Russia’s State hermitage museum is one of the world’s largest museums and has become one of the symbols of St. Petersburg making it quite impossible to imagine arts in Russia without it.
The State Hermitage Museum was founded in 1764, the same year Empress Catherine II acquired 225 western European paintings for the museum.
The museum is situated in the middle of St. Petersburg and boasts of about 3 million works of arts, and artefacts of world culture with sculptural pieces, archaeological findings, paintings, and works of applied arts to mention a few.
The museum houses the imperial residence as well the large throne room furnished in the Austere neo-classical style with the throne of the Grand empress fashioned in devotion to Peter the Great, founder of St. Petersburg.
The 1812 wall gallery bears 323 portraits of generals who fought heroically in the patriotic war and was conceived by Emperor Alexander I to celebrate Russia’s victory over Napoleon.
The pavilion hall contains works of Italian arts with masterpieces by Leonardo Da Vinci, Raphael, Titian, and others.
The hall is home to a collection of the world’s finest works with significant works of 17th-century Dutch artist Rembrandt, and works of Flemish artist Peter Paul Reubens that trace all the periods of his career.
The Hermitage is also graced with Roman arts spanning from the 1st century BC to the 4th century AD, and Italian sculpture of the 18th and early 19th centuries.
Works from French impressionists such as Monat, Renoir, post-impressionists like Willem van Gogh, and Paul Gauguin, as well as early works by Pablo Picasso, graces the rich art gallery.
Without any doubt, Russia’s State Hermitage Museum is a major collection of world art and culture.
