42. Новый Эрмитаж – императорский музей Николая I/The New Hermitage – the Imperial Museum of Nicholas I, 1842-1852

Authors architects - L KlenzeV.P.Stasov, N.Ye.Yefimov (1842 - 1852), sculptors - A.I. Terebenev, V.I. Demuth-Malinovskiy, K.A.Klein, I.I. Reimers, D.I. Jensen, P.V. Svintsov, N.A.Ustinov, N.A.Tokarev, A.V. Loganovskiy (1842-1852)Address: Millionnaya ulitsa, 35Nicholas I ordered to design a new block of the Hermitage soon after ihe restoration of ihe Winter Palace after the fire. A new edifice was to become an an museum opened for all amateurs of art. The project was worked out by a Bavarian architect Leo von Klenze who had already designed two museum buildings in Munich visited by Nicholas I in 1838.The edifice of the New Hermitage designed by L. von Klenze (he came lo Saint-Petersburg only on special occasions) and V. Stasov was erected by N. Yefimov in 1842 - 1851. The building constructed was located on the place of themansion that had once belonged lo Chief of the Court-Office D. Shcpclcv. later on to the Corps of Pages, and finally in 1827 - 1839 V. Zhukovskiy. the teacher of the Emperor's children duelled there. The edifice was being built under the supervision of Nicholas I, for whom L. von Klenze drew 800 sketches of a future building. To commemorate the personality of the Emperor who had inspired the erection of the New Hermitage a memorial board was placed above the Slate Staircase with the following inscription: Emperor Nicholas I erected in 1850.Originally the main facade was planned to be made from the side of the Winter Palace but at the course o( the construction the original design was changed. The facade was decorated with 28 statues of ancient masters, the entrance resembling the ancient Greek temple, was adorned with a portico decorated with ten grey granite atlantes each 5 m high (by A. Terebenev) lhal were drawn by L. von Klenze to the model of the statues of an ancient Sicilian temple. During the Second World War a bomb hit the torso of one of the atlantes that continued to stay at his post with a lacerated wound on his chest. Inside the New Hermitage the largest vase in the world that look 12 years of work to be accomplished (the Vase of Kolyvan ", produced from a single block of a green Altay jasper, to the design by A. Mel'nikov, 19 tonnes weight. 2.57 m high, the big diameter - 5.04 m. the small diameter - 3.22 m) was placed - it had been set up in the hail before ihe walls of ihe building were erecled. In auiomn 1 849 777 workers placed the Queen of Vases on the pedestal, a bronze oak wreath was added to the vase as a special decor later on. The Venus ofTaurida was also located in the New Hermitage. It was found during archaeological excavations in Rome in 1718. bought by Peter I and brought to Saint-Petersburg. Originally it had been placed in ihe Summer Gardens, later on at the residence of G. Polyomkin. after his death the statue was moved to the New Hermitage having acquired the name of its former owner.The ceremonial opening of the Imperial Hermitage took place on 5 February 1852: ihe first visitors were invited to the Hermitage Theatre where the> saw the performance and then to the halls of the New Hermitage for diner. On the first floor there were halls of ihe ancient art. the ancient and Russian sculpture, the collection of engravings and drawings, and the library. The second floor housed the art gallery with halls devoted to ihe paintings by the Weslern-turopean masters and one hall with the pictures by the Russian artists 1С. Bryullov, I. Ayvazovskiy, etc., later on transferred lo ihe Russian Museum) and the collection of coins and medals in the show-cases decorated with gilded allegoric figures.The museum became the part of the Winter Palace so the entrance to the Hermitage Theatre was allowed lo a close circle of people. Tickets were issued by the Court-Office; admission was granted only lo those men who whore military uniform or a tail-coai and for women who were dressed formally. The museum worked daily for 2 - 3 hours with two days off on Saturday and Sunday. From 12:30 p.m. to 14:15 p.m. the New Hermitage was closed for ihe Emperor himself visited the halls admiring the masterpieces. The admission to the New Hermitage became relatively easy only in late 19^lh cem.. in ihe reign of Alexander II when director of the museum S. Gedeonov succeeded in getting the Emperor's order by which the admission to the New Hermitage became free of charge and the drcss-code was abolished. The museum was opened from 10:00 a.m. lo 16:00 p.m. every day except tor Friday and holidays. There were special tickets for entering the Peter's Gallery and the Treasury. Every year the New Hermitage received up to 50 000 visitors. Up to 1930s the entrance to the State Hermitage was located at the side of the New Hermitage. Nowadays the collection of the State Hermitage (about 2 mln 800 000 items exhibited in about 350 halls) comprises the Department of Prehistoric Culm re. the Department of the Art and Culture of Antiquity, the Department of the Art and Culture of the Peoples of the Hast, the Department of Russian Culture (includes the interiors of the Winter Palace), the Numismatic Department and the department of the Western-European Art. One of the most interesting departments is the Gallery of Jevvclery that can boast the Large Crown, the orb and the scepter decorated with a celebrated Orlov diamond weighing 194.8 carats, produced in 1771 - 1773 for the coronation of Catherine II. and the Small Crown - a miniature replica of the crown made for Elizabeth I in 1801; there is also a whole collection of the works executed by Fabcrge. and a large collection of various objects of applied art ornamented with gold and precious stones.