Eastern and Central Europe (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

146 NORTH EASTERN EUROPE

The Hermitage Collections

The Gallery of Ancient

Painting is decorated

with scenes from ancient

literature. It houses a

display of 19th-century

European sculpture.

The Litta Madonna (c. 1491)
One of two works by
Leonardo da Vinci here, this
was much admired by his
contempo raries.

Stairs to

ground

floor

First floor

Skylight rooms

Ground floor

Raphael Loggias (see p144)

. Abraham’s Sacrifice (1635)
In the 1630s Rembrandt painted
religious scenes in a High Baroque
style, using dramatic and striking
gestures rather than detail to
convey his message.

The Hall of

Twenty Columns

Catherine the Great purchased some of Western Europe’s
best collections between 1764 and 1774, acquiring over
2,500 paintings, 10,000 carved gems, 10,000 drawings and
a vast amount of silver and porcelain with which to adorn
her palaces. None of her successors matched the quantity
of her remarkable purchases. After the Revolution, the
nationalization of both royal and private property brought
more paintings and works of applied art, making the
Hermitage one of the world’s leading museums.

European Gold

Collection

The Knights’ Hall is used

for displays of armour

and weapons from the

former imperial arsenal.

Entrance for tours

and guided groups

GALLERY GUIDE
Individual visitors enter via Palace
Square, then cross the main court-
yard; group tours use other
entrances by arrangement.
Visitors can start with the interiors
of the Winter Palace State Rooms on
the first floor to get an overview of the
museum. Nineteenth- and 20th-
century European Art is best reached
by either of the staircases on the Palace
Square side of the Winter Palace.
However, some collections may move.

For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp160–61 and pp162–3

STAR EXHIBITS

. Abraham’s Sacrifice
. Ea Haere Ia Oe
. La Danse

Main

entrance

Ticket

Office