to house her extensive art collection. The New Hermitage was created in the following years: the Small Hermitage (the Great Hermitage), the Hermitage Theatre (the Hermitage Theatre), and the Great Hermitage (the Great Hermitage). The new collection of buildings, which included the palace, was completed in 1795. It became “Hermitage”, a French term meaning “retreat”.

Every building and every room in the Hermitage are architectural wonders. With its many molded decorations and golden stucco, the exterior of Winter Palace is a marvel of Russian baroque architecture.

The majority of interiors are in the neoclassical design, as seen in St. George’s Hall. This large state hall has Corinthian pink marl columns and patterned floors. The complex also features the Pavilion Hall, which has Gothic, Oriental and Renaissance elements, the Raphael Loggias gallery, with frescoes inspired from the Vatican Palace, and the Auditorium, which is in French Rococo.

Great works of art are the buildings that house archeological and artistic masterpieces.

The striking example of 18th-century Russian baroque architecture is the elegant Winter Palace. The exterior of the massive palace is painted in green and white. It combines traditional architecture with decorative arts. Four facades make up the three-story structure, which is made up of two-tier colonnades with golden stucco moldings and four facades. Abundance is key here. The palace has a magnificent appearance thanks to its abundance of windows and cornices (decorative mouldings). (Katvik/Shutterstock)

The Winter Palace’s St. George’s Hall, also known by the Throne Hall, is the Winter Palace’s St. George’s Hall. The Russian Neoclassical style room was designed by Giacomo Quarenghi in 1787-1795. It was later altered slightly by fire in 1837. The original elements such as the two tiers and Corinthian marble columns, gilded ceiling and Empress Catherine II’s throne at the end of this room, along with the parquet floor patterned from various woods, are still visible. (Popova Valeriya/Shutterstock)

The room is made of gold. It was designed by Alexander Briullov in 1838-1841. Andrei Stackenschneider restored the room after the 1837 fire. The architecture is in the Byzantine style with its vaulted ceiling and gilded wall moldings. A magnificent parquet floor completes the decor. (Anton Ivanov/Shutterstock)

Another impressive room in the Winter Palace is the Malachite Room. It was designed by Alexander Briullov 1839. Antonio Vighi decorated the right wall with allegorical figures that represent Night, Day, Poetry. The rest of the room is composed of malachite columns and a mosaic floor. It also contains the furniture from the Jasper Room. This makes it a wonderful example of 19th-century decorative arts. (volkova natalia/Shutterstock)

Rare example of the “Second Rococo”, which is the revival of the Rococo style, in the Winter Palace. This boudoir was designed by Harald Bosse (1853). It features beautiful ornamentation with gilded furniture and red brocatelle (silk fabric), as well as an ormolu chandelier that is reflected in the central reflection. It gives off a feeling of luxury and comfort. (Karasev Victor/Shutterstock)

One of three rooms in the Palace has skylights, the Italian Skylight Room. The red walls feature large Italian paintings dating back to the 17th and18th centuries. The molded ceiling features blue and gold Renaissance motifs. (Mrvlad/Shutterstock)

The Raphael Loggias is one of the most well-known rooms in the Great Hermitage. It was commissioned by Empress Catherine II during the 1780s and is a exact replica of frescoes from the Papal Palace in Vatican City. Tempera technique is used to reproduce the frescoes. These vaults are decorated with scenes of the Holy Scriptures (known under the “Raphael’s Bible”) and the painted walls with “grotesques” (ornamentation motif motifs). (Nigel Jarvis/Shutterstock)

This is the Small Hermitage’s most luxurious room. Andrei Stackenschneider designed the Pavilion Hall in 1858. It combines Gothic, Oriental and Renaissance elements. The room is lit by crystal chandeliers. It has white marble columns that support them and stucco ceilings and walls with gilded stucco. The mosaic on the floor is an exact copy of an old Roman mosaic. (Popova Valeriya/Shutterstock)

The foyer of the Hermitage Theatre was designed in French Rococo style by Leonty Benois in 1903. Blue walls are decorated with gilded garlands of plants and Rocaille elements (a style of Rococo ornamentation based upon curves and nature inspired elements), on the picture frames and wall panels, as well as on the windows and doors. The ceiling paintings are copies of 17th century paintings by Luca Giordano depicting mythological scenes. (Mistervlad/Shutterstock)

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