The STaTe hermiTage muSeum annual reporT

The STaTe hermiTage muSeum annual reporT 2010

The STaTe hermiTage muSeum annual reporT 2010 

General Editor 

Mikhail Piotrovsky, 

Director of the state Hermitage Museum, 

Corresponding Member of the Russian academy of sciences, 

Full Member of the Russian academy of arts, 

Professor of st. Petersburg state University, 

Doctor of sciences (History) 

ediTorial Board: 


Director of the state Hermitage Museum 

Georgy Vilinbakhov, 

Deputy Director for Research 

Svetlana Adaksina, 

Deputy Director, Chief Curator 

Marina Antipova, 

Deputy Director for Finance and Planning 

Alexei Bogdanov, 

Deputy Director for Maintenance 

Vladimir Matveyev, 

Deputy Director for Exhibitions and Development 

Mikhail Novikov, 

Deputy Director for Construction 

Mariam Dandamayeva, 

academic secretary 

Yelena Zvyagintseva, 

Head of the Publishing Department 

Larisa Korabelnikova, 

Head of the Press service 

execuTive group: 

Tatiana Baranova, Mariam Dandamayeva, Yekaterina Danilina, 

Viktor Faibisovich, Larisa Korabelnikova, Svetlana Philippova, 

Yevgenia Viachina, Yelena Zvyagintseva 

ISBN 978-5-93572-415-3 

© The State Hermitage Museum, 2011 

conTenTS 

a year of two staircases ............................................................. 4 

The State Hermitage Museum. General Information ............... 6 

Awards .......................................................................................... 12 

Composition of the Hermitage Collections 

as of 1 January 2011 .................................................................... 14 

Permanent Exhibitions ............................................................... 27 

temporary Exhibitions ............................................................... 30 

Restoration and Conservation .................................................... 70 

Publications ................................................................................. 85 

Conferences ................................................................................. 96 

Dissertations ................................................................................ 99 

Archaeological Expeditions ....................................................... 100 

Major Construction and Restoration ......................................... 110 

Structure of Visits to the Hermitage in 2010 ............................ 116 

Educational Events ...................................................................... 117 

Special Development Programmes............................................. 123 

Board of trustees of the state Hermitage Museum ................. 133 

International Advisory Board 

of the State Hermitage Museum ................................................ 134 

Guests of the Hermitage ............................................................. 136 

Hermitage Friends Organizations .............................................. 142 

Financial Statements of the State Hermitage Museum ............. 148 

Principal Patrons and Sponsors of the State Hermitage 

Museum in 2010 .......................................................................... 150 

Hermitage Friends’ Club ............................................................ 152 

staff Members of the state Hermitage Museum ...................... 154 

Email Addresses of the State Hermitage Museum .................... 159

a year of Two STaircaSeS 

a year of Two STaircaSeS 

This year, the Hermitage can be proud of two symbolic achievements – 

the restoration of the Jordan Staircase and the erection of an as yet unnamed 

grand staircase in the eastern wing of the General Staff building. 

One is a symbol of a tradition preserved and transformed. The other is a new 

construction in a former courtyard. It, too, brings about a transformation, 

a harmony between the courtyard and the great suites of the Hermitage. 

The work on both staircases was very time-consuming and skill-intensive; 

it required many of the techniques of the new century. We have held competitions, 

installed state-of-the-art energy-saving lighting systems, and benefited 

from the input of international organizations. All of this is symbolic 

for the Hermitage, which is starting to prepare to celebrate its 250th anniversary 

as a model innovative museum of the 21st century. 

This Hermitage anniversary celebration will be an international event, 

as the museum’s work has a worldwide significance. A dozen of exhibitions 

have been held in Russia, including a special one, an anniversary present to 

the Saratov Museum of Fine Arts. And – most importantly – we have opened 

a new museum centre Hermitage • Vyborg. It uses the experience of the 

Hermitage • Kazan Centre (an exhibition of French art) and Hermitage • 

Amsterdam Centre (Alexander the Great). The Hermitage • Italy Centre has 

produced new catalogues and organized new conferences this year. For the 

first time, a Hermitage archaeological team was working in Italy, an addition 

to the twenty earlier expeditions. All of these contribute to the museum’s 

unique research potential, which also manifests itself in dozens of books 

and extraordinary restoration projects. Bringing back to life the exceptionally 

fine glass beads from the Glass Bead Room in Oranienbaum and the 

laser cleaning of the silver “treasure hoard” of the industrialist Likhachyova 

are truly miraculous achievements. 

The Hermitage research once again presented its spectacular findings in 

a permanent exhibition of ancient Central Asia and the great Pazyryk burials 

featuring the oldest carpet and the oldest tattoos in the world. An exhibition 

of ancient Korean art was a revelation which showed us masterpieces 

which had never before been seen here on the banks of the Neva; and 

a gala exhibition of Picasso’s works in the state rooms of the Winter Palace 

was a real celebration. In return, we sent to Paris an impressive collection 

of items on the Russian Imperial Guard. 

The summer reception at the Winter Palace was dedicated to modern art, 

where works by Anish Kapoor, Antony Gormley, Zurab Tsereteli (a portrait 

of Sobchak), along with wonderful works by young artists, were all on display 

together. The Hermitage continues its experiments with the 21st century – 

we recently amazed our visitors (and shocked some of them perhaps) with 

our Pompidou Centre Festival. 

This year, the Hermitage Board of Trustees made a decision to create an endowment. 

We have finally reached the stage where we can use this modern 

instrument for funding our culture and research. Another efficient innovation 

is a “ring” of councils which undertake preliminary scrutiny of all plans 

and ideas, from exhibition design to grant allocation. 

This year, we have had to concentrate specially on the museum entrance 

area, where a special regime was introduced. We have many visitors, and 

queues are often inevitable. The Hermitage has run a social programme 

for a long time. The museum provides discounts for those who find it hard 

to afford a trip to the museum but would still benefit from one. The museum 

is free for children and students from all countries as well as for Russian 

old-age pensioners. Once a month, we have a day when admission is free for 

all. Nearly half of all our visitors do not pay admission fees. Russian citizens 

tend to be impecunious, which is why we have discounts for them. They 

bring the price down to a level below the standard internationally accepted 

basic fee. 

Such a difference in pricing proves a magnet to frauds and crooks who try 

to make a living out of the Hermitage. They get free and discounted tickets 

and flog them in the queue at exorbitant prices. It is not surprising that 

this causes indignation among the visitors. This is why we are introducing 

stricter regulations for discount ticket sales, which require proof of age, student 

or pensioner status, and citizenship. This also causes protest, but this 

time, I believe, from those interested in backdoor sales. Alas, some people 

are impervious even to the ennobling influence of Palace Square and the 

Great Courtyard. But others are not. The vast majority of our visitors are 

appreciative people with cultural values. We are very glad that our numerous 

special programmes, music festivals, special exhibitions and events find 

a gracious response in their hearts. The museum lives for them and for the 

treasures entrusted to our loving care. 


Director of the state Hermitage Museum 

4 5

The STaTe hermiTage muSeum. general informaTion 

founding of The muSeum 

The foundation date of the museum is considered 

to be 1764, when Empress Catherine 

the Great purchased an impressive collection 

of works (225 paintings) from the Berlin 

merchant Johann Ernest Gotzkowsky. 

The museum celebrates the anniversary 

of its founding each year on 7 December, 

St. Catherine’s Day. 

STaTuS of The hermiTage 

In a Decree by the President of the Russian 

Federation dated 18 December 1991 

the State Hermitage Museum was included 

into a list of the objects of national heritage 

belonging to all the people of the Russian 

Federation. 

In a Decree by the President of the Russian 

Federation dated 12 June 1996 the State 

Hermitage Museum was placed under 

personal patronage of the President 

of the Russian Federation. 

official nameS 

The State Hermitage Museum 

The Hermitage 

In honour of the State Hermitage Museum, 

according to the Official Certificate of the 

International Astronomic Association and 

the Institute of Theoretical Astronomy of the 

Russian Academy of Sciences dated 11 April 

1997, a minor planet registered in the International 

Catalogue of Minor Planets under 

No 4758 was named Hermitage. 

legal addreSS 

34 Dvortsovaya Naberezhnaya 

(Dvortsovaya Embankment), 

190000 St. Petersburg, 

Russian Federation 

archiTecTural complex of The muSeum 

The museum complex consists of the Winter Palace, Small Hermitage, Old Hermitage, 

Hermitage Theatre, New Hermitage and Reserve House (30–38 Dvortsovaya Embankment); 

Menshikov Palace (15 Universitetskaya Embankment); eastern wing and the arch 

of the General Staff building (6–8 Palace Square); Staraya Derevnya Centre for Restoration, 

Conservation and Storage (37 Zausadebnaya Street); Imperial Porcelain Factory Museum, 

located on the premises of the Imperial Porcelain Factory Public Company 

(151 Prospekt Obukhovskoi Oborony). 

muSeum BuildingS 

Winter Palace. 1754–1762 

Architect, Francesco Bartolommeo Rastrelli (1700–1771). 

Reconstructed by Vasily Stasov (1769–1848) after a fire in 1837 

Small Hermitage. 1764 

Architects, Yuri Velten (1730–1801), Jean-Baptiste Vallin de la Mothe (1729–1800) 

Old (Big) Hermitage. 1771–1787 

Architect, Yuri Velten 

Hermitage Theatre. 1783–1787 

Architect, Giacomo Quarenghi (1744–1817) 

New Hermitage. 1842–1851 

Architect, Leo von Klenze (1784–1864), 

construction supervised by Vasily Stasov and Nikolai Yefimov (1799–1851) 

Reserve House of the Winter Palace. 1726–1742, 1830, 1878 

Architects, Domenico Trezzini (?) (1670–1734), Carlo Giuseppe Trezzini (1697–1768), 

Nikolai Bekker (1838 – after 1917) 

Menshikov Palace. 1710–1711 

Architects, Giovanni Mario Fontana (1670–?), Georg Schedel (1680–1752) 

General Staff building (former Ministry of Foreign Affairs 

and the Ministry of Finance building). 1819–1829 

Architect, Carlo Rossi (1775–1849) 

Staraya Derevnya Centre for Restoration, Conservation and Storage 

The beginning of construction – 1990 

muSeum Space 

Total area 183,820 sq. metres 

Exhibition area 66,842 sq. metres 

Storage area 45,000 sq. metres 

Window surface area approx. 13,500 sq. metres 

Parquet floors approx. 26,000 sq. metres 

Marble and stone floors approx. 38,000 sq. metres 

Exhibition area in the General Staff building more than 3,152 sq. metres 

hermiTage weBSiTe 

www.hermitagemuseum.org 

General InformatIon 

main collecTionS enTering 

The muSeum Since 

iTS foundaTion 

1764 – Johann Ernest Gotzkowsky collection 

1769 – Count Heinrich von Brühl collection 

1772 – Baron Pierre Crozat collection 

1779 – Lord Walpole collection 

1781 – Count Baudouin collection 

1787 – Cabinet of carved stones of Duke 

of Orleans 

1814 – Paintings from the Malmaison Palace 

of Josephine Beauharnais 

1861 – Marquis Gian Pietro Campana 

collection 

1884 – Alexander Basilewsky collection 

1885 – Collection of the Arsenal 

in Tsarskoye Selo (now the town of Pushkin) 

1910 – Piotr Semenov-Tyan-Shansky 

collection 

After 1918 the Hermitage also received 

the socialized collections of the Russian 

aristocratic families Sheremetev, Stroganoff, 

Shuvalov, Yusupov, as well as the famous 

collections of Sergei Shchukin and Ivan 

Morozov and others. 

1935 – collection of the former Museum 

of the Baron Stieglitz Central Higher School 

of Technical Drawing 

1950 – collection of banners and banners’ 

accessories, banners’ graphics, the archives 

from the Artillery Historic Museum 

exhiBiTion cenTreS 

of The STaTe hermiTage 

ouTSide ST. peTerSBurg 

Hermitage • Amsterdam 

The Netherlands, Amsterdam 

(exhibition area about 2,195 sq. metres) 

Hermitage • Italy 

Italy, Ferrara 

(exhibition centre – Castello Estense) 

Hermitage • Kazan 

Russia, Kazan 

(exhibition area about 1,381.3 sq. metres) 

Hermitage • Vyborg 

Russia, Vyborg 

(exhibition area about 420 sq. metres) 

6 7

General InformatIon 

J general informaTion on The main deparTmenTS and SecTorS of The muSeum 

deparTmenT of The archaeology 

of eaSTern europe and SiBeria 

Founded in December 1930 on the basis 

of the former Department of Antiquities. 

The Department consists of two sectors – 

Sector of the Forest and Forest-Steppe Zone 

of Eastern Europe and Sector of the South 

of Eurasia. Its collections include approximately 

500,000 objects. Among its thirty-four 

staff members, four hold doctorates and 

thirteen Kandidat degrees. 

deparTmenT of claSSical 

anTiQuiTy 

One of the oldest departments 

in the Hermitage, it consists of two 

sectors: Art and Culture of Ancient Greece 

and Ancient Rome, and Art and Culture 

of the Northern Black Sea Area. Eight of 

the Department’s twenty-six staff members 

hold Kandidat degrees. 

orienTal deparTmenT 

Founded in 1920. The Department’s 

geographical and chronological coverage 

is very broad, so it consists of four 

sectors: Art and Culture of the Ancient 

East; Byzantium and the Near East; Central 

Asia, the Caucasus and Crimea; the Far 

East. The Department’s collections number 

about 150,000 items. Of its forty-six staff 

members, six hold doctorates and twenty 

Kandidat degrees. 

weSTern european fine arTS 

deparTmenT 

One of the oldest and largest departments 

in the Hermitage, it consists of four sectors: 

Painting of the 13th to 18th Centuries; 

Painting of the 19th to 20th Centuries and 

Sculpture; Drawings; Prints. The Department’s 

collections boast approximately 

400,000 objects. Among its sixty staff 

members, four hold doctorates and thirteen 


deparTmenT of weSTern european 

applied arTS 

The Department consists of two sectors: 

one devoted to applied arts and the other 

to precious metals and stones. Its stock 

comprises about 150,000 items. Of its thirty 

staff members, two hold doctorates and nine 


deparTmenT of The hiSTory 

of ruSSian culTure 

Founded in April 1941, the Department 

acquired its present-day form after 

the Second World War. It has two sectors: 

Fine Arts Sector and Applied Art Sector. Its 

collections include more than 300,000 items. 

Of its fifty-three staff members, two hold 

doctorates and fifteen Kandidat degrees. 

numiSmaTic deparTmenT 

It is one of the oldest departments 

in the Hermitage, along with the Classical 

Antiquity and Western European Fine 

Arts Departments. The first coins were 

purchased by Catherine the Great in 1764. 

It contains 1,200,000 items and consists 

of two sectors: one deals with works from 

Antiquity and those from Asia and Africa, 

the other comprises numismatic pieces 

from Europe and America. Among the 

Department’s twenty-four staff members, 

two hold doctorates and three Kandidat 

degrees. 

arSenal 

The Department was founded in 1972 

on the basis of the collection of arms and 

armoury kept in the Oriental and Western 

European Fine Arts Departments. 

In 2010 the Department was substantially 

expanded. Now it also includes collections 

of banners and banners’ accessories, 

banners’ and other military graphics. 

The Alexander Column standing in Palace 

Square is considered an exhibit of this 

Department. The Arsenal consists of two 

sectors: Sector of Arms and Armoury 

and Sector of Military Heraldry. The former 

boasts some 16,000 superb examples 

of arms and armaments from various 

epochs and countries. The main exhibition 

space is the Knights’ Room. The Military 

Heraldry Sector has over 60,000 items, 

including banners, their accessories and 

military graphics. Of the Arsenal’s ten staff 

members two hold Kandidat degrees. 

menShiKov palace 

Founded in February 1981 as “Menshikov 

Palace. Russian Culture in the First Quarter 

of the 18th Century” Sector within 

the Department of the History of Russian 

Culture. The status of department was 

received in 1996. Most noteworthy are 

the interiors with their original eighteenthcentury 

furnishings. Among the Palace’s 

twenty-five staff members two hold 


imperial porcelain facTory 

muSeum 

Founded in February 2001 on the basis 

of the historical collection at the Lomonosov 

Porcelain Factory Museum. Presently, 

the Department boasts over 30,000 items, 

the most part of which consists of objects 

made at the Imperial, then the Lomonosov 

and from October 2005 again the Imperial, 

Porcelain Factory. The collection also 

includes porcelain ware produced by private 

works and European manufactories, glass, 

ceramics, drawings and photographs. 

The Department has eleven staff members. 

deparTmenT of The hiSTory 

and reSToraTion of archiTecTural 

monumenTS 

Founded in 1975, the Department functioned 

as the Department of the Chief Architect of 

the Hermitage. In 1992 it was given the status 

8 9

General InformatIon General InformatIon 

of a research department. The Department 

is responsible for the conservation of 

the unique architecture of the museum’s 

buildings, as well as the adaptation 

of the buildings for modern use. It also 

provides scientific support for restoration 

activities. Of the Department’s fifteen staff 

members, one holds doctorate and three 


educaTion deparTmenT 

The Hermitage has been organizing 

educational activities within the museum 

since 1925, when first guided excursions 

were arranged for the benefit of the public. 

Their aim is to introduce the Hermitage’s 

collections as well as art history in general 

to the museum’s visitors. The Department’s 

staff members are involved in more than 

30,000 guided tours and deliver over 

500 lectures a year. Thirteen of the Department’s 

one hundred and thirty-seven staff 

members hold Kandidat degrees. 

School cenTre 

The School Centre that offers programmes 

for children of pre-school and school age 

has been functioning as a separate department 

since 1999. It has an Art Studio, 

various children societies, Young Archaeologists 

Club, and Young Art Historians Club 

and a Lecture Hall. Two of the Department’s 

twelve staff members hold Kandidat degree. 

reSearch liBrary 

One of the oldest and largest museum 

libraries in Russia specializing in art history, 

it has been an integral part of the Hermitage 

since its foundation. The Library grew from 

the private collection of Empress Catherine 

the Great. At the present moment the Library 

holds more than 800,000 volumes on art, 

history, architecture and culture in most 

European and Oriental languages. The Rare 

Books and Manuscripts Sector contains 

more than 10,000 rare pieces, among them 

European and Russian manuscripts, early 

Russian and Western European printed 

books, a collection of decorative bindings, 

unique “gift” editions from the Imperial 

libraries, and the autographs of prominent 

Russian and European figures. The Department 

has forty-five staff members, three 

of them holding Kandidat degrees. 

deparTmenT of manuScripTS 

and documenTS 

Founded in 1980, the Department 

consists of document and photograph 

archives, the latter includes a collection 

of photographs and negatives. The archives 

were founded in 1805 and at present 

contain sixty-seven funds, among them 

are sixty-two private archives and ninetyseven 

inventories. 37,392 items were 

catalogued in the Hermitage’s archives 

between 1767 and 2000. The Hermitage 

began receiving photographic documents 

in the middle of the 19th century when 

the first photographic works appeared, 

but the photo archive was set in the 1920s. 

At the moment it includes 75,134 negative 

images and about 1,000 photographs. 

The Department has nine staff members. 

regiSTrar deparTmenT 

The Registrar Department catalogues 

the objects kept in the Hermitage, issuing 

all the necessary documents concerning 

their inventory and keeping. It supervises 

their movement both within and outside 

the museum. It is responsible for the timely 

inventorying of each new object that enters 

the museum. It registers the newly acquired 

items, carries out check of safekeeping 

documents and regularly checks the 

availability of the museum items. 

The Department has thirty-two staff 

members, two of them holding Kandidat 

degrees. 

SecTor of new acQuiSiTionS 

The Sector was organized in 2000 with 

the main aim to ensure the fruitful activity 

of the Hermitage Purchasing Commission 

on the completion of the State Hermitage 

stocks. It also takes part in the 

consideration of stock issues, concerning 

stock-keeping and the museum’s expositional 

practice. Three of the Sector’s five 

staff members hold Kandidat degrees. 

deparTmenT of ScienTific 

reSToraTion and conServaTion 

Restoration activities have been carried 

out in the Hermitage ever since the 1760s 

when the Picture Gallery of the Hermitage 

was founded. Highly qualified restorers 

working in the Department undertake 

restoration, conservation, and preventive 

work on objects in the museum’s collections 

and control the conditions under which 

objects are maintained in storage areas 

and museum permanent and temporary 

exhibitions. The Department consists 

of thirteen restoration laboratories: of easel 

painting, tempera painting, mural painting, 

Oriental painting, graphic works, sculpture 

and coloured stones, applied arts, organic 

materials, textiles, timepieces and musical 

mechanisms, precious metals, furniture and 

chandeliers. It has one hundred and twentysix 

staff members. 

deparTmenT of experT 

examinaTion 

Founded in 1936, it was the first in Russia 

and one of the first in the world X-ray 

analysis laboratories. In 1970, it became 

a separate laboratory, and in 1997 was 

amalgamated with the chemistry laboratory 

and transformed into the Department of 

Expert Examination. Now it is amongst the 

largest centres engaged in the examination 

of works of art and culture in the country. 

Applying modern scientific technologies, 

the Department studies materials and 

technologies, carries out expert examination 

and identification of art works. It has 

fifteen staff members, one of them holds 

a Kandidat degree. 

laBoraTory for Biological 

conTrol 

The Laboratory was created around the 

group of disinfection specialists which was 

established in the 1960s to combat insect 

pests. In 1990 it was reorganized into 

a research laboratory with highly qualified 

experts in entomology, mycology and 

microbiology. It has eight staff members, 

three of whom hold Kandidat degree. 

laBoraTory for climaTe 

conTrol 

The Laboratory’s major task is to provide 

favourable conditions for the storage 

and display of the museum objects. 

Its staff monitors the climate conditions 

of the exhibition and storage areas in the 

main State Hermitage Museum complex 

and its branches. The Department develops 

major requirements of museum storage 

for different types of collections. Its staff 

takes part in the design and introduction 

of new heating and air condition systems. 

They are also involved in scientific and 

teaching activities. It has four staff members, 

one of whom holds a Kandidat degree. 

J collegiaTe BodieS of The STaTe hermiTage muSeum 

academic council of The STaTe hermiTage 

permanenT diSplay commiTTee 

reSToraTion council 

Board of curaTorS 

purchaSing commiSSion 

ediTorial council 

ediTorial Board of collecTion caTalogueS 

ediTorial Board of The RepoRTs of The sTaTe heRmiTage museum 

ediTorial Board of pedagogical and educaTional ediTionS 

exTernal policy council 

exhiBiTion commiTTee 

reSearch granT commiTTee 

archaeological commiTTee 

inTerneT SiTe council 

educaTion and meThodology council 

arTS council 

muSeum STrucTure and STaff commiTTee 

SecuriTy council 

engineering SupporT ServiceS council 

10 11

awardS 

golden Bridge award 

In April 2010, the Golden Bridge Prize ceremony was held 

at the Moscow residence of the Italian Ambassador. This 

prize, established by the Embassy of the Republic of Italy 

in the Russian Federation and the ITA Publishing House, 

with support from President of Italy Giorgio Napolitano, 

is awarded for contributions to the promotion of Italian- 

Russian relations. 

In 2010, the prize was awarded to Mikhail Piotrovsky, Director 

of the State Hermitage Museum. 

heavenly line priZe 

In October 2010, the first winners of a new St. Petersburg 

prize “The Heavenly Line” were announced in the presence 

of St. Petersburg Governor Valentina Matviyenko. 

The prize was established by the Baltic Media Group and 

the Worldwide Club of Petersburgers. 

The prize is awarded to the people who the citizens believe 

have contributed the most to the preservation of the city’s 

architectural and historic heritage. 

The first winners were Mikhail Piotrovsky, Director of the 

State Hermitage Museum, Alexander Sokurov, a film director, 

and Vyacheslav Zarenkov, General Director of Etalon- 

LenSpetsSMU. 

order of meriT for The faTherland, 

3rd degree 

Awarded to Georgy Vilinbakhov, Deputy Director of the 

State Hermitage Museum, Head of the Heraldic Council 

under the President of the Russian Federation. 

order of arTS and leTTerS 

In June 2010, the Order of Arts and Letters was awarded at 

the General Consulate of France. The order was awarded 

to Natalia Brodskaya, staff member of the State Hermitage 

Museum, for her considerable contribution to art history 

and promotion of French art in Russia. 

giacomo Quarenghi priZe 

In November 2010, the Giacomo Quarenghi prize was 

awarded in Bergamo. This international prize is a recognition 

of research merit in the area of studying the work 

of the great Italian architect and Italian artists whose work 

was connected to Quarenghi’s. 

The prize is established by the Osservatorio Quarenghi 

association, founded in 1995 by the Bergamo Mayor and 

12 

Province Office, the Region of Lombardy and the University 

of Bergamo. 

This year, the prize was awarded to Sergei Androsov, Head 

of the Western European Art Department at the State 

Hermitage. 

muSeum olympuS priZe 

The Museum Olympus Prize, established by the St. Petersburg 

Committee for Culture and the Interdepartmental 

Museum Council, was awarded in 2010 for the second 

time. 

The State Hermitage received the statuette of Mnemosyne, 

the goddess of memory, in the “Museum for Children” category 

for its programme The Past at Your Fingertips for deaf 

and hard-of-hearing children. 

A special prize with a winner’s diploma and a memorable 

sign was awarded to the Hermitage restorers for their work 

on bringing back to life a beaded panel from the Chinese 

Palace in Oranienbaum. 

A special prize was also awarded to Tamara Malinina’s book 

The Imperial Glass Factory (State Hermitage Publishers). 

vladimir poTanin chariTaBle foundaTion 

granTS awarded To STaff memBerS 

of The STaTe hermiTage 

Since 2005, staff members of the State Hermitage have 

been competing for grants from the Vladimir V. Potanin 

Charitable Foundation. These grants mark key projects in 

all spheres of the museum’s life. 

In 2010, the system of Potanin grants underwent radical 

changes. The number of recipients was reduced from 

a hundred to fifty, while the overall prize fund became 

larger than in the previous year. Besides the familiar prize 

grants, new individual travel grants for Hermitage employees 

were introduced in 2010 to fund research and study 

trips in the areas of museum management, restoration and 

conservation. 

The competition for grants was still held in the autumn 

and is in a way a summing up of the year’s work for the 

museum. The travel grants were distributed twice a year. 

In 2010, 25 Hermitage employees won these grants, which 

were used for their work on catalogues, monographs, dissertations 

and other research projects, for preparing new 

permanent exhibitions, for exchanging experience in the 

area of conservation techniques and legal support for 

museums. The trip destinations differ widely: from New 

York, Western Europe, Egypt, Turkey, China, Burma and 

Laos to Khakassia. The reports written by the grant winners 

show how important these awards are for the museum 

research and the development of the other areas 

of museum work. 

13

compoSiTion of The hermiTage collecTionS as of 1 January 2011 

The State Hermitage Museum inventory contains 

2,970,214 items 

Including: 

paintings 16,851 

graphic works 622,172 

sculptures 12,623 

objects of applied art 301,512 

archaeological artifacts 738,389 

numismatic objects 1,132,627 

other items 146,040 

2,880 exhibits (as per inventory) entered the 

State Hermitage Museum in 2010 as gifts and 

acquisitions through the museum’s Purchasing 

Commission and archaeological expeditions. 

In 2010 the Research Library of the State Hermitage 

Museum purchased 4,110 books as well 

as Russian and foreign magazines of 235 names 

and received 2,520 editions through the international 

and Russian book exchanges. 

1,433 publications were sent to other libraries 

in accordance with the international book 

exchange terms. 

J moST noTaBle acQuiSiTionS of 2010 

collecTion of decoraTive porcelain 

from The pariS gallery popov & co. 

149 items 

Acquired through the Purchasing Commission 

The collection, as well as the gallery itself, was founded 

by Alexander Popov, whose extraordinary talent was nourished 

by Russian cultural ideals, including the admiration 

of eighteenth-century art. As a professional officer, Popov 

took part in the First World War. He moved to France in 

1919 and a year later opened an antiques shop opposite 

the Élysée Palace. In 1935, the gallery won the first honorary 

Paris Grand Prix for the exceptionally high quality 

of the works exhibited there. Many items are well known: 

they have been successfully displayed at international exhibitions 

and repeatedly published. 

The historical and cultural phenomenon that is this art 

collection was formed for nearly a century in the circle of 

prominent émigré Russians. Among Alexander Popov’s 

friends were Alexander Benois, Zinaida Serebryakova, 

Konstantin Somov, Yuri Annenkov, Feodor Chaliapin, 

Konstantin Korovin, Serge Lifar, Dmitry Bouchéne, Sergei 

Ernst, Natalia Goncharova, and many other eminent cultural 

figures who found themselves in Paris after the October 

revolution. These acquaintances largely explain the 

fact that the collection mainly acquired objects brought 

from Russia by emigrants. The Popov Gallery obtained 

works of art from the splendid collections of the Princes 

Saltykov, Dolgorukov, Beloselsky-Belozersky, Orlov, the 

Duke of Leuchtenberg and many others. 

Objects from a coffee service with Cupids. Early 1760s 

Plate from the Yacht Service. 1785–1787 

The Popov & Co Gallery has always taken special pride in 

its unique porcelain. Alexander Popov himself was an accepted 

connoisseur in this field. His collection was highly 

praised by Alexander Benois: “… Mr. Popov has assembled 

his own collection of Russian porcelain, which numbers 

hundreds of pieces and contains a multitude of objects 

which has never before been seen in private collections 

and which could be envied even by such museums as the 

Hermitage” (1952). The then Director and Curator of the 

Hermitage Sergei Troynitsky visited the Paris gallery several 

times. The most important and interesting part of the 

acquired set is the Russian porcelain of the second half 

of the 18th century, first and foremost among which are the 

products of the St. Petersburg Imperial Porcelain Factory: 

Jug painted in the chinoiserie style. Early 1760s 

Soup plate from Empress Elizabeth’s Personal Dinner and Dessert Service. 

At the earliest 1756 – early 1760s 

– early porcelain pieces dating back to the reign of Empress 

Elizabeth; 

– pieces from tea and coffee sets, plates, basins and bowls 

for cooling bottles and glasses, with stamps in the shape 

of double-headed eagles made by Dmitry Vinogradov, the 

inventor of Russian porcelain; 

– a plate signed by the court manufactory painter G. Nikiforov, 

which is the first known signed specimen from the 

St. Petersburg Factory (late 1750s – early 1760s); 

– a typical example of the Vinogradov period – an Easter 

egg with “floral painting” (1750s), decorated in a highly 

detailed way betraying the manner of Elizabethan masters; 

– a number of pieces from a series known as “series with 

polychrome Chinamen” (late 1750s – early 1760s), among 

Easter egg with a floral design. 1750s 

most notable acquIsItIons of 2010 

14 15

most notable acquIsItIons of 2010 most notable acquIsItIons of 2010 

them a jug showing Chinese people against landscapes 

which have a very detailed, highly elaborate design; 

– plates with a latticework design from the first Russian 

state service – the so-called Empress Elizabeth’s Personal 

Dinner and Dessert Service (no earlier than 1756 – early 

1760s); 

– objects from the well-known Everyday (late 1770s – 

1780s) and Yacht (1785–1787) Services; 

– works by Dominique Rachette, Head of the Sculptural 

Department at the Factory, made of the special “porcelain 

plaster” paste. 

A special set consists of presentation cups “with the royal 

monogramme” which bear monogrammes of their owners. 

These were used as presents for members of the Romanov 

family and their inner circle or as tokens of special 

recognition for foreign guests. It is believed that the cup 

with a PP monogramme was made for Grand Duke Paul; 

researchers link its production at the St. Petersburg Factory 

with the baptism of the Grand Duke on 25 September 

1754. 

Among the sculpted pieces produced by the Gardner 

factory near Moscow, Russia’s first private porcelain factory, 

especially noteworthy is a miniature bust of Empress 

Catherine II (1780s – 1790s). The decoration of the coneshaped 

support with a gilded monogramme Е II only exists 

in this unique version. 

The porcelain acquired conforms to high standards of museum 

collecting, in accordance with the collecting policy 

of the State Hermitage Museum. 

By Irina Bagdasarova 

Cup with lid and saucer bearing the monogramme 

of Grand Duke Paul PP. 1754 

Medallion with the portrait of Emperor Paul I. 1798–1801 

Bust of Empress Catherine the Great bearing her monogramme E II 

on the support. 1780s – 1790s 

roSewaTer Jug (incenSe veSSel) 

Istanbul, mid-19th century 

Silver; embossing, engraving, punching. Height 20 cm 

Donated by Nasser D. Khalili 

A small bottle-shaped vessel with a nearly round body and 

neck with a sculptural finish bears two Turkish brands. One 

includes a tughra with the name of Sultan Abdul-Hamid II 

(1876–1909) and an inscription on the side “purity 90”; 

the second consists of one word “confirmed”. The vessel 

was made in Istanbul, famous for its Greek and Armenian 

silversmiths. Although it bears no inscriptions which could 

testify to the origin of its maker, it is quite likely to have 

been made by an Armenian jeweller. Originally, it had had 

a tall narrow neck and had been similar in shape to typical 

Oriental incense vessels or rosewater jugs. The shape of 

the vessel was altered in the last quarter of the 19th century, 

when its neck was shortened. This is the date of the 

brands with the name of Sultan Abdul-Hamid II, which 

confirm that the vessel is indeed made of silver. 

Such vessels were frequently used in the East both in religious 

ceremonies and in secular settings, for offering sweet 

rosewater to guests. Similar nineteenth-century silver vessels 

survive from the Monastery of Prophet Elijah on the 

Island of Santorini and from the Benaki Museum in Athens. 

The vessel’s intended use is suggested by its embossed 

decoration. 

The walls of the body, which are covered in rose designs, 

also feature embossed compositions, Christ before High 

Priest Caiaphas and a fragmentary of the Transfiguration. 

On the other two sides there are two large sculptural designs 

of the double-headed eagle under a crown. 

Both pictorial images illustrate the Gospels of Matthew 

(26: 57–66) and Mark (14: 53–64): after he was arrested 

in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus was brought before 

High Priest Caiaphas and condemned unjustly – not for 

his deeds but for being what he was: whatever Jesus did 

was read as his crimes. The scene Christ before High Priest 

Caiaphas is very rarely seen on objects of applied art and 

was included here on request from the commissioner. 

The presence of double-headed eagles under the Byzantine 

crown confirms that the vessel was made for the Ecumenical 

Patriarch of Constantinople. After the fall of the Byzantine 

Empire in 1453, the double-headed eagle became 

the official symbol of the Constantinople Patriarchate; its 

marble image survives over the entrance to the Patriarchal 

Church of St. George in Istanbul. The presence of the scene 

The Miracle of St. George, which is included in the Transfiguration 

panel, is another indication that the vessel would have 

belonged to the Patriarch. The Patriarch was not only the 

head of Orthodox Christians in the Turkish Empire, but 

also a supreme judge and representative in all the secular 

court proceedings between the Orthodox population 

and the Sultan. This is why it was common for the Turkish 

government to exile inconvenient Patriarchs, dismissing 

them from office. It is possible that the vessel was made 

around mid-19th century for Patriarch Anthimus IV, who 

was removed from his office by the Sultan three times, and 

restored under Patriarch Joachim III, who was dismissed 

twice. For both Patriarchs, the scene of Caiaphas’ unfair 

judgment would have had a special symbolic meaning. 

In all respects, this silver vessel is a unique work of Post- 

Byzantine art, which has close links with the history of the 

Constantinople Patriarchate. 

By Yuri Piatnitsky 

16 17


august Querfurt (1696–1761) 

hunTeRs ouTside a TaveRn 

Austria, late 1720s at the earliest 

Oil on canvas; backed up. 31.2 × 42.2 cm 


The painting shows a wayside inn, and a hunter mounted 

on a dark horse blowing his horn just outside the entrance, 

calling his companions. Before him there is a man in a doublet, 

with a hat in his outstretched hand, who is holding 

the reigns of a white horse arching its neck and stepping to 

and fro impatiently. On the right, a beater is taking care of 

the dogs. In the foreground on the left there is a peasant 

woman with another dog at her feet. 

The painting contains all the characteristic features of 

a Querfurt work: a common diagonal arrangement, a typically 

low horizon executed in yellowish, bluish and grey 

shades; the characteristic colour scheme with light and 

dark blues and pink and red spots, as well as rough white 

brushstrokes which emphasize volume and movement; 

a typical horizontal craquelure (short wavy lines somewhat 

similar to lines in a book). The figure of the rider blowing 

a horn could have undergone alterations. 

This work is an original version of Querfurt’s painting Leaving 

for a Hunt auctioned by Hampel, Berlin (No 309, oil on 

canvas, 26.5 × 37 cm, monogramme on the lower right, 

backed up). Some details of the design are different: the 

signed picture has a castle instead of an inn, and a whole 

group of people instead of the peasant woman with the 

dog: a lady who is probably about to mount a white horse, 

a gentleman accompanying her, and a Moor boy. The landscape 

as a whole remains unchanged. 

August Querfurt was an Austrian battle painter, also famous 

for his hunting and genre scenes and portraits. 

He was first instructed by his father Tobias Querfurt the 

Elder, then completed his education in Augsburg under 

the celebrated battle and animal painter Georg Philipp 

Rugendas. In 1737, he was commissioned to work for Duke 

Karl Alexander von Württemberg, for whose castle at Ludwigsburg 

he painted two large panels (11 × 4 m): The Battle 

of Belgrade and The Battle of Höchstädt. 

It is well known that eighteenth-century German and 

Austrian painters depended heavily on other schools and 

were seldom original. This is true for Querfurt, but it has 

to be noted that in spite of their imitative character, his 

works have a vibrant, spur-of-the-moment air and his battle 

scenes are expressive and dynamic. 

Querfurt’s works are present in museums and private collections 

of all European countries. The Hermitage currently has 

two of his masterful battle scenes on display in the section 

of German painting of the 15th – 18th centuries. 

By Maria Garlova 

antonio marini (1668–1725) 

seaside landscape 

Venice, late 17th – early 18th century 

Oil on canvas. 75 × 116 cm 


The painting shows a hilly seaside surrounding a bay; in 

the background the shore becomes a wide sandy beach, 

while in the foreground it is steep and rocky. Port buildings 

can be seen far away, and there is a church (monastery?) 

a little closer to the onlooker. There is a fishing schooner 

on the left, not far from the shore. In the foreground on 

the left, near a sheer cliff, there is a genre scene: soldiers 

and officers wearing cuirasses, helmets, and wide-brimmed 

hats with plumes, have settled down for a meal on the large 

boulders. The characteristic manner of staffage painting, 

recognizable landscape features, as well as elements of the 

colour scheme and chiaroscuro allow for a confident attribution 

of this painting to the Venetian artist of the 17th – 

18th century. The man in a plumed hat sitting on a boulder 

with his back to the viewers is nearly identical to the rider 

on the painting Rocky Landscape with Soldiers (Accademia 

Carrara, Bergamo) signed by Marini; the general landscape 

setting is reminiscent of the Sea Port with Fishermen 

which was auctioned by Semenzato, Venice in May 1981. 


Antonio Marini is one of the Italian painters only recently 

included in art histories: after the artist’s signature was 

found on one of the works in the Accademia Carrara 

in 1963, a considerable number of paintings previously 

attributed on the basis of stylistic affinity to the circle of 

early Marco Ricci were recognized as works by Antonio 

Marini. 

Over the next thirty years, the artist’s prominent individual 

manner has allowed researchers to form an extensive 

corpus of paintings which was brought together in 1992 

in the first monograph on Marini by Maria Silvia Proni 

(Maria Silvia Proni. Antonio Marini. L’opera completa. Napoli, 

1992). It includes 111 works by the artist, who is representative 

of a trend in seventeenth-century art which 

was not as widespread in Venice as it was in Genoa or Naples: 

scenes of shipwreck, fierce cavalry skirmishes, landscapes 

with military bivouacs or genre sketches from the 

life of fishermen, peasants, and the lazzaroni often seen 

in the paintings by Salvator Rosa, Il Cavalier Tempesta, 

or Alessandro Magnasco. Marini managed to find his own 

manner and not to blend in with the numerous followers 

and imitators of Rosa or Magnasco. In the years that 

have elapsed since the publication of Proni’s book, the 

number of Marini’s paintings on the antiquarian market 

have nearly doubled his oeuvre. 

By Irina Artemyeva 

18 19


Karl Kollmann (1835–1889) 

a SerieS of drawingS made during 

The grand duKe KonSTanTin’S grand Tour 

of europe in auTumn 1858 – Spring 1859 


These are sixteen drawings made during the voyage around 

Europe made by Grand Duke Konstantin and his wife 

Grand Duchess Alexandra on the frigate Gromoboy, with 

a squadron, in autumn 1858 – spring 1859. The drawings 

are not signed. But it is known from contemporary reports 

that Kollmann, an architect and watercolour artist, was 

present aboard one of the ships and “adorned the Grand 

Duke’s album with many exquisite sketches” (see A. and 

V. Golovin. Materials for the Biography of Tsarevich and Grand 

Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich. St. Petersburg, 2006: 175– 

176). The Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary 

confirms that the architect Karl Kollmann (1835–1889), 

sent abroad in 1858 on an Academy of Arts scholarship, 

“accompanied HRH Duke Konstantin in his voyage around 

the Mediterranean and made an extensive album of drawings 

which then passed to His Royal Highness” (Vol. XV, 

p. 790). Thus, the authorship of Karl Kollmann can hardly 

be called into doubt. A son of a prominent watercolour 

painter and a pupil of Karl Briullov and Konstantin Thon, 

Kollmann had a profound understanding of architectural 

styles and a considerable talent as a graphic artist. After he 

returned from his scholarship trip in 1864, he was granted 

the title of Academician for his drawings documenting the 

restoration of the Alhambra, and in 1886 he was made Professor 

in recognition of his design for the World Fair Building 

in St. Petersburg. 

Kollmann’s works, drawn from nature in a light, sketchlike 

manner, demonstrate an unquestionable professionalism. 

They serve as snapshots of places visited by the Grand 

Duke in Greece, Italy, Spain, Egypt and other countries. 

The landscapes are often animated by the addition of staffage 

figures of local people or the voyagers themselves. 

They also bear authorial inscriptions which make it easier 

to identify the place depicted. 

By Alexander Solovyov 

SheaThed Sword 

China, late 18th – first half of the 19th century 

Steel, wood, alloy, leather, fabric, enamel; forging, casting, 

embossing, engraving, encrustation 


Typologically, such swords could be used as both military 

and secular weapons; they could also be attributes of important 

government officials. A curved blade, a characteristic 

form of the hilt and guard, which are decorated with 

images of dragons, are typical of the Qing period. Such 

a sword could have belonged to a martial arts teacher 

or commander of a self-defence squad. The sword has 

a curved blade which is wider near the tip, with wide and 


narrow fullers in its central part. The tang end is decorated 

on both sides with an engraved image of a dragon playing 

with a sacred pearl. The wooden hilt is covered with 

braided cords, and the steel pommel is decorated with 

embossed white metal with geometric patterns and dragon 

designs. The sheath is wooden and pasted over with dark 

pebble leather and over it with narrow leather strips. 

The acquisition of this sword by the State Hermitage becomes 

especially important if we consider its exceptionally 

fine workmanship seen in both the design of the weapon 

and the decoration. Moreover, the artifact is in a good condition 

and is a rare sample of Chinese weaponry. 

By Yuri Yefimov 

20 21


mulian’s descenT inTo The undeRwoRld 

Illuminated manuscript; 3 vols. (Vol. 2 is missing) 

China, 1440 

Paper pasted on carton, ink, watercolours; 

roughly rubbed up blue paint; later binding made of blue fabric 

pasted over carton, “butterfly” format 

Cover size 40 × 18.5 cm 

Illumination size 30 × 16.3 and 30 × 32.6 cm 


Vol. 1: 57 sheets of Chinese character text with illuminations, 

including 18 double-page and 16 single-page illustrations. 





Each page is framed on top and at the bottom with a double 

red line painted with a brush. The end of each section 

is decorated with naively painted floral designs. The title 

of the whole manuscript appears in Vol. 1 and is repeated 

on the penultimate page of Vol. 4: “A precious scroll concerning 

Mulian’s descent into hell in order to save his mother, 

and her emerging from the underworld and achieving a supreme 

rebirth in heaven”. The last page of Vol. 4 bears the 

following text in an ornamental cartouche: “In the fifth year 

of the reign of Zhengtong of the Great Dynasty of Ming I offer 

this to the Emperor’s concubine from the family of...” (the 

family name character is erased and illegible). The fifth year 

of Zhengtong Emperor (1436–1449) of the Ming Dynasty 

(1368–1644) corresponds to the year 1440 in our reckoning. 

The manuscript retells a story in the bianwen genre of tales 

based on the sutras and explaining their content in a didactic 

manner. The text was first written down in the 10th century 

and became part of a bianwen collection from Dunhuang 

published in Beijing (Dunhuang Bianwen. 4 vols. Beijing, 

1984. Vol. 2: 701–756, also mentioned in N. Borevskaya’s article 

“Moreplavateli v mire duxov. Kitajskij zagrobnyj mir i jego 

osmyslenije v romane 16 veka [Seafarers in the Ghost World: 

the Chinese World of the Dead and Its Conceptualization in 

Sixteenth-Century Novels]”, which deals with descriptions 

of the underworld in chapters 87–92 of the late sixteenthcentury 

novel by Lo Mao-teng The Voyage of Zheng He over the 

Indian Ocean (in Izučenije kitajskoj literatury v SSSR [The Study 

of Chinese Literature in the USSR]. Moscow, 1973: 121–141). 

Since few analogues to this manuscript are known, the cartouche 

with the inscription is important for its dating. Such 

a cartouche is extant in Vol. 1, with the text reading “Ten 

thousand years to the Emperor” repeated three times. Similar 

cartouches are found in the Khara-Khoto writings – Tangut 

characters with the name of the sutra written on paper, 

as well as cartouches in Korean editions of the sutras which 

reproduced Chinese texts and were printed from Chinese 

woodcuts. The authenticity of the manuscript is corroborated 

by the lack of aniline pigments and the use of natural 

dyes. Similar colours (red and green with gold) can be 

found in pictorial scrolls of the same period. 

By Kira Samosiuk 

22 

J acQuiSiTionS of The STaTe hermiTage muSeum in 2010 

weSTern european fine arTS 

deparTmenT 

Gifts: 

SculpTure 

Wolfgang Eichwede 

Madonna and Child 

Germany (?), late 15th – early 16th century 

Gilding, painting, carving, gesso on wood 

graphic worKS 

Ye. Tatuzov (Yantarny Dom JSC) 

Yury Velten (1730–1801) 

Main Façade of the North Pavilion, the Small 

Hermitage 

Russia, 1760s – 1770s 

Quill, ink, watercolour on paper 

Yury Velten (1730–1801) 

The North Pavilion, the Small Hermitage. 

Vertical section 

Russia, 1760s – 1770s 


Yuri Velten (1730–1801) 

Toilet Room – One of the Rooms in Catherine II’s 

Bath in the Winter Palace 

Russia, 1760s – 1770s 


Through the Purchasing Commission: 

painTing 

Isaak von dem Block (after 1572–1626) 

The Meeting of Mary and Elizabeth 

Germany, early 17th century 

Isaak von dem Block (after 1572–1626) 

The Annunciation 

Germany, early 17th century 

Antonio Marini (1668–1725) 

Seaside Landscape 

Venice, late 17th – early 18th century 

August Querfurt (1696–1761) 

Hunters Outside a Tavern 

Austria, later than 1720s 

Meffren Conte (c. 1630–1705) 

Still Life with a Shell 

France, late 17th century 

graphic worKS 

Wilhelm Friedrich Hirt (1721–1772) 

Summer 

Germany, 18th century 

Wilhelm Friedrich Hirt (1721–1772) 

Autumn 


Ottavio Leoni (1574–1626) 

Portrait of the Malta Knight Thomas Stilianus 

Western Europe, 1624 

Willem Hondius (1597–1660) 

Portrait of the King of Bohemia Friedrich V 


Anonymous engraver of the German school (?) 

Portrait of Joseph I of Hungary 

Western Europe, first half of the 18th century 

Jost Amman (1539–1591) 

Portrait of Gaspard de Coligny 


Anonymous engraver 

After a drawing by Francesco Salviati 

Golgotha 

Italy, 1541 

Jacques Couché (1750 or 1759 – c. 1810) 

After the original of Jean-Honoré Fragonard 

Mock Flight 

1783 

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864–1901) 

Mary Hamilton 

France, 1894–1896 

Marc Chagall (1889–1985) 

A Shepherd and His Flock 

(illustration to La Fontaine’s Fables) 

France, c. 1930 

BooKS and documenTS 

Books from the library of Yuri Kuznetzov 

and Irina Linnik 

141 publications altogether 

Klatovský, Ondřej z Dalmanhorstu (c. 1504–1551) 

Knijžka w Cžekém a Nemeckém Jazyku 

složená… 

[Praha: Jirži Melantrich], 1577. CLI, [1] 

Owner’s pamphlet volume – a collection 

of printed works dating from the Reformation 

Germany, 1555–1556; binding of 1556 

Concionum dispositions in epistolas 

dominicales… 

[Wittenberg: Simonis Gronenbergius], 1584. 

[8], 726 p., [1] 

weSTern european applied arTS 

deparTmenT 

Gifts: 

applied arTS 

M. Kryzhanovskaya 

Casket-shaped bonbonniere with a sailing 

ship on the lid 

Holland, 17th – 18th century 

Painting, enamel on copper 

Ivory knob shaped as a lady’s hand 

Germany, Erbach, 1860s – 1870s 

Carved bone 

Collar with a pattern of alternating large rose 

flowers and oval medallions linked with garlands 

of beads and flowers 

Western Europe, second half of the 19th century 

Satin stitch and openwork embroidery (machine?) 

on mesh, silk 

Kerchief with a pattern of agrimony along 

the perimeter; on the four corners a picture 

of 1908 Scottish National Exhibition pavilions 


Silk 


applied arTS 

Framed mirror 

Italy (?), second half of the 19th century 

Inkstand Bird on Iris Stem 

Austria, early 20th century 

Lingerie collection 

Western Europe, late 19th – first quarter 

of the 20th century 

15 pieces altogether 

modern arT SecTion 

Gifts: 

SculpTure 

Louise Bourgeois 

Louise Bourgeois 

Nature Study. Sculptural composition 

on a platform 

USA, 2002 

Rubber, stainless steel 

F. Dontsov 

F. Dontsov 

LSF 

Russia, 2008 

Acrylic glass, author’s technique, fluorescent 

tube 

A. Zhelud 

Anya Zhelud 

Wardrobe: composition of objects from different 

cycles: Hanger and Coat, Table and Suitcase, 

and A Pair of Shoes 

Russia, 2009 

Welding and painting on metal 

graphic worKS 

Ilya and Emilia Kabakov 

Ilya Kabakov, Emilia Kabakova 

Collection of graphic prints (48) 

USA, 1990s – 2000s 

Silk screening, line engraving, offset printing 

23

acquIsItIons of the state hermItaGe museum In 2010 acquIsItIons of the state hermItaGe museum In 2010 

phoTography 

Ben Langlands and Nikki Bell 

Ben Langlands, Nikki Bell 

Photo Osama bin Laden’s House Bunker, 

Darunta, Afghanistan, in the original frame 

Print 1 of 5 

United Kingdom, 2000s 

Paper, photography; wood, glass, metal 

K. Novikova 

Collection of photographs by Timur 

Novikov (11) 

Western Europe, Russia, 1980s – 1990s 

Bromide print, pigment print, colour print, 

gum pigment print on paper 

A. Verkhoturov 

Boris Smelov 

Photo: Spring Frog Hunt 

Russia, 1994 

Author’s print on bromide paper 

hiSTory of ruSSian culTure 

deparTmenT 

Gifts: 

painTing 

Nasser D. Khalili 

Icon: Lord Almighty Enthroned 

Russia, second half of the 19th century 

Mixed technique, diverging patterning, gilding 

on wood 

graphic worKS 

N. Abaz and O. Abaz, I. Kosmin 

Portrait of Andrei Abaz (1903–1941). 

In plaster-of-Paris bronzed frame under glass 

Russia, 1910 

Pastel on cardboard 

N. Podgornenskaya 

A. Belyakova 

Bouquet with Three Sunflowers 

and a Rowan Branch 

Moscow, 1999 

Watercolour on paper 

A. Belyakova 

Ruins of the Castle of Prince Bagration 

in the Caucasus 

Russia, 1950s 


A. Belyakova 

Early Spring 

Russia, 1958 


Central Office, Government 

of the Russian Federation 

T. Fujibayashi 

The Hermitage. Print on canvas showing 

the Palace Embankment and the Hermitage 

buildings 

Canvas, colour printing, wood, glass 

phoTography 

Georgy Vilinbakhov 

Otto Kirchner 

View of the Academy of Arts 

St. Petersburg, 25 May 1902 

Bromide print on paper 

Ye. Shuplinsky 

Portrait of a Woman, on a mount (2) 

Leningrad, 1920s 

Bromide print on paper 

applied arTS 

Ye. Tkachenko 

Ye. Tkachenko 

Scarf Feeling Happy from the Venetian series 

St. Petersburg, 2009 

Silk, viscose, metal thread; author’s original 

weaving technique 

Ye. Tkachenko 

Scarf Waters of the Lethe from the Venetian series 




Ye. Tkachenko 

Scarf Dark Gold from the Venetian series 




T. Sazhin 

T. Sazhin, L. Fomina (SAPHO) 

Fish: composition from the Ecology series 

Moscow, 1992 

Glass, bending 


Eagle: detail for a chandelier in the Presidential 

residence in the Moscow Kremlin 

Russia, 1995 

Glass, bending, gilding 


Graphic design sheets for interior decoration (20) 

Moscow, 1990s 

Ye. Ivanova 

Hand-operated sewing machine, in a case, 

with a key 

Germany (?), Singer Company 

Late 19th – early 20th century 

Metal, mother of pearl, ceramics, wood 


graphic worKS 

K. Kollmann (1835–1889) 

A series of drawings made during Grand Duke 

Konstantin’s tour of Europe in autumn 

1858 – spring 1859 (16) 

A. Strelkovsky (1819/1820–1904) 

Portrait of a Young Man 

Russia, 1852 

J.A. Pfefel 

Portrait of Charles XII 

Germany (?), early 18th century 

Charles-Etienne Gaucher 

Portrait of F. Lefort 

France, late 18th century 


Portrait of Empress Catherine I 

Russia (?), 18th century 

D.J. Pound 

Portrait of Emperor Nicholas I 

London, 1855 


Portrait of Prince P. Rumiantsev-Zadunaysky 

Venice, 18th century (?) 


After the original by S. Eriksen 

Portrait of Grand Duke Pavel (Paul) Petrovich 

England (?), second half of the 18th century 

D.E. Minazi 

After the original by Kugelchen 

Portrait of Emperor Alexander I 

London, 1813 

J.G. Schefner 

Portrait of Peter I 

Early 19th century (?) 

A. Moret 

After the original by Ch. Vernier under 

the supervision of A.F. Lemaître 

Portrait of Peter I 

France, 1838 (?) 

W. Rein 

After the original by F. Rokotov 

Portrait of Grand Duke Pavel (Paul) Petrovich 

Second half of the 18th century 

D. Chapman 

15 Grand Dukes 

London, 1800 


Portrait of Emperor Peter I 

19th century 

P.-F. Bertonnier 

After the original by A. Devéria 


Paris, 1825 (?) 

Derlis 


France, 1829 (?) 

I. Telegin 

After the original by Johann Georg Wille 

Resting Child 

1799 

Illuminated manuscript Apocalypse 

with Comments 

Russia, 1827 

24 25 

documenTS 

Family archive of Counts Balashov 

39 documents 

Mid-18th – mid-19th century 

applied arTS 

Collection of porcelain from the Paris gallery 

Popov & Co. (149) 

Official uniform of the civil servant 

of the 5th titular grade, Department of Public 

Education 

Russia, early 20th century 

Upper lid of the album with the inscription 

of gift to S. Tretyakov 

Moscow, P. Ovchinnikov Company, 1887 

Toiletry case 

St. Petersburg, made by I. Britsin, 1910s 

Jar 

St. Petersburg, Grachev Company, made 

by Johann Ferdinand Olsonius, last quarter 


Bracelet 

St. Petersburg, made by Samuel Arndt, 

mid-19th century 

Brooch 

St. Petersburg, made by Nikolai Chernokov, 

1908–1917 

Brooch shaped as a beetle 

St. Petersburg, 1908–1917 

Brooch with a red cross 

St. Petersburg, workshop of A. Holmstroem, 

1914–1915 

Ye. Lavrishcheva, S. Makovetsky 

Angel 



Brook: composition from the Ecology series 

Moscow, 2000 


Gifts: 

SculpTure 

A. Kozintsev 

Funeral relief from Palmyra showing 

a bearded man 

2nd century 

Limestone 

D. Namdakov 

Dashi Namdakov 

Ritual: first cast 

Casting, embossing, bronze 

applied arTS 

The Hermitage Museum Foundation 

(USA), Inc. 

Collection of artifacts from Transcaucasia (159) 

Transcaucasia, second half of the 2nd – first half 

of the 1st millennium B.C. 

Bronze, stone, clay 

Nasser D. Khalili 

Rosewater jug (incense vessel) 

Istanbul, mid-19th century. Possibly made 

by an Armenian craftsman on special commission 

from Anthimus IV, Ecumenical Patriarch 

of Constantinople 

The vessel was altered in Istanbul in 1876–1909, 

when it was branded with a tughra bearing 

the name of Sultan Abdulhamid II, 1876–1909 

Embossed, engraved, punched silver 

A. Eutykh 

Rhyton Goddess of Wine, in a case 

Russia, made by A. Eutykh, 2010 (?) 

Casting, engraving, carving on silver, gold, 

precious stones; dressed animal skin, polyester 


SculpTure 

Statuette of Osiris 

Ancient Egypt, 1st millennium B.C. 

applied arTS 

Collection of traditional artifacts from West 

African cultures (55) 

West Africa, 20th century 

Goblet 

The Golden Horde, late 13th – early 14th century 

Opium smoking set 

China, second half of the 19th century 

graphic worKS 

Illuminated manuscript Mulian’s Descent 

into the Underworld. Vols. I, III and IV 

China, 15th century 

phoTography 

Photo album. The cover is decorated 

with a picture of two Geishas making music 

Japan, 1880s 

arSenal 


applied arTS 

Sheathed scimitar 

Turkey, early 19th century 

Tromblon gun, with a wiping rod 

Turkey, Levant, early 19th century 

Tromblon pistol 

Turkey, Levant, early 19th century 

Flintlock pistol, with a wiping rod 

Italy (?) for Turkey and the Balkan countries, 

second half of the 18th century 

Sheathed sword 

China, late 18th – first half of the 19th century 

numiSmaTicS deparTmenT 

Gifts: 

Ingemar Eliasson, Chancellor 

of Swedish Royal Orders 

Set of four Swedish orders (29 items) 

Sweden, 19th – 20th century 

Gold, silver, yellow alloy, enamel, fabric 

Yu. Kharko 

Medal for participation in the popular 

uprising of 1923 

Bulgaria, 1942 

Yellow alloy, fabric 

L. Drill 

Ministry of Internal Affairs internal troops badge 

“For Exemplary Service”, 2nd degree 

USSR, established in 1970 

Aluminium, enamel 

Badge “Frontline Fighter 1941–1945” 

Russian Federation, established in 2000 

Copper, enamel 

Medal “200 years of the Ministry of Internal 

Affairs” 


Yellow and white alloys, fabric 

Badge “Veteran of the 225th Special Unit, 

People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs” 


Yellow alloy, enamel

acquIsItIons of the state hermItaGe museum In 2010 

V. Kalinin 

Badge commemorating the 50th anniversary 

of the Piskarevskoye Memorial Cemetery 

Russian Federation, 2010 

Plastic, yellow alloy 

A. Baklanov 

Memorial medal – 2010 calendar 

St. Petersburg Mint, 2009 

Tombac 

Memorial medal – Oriental calendar 

for 2010 

St. Petersburg Mint, 2009 

White alloy, proof 

Republic of Haiti Bank 

Sample 1000 Gourde banknote 

Republic of Haiti, 2004 

Paper 

Ye. Shchukina 

1 Austral banknote 

Republic of Argentina, no year (1985–1991) 

Paper 

D. Artamonov 

Seljuqs of Rum, Suleyman II 

No place and date of printing 

Copper 

26 

Seljuqs of Rum, Suleyman II 

No place and date of printing (?), 59(5?) / 

1198–1199 

Copper 

Manana Seturidze 

1 Lari 

Georgia, 1995 

Paper 

Henrich Sarkisyan 

Paper banknotes (4) 

Republic of Armenia, 1993 

Paper 


R. Kharitonov (1931–2008) 

The Beatles plaque 

Russia, 1991 

On 26 April 2010, the sculptural group Fugitive Slave 

by Vladimir Beklemishev, long considered missing, was 

found during electro-technical repairs in the wall of the 

Winter Palace’s Church Staircase. After breaking through 

the brickwork, the electricians found the sculptural group 

made of plaster-of-Paris tinted to look like bronze, showing 

a man and a boy. Near it were found an old calendar 

and a note: “Sculptural group left in the W.P. by the 

Revolutionary Museum and walled in the doorway sealed 

up with bricks on both sides in the W. Palace Eastern Gallery, 

February 1947”. The workers left their signatures 

and date (22 February 1947) on the reverse side of the 

calendar. 

In 1888, Vladimir Beklemishev, graduate of the Imperial 

Academy of Arts (1861–1920), obtained the right to 

a sponsored trip to Italy. There he sculpted several groups, 

including the Fugitive Slave (1891, toned plaster). 

In 1893, the Fugitive Slave group represented Russian 

art at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. 

For a long time, it remained in the sculptor’s possession, 

but in 1918 Beklemishev presented it to the Academy 

of Arts. In 1920, it was transferred to the Revolutionary 

Museum which then had some rooms in the Winter Palace. 

It is still unclear why it ended up sealed in the Winter 

Palace wall. 

deparTmenT “imperial porcelain 

facTory muSeum” 

Gifts: 

applied arTS 

JSC Imperial Porcelain Factory 

Fates composition 

St. Petersburg, JSC Imperial Porcelain Factory, 

2010 (cast of 2004) 

Cast by Sergei Sokolov, molding 

by Lyubov Tsvetkova 

Bone porcelain, bone bisquit 

deparTmenT of The archaeology 

of eaSTern europe and SiBeria 

Gifts: 

applied arTS 

S. Khavrin 

Stone artifact (a wand?) with a bird’s 

head image 

Khakassia, Bronze Age, 3rd – 2nd millennium B.C. 

Stone 



applied arTS 

Ceramic tile with a relief polychrome image 

of the Ost-Indian Company office in Holland 

(the Hague?) 

Holland, 1920s (?) 

permanenT exhiBiTionS 

J permanenT exhiBiTionS opened in 2010 

cenTral aSia in The anTiQuiTy 

and The middle ageS 

12 february 2010. rooms 38–39, 46–54 

The winter palace: ground floor 

The wealth and scope of this exhibition, reopened after 

a long break, has no analogues in European or world museums. 

A great number of exhibits are on display for the first 

time. The showcases are arranged following a chronological 

and geographical principle, and the items are accompanied 

with detailed commentaries. The exhibition has a didactic 

purpose, and illustrates the art of the peoples who lived 

in Central Asia before the advent of Islam as well as other 

areas of their culture, everyday life, economy, weapons, etc. 

The first room houses the artifacts of the Saka, the ancient 

Central Asian nomadic tribe (including the Great Semirechensk 

Altar, a four-legged bronze table with figurines 

of animals along the rim); the art of the Hellenized Parthian 

realm of the Arsacids: bone rhytons, architectural decorations, 

ostraca with inscriptions detailing the keeping of wine 

in Mihrdatkirt (modern-day Nisa, Turkmenistan), one of the 

Parthian capital cities; Parthian and Graeco-Bactrian coins. 

The next room features Central Asian items from the Late 

Antiquity: 2nd century B.C. – 5th century A.D. In this time, 

Buddhism takes hold in its south areas: the finds from the 

Buddhist monastery of Kara-tepe in Old Termez and a monumental 

frieze from the vestibule of the monastery in Airtam 

demonstrate an extraordinary mixture of Indian, Classical 

and Iranian cultures: half-figures of women playing musical 

instruments or bearing gifts peer out from behind acanthus 

leaves; a Corinthian capital features a figure of a zebu ox. 

The third room tells the story of Khwarezm, an agricultural 

area in the lower reaches of the Amu Darya River. 

It contains fragments of sculpture and wall paintings from 

the palace in Topra Kaleh, the capital of Khwarezm in the 

first centuries A.D., and an anthropomorphic clay ossuary, 

or casket for the bones of the dead. A separate showcase 

contains finds from the Kenkol burial (Talas Region, Kyrgyzstan) 

dating back to the 2nd – 5th centuries, where 

parts of the earliest known saddle were discovered – an 

invention which transformed the nomadic life and warfare 

of all the Eurasian peoples. 

Several rooms contain exhibits illustrating the culture 

of Sogdiana, an area along the Zeravshan and Kashkadarya 

Rivers in the middle of Central Asia, in the 5th – 8th centuries. 

Most of the items on display come from Penjikent, 

a city in the east part of the realm which has been studied 

by the Hermitage archaeologists for over 60 years. Nearly 

half of the site has been excavated, producing unique examples 

of Sogdian painting and sculpture. One of the Sogdian 

rooms shows ossuaries, often intended for being walled inside 

a building, terracotta, small sculptural works, as well as 

a number of religious wall paintings from the 5th to 8th centuries: 

images of gods and goddesses, a mystical funeral 

scene, oranti and donators. Under them is a clay relief from 

a temple in Penjikent showing the underwater world – fish, 

dolphins, and tritons as they were imagined by the people 

of Sogdiana, lying a thousand kilometres from the ocean. 

Another room contains Sogdian ceramics, bronze artifacts 

and paintings, including one showing an end-of-harvest festival. 

In the room housing the most monumental examples 

of Sogdian art, viewers can see the wooden decorations 

from Penjikent – columns, friezes and beams which were 

burned when the city fell to the Arabs in 722 and so escaped 

decay. Burned wood has preserved the figures of Caryatids, 

battle and hunting scenes, images of deities which 

used to decorate the houses of wealthy rulers of Penjikent. 

One of the paintings in this room comes from the Sogdian 

city of Varakhsha, a summer residence of Bukhara rulers. 

Repetitive scenes of the battle between a hero riding an elephant 

and feline predators or dragons are shown against 

a red background. The wall paintings from the so-called 

Blue Hall in Penjikent are probably the longest pictorial 

work in the Hermitage. They are divided into four tiers: the 

upper one shows the gods; below them are battle scenes; 

then illustrations to the Epic of Rostam, the most renowned 

hero of the Iranians; and the lowest tier contains “low-style” 

images from Sogdian fairy-tales and fables. The room which 

introduces the visitors to the everyday life of Sogdiana – its 

coins, gems and seals, ornaments and games – also showcases 

the Sodgian and Khwarezmian silverware, a high point in 

ancient toreutics. The objects in the cases recall the murals 

arranged on the walls of the room. 

Further rooms deal with the culture of the Turkic tribes, nomads 

from the Altai Region, who held sway over the political 

27

permanent exhIbItIons permanent exhIbItIons 

Scenes of fight between a deity and predators. Wall painting. Varakhsha. Late 7th – early 8th century. 

Fragment of a wall painting from the so-called Red Hall 

and military life of Central Asia from the 7th century onwards. 

Here, one can see stone sculptures of dead heroes, an 

inscribed tombstone, silver vessels of the nomads. The culture 

of the Turks was greatly influenced by that of the Sogdians, 

who traded all over the steppe. The walls of the room 

are decorated with Penjikent paintings containing an image 

of a female warrior. The lower tier of the painting is given 

over to fables which have a lot in common with the Indian 

Panchatantra. Some of them are familiar to the Russian 

visitors from their retellings by Ivan Krylov: the fable of the 

goose bearing golden eggs; the story of three wise men who 

resurrected a tiger who then proceeded to eat them; the 

fable about a stupid monkey who killed its beloved master. 

The next two rooms tell the story of Devashtich, the ruler 

of Penjikent who managed to weave his own thread 

into the intricate tangle of Sogdian policies of the early 

8th century, when the country was claimed by the Chinese, 

Turks, and Arabs. He, in turn, laid claim to the rule of 

Sogd. After the city was taken by the Arabs, Devashtich fled 

with some loyal retainers to the fortress of Abgar in the 

mountains to the east of Penjikent (modern-day Mount 

Mug). The finding of mediaeval manuscripts from Abgar 

has given us most of the information about Devashtich’s 

rule. The mountainous climate has preserved organic remains. 

The excavations on Mount Mug carried out in the 

1930s discovered the unique Sogdian culture. A separate 

room contains the wall paintings from Devashtich’s palace 

in Penjikent, one of which may be an illustration of the 

storming of Samarkand by the Arabs. The penultimate 

room of the exhibition houses the sculpture and paintings 

from Ajina-tepe, a Buddhist monastery which functioned 

in the 7th – 8th centuries in North-Eastern Bactria (in the 

south of modern-day Tajikistan). In the centre of the room 

there stands a stupa, a cult pyramid-shaped structure which 

was meant to contain sacred objects. 

Finally, the last room contains the paintings from the Kakhkakha 

site (Shahriston District, Northern Tajikistan, 

mediaeval land of Osrushana), dating back to the 8th – 

9th centuries. They are the last manifestations of the pre- 

Islamic pictorial art of Central Asia. One of the paintings 

shows two infants suckled by a she-wolf – an image which 

goes back to the Roman prototype of the Capitoline wolf, 

while others follow Sogdian canons but have an astonishing 

delicacy of pattern and an unusual colour scheme. 

The exhibition has not only been renewed, but also significantly 

expanded. New acquisitions from the Institute 

of the History of Material Culture under the Russian Academy 

of Sciences have been added to it, including finds 

from nomadic burial sites and from the Kushan-Sassanid 

site of Zar-tepe. Monumental paintings from Penjikent 

featuring Amazons, harvest and hunting scenes, a number 

of paintings from Shahriston, and small sculpture from 

Sogdiana are displayed for the first time. The paintings Lament 

and Feasting Painters have returned after many years 

of thorough restoration and conservation. 

By Pavel Lourie 

SiBerian anTiQuiTieS. 

The fifTh paZyryK Burial mound 

7 december 2010. room 26 

The winter palace: ground floor 

The exhibition at the Department of the Archaeology 

of Eastern Europe and Siberia tells the story of the excavation 

of the Fifth Pazyryk Burial Mound, one of the most 

interesting archaeological sites from the Scythian period 

in the Altai Region. 

Here, one can see the results of excavations conducted under 

the supervision of S. Rudenko (1949) in the Pazyryk 

Valley in the Altai Mountains. The natural climate conditions 

of this area created pockets of sub-burial permafrost 

which preserved items made of wood, felt, leather, fur, fabrics, 

and other organic materials. The exhibition focuses 

on the finds made during the exploration of a horse burial 

found on the outer side of the burial chamber in the north 

part of the burial pit. Despite the fact that the barrow was 

plundered many centuries ago, the burial remained undisturbed. 

The rich harness of one of the horses was completed 

with a leather mask crowned with a wooden stag’s head 

with branching leather antlers, and a saddle-cloth (cheprak) 

lined with Chinese silk. The saddle-cloth of another horse 

was lined with a Persian woollen fabric. 

The horses were buried together with a ladder, parts of 

drag sledges, wheels, draft poles and axles of a dismantled 

wooden cart, felt figurines of swans, a large felt carpet and 

parts of a funeral “tent”. The oldest woollen tufted carpet 

in the world was also found here. 

The exhibition also includes a burial chamber which contained 

a log coffin with mummified bodies of a man and 

a woman interred in the Fifth Pazyryk Burial Mound. 

Chinese silks and Persian wool make it possible to outline 

a circle of contacts between the Scythian tribes of the Altai 

and the ancient civilizations of Central Asia and the Near 

East in the 4th – 3rd centuries B.C. 

On 20 May 2009, five rooms illustrating the cultural and 

historical evolution of the Sayan-Altai Region, Southern 

Siberia and the Transbaikalia from the Early Iron Age up 

to the Mongol Conquest (8th century B.C. – 13th century 

A.D.) were opened to the public. Materials on display 

in Room 26 complete a permanent exhibition which makes 

it possible to feel the everyday life, traditions and customs 

of the people who once lived in these areas of Central Asia. 

In accordance with the research and education policy 

of the museum, the exhibition provides a powerful illustration 

of the rich and varied cultural heritage of the peoples 

of Russia. 

By Nikolai Nikolayev 

28 29

Temporary exhiBiTionS 

In 2010, the Hermitage held 30 temporary exhibitions 

(objects from the Hermitage and other museums). 

In museums around Russia the Hermitage held eight exhibitions 

and took part in twelve exhibitions (a total of 1,656 exhibits). 

Outside Russia the Hermitage held five exhibitions and took part 

in 32 exhibitions (a total of 2,063 exhibits). 

J Temporary exhiBiTionS in The hermiTage 

SpaZialiSmo. riccardo licata 

and venetian painting at the end 


05.02.10 – 18.04.10 

Spazialismo – from the Italian “spazio” 

meaning space or distance – is an Italian art 

movement of the second half of the 20th 

century. The majority of works in the exhibition 

were by Riccardo Licata, who employed 

the traditional bright colour and linear 

expressiveness of Mediterranean cultures, 

combined with symbolic abstract forms. 

nostalgia for the roots. dashi 

namdakov’s universe of the nomads 

26.02.10 – 04.04.10 

This exhibition of works by the celebrated 

Buryat artist and sculptor was organized 

jointly with the Dashi Namdakov Creative 

Workshop. It continued the Hermitage 

tradition of showing modern art within 

the context of the museum’s own collections. 

The exhibition presented more than 

100 works by Namdakov, including bronze 

sculptures, drawings and jewellery. 

watercolour portraits and decorative 

porcelain. new acquisitions 

21.04.10 – 23.05.10 

In late 2009 the Hermitage acquired 92 watercolours 

and more than 140 pieces of 

porcelain from the owner of the celebrated 

Popov (Popoff) & Co. Gallery, Maurice 

Baruch. The gallery’s collection was established 

by Alexander Alexandrovich Popov, 

a regular officer in the Russian army who 

fought in the First World War and settled in 

France in 1919. He set up an antique shop 

in Paris which dealt in works of art of superb 

quality. At the heart of his collection 

Opening of Nostalgia for the Roots. 

Dashi Namdakov’s Universe of the Nomads 

exhibition 

were watercolour portraits of the first half of 

the 19th century, the time when this genre 

flourished in Europe and Russia. The Hermitage 

acquired works by more than 30 artists 

of this period, both famous and longforgotten. 

Back to russia. photographs 

by roger fenton 

14.05.10 – 07.06.10 

One of the most remarkable acquisitions 

made by the Hermitage in recent years is 

a collection of 22 photographs by Roger 

Fenton, from 1852 and 1855. Fenton, one 

of the pioneers of photography, started his 

career in Paris where he learnt the waxed 

paper process invented by Gustave Le Gray. 

He was to use this technique during his first 

long trip through Russia in the summer and 

autumn of 1852. The exhibition included 

six prints from 1852, demonstrating Fenton’s 

mastery of the technique and his skill 

in creating artistic effects from the most 

modest landscape motifs. Fenton’s most famous 

works, however, are the photographs 

he took in 1855 during the Crimean War. 

Opening of SPAZIALISMO. 

Riccardo Licata and Venetian Painting at the End 

of the 20th Century exhibition 

Opening of Watercolour Portraits and Decorative Porcelain. New Acquisitions exhibition 

Opening of Back to Russia. Photographs by Roger Fenton exhibition 

temporary exhIbItIons 

30 31


The exhibition presented sixteen prints 

showing different sites in the Crimea where 

events of the war had taken place. 

from gothic to mannerism. 

early netherlandish drawings 

in the State hermitage museum 

18.05.10 – 12.09.10 

The Hermitage’s collection of early Netherlandish 

drawings is notable for its variety, 

both chronological and typological. Whilst 

the exhibition included a number of works 

known to specialists around the world, the 

vast majority were presented for the first 

time, more than 40 of them having never 

previously been published. 

“The wind in the pines…” 5,000 years 

of Korean art. from the national 

museum of Korea 

01.06.10 – 05.09.10 

“The Wind in the Pines” is the title of an ancient 

Korean melody performed on the traditional 

long-board zither known as a komungo. 

Opening of From Gothic to Mannerism. Early Netherlandish Drawings 

in the State Hermitage Museum exhibition. M. Dedinkin and A. Larionov 

Opening of “The Wind in the Pines…” 5,000 Years of Korean Art. 

From the National Museum of Korea exhibition 

Opening of Contemporary Porcelain of Sévres 

exhibition. N. Shibayev and E. de Lumley 

This exhibition included 354 objects from 

the Neolithic Age to the Modern period: 

finds from excavations of royal burials, Buddhist 

sculptures of the 7th to 16th centuries, 

ceramics and porcelain of the 3rd to 18th 

centuries, silk scrolls on Buddhist subjects, 

genre paintings, portraits and a variety of 

examples of applied art, examples of written 

and printed texts. Twelve of the objects 

included in the exhibition have the status 

of national treasures. 

contemporary porcelain of Sévres 

15.06.10 – 12.09.10 

The exhibition was held as part of the 2010 

France – Russia Year in Russia celebrations. 

It showed works by 40 artists whose 

creative experiments and ideas have been 

given shape in Sévres porcelain. Organized 

jointly with “Sévres – the City of Ceramics” 

(Sévres National Manufactory), with the 

support of the Ministry of Culture of the 

Russian Federation and the Ministry of Culture 

and Communications of the French 

Republic. 

picasso. from the collection 

of the picasso museum – paris 

18.06.10 – 05.09.10 

Organized jointly with the Picasso Museum 

in Paris, the exhibition formed part of the 

2010 France – Russia Year celebrations, 

supported by the Ministry of Culture of the 

Russian Federation and the Ministry of Culture 

and Communications of the French 

Republic and the Potanin Charitable 

Foundation. The exhibition ran chronologically, 

allowing the visitor to follow year 

by year the evolution of this great artist 

Opening of Picasso. From the Collection of the Picasso Museum – Paris exhibition. 

M. Piotrovsky, F. Mitterand, C. Lagarde and A. Baldassari 


32 33


of the 20th century, from the early period 

through to the philosophical creations of 

his last years. 

“Since Tobacco you love So much...” 

25.06.10 – 04.09.11 

Bringing together numerous examples of 

the applied arts linked by their connection 

to the culture and history of the use 

of tobacco in Europe, the exhibition presented 

120 objects made in the 18th to early 

20th centuries from the Hermitage storerooms. 

Swiss Stained glass from the 16th – 

18th centuries in the hermitage 

collection 

06.07.10 – 31.10.10 

The Hermitage has a rare collection of Swiss 

stained glass of the 16th to 18th centuries. 

70 of the best examples were selected to demonstrate 

the technical and iconographical 

variety of the collection. The exhibition was 

organized to coincide with the St. Petersburg 

meeting of the XXV Colloquium of the 

international Corpus Vitrearum Medii Aevi 

(The Corpus of Mediaeval Stained Glass). 

The Sails of hellas. Seafaring 

in the ancient world 

21.09.10 – 03.04.10 

Telling the story of seafaring and shipbuilding 

in the Ancient World, of fishing industries 

and piracy, the exhibition presented 

more than 200 objects covering the period 

from the 6th century B.C. to the 3rd century 

A.D.: painting, sculpture, ceramics, glyptics, 

numismatics and bronze. 

pablo picasso. nude woman 

in a Red armchair from Tate 

modern, london. from the series 

“masterpieces from the world’s 

museums in the hermitage” 

03.10.10 – 12.12.10 

In this painting Picasso captured the image 

of his mistress, Marie-Thérèse Walter. 

The exhibition was held as part of the 2010 

France – Russia Year celebrations. 

34 

a glass fantasy. ancient glass 

from the hermitage collection 

12.10.10 – 16.01.11 

The exhibition showcased 250 of the most 

precious examples of ancient glass in the 

Hermitage collection, which consists of several 

thousand items. Many of the objects 

were shown to the public for the first time. 

centre pompidou in the State 

hermitage museum 

13.10.10 – 14.11.10 

Part of the 2010 France – Russia Year celebrations, 

the exhibition consisted of twelve 

masterpieces of French twentieth-century 

art from the collection of the Centre Pompidou: 

celebrated works by Marcel Duchamp, 

Yves Klein, Martial Raysse and Jean Dubuffet, 

and others by César, Roman Opalka, 

Robert Filiou, Daniel Buren, Gerard Garouste, 

Georges Mathieu and Bernard Lavier, 

whose works were shown in St. Petersburg 

for the first time. 

flemings through the eyes 

of david Teniers the younger 

(1610–1690) 

15.10.10 – 16.01.11 

To mark the 400th anniversary of the artist’s 

birth, the Hermitage presented its collection 

of paintings by Teniers – one of the 

best in the world. 33 paintings, most of them 

from the artist’s most active period (the 

1640s and 1650s), presented the thematic 

variety and high quality of the collection. 

A number of these works are considered 

to be among Teniers’ greatest. 

Titian. madonna and child 

with st. catherine (madonna 

with a Rabbit). from the collection 

of the louvre. from the series 



26.10.10 – 12.12.10 

In selecting this painting for display in the 

Hermitage, particular account was taken 

of its expression of a new understanding of 

man’s place in the world, so perfectly captured 

in Venetian art during the first decade 

of the 16th century. The Louvre loaned this 

work as a reciprocal gesture for the loan of 

the Hermitage’s Lamentation by Paolo Veronese 

in 2009. 

a romantic view. dutch and Belgian 

paintings of the 19th century 

from the rademakers collection 

29.10.10 – 06.02.11 

Jef Rademakers – writer, poet and art historian 

– has a superb collection of more than 

a hundred works by Belgian and Dutch artists 

of the 19th century in which artists sought 

to revive the great traditions of the Golden 

Age of Dutch and Flemish painting. Dominating 

the selection of works were paintings 

in which landscape plays a central role. 

The hermitage in the world 

of publications – 2010. 

The hermitage in photographs – 2010 

07.12.10 – 19.12.10 

Every year the Hermitage presents photographs 

of different events over the course 

of the past twelve months. Capturing everyday 

events and special celebrations, the 

Hermitage’s photographers are present 

at scholarly conferences and visits by highranking 

guests, they record restoration 

programmes and educational events for 

children, temporary exhibitions and archaeological 

excavations, concerts and performances, 

both on the territory of the Hermitage 

and beyond. 

The hoard of mrs. likhachyova 

08.12.10 – 27.02.11 

One of the most unusual groups of objects 

in the Hermitage is this hoard of silver once 

belonging to a wealthy St. Petersburg family. 

It was found hidden away in the building 

of the old Nevskaya Wallpaper Factory, 

once owned by Maria Ivanovna Likhachyova. 

Hidden under the floorboards, the 

silver items had suffered considerable damage 

and their full study is only now possible, 

after the items have been carefully restored 

in the Laboratory for Scientific Restoration 

of Precious Metals of the State Hermitage 

Museum. 

The glass Bead cabinet. 

panels from the chinese palace 

at oranienbaum 

08.12.10 – 20.03.11 

Organized jointly by the Hermitage and the 

Peterhof State Museum Reserve, this exhibition 

presented a unique restoration project. 

The Russian glass bead panels that cover 

Opening of “Since Tobacco You Love So Much...” exhibition 

Opening of Pablo Picasso. Nude Woman in a Red Armchair from Tate 

Modern, London. From the series “Masterpieces from the World’s Museums 

in the Hermitage” exhibition 

Opening of Centre Pompidou in the State Hermitage Museum exhibition 

Opening of Swiss Stained Glass from the 16th – 18th Centuries 

in the Hermitage Collection exhibition 

Opening of Flemings through the Eyes of David Teniers the Younger 

(1610–1690) exhibition 

Opening of The Hoard of Mrs. Likhachyova exhibition 


35


the walls of the famous cabinet in the Chinese 

Palace were restored in the Laboratory 

for Scientific Restoration of Textiles of the 

State Hermitage Museum. 

The roman Two-headed eagle. 

from the archaeological museum 

at alicante, Spain. from the series 



09.12.10 – 09.03.11 

Exhibition of a single object – a fragment 

of a bronze sculpture of an arm and hand 

clasping the hilt of a sword with a finial in 

the form of a two-headed eagle. The fragment 

was discovered in 2005 during excavations 

of the Roman town of Lucentum. 

artifacts of urartu. 

new acquisitions 

09.12.10 – 16.01.11 

This collection of Urartu and Caucasian 

antiquities was presented to the Hermitage 

by the collector Torkom Demirjian, 

owner of the Ariadne Galleries in New York, 

through the Hermitage Foundation (USA) 

in late 2009. It was one of the most superb 

acquisitions made by the Oriental Department 

in recent years. 

porcelain and roses. 

from the “christmas gift” series 

21.12.10 – 03.04.11 

Works from the Hermitage and from the 

collection of the Imperial Porcelain Factory 

Company were brought together in 

this exhibition, devoted to the depiction 

of that most romantic of flowers, the rose, 

on ceramics produced at the famous factory 

from the middle of the 18th century to the 

present day. The selection demonstrated 

the changing technical devices and styles 

used to depict roses by different artists. 

we draw and paint 

in the hermitage 

25.12.10 – 30.01.11 

The Hermitage’s annual presentation of 

the achievements of its celebrated School 

Centre art school. 

Opening of Artifacts of Urartu. New Acquisitions exhibition. To mark the 90th anniversary 

of the Oriental Department 

Opening of The Roman Two-Headed Eagle. From the Archaeological Museum at Alicante, Spain. 

From the series “Masterpieces from the World’s Museums in the Hermitage” exhibition 

J exhiBiTion evenTS 

presentation of a design 

by the architect a. nikolsky, 

created in Besieged leningrad 

in 1942 

05.05.10 – 19.05.10 

The architect A. Nikolsky produced this 

sheet of drawings between October 1941 and 

February 1942, during the terrible Siege of 

Leningrad. It shows Prospekt Stachek near 

the current site of the Avtovo metro station, 

with the buildings erected there between 

1937 and 1941. 

Tonino guerra. honey 

19.06.10 – 02.06.10. 

Marking the 90th birthday of the celebrated 

Italian poet, writer, dramatist, artist 

and sculptor Tonino Guerra, the exhibition 

presented the book Honey, produced 

by the Rare Books from St. Petersburg 

publishing house, and four mosaic panels 

crated by Marco Bravura after drawings 

by Guerra. 

The printer’s mistake 

The gift of ilya and emilia Kabakov 

to the State hermitage 

25.06.10 – 25.07.10 

On display were prints done by Ilya and 

Emilia Kabakov that formed part of these 

Opening of the exhibition dedicated to the publication of Tonino Guerra’s Honey 

contemporary artists’ gift to the State Hermitage 

Museum in 2010. 

antony gormley. clasp 

25.06.10 – 29.08.10 

CLASP by Antony Gormley, Britain’s leading 

monumental sculptor, was displayed 

in the Hall of Dionysus in the Antiquity Department, 

reflecting a practice established 

in the State Hermitage Museum in recent 

years of displaying contemporary and Classical 

works alongside each other. 

anish Kapoor. stainless steel 

25.06.10 – 29.08.10 

This monumental work by Anish Kapoor, 

a British artist of Indian origin, was displayed 

in the Great Courtyard of the Winter 

Palace. The vast polished steel hemisphere 

reflected the sky and clouds and the distorted 

facades of the Hermitage buildings. 


CLASP by Antony Gormley (Hall of Dionysus) 

Tonino Guerra presenting his Honey to the public 

36 37


J exhiBiTionS in muSeumS around ruSSia 

images of italy. western european 

painting of the 17th to 19th centuries 

from the hermitage 

Vladimir-Suzdal Museum Reserve, 

Vladimir 

05.02.10 – 11.04.10 

The exhibition presented 50 works linked 

by a single theme – the art of Italian masters 

and artists of other European schools inspired 

by Italy. It included paintings revealing 

the Italian influence on European painting 

overall, and the most typical examples of 

the different genres in which that influence 

is most tangible. 

The embroiderer’s art. western 

european embroidery for costume 

and interior decoration of 

the 16th to early 20th century 


Kaliningrad Regional Museum of History 

and Art, Kaliningrad 

23.03.10 – 29.08.10 

Some one hundred works of applied art 

produced in Italy, France, Germany, Spain 

and the Netherlands between the 16th and 

early 20th century, many of them exhibited 

for the first time. 

french art of the 17th and 

18th centuries from the hermitage 

Hermitage • Kazan Centre 

Kazan, Tatarstan 

14.04.10 – 16.01.11 

More than 140 paintings, sculptures and 

works of applied art were exhibited, creating 

a picture of French artistic life during 

the period when France set the fashion 

across Europe. 

catherine the great 

Hermitage • Vyborg Exhibition Centre, 

Vyborg 

16.06.10 – 07.02.11 

The name of Catherine the Great immediately 

summons up a picture of Russian 

culture as a whole in the second half of the 

18th century. This exhibition included Western 

European paintings from Catherine’s 

Opening of Images of Italy. Western European Painting of the 17th to 19th Centuries 

from the Hermitage exhibition 

Opening of Amber in Ancient Cultures. Masterpieces from the Hermitage Museum 

Collection exhibition 

Hermitage, examples of the products of the 

Imperial Porcelain and Glass Factories, the 

Peterhof Lapidary Factory and other leading 

artistic manufactories in Russia. 

Spanish art in the hermitage 

A. Radishchev Museum of Fine Arts, 

Saratov 

29.06.10 – 21.11.10 

Marking the 125th anniversary of the Saratov 

museum, this exhibition presented 

Spanish paintings from the State Hermitage 

Museum. 

amber in ancient cultures. 

masterpieces from the hermitage 

museum collection 

Kaliningrad Amber Museum, Kaliningrad 

14.09.10 – 12.12.10 

Presenting amber objects found during 

archaeological excavations of settlements, 

barrows and burials, the exhibition told the 

J parTicipaTion in exhiBiTionS in muSeumS around ruSSia 

music and the masons 

St. Petersburg State Museum of Theatre 

and Music, St. Petersburg 

12.03.10 – 16.05.10 

The age of roerich 

Manege Exhibition Hall, St. Petersburg 

15.04.10 – 16.05.10 

preserving the memory. 

commemorative items and gifts. 

past and present 

Tsarskoye Selo State Museum Reserve, 

St. Petersburg 

15.06.10 – 30.09.10 

The northern war. The Taking 

of vyborg by russian Troops 

in 1710 

Hermitage • Vyborg Exhibition Centre, 

Vyborg 

16.06.10 – 11.07.10 

story of amber itself and of its role in different 

cultures. The finds come from the 

wooded regions of Eastern Europe, across 

the Caucasus and the Black Sea Area to Siberia, 

source of some of the most mysterious 

objects. The chronological scope of the 

exhibition was no less impressive, running 

from the 5th millennium B.C. to the Migration 

Period of the 4th to 7th centuries 

A.D. 

The Stroganovs – collectors 

of antiquities 

Perm Regional Museum, Perm 

16.11.10 – 13.03.11 

In 2010 the Perm Regional Museum marked 

its 120th anniversary. This exhibition was 

deliberately chosen to reflect just one aspect 

of the varied collecting activities of the 

Stroganov family. It included a variety of 

examples of Classical art, coins and medals 

and Mexican antiquities but the concentration 

was on finds made in the Perm Region: 

silver objects from Sassanid Iran and Sogd 

“The Smolyanki” [girls of the Smolny 

institute]. on the 275th anniversary 

of the Birth of dmitry levitsky 

State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg 

19.08.10 – 08.11.10 

“By highest decree…” 

on the 175th anniversary 

of the consecration of the Smolny 

cathedral 

Smolny Cathedral, St. Petersburg 

01.10.10 – 15.12.10 

The art of rené lalique. 

a retrospective 

Moscow Kremlin State Historical and 

Cultural Museum Reserve, Moscow 

26.10.10 – 09.03.11 

mighty Knights. foreign orders 

of the russian emperors 

Moscow Kremlin State Historical and 

Cultural Museum Reserve, Moscow 

26.10.10 – 09.03.11 

and bronze plaques showing fantastical 

zoomorphic beings created by Finno-Ugric 

tribes who lived on the Perm lands in the 

6th and 7th centuries. 

russian Silver of the 18th 

to early 20th centuries from 

the hermitage 

I. Shemanovsky Yamalo-Nenetsk Regional 

Museum and Exhibition Complex, 

Salekhard 

03.12.10 – 31.01.11 

The Hermitage possesses a unique range of 

Russian silver, items of applied and decorative 

art of superb quality. This exhibition 

included a selection of silver objects complemented 

by painted portraits of Russian 

monarchs and members of the aristocracy 

and merchant classes, illustrating the development 

of artistic silver in Russia over the 

course of three centuries, from the 18th to 

the early 20th centuries. 

childhood. Boyhood. youth 

Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, 

Moscow 

06.12.10 – 13.02.11 

clio’s chosen… 

State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg 

08.12.10 – 21.02.11 

pushkin’s contemporaries 

in the watercolours of vladimir 

ivanovich gau 

State Pushkin Museum, Moscow 

14.12.10 – 14.03.11 

william carrick 


State Photographic Centre, St. Petersburg 

21.12.10 – 31.01.11 

38 39


J exhiBiTionS aBroad 

matisse to malevich. 

pioneers of modern art 


Hermitage • Amsterdam Exhibition Centre 

Amsterdam, Netherlands 

06.03.10 – 17.09.10 

The Hermitage has one of the world’s great 

collections of French painting of the early 

20th century. This exhibition consisted of 

76 works from that collection, covering the 

establishment of Modernism overall and, 

above all, emphasizing the unfading significance 

of those masters who revolutionized 

art at the start of the 20th century. Alongside 

canvases by the great artists of the French 

school – Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Kees 

Van Dongen and Maurice de Vlaminck – 

were works by their celebrated Russian 

contemporaries such as Kazimir Malevich 

and Wassily Kandinsky. Nearly all the works 

came from the Hermitage’s permanent display 

in the Winter Palace. Most of them derived 

from the private Moscow collections of 

Sergei Shchukin and Ivan Morozov. 

Star of the north. catherine the great 

and the golden age of the russian 

empire 

Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, China 

25.08.10 – 12.12.10 

Covering both Catherine II herself and 

the age in which she lived, the exhibition 

included superb examples of elegant porcelain, 

gold and silver items, sculpture, costumes, 

watches and candlesticks and much 

more. 

The immortal alexander the great. 

The myth. The reality. his Journey. 

his legacy. hermitage 

Hermitage • Amsterdam Exhibition Centre 

Amsterdam, Netherlands 

18.09.10 – 16.03.11 

The first exhibition in the Netherlands devoted 

to Alexander the Great, his Eastern 

campaigns and the influence of Hellenism 

on artistic culture. Covering more than 

2500 years, the exhibition presented objects 

dating from the 5th century B.C. to the 20th 

century. 

The Immortal Alexander the Great. The Myth. The Reality. His Journey. His Legacy. Hermitage exhibition 

Staging power. napoleon–charles 

John–alexander 

National Museum of Fine Arts, Stockholm, 

Sweden 

29.09.10 – 23.01.11 

Telling the story of three individuals – Napoleon 

Bonaparte of France, Alexander I 

of Russia and Charles XIV John of Sweden 

– of their power and fame, and how 

they used art to reinforce their position, 

this exhibition of some 420 objects included 

personal items, portraits, sculptures, 

uniforms, weapons, clocks, jewellery, medals 

and furniture. 

in the Service of the Tsars. 

The russian imperial guard 

from peter the great to the october 

revolution 

Army Museum, Paris, France 

08.10.10 – 23.01.11 

One of the central events in the 2010 

France – Russia Year celebrations. Some 

250 superb paintings, prints, weapons and 

examples of applied and decorative art 

were arranged not in chronological order 

but as a series of images, each of them 

built up around an individual or a specific 

event. 

J parTicipaTion in exhiBiTionS aBroad 

flowers. nature and Symbol from 

the 17th century to van gogh 

San Domenico Museums, Forli, Italy 

24.01.10 – 20.0610 

venice – The Sense of masquerade 

Finnish National Gallery, Sinebrychoff Art 

Museum, Helsinki, Finland 

05.02.10 – 23.05.10 

from Stage to painting – The magic 

of Theatre in nineteenth-century 

painting 

Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art 

of Trento and Rovereto, Rovereto, Italy 

06.02.10 – 23.05.10 

louis c. Tiffany: master of glass 

Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. Montreal, 

Quebec, Canada 

11.02.10 – 02.05.10 

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, 

USA 

05.06.10 – 29.08.10 

caravaggio 

Scuderie del Quirinale, Rome, Italy 

18.02.10 – 01.06.10 

rubens and van dyck 

National Museum of Fine Arts, Stockholm, 

Sweden 

25.02.10 – 23.05.10 

lydia d.: muse and model of matisse 

Musée Matisse, Le Cateau-Cambrésis, 

France 

27.02.10 – 30.05.10 

holy russia 

Louvre, Paris, France 

01.03.10 – 24.05.10 

architecture as icon 

Princeton University Art Museum, 

Princeton, New Jersey, USA 

06.03.10 – 07.06.10 

hans von aachen. court artist 

in europe 

Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum, Aachen, 

Germany 

11.03.10 – 13.06.10 

Prague Castle, Prague, Czech Republic 

01.07.10 – 03.10.10 

a True friend – hoof and paw 

in royal Service 

The Royal Armoury, Stockholm, Sweden 

20.03.10 – 10.01.11 

450 years of the dresden art 

collections 

Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, 

Dresden, Germany 

18.04.10 – 07.11.10 

from the Bible to the Koran. Joseph 

and the Tapestries of pontormo 

and Bronzino 

Palazzo del Quirinale, Rome, Italy 

28.04.10 – 18.07.10 

Triumph of the Blue Swords – 

meissen porcelain for aristocracy 

and Bourgeoisie 



08.05.10 – 29.08.10 

The fascination of fragility 



09.05.10 – 29.08.10 

from Byzantium to istanbul – 

8,000 years of a capital 

Sakip Sabanci Museum, Istanbul, Turkey 

04.06.10 – 04.09.10 

domenico ghirlandaio: portrait 

of giovanna Tornabuoni 

Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid, 

Spain 

22.06.10 – 10.10.10 

The future of Tradition – 

the Tradition of future. 100 years 

after the exhibition “masterpieces 

of muhammadan art” 

Haus der Kunst, Munich, Germany 

17.09.10 – 09.01.11 

claude monet 

Grand Palais, Paris, France 

20.09.10 – 24.01.11 


from xanadu to dadu: the world 

of Khubilai Khan 

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 

USA 

21.09.10 – 02.01.11 

Bronzino 

Palazzo Strozzi, Florence, Italy 

24.09.10 – 23.01.11 

paul gauguin – maker of myth 

Tate Modern, London, UK 

30.09.10 – 16.01.11 

from canova to modigliani: The face 


Palazzo Zabarella, Padua, Italy 

02.10.10 – 27.02.11 

man, myth and Sensual pleasures: 

Jan gossart’s renaissance 

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 

USA 

04.10.10 – 17.01.11 

matisse and the alhambra 

Alhambra Museum, Granada, Spain 

08.10.10 – 28.02.11 

masterpieces of goryeo Buddhist 

paintings 

National Museum of Korea, Seoul, Korea 

12.10.10 – 21.11.10 

venice: canaletto and his rivals 

National Gallery, London, UK 

13.10.10 – 16.01.11 

cézanne’s card players 

Courtauld Institute of Art, London, UK 

21.10.10 – 16.01.11 

hugo Backmansson 1860–1953 

Amos Anderson Art Museum, Helsinki, 

Finland 

22.10.10 – 10.01.11 

rome and the antique in the 18th 

century 

Fondazione Roma Museo, Rome, Italy 

29.11.10 – 06.03.11 

modigliani Sculptor 

Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art 

of Trento and Rovereto, Rovereto, Italy 

18.12.10 – 27.03.11 

40 41


france – ruSSia year 2010 

2010 was declared the France – Russia Year. A number of exhibitions 

were organized as part of the celebrations, with loans of French art to the Hermitage 

and loans of works from the Hermitage to France. 

exhiBiTionS of french arT in The hermiTage 

picasso. from the collection of the picasso museum – 

paris 

18 June – 5 September 2010 

In the summer a major exhibition of works by Pablo Picasso 

from the Musée National Picasso in Paris – one of 

the most important events on the St. Petersburg art scene 

in the last decade – was mounted in the state rooms of the 

Winter Palace. During major refurbishment at the Musée 

National Picasso its collections were sent on a world tour. 

Each version of the exhibition – shown in Madrid, Abu 

Dhabi, Helsinki and Moscow before coming to St. Petersburg 

– was slightly different in composition. 

The Paris museum was founded in 1985. Despite its comparative 

youth, it possesses the world’s largest collection of 

the great artist’s works, 290 of which were selected for the 

Hermitage to reflect all the periods in his career, all the 

types and genres of his art. In order to achieve this, it was 

necessary to resolve the problems of showing them in an 

old palace that had no specially equipped display rooms 

of the required size. This demanded no small measure of 

inventiveness on the part of those who devised the concept 

of the exhibition (on the French side – Anne Baldassari, 

Director of the Musée Picasso, on the Russian side – Boris 

Kuzyakin and Vitaly Koroliov, members of staff of the Exhibition 

Design Department). It was decided to hold the 

exhibition mainly in four state rooms of the Winter Palace 

– the Oriental Gallery, the Field-Marshals, Armorial 

and Picket Rooms – in chronological order, from Picasso’s 

early youthful works of the first decade of the 20th century 

to his last works dating from the late 1960s and early 1970s. 

The exhibition opened with the world-famous masterpieces 

Death of Casagemas (1901) and La Celestina (1904). 

The most important works of his Cubist period – Three 

Women under a Tree (1908) and the etudes for Les Demoiselles 

d’Avignon (1907) – were supplemented by etudes for 

several of the Hermitage’s works, such as The Farmer’s Wife 

and The Dance of the Veils. The display ended in the Oriental 

Gallery with works from Picasso’s neoclassical period – Portrait 

of Olga in an Armchair (1918), Paul as Harlequin (1924) 

and The Village Dance (1922). 

Never before had the art of Picasso’s surrealist period been 

shown so fully in the Hermitage. Surrealism and works from 

the 1950s were featured in the Armorial Hall, which was 

a bold venture: Picasso’s pictures had to brave the ordeal 

of the sumptuous hall’s classical architecture. Major works 

from the 1930s were displayed alongside his sculpture of 

that period, chiefly a series of female busts from 1931, while 

the 1950s canvases were surrounded by the splendid bronzes 

The Goat (1950) and Woman with a Pushchair (1950). 

The same hall included celebrated works from Picasso’s 

war period that became symbols of that bleak time: Cat 

Catching a Bird (1939), the sculpture Head of a Bull (1942) 

and Man with a Lamb (1943). The large canvas Massacre in 

Korea (1951) acted as an unusual link between the Oriental 

Gallery and the works in the Armorial Hall. This, the 

only Picasso’s work to be displayed in the Field-Marshals 

Room, was deliberately placed facing a customary example 

of a battle painting – Peter von Hess’s Battle of Klyastitsi. 

The Picket Room was given over to some of the most representative 

works of the 1960s and 1970s, when a very 

important place was occupied by Picasso’s dialogue with 

old masters. They include a variation on Edouard Manet’s 

Le Dejeuner sur l’Herbe (1960), images of matadors, lovers, 

and also a sculpture of cut iron leaf. The display came 

to an end with the virtuoso canvas The Young Artist (1972), 

Picasso’s latest work in the exhibition. 

A remarkable part of the retrospective was provided by Picasso’s 

sketches linked to Russian ballet productions, which 

were displayed on the second floor of the Winter Palace. 

They were supplemented by 70 photographs of the master 

and his friends and books. Documentary films about the 

master’s career were shown in the last room. 

The exhibition in the state rooms of the Hermitage was 

the principal event in the 2010 France – Russia Year to be 

held in St. Petersburg. 

contemporary porcelain of Sévres 


By Albert Kostenevich 

The exhibition took place in the Great Hall of Menshikov 

Palace. Pieces made in the Sévres factory in the second 

half of the 20th and early 21st centuries were displayed 

in Russia for the first time. Around 100 works by 40 contemporary 

masters demonstrated the principal genres in 

porcelain manufacture. 

Sculptors Vincent Barré, Louise Bourgeois, Joan Chretien, 

Jim Dean, Francoise Petrovitch, Francoise Vergier and Natalie 

Talek preferred to express their creative individuality 

not in marble or bronze, but in delicate porcelain. All the 

variety in the contemporary decoration of services was 

evident in the works of Pierre Aleschinski, Marc Couturier, 

Philippe Faviere, Raoul Marek and Adrian Sachs, as 

well as in pieces made by the Russians Erik Bulatov and 

Sergei Polyakov. Some of the most original exhibits were 

vases with the most unusual shapes and profiles (by Pierre 

Charpin, José Levy, Richard Peduzzi, Christian Renonciat, 

Ettore Sottsass and Betty Woodman). 

The Sévres representatives remarked on the fact that the 

exhibits were shown in the special “historic” atmosphere 

of Menshikov Palace, conveying a link between periods. 

It was particularly significant for the Sévres factory that 

the exhibition was shown in one of the world’s leading 

museums, the State Hermitage, and in St. Petersburg – 

a city where Sévres porcelain was known, valued and loved 

as early as in the 18th century. 

The exhibition attracted over 22,000 people, including ceramists, 

sculptors and artists from St. Petersburg, Moscow 

and other Russian cities, as well as foreign visitors. 

centre pompidou in the State hermitage museum 

5 October – 14 November 2010 

By Yan Vilensky 

This project, held in the Antechamber, the Nicholas Hall 

and the Hermitage Theatre, was one of the events in the 

France – Russia Year and was intended to demonstrate the 

various forms of the Pompidou Centre’s work with contemporary 

art. 

hermiTage exhiBiTionS in france 

Besides the Holy Russia exhibition in the Louvre, in which 

the Hermitage took part together with other Russian museums, 

an exhibition from our museum’s collection was 

staged in the Musée d’Armée in Paris 

in the Service of the Tsars. The russian imperial guard 

from peter the great to the october revolution 

8 October 2010 – 23 January 2011 

The Imperial Guard is a subject that is very dear to the 

Hermitage. The Guard played a very important part in the 

history of the Russian Empire, the centre of which was the 

Winter Palace – the residence of its sovereigns for a century 

and a half. The glory of the Russian Imperial Guard 

is recorded forever in the Winter Palace’s celebrated 1812 

War Gallery. The history of the Russian Imperial Guard 

ended with the fall of the Empire in 1917, the bloody bat- 


The aim of the project was to focus attention on ways 

of showing contemporary art works and on a conversation 

about them. This was the continuation of the interaction 

and mutual enrichment between Russian and French culture 

over many years. The staging of the project in the 

main state rooms of the Winter Palace led to the opening 

of a multilevel dialogue between styles and ages, which 

became a well-balanced narrative about transformations 

in contemporary art. 

The project consisted of two parts: a festival and an exhibition. 

For the festival designer pavilions (Heimo Zobering, 

Jorge Pardo) were arranged in the Nicholas Hall from 

5 October, and various types of artistic activity revolved 

around them for the following week: experimental performances 

by French and Russian actors, round tables, 

master classes and discussions. The Hermitage Theatre 

staged showings of video works by French artists from the 

Pompidou Centre collection, as well as a number of dramatic 

presentations. French and Russian performers and 

figures in the world of contemporary art were invited 

to participate in the festival. 

The exhibition opened in the Antechamber on 13 October 

and continued until 14 November. The display included 

twelve masterpieces of twentieth-century French art from 

the Pompidou Centre collection – famous works by Marcel 

Duchamp, Yves Klein, Martial Raysse, Jean Dubuffet, César, 

Roman Opalka, Robert Filliou, Daniel Buren, Gerard Garouste, 

Georges Mathieu, Bernard Lavier and other artists, 

all of which were being shown in St. Petersburg for the 

first time. 

By Dmitry Ozerkov 

tles of the First World War and the tragedy of the Civil War. 

Guards that fled the country carefully preserved the memory 

of their regiments abroad. Memories of events in Russian 

history, undeservedly forgotten for several decades, 

are now being revived, and the State Hermitage Museum 

is taking an active part in this. 

In the exhibition at the Musée d’Armée in Paris the State 

Hermitage Museum showed around 250 first-rate works: 

painting, graphic art, decorative applied art and weapons. 

Under the exhibition agreement the Musée d’Armée and 

the Museum of the Lifeguards of the Cossack Regiment 

in Paris also took part. 

This exhibition was the last to be organized by our colleague 

Sergei Plotnikov, Head of the Arsenal Department – 

an outstanding authority on military history, a talented 

scholar and a good friend. 

By Dmitry Liubin 

42 43


J hermiTage cenTreS 

hermiTage • amSTerdam cenTre 

amsterdam, The netherlands 

Last year was the first full year of operation for the Centre, 

which opened in June 2009. With three exhibitions, a rich 

programme of lectures and a fully operative children’s 

centre, 2010 can be rated a very successful year. 

The Centre welcomed 650,000 visitors, the third highest 

number among Amsterdam museums after the Rijksmuseum 

and the Van Gogh Museum. Over 10,000 children 

took part in the programmes for children. 

In 2010 two new members – Wim Keuken and Jan Ernst de 

Groot – joined the Hermitage on the Amstel board, which 

manages the Hermitage • Amsterdam Exhibition Centre. 

It is with deep regret that we have to announce the death 

of Hans Dijkstal, who was a member of the board for many 

years. 

exhiBiTionS 

at the russian court. palace and protocol 

in the 19th century 

January 2010 was the last month of this exhibition. For the 

first and last time the display was accommodated in both 

wings of the exhibition centre. At the end of the exhibition, 

which attracted over 700,000 visitors, the Centre was 

closed for a month to rehabilitate the building after this 

large influx of people. 

matisse to malevich. 

pioneers of modern art from the hermitage 

This was the first time that such an imposing exhibition 

of avant-garde masterpieces had been shown in the Netherlands: 

from 6 March to 17 September 2010 the Centre 

featured masterpieces by Matisse, Picasso, van Dongen, 

de Vlaminck and other outstanding pioneers of modern 

art. The exhibition described the sources of modern art as 

a historical phenomenon and also provided an idea of the 

artistic trends at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, 

when a revolution in the history of world art took place. 

The exhibition, which was designed by Pieter Roosen, 

was very successful, attracting more than 375,000 visitors. 

It was accompanied by a whole series of educational programmes 

– for example, a special “educational wall” was 

built, describing Paris at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. 

Visitors purchased over 15,000 catalogues, with 

articles by State Hermitage researchers. 

From 1 April to 9 May 2010 the exhibition welcomed 

a “special guest”: The Dance, one of Henri Matisse’s most 

important works, which had never previously been shown 

in the Netherlands, was sent to Amsterdam from St. Petersburg. 

The Russian Ministry of Culture gave permission 

Installing Matisse to Malevich. Pioneers of Modern Art from the Hermitage exhibition 

for the canvas to be on display for six weeks. The painting 

was included in the exhibition with the support of the 

Turing Foundation and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, which 

provided a special aircraft for its transportation. 

As part of the preparations for the exhibition the Centre 

organized a special press trip to Moscow. A film about the 

collectors Sergei Shchukin and Ivan Morozov and the fate 

of their collections was made for Dutch television. 

Several thousand masks in the Cubist style were made by 

schoolchildren in the children’s centre. The best works 

by pupils in classes for gifted children were shown in three 

rooms directly adjoining the exhibition. 

The exhibition was accompanied by an extensive cultural 

programme: lectures, courses, theatrical and musical 

presentations. 

from dusk to dawn 

From 11 June to 12 September 2010 the Hermitage • Amsterdam 

Exhibition Centre presented a major art project 

by the famous Dutch photographer Erwin Olaf. 

The immortal alexander the great. The myth. The reality. 

his Journey. his legacy. hermitage 

An exhibition devoted to Alexander the Great, his Eastern 

campaign and the spread of Hellenism, shown in the 

Netherlands for the first time, was held in the Centre from 

18 September 2010 to 16 March 2011. The exhibition was 

designed by Ger Feijen, and the graphic design and design 

of the catalogue was by “UnA Designers”. 


Erwin Olaf created photographic interpretations of Alexander 

for the exhibition. By superimposing images of a real 

model on pictures of the museum exhibits, Olaf managed 

to convey the character of Alexander and to re create his 

facial features. The project was started by Erwin Olaf and 

his team in the State Hermitage’s photographic studio, 

where photographs of the museum exhibits were taken, 

and completed in Olaf’s studio in Amsterdam with shots of 

a live model. Erwin Olaf’s photographs became the basis 

of the advertising campaign for the exhibition and were 

included on the posters. One of Olaf’s works was used on 

the cover of the catalogue. 

The Dutch TV company “AVRO” made a documentary 

film for the exhibition. It was shot in Pella, Alexander’s 

birthplace. At sessions in the children centre pupils made 

special medals of Alexander the Great. The courses and 

lectures that accompanied the exhibition were invariably 

well received by their audiences. 

As part of “Museum Night 2010” the Hermitage • Amsterdam 

Exhibition Centre organized a presentation of battles 

in the style of Alexander the Great in the Centre’s inner 

courtyard. 

lucia ganieva’s ermitazhniki 

From 22 September 2010 the Hermitage • Amsterdam 

staged a project entitled Ermitazhniki by the Russian-Dutch 

photographer Lucia Ganieva. The project depicted State 

Hermitage custodians in front of paintings. 

44 45


hermiTage • iTaly cenTre 

ferrara, italy 

In the forefront of the activities of the Hermitage Centre 

in Italy during 2010 were research work and the broadening 

of the “geography” of the Hermitage’s links. As before, 

our staff’s work in Italy encompassed a wide variety of occupations, 

the most important of which was the preparation 

of academic catalogues of Hermitage collections. This 

task was undertaken by staff of the Department of Classical 

Antiquity (Olga Gorskaya and Yelena Arsentyeva) and the 

Department of Western European Fine Arts (Tatiana Kustodieva) 

in Ferrara. It should be noted that the Centre does 

not propose a permanent stay in Ferrara, but provides the 

opportunity to travel and stop in the places that relate to 

the field of interest of each stipendiary. The “debut” of Hermitage 

restorers should also be mentioned: in 2010 grants 

were awarded to Igor Malkiel (jointly with Marina Lopato) 

for the study of modern methods of restoring pieces made 

from precious metals, and to Svetlana Petrova, who worked 

temporarily at the Institute for the Restoration of Natural 

Stone in Florence, where she learned about the traditional 

methods of making and restoring Florentine mosaics. Svetlana 

Petrova described her work in the Institute in detail at 

a seminar in the Centre in December, where her account 

aroused lively interest among her Italian colleagues. 

From 2011 the Hermitage plans to be a regular participant 

in the annual Restoration and Conservation of Cultural 

and Artistic Heritage Show in Ferrara, where each of our 

museum’s restoration laboratories will be able to show the 

most significant results of its work. 

The main result of the Centre’s activity in 2010 was undoubtedly 

the publication of a catalogue of seventeenth- 

hermiTage • KaZan cenTre 

Kazan, republic of Tatarstan, russia 

chronicle of evenTS 

1 March 

Opening of the Women and Cats exhibition (part of the Second 

Republic Festival Hermitage Strolls with a Kazan Cat). 

The display included works by masters of the brush, the 

chisel, clay, felt and other artistic material, both acknowledged 

masters and debutants, vividly reflecting the mutual 

relations between women and cats. 

14 April 

Opening of the exhibition French Art of the 17th and 18th 

Centuries from the Hermitage. Over 200 works of painting, 

sculpture, furniture, pottery and porcelain, tapestries 

and artistic bronze represented the artistic life of France 

century Italian art by Svetlana Vsevolozhskaya, the result of 

the combined efforts of Hermitage staff and their Italian 

colleagues. The publication was presented to a large gathering 

of Italian journalists by State Hermitage Director 

Mikhail Piotrovsky on 8 July in the Palazzo Clerici in Milan, 

and immediately afterwards in Ferrara. 

A successful departure in the Centre’s activity last year was 

the introduction of regular public lectures given by the 

best-known and most respected specialists from all over 

the world. The main series was devoted to the 400th anniversary 

of Caravaggio’s death. In parallel the Centre ran 

a second series of lectures concerning the collections of 

the largest museums. Among those taking part were Gabriele 

Finaldi, who talked about the Prado collection, Alain 

Bregent de Lavernier (Director of the factories of Gobelin, 

Beauvais and the furniture collections of France) and Irina 

Artemyeva, who lectured on the history of the Hermitage 

collections of Italian painting. 

Last summer State Hermitage Director Mikhail Piotrovsky 

signed a Protocol of Intent with the Trieste port 

authority and city administration. Trieste – the eastern 

outpost of Italy – borders with Slovenia and thus links 

Western and Eastern Europe. This relatively young city 

(it only began to be built in the late 18th century and the 

main part was built in the 19th and early 20th centuries) 

is unlike other Italian cities and is somewhat reminiscent 

of St. Petersburg. Trieste is also similar to this city in its 

importance as a seaport, one of the largest in Italy. It was 

no coincidence that along with the Hermitage a protocol 

concerning co-operation in the cultural sphere was also 

signed by Andrei Lialin, Director of the Central Naval 

Museum: a future possibility is a joint exhibition project 

on a naval theme. 

in that period. It was the first time the Hermitage had 

shown French art in such a volume and variety of genres 

in Kazan. 

Many of these works had been included in international exhibitions, 

others were kept in reserves and only rarely put 

on display, and some were being shown for the first time. 

A fine example was a portrait of Louis XIV (1638–1715), 

made of various shades of leather, shown in this exhibition 

for the first time and specially restored for the purpose. 

The reign of the Sun King was represented by the first 

half of the display, which opened with an equestrian statue 

of Louis. One of the rooms was devoted to the work of the 

two major artists of the 17th century – Nicolas Poussin 

(1594–1665) and Lorrain (Claude Gellée) (1600–1682). 

The seventeenth-century room also featured religious 

paintings of the second half of the century and portraits. 

Besides paintings, the rooms also included furniture, tapestries 

and pottery from that time. 

Opening of French Art of the 17th and 18th Centuries 

from the Hermitage exhibition. 

Zilya Valeyeva, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Culture 

of the Republic of Tatarstan; Ramil Khayrutdinov, Director of the Kazan 

Kremlin State Historical-Architectural and Artistic Museum Reserve; 

Vladimir Matveyev, State Hermitage Deputy Director for Exhibitions 

and Development 


The second, more extensive, part of the exhibition presented 

the brilliant art of the 18th century – the elegant 

light Rococo with its “gallant scenes” from the beginning 

of the century and the genre paintings and portraits from 

the end of it. The Rococo style was also extensively represented 

in works of applied art – furniture, sculpture and 

tapestries supplemented the furnishing of the room where 

works of the major late eighteenth-century painter Hubert 

Robert (1733–1808) were displayed. One of the rooms 

included a collection of Sévres porcelain. Items from two 

different services gave an idea of the work of the royal porcelain 

factory and the pieces made there. 

Most of the works were prepared and restored specially for 

this exhibition. 

15 May 

“Museum Night 2010”. Exhibition project So Near, So Far… 

by the “Razniye Shtuki” group, the result of the gradual acquaintance 

of the staff of the Hermitage • Kazan Centre’s 

Laboratory of Topical Art with the types, genres and forms 

of topical art. 

18 May 

Opening of a retrospective exhibition of the work of Lev 

Potiagunin (1925–1996), marking the 85th anniversary 

of the birth of one of the leading graphic artists in the Republic 

of Tatarstan active from the 1960s to 1990s. 

46 47


1 August 

Introduction of the Veni, Vidi, Vici crossword-guide to the 

exhibition French Art of the 17th and 18th Centuries from the 

Hermitage. The crossword-guide was a sort of analogue of 

a guided tour for every visitor to the museum. It made 

it possible for each visitor to converse, ask questions, solve 

puzzles, notice subtleties and make discoveries. On the 

one hand the visitor was independent, but on the other 

hand was drawn into a scenario of a dialogue with an object 

in the museum as conceived by the author. 

9 August 

Opening of the exhibition The Changing Image of Changing 

Fashion from the collection of the “Moscow House of Photography” 

Museum, organized as part of the France – Russia 

Year. The exhibition included 53 photographs by two 

well-known French photo graphers – Gerard Uferas and 

Francoise Uguet, capturing the most interesting moments 

in the history of French fashion houses. 

24 August 

Hermitage assembly to mark the Centre’s fifth anniversary. 

The following programmes were based on materials in the 

exhibition French Art of the 17th and 18th Centuries from the 

Hermitage: 

• Interactive guided tour Close Your Eyes and See. Museum 

atmosphere, bandage over your eyes, the guide’s voice 

letting you switch off from what is going on around you, 

enter into a dialogue with the artist and understand the 

codes and symbols in his work. 

• Interactive tour-game French Hat Festival. In each room, 

after viewing the exhibits, specific tasks were set (searching 

for fragments of works of art in the display, learning 

the purpose of objects from a bygone age, getting to know 

an old French game and the language of the fan). After 

completing it, children won playing bonuses (flowers), 

to decorate the main prize – a hat. 

• Practical session Lesson in Cryptography – addendum to 

the guided tour of the exhibition. The political history 

of Europe was awash with diplomatic intrigues. Important 

letters were written in invisible ink. Each correspondent 

had a whole chemical laboratory in his writing-desk, with 

lecTure hall 

of The hermiTage • KaZan cenTre 

In the five years that the lecture hall in Kazan has been 

in operation Hermitage staff have given over 360 lectures, 

but it is more than a matter of numbers. There are two 

main results of the lecture hall’s activity, two main conclusions 

drawn by the staff of the Kazan Centre – the or- 

the aim of being able to read the real message behind the 

meaningless lines. At the end of the guided tour visitors 

discovered the secret of cryptography. 

• Thematic guided tour Plate with a Gold Edge, based on materials 

in the exhibition. The tour described the 300-year 

history of Sévres porcelain – everyday items that always 

arouse admiration and are leading examples of decorative 

applied art. 

11–12 September 

Exhibition project The Digital Tower, part of the “Kremlin 

Live 2010” Festival. 

Exhibition by the contemporary Dutch artist Pauline 

Olteiten. Five video works entitled Collection of an Observer 

demonstrated documentary film sessions – not staged 

by the artist, but scenes observed by chance. 

Demonstration of works by the Orenburg video artist Kit 

Plekhanov entitled Digital Generative Art, featuring the pulsation 

of complex multicoloured patterns on the walls 

of the Tainitskaya Tower. GrrrBzzz, a programme of electronic 

music by Muscovite Alexander Sinyagin, accompanied 

the video showing. 

13 October 

Opening of an exhibition by diploma-winners at the 8th 

“Russian Art Week” International Festival-Competition 

of Contemporary Art. 

29 October 

Individual exhibition by the artist-sculptor Mahmut Gasimov 

to mark his 65th birthday. 

27 November 

Opening of an exhibition of works by pupils of the Hermitage 

• Kazan Centre’s children’s art studio, including watercolours, 

collages and large installations on the themes 

of exhibitions from the State Hermitage. 

15 December 

Opening of the exhibition A Silver Christmas. The Art of Jewellers 

from Krasnoye Selo 

ganizers of the lecture programme and the staff of the 

Special Programmes Sector of the Hermitage Education 

Department responsible for devising programmes and 

training lecturers: firstly, in the words of the Centre’s staff, 

“The Hermitage has brought lectures back to Kazan” – this 

type of contact of science and art with the general public 

was apparently forgotten completely since the early 1990s; 

secondly, in those five years an essentially “Kazan” lecture 

programme has been created – an organizational, rich 

in content and methodical formula for a lecture theatre of 

Hermitage standard has been found, meeting the conditions, 

cultural needs and perception of the Kazan public. 

The Hermitage lecture programme in Kazan was 

launched in 2005, immediately after the Centre opened. 

The first season was the most difficult, throwing up numerous 

problems on both sides. The people of Kazan 

had actually forgotten what a public lecture in a museum 

was. The general public in the city did not respond to invitations 

to the lectures – advertising had no effect, tickets 

and subscriptions remained unsold. And the lecture 

hall’s staff did not see any way of organizing it other than 

to distribute advertisements to educational establishments 

and appealing to teachers to bring their students 

to the lecture hall. As a result, Hermitage lecturers were 

faced with the necessity of giving lectures according to an 

academic, educational method, essentially simply replacing 

educational programmes in schools and colleges with 

Hermitage lectures, which contradicted the very essence 

of museum education and the method of public lectures 

in museums. However, even the direct transfer to the Kazan 

lecture hall of the Hermitage’s lecturing method and 

the principle of compiling large series of lectures with 

a common general theme, stretched out over the whole 

season and even spilling over into the next, which is customarily 

successful in the Hermitage, proved fairly unproductive 

here in Kazan. What was necessary was a lengthy 

collaboration based primarily on the common desire of 

the Hermitage and the Centre to find a mutual understanding 

and compile a programme of lectures and make 

them an effective, necessary and interesting part of the 

Hermitage’s activity in Kazan. The constant contact and 

co-operation between the Hermitage staff and the Kazan 

Centre was expressed not only in agreeing subjects, periods 

and schedules, but above all in a careful study of 

the interests and requirements of the potential Kazan 

audience. In 2007 the Hermitage’s Sociological Sector 

devised a questionnaire that became the basis of regular 

public opinion polls conducted by the Centre’s staff. 

The opinions expressed in the questionnaires, systematic 

polls carried out once a season, round table discussions, 

meetings of staff of the Hermitage and the Centre with 

members of the audience, direct contact between Hermitage 

lecturers and the public – all this became an essential 

source of information, on the basis of which the 

system of thematic programmes, the method and organization 

of lectures were devised and adjusted. 

Colleagues from Kazan who worked extensively and actively 

with the people of Kazan were able to establish various 

links with them. They not only consolidated and significantly 

broadened links with the teacher-student audience 

of Kazan, which now forms almost half of the lecture hall’s 

regular audience. They also managed to attract middleaged 

Kazan residents, the city’s intelligentsia, with which 


the Centre’s staff maintain contact not only by conventional 

means – through advertisements, newspapers, radio and 

cultural institutions, but also by direct personal contact 

with almost every member of the audience. 

What we now have, it seems to us, is a schedule of lectures 

that is as convenient as possible for the Kazan audience 

and the Hermitage. The Hermitage lecture programme 

operates in the Kazan Centre for three successive days every 

month, two lecturers from the Hermitage giving two lectures 

each per day. There are fewer lectures in comparison 

with the difficult first season of 2005/06 (72 as opposed 

to 120), but the number of listeners has increased from 

2,600 in the first season to nearly 4,000 in 2009/10. And in 

just the first two sessions of the 2010/11 season (two trips) 

in October and November 1,600 people have already attended 

lectures. 

The principles for forming the thematic programmes of 

lectures were substantially different from those traditionally 

followed by the Hermitage; they took into account 

the schedule, the conditions of work, the make-up and 

needs of the audience. Above all, we dispensed with large 

comprehensive cycles of lectures. The basic “module” for 

drawing up the programmes was a cycle of three lectures 

on one subject by one lecturer, which could be given on 

one visit to Kazan (each lecture twice). A mini-cycle such 

as this could stand alone or could be correlated with another 

three-lecture cycle on a related subject by another 

lecturer. 

The choice of subjects for the Kazan audience is always 

a matter of serious work. We study the needs of the audience 

and the suggestions of the Hermitage • Kazan Centre, 

and without fail relate these to the specifics of the Hermitage’s 

academic and educational activity. The themes of our 

lectures are always the history of art and artistic culture. 

Matters of socio-political history and religion are subjects 

frequently requested by our Kazan listeners – they are seen 

not as independent subjects but only in the context of the 

history of art and culture. Each season’s programme includes 

a cycle on the latest Hermitage exhibition staged 

in the Centre. 

Five years is not a long time – it is just a beginning that 

has enabled us to acquire positive experience, leading 

us to hope for the successful future development of the 

Hermitage lecture hall, which has “brought lectures back 

to Kazan”. 

By Ludmila Torshina 

Head of the Special Programmes Sector 

Education Department, State Hermitage Museum 

48 49


hermiTage • vyBorg cenTre 

On the basis of an Agreement on Co-operation between 

the Government of the Leningrad Region, the State Hermitage 

Museum and the Vyborg District municipal structure, 

the Hermitage • Vyborg Exhibition Centre opened 

on 16 June 2010. The Centre is located in a building 

that is an architectural monument – the former Museum 

of Fine Arts, designed by Uno Ulberg. 

The first exhibitions at the Centre were: Catherine the Great, 

devoted to the Hermitage’s founder Catherine II, and 

The Northern War. The Taking of Vyborg by Russian Troops in 

1710, marking the 300th anniversary of that event. 

Catherine the Great (16 June 2010 – 7 February 2011) comprised 

211 exhibits arranged in four sections, reflecting 

the Empress’s state and educational activities, as well as 

her personal life. A separate subject was St. Petersburg. 

The exhibition included painting, graphic art, sculpture, 

medals and jewellery. 

The rooms devoted to Catherine as a patron of science 

and art featured paintings from the collection of Catherine’s 

Hermitage (by Mattia Preti, Salvatore Rosa and Adolf 

Kaufmann), pieces from the Imperial Porcelain Factory 

and Glassworks and the Peterhof Lapidary Factory. The display 

also included portraits of her closest associates, who influenced 

the development of Russian science and culture, 

playing a significant part in the establishment of the Imperial 

Academy of Arts, the development of the Academy of 

Sciences and the formation of the Empress’s brilliant art 

collection: Yekaterina Dashkova, Ivan Betskoi, Ivan Shuvalov, 

Alexander Stroganov and Nikita Panin. The activity 

of French educators and Catherine’s correspondence with 

Voltaire were also reflected in these rooms. 

Numismatic exhibits, jewellery and military uniforms, as 

well as allegorical paintings portraying the successes of the 

Russian army in wars in the north and south of the country 

(by Heinrich Buchholz and Andreas Guney) and portraits 

of military leaders, cast light on Russian foreign policy 

in the second half of the 18th century. 

The third section was devoted to the history of the Empress’s 

accession, her family and the principal events in 

her private life. In these rooms one could see painted 

and drawn portraits of Catherine and members of her 

family – Emperor Peter III, Grand Duke Pavel (Paul) 

Petrovich, Grand Duchess Maria Fiodorovna, Grand 

Dukes Alexander and Konstantin. Also on display were 

Catherine’s uniform dresses and medals issued on the occasion 

of births, weddings and other events in the life 

of the Imperial family. 

The city of St. Petersburg, which became a genuine Imperial 

capital under Catherine, was represented by engravings 

(by Thomas Melton, Ludwig and Matthias Laurie, 

Benjamin Paterssen and Karl Beggrov), memorial medals 

and works of decorative applied art devoted to the creation 

of the famous architectural ensembles. 

The famous “mug with ears of corn” was specially restored 

for this exhibition, as were portraits of Grand Duke Peter 

and Grand Duchess Catherine from the collection of 

the Department of the History of Russian Culture (these 

portraits had never previously been shown). Other items 

put on display for the first time were: a steel medallion 

depicting Catherine II by A. Wiedemann and a series of 

medals entitled Famous Men of France in honour of French 

educators. 

Since the Centre opened it has welcomed more than 

11,000 visitors: from St. Petersburg, Vyborg, the Leningrad 

Region, from 69 other cities and regions of Russia (Moscow, 

Volgograd, Krasnoyarsk, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, 

Omsk, Komsomolsk-na-Amure, Salekhard, Tyumen, Ishim, 

Magnitogorsk, Vladivostok and Yakutsk), and from abroad 

(Finland, Brazil, Germany, Israel, Spain, Britain, South 

Africa, China, Latvia, Ukraine, Belarus and Estonia). 

The centre’s staff have conducted over 200 guided tours, 

including some in Finnish and English. 

The visitors to exhibitions have included schoolchildren 

and students, forces personnel and pensioners, people 

with restricted physical abilities – members of the Korchaginets 

club for wheelchair invalids, and people with restricted 

eyesight who were able to familiarize themselves with 

Hermitage collections for the first time. By an agreement 

with the Vyborg District Education Committee around 

1,500 secondary school pupils have visited the Hermitage • 

Vyborg Centre. 

Vyborg Day (19 August) and Elderly Person’s Day (1 October) 

were open days at the Centre for war veterans and the 

older generation. 

The Centre has initiated particularly valuable mutual relations 

with the students and teachers of the Vyborg School 

of Art, which is part of the same complex of buildings. 

Since the Centre was constructed and opened in 2008 

a season of lectures on the museum collections for students 

of higher educational establishments in Vyborg was 

launched and is still continuing with the direct participation 

of State Hermitage research staff. In the 2010 season 

seven lectures were given in the series Pages from the History 

of Renaissance Art, some of them in the Vyborg Humanitarian 

Gymnasium and in the Vyborg branch of the Herzen 

Pedagogical University in St. Petersburg. 

The Centre runs a museum study group for primary and 

secondary schoolchildren. Just before the Christmas holidays, 

with the view of attracting children and their parents 

into the creative process, the Centre announced a competition 

entitled “A Christmas Card in the ‘Hermitage’ 

Style”. Over 150 works in a variety of sizes and techniques 

were submitted to the jury. At a ceremony on 25 December 

the finalists were awarded prizes and an invitation for their 

families to visit the Centre. 

For adult visitors the Centre organized artistic events in 

the Art Foyer. They included: a concert and the presentation 

of a new book of poetry by Valery Remeniuk, a Vyborg 

Opening of the Hermitage ∙ Vyborg Centre 

author-performer who has participated in numerous music 

festivals; a meeting with Doctor of History Hannu Takala, 

Director of the Lahti Historical Museum, who spoke about 

the history of former Vyborg museums; the presentation 

of the Monrepos almanac, marking the 250th anniversary 

of the famous Vyborg park-reserve. In an article entitled 

“Each of us is an Author of History”, Yekaterina Zuyeva, 

a journalist from the Vyborg newspaper, wrote the following 

concerning the event: “The presentation of this beautifully 

illustrated publication took place in the Hermitage • 

Vyborg Exhibition Centre, which (coincidentally) was celebrating 

100 days since its opening ceremony. Unexpected 

coincidences, little discoveries, the intersection of the 

cultural currents in Vyborg’s history – this is so typical of 

a multicultural ancient city”. 

Once a month the Hermitage Cinema Club in the Centre 

shows a historical feature film free of charge, with a preliminary 

introduction to the subject or other artistic phenomenon 

to which the film is devoted and the story of its 

making. The Club started its activities with a showing and 

discussion of Alexander Sokurov’s film The Russian Ark. 

A substantial number of the Centre’s foreign visitors are 


Finnish nationals, who appreciate the opening of an art 

centre in Vyborg as a revival of multinational (including 

Finnish) cultural traditions. On a commission from one 

of the Finnish television channels the TV presenter Lisa 

Hovinheimo made a documentary about the creation of 

an exhibition centre in the former Museum of Fine Arts 

as a sign of respect for Vyborg’s historic past; the film has 

already been shown three times in the Centre. The Centre 

is a regular focus of attention for the Finnish media 

and art museums in Finland, as confirmed by the number 

of proposals for joint projects at the 11th Russian-Finnish 

Cultural Forum, which took place in October 2010 in the 

Finnish town of Hameenlinna. These included an exhibition 

of watercolours by Viktor Svetikhin from the South 

Karelia Regional Museum in the town of Lappeenranta 

and a possible exhibition from the collections of the 

former Vyborg Museum of Fine Arts (1930–1939). Various 

kinds of support for these undertakings are being provided 

by the Finnish Consulate-General in St. Petersburg, the 

Viipuri Centre autonomous noncommercial organization 

and its main partner in Helsinki – the Viipuri Keskus public 

organization. 

50 51


J curaTorS on exhiBiTionS 

maTiSSe To malevich. 

pioneerS of modern arT 

from The hermiTage 

Hermitage ∙ Amsterdam Exhibition Centre 

6 March – 17 September 2010 

The title of the exhibition – one of the most interesting 

projects of recent years – was an exact reflection of the 

compass and the high standard of this “away session”. 

76 exhibits, predominantly paintings, helped to create 

a display the like of which had never previously been seen 

in the Netherlands. The status of any exhibition is chiefly 

determined by the masterpieces featured in it. Among the 

canvases that have long been included in any textbook 

on modern art are: Matisse’s The Red Room, Game of Bowls, 

Still Life with Blue Tablecloth and Moroccan in Green, Picasso’s 

The Absinthe Drinker, Woman with Fan and Dryad, Derain’s 

Portrait of a Man Reading a Newspaper, van Dongen’s Lady 

in a Black Hat and Kandinsky’s Composition VI. One more 

masterpiece, Matisse’s The Dance, which rarely leaves the 

Hermitage as it is one of the museum’s trademark paintings, 

joined the exhibition in April for a month. 

In compiling the exhibition, we tried to highlight the most 

influential trends of the first two decades of the 20th century 

– chiefly the work of painters represented at the Hermitage 

at the very highest level: Matisse, Picasso, Derain, 

Kandinsky and their colleagues. In this way Fauvism, Expressionism, 

Cubism and early Abstractionism were demonstrated 

vividly and in great variety. 

The Hermitage generously loaned its Amsterdam “namesake” 

sixteen works by Matisse, fourteen by Picasso, nine by 

Derain and five by Kandinsky. Each of these groups formed 

a unique mini-exhibition within the broad panorama of 

European avant-garde at the height of its popularity. In encompassing 

the various trends followed by its pioneers, 

the display in Amsterdam was organized as a combination 

of five sections: Henri Matisse, the Fruit of Twinkling Light; 

The Fauvists and Their Fellow-Travellers; Andre Derain, the Conservative 

Avant-Garde Painter; Pablo Picasso, Equation of Super- 

Realities and The Attraction of Abstractionism. 

When negotiations on the organization of exhibitions from 

the Hermitage collection in Amsterdam were held in 2008, 

a decision was taken to begin with a display of early twentieth-century 

art, and two years later to show works from the 

preceding stage, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism and 

Nabi, which it is planned to do in the projected period. 

By Albert Kostenevich 

“The wind in The pineS…” 5,000 yearS 

of Korean arT. from The naTional muSeum 

of Korea 

State Hermitage Museum 


The exhibition was timed to coincide with the 20th anniversary 

of the establishment of diplomatic relations 

between Russia and the Republic of Korea. Masterpieces 

dating from the Neolithic Age to modern times from the 

National Museum of Korea and provincial Korean museums 

were shown in Russia for the first time. 

Material from archaeological excavations, particularly 

a fine display of ceramics and bronze, provided an idea 

of the ancient history of Korea. 

The period of the Three Kingdoms (1st century B.C. – 

7th century A.D.) was represented by a number of fascinating 

objects that provided evidence of the complexity 

of religious concepts and the perfection of technologies 

for working with various materials. They included ceramic 

pieces made in Baekje and Silla – for example, a magnificent 

vessel in the shape of a horseman, which was used 

during various rituals and has the status of a national 

treasure. 

The jewellery pieces found in the burials of rulers of Silla 

are famous the world over: crowns, bracelets, waist adornments 

and earrings. The crown with pendants from the 

burial of Sobon-Chong (5th century) also has the status 

of a national treasure. 

The development of culture and art received a new impulse 

with the unification of the Three Kingdoms in 668. 

The introduction of a common state language (spoken 

and written) led to the erosion of differences between 

regions. The powerful influence of Buddhism, imported 

from China in the 4th century, and the consequent growing 

demand for artistic works led to a boom in Korean art, 

especially in sculpture. The sculpture included on display 

demonstrates a stylistic unity among a variety of themes 

and means of expression. 

In the late 9th and 10th centuries the country was plunged 

into a series of internecine wars that ended with the fall 

of Silla and the founding of the Goryeo state (918–1392). 

At that time the leading role passed to small sculptures 

and decorative art. Ceramics enjoyed a particular boom. 

Among the most remarkable achievements of Korean potters 

were the famous Korean celadons, which were originally 

influenced by Chinese pieces, but subsequently took 

on an entirely different character. They included objects, 

which had no analogues in the world, inlaid with coloured 

sangam clays and painted with coloured oxides of metals; 

decorated with gold, relief, carving and engraving. 

The exhibition featured fine examples of celadons from 

the period when their popularity was at its highest. 

In 1273 Korea fell under the power of the Mongols, and 

in 1392, as a result of a crisis of power, the Goryeo dynasty 

collapsed and was replaced by the new Li dynasty (1392– 

1897). The country started to be called Chosun (“Land of 

Morning Freshness”). Confucianism became the official 

religion, and this had a great influence on the country’s 

cultural life. 

One of the most important events was the invention in 

the 15th century of a Korean alphabet and a mobile metal 

script that enabled classical Chinese texts to be translated 

into Korean. Painting became the principal type of pictorial 

art in this period, since the skilful wielding of a brush 

was considered to be one of the Confucian virtues. The 

portrait genre became particularly popular. The exhibition 

featured works by well-known masters in various genres. 

Decorative art in the Chosun period was marked by outstanding 

innovations in ceramics, like, for example, punchhon 

pieces decorated with underglaze painting or carving 

on engobe. Along with ceramics, an important place was 

occupied by the manufacture of lacquered items. A particular 

type of decorative art was hwagak pieces, decorated 

with transparent strips of horn painted with coloured 

paints. This technique, invented in Korea, was widely used 

in folk crafts in the late Chosun period for decorating sewing 

caskets, boxes, furniture, etc. 

The exhibition included 238 items, eleven of which had 

the status of national treasures. These masterpieces of Korean 

national art provided a vivid idea of the original art 

that has developed in the country over several millennia. 

By Tatiana Arapova 

“Since ToBacco you love So much…” 


25 June 2010 – 4 September 2011 

This exhibition, the title of which was taken from one of 

Pushkin’s early poems, featured items of applied art linked 

by a single theme – the history and culture of tobacco use 

in Europe. Visitors could see 120 works that formed part 

of the tobacco culture of Europeans from the 17th to early 

20th centuries. These were tobacco graters – a rare item for 

shredding tobacco leaves that has completely disappeared 

from use – made of wood, ivory, mother-of-pearl and silver. 

The largest group of works comprised containers for storing 

tobacco: boxes, pouches, and particularly snuffboxes, 

which were so firmly entrenched in eighteenth-century 

life that the century came to be known as the snuffbox 

age. There were portable and table snuffboxes, chosen to 

suit a costume and the period. The exhibition included 

elegant boxes of stone and tortoiseshell, ivory and porcelain, 

mother-of-pearl and rock crystal that belonged to 

society ladies and gentlemen. A special group consisted 


Opening of “Since Tobacco You Love so Much…” exhibition 

52 53


of soldiers’ snuffboxes made of copper and tin, intended 

for storing tobacco in campaign conditions. Gold and silver 

snuffboxes, decorated with precious stones, were used 

not only for their main purpose, but also served as valuable 

gifts, equal in significance to medals and orders. 

The exhibition also featured snuffboxes that belonged 

to the Russian Emperors Peter I and Peter II, Empresses 

Anna, Elizabeth and Catherine II, and the European monarchs 

Augustus the Strong, Frederick the Great and Louis 

XV. They were gold boxes with portraits, monogrammes, 

and compositions on allegorical and historical themes. 

They were made by leading European masters, and by the 

end of the 18th century snuffboxes had become collector’s 

items. The Hermitage’s collection of snuffboxes is one 

of the best in the world. 

Throughout the century the sniffing and chewing of tobacco 

had also been accompanied by smoking, which in 

the 19th century eclipsed the other practices and became 

the widespread habit that is still popular today. Tobacco 

smoking led to the manufacture of cigars, cigarettes and 

varieties of them, and special containers were made for 

storing them – cigarette cases and cigar boxes. These were 

represented in the exhibition by the works of masters from 

many Western European countries, as well as Russia. 

One of the most romantic habits was pipe smoking. 

The exhibition included several clay pipes found during 

excavations on the territory of the Winter Palace in 2006. 

They have come down to us in a fragmentary condition, 

but their importance is in that they belonged to the first 

builders of St. Petersburg. Their simple design contrasts 

The immorTal alexander The greaT. 

The myTh. The realiTy. hiS Journey. 

hiS legacy. hermiTage 

Hermitage ∙ Amsterdam Exhibition Centre 

18 September 2010 – 16 March 2011 

This was the first time that an exhibition devoted to Alexander 

the Great, his Eastern campaign and the subsequent 

influence of Hellenism on world artistic culture was 

staged in the Netherlands. The display encompassed a period 

of over 2,500 years – from the 5th century B.C. to the 

20th century. The project was a version of the exhibition 

Alexander. Road to the East held in the Hermitage in 2007. 

The main subject of the exhibition was the myth of Alexander, 

his Eastern campaign and its consequences for the 

West and for the East. It described the meeting of the great 

civilizations – the Hellenic world, the ancient empires of 

the East and the world of the nomadic peoples; how the 

process of Hellenization began everywhere Alexander 

went – Greek art and architecture, the Greek language 

and way of life spread everywhere. This influence affected 

a huge area from Greece to India, as far as Mongolia and 

with the high artistic standard of the pipes made for members 

of the Imperial family. The sizes of the pipes, as well 

as the materials from which they are made, the subjects 

of the painted and carved decoration, are extremely varied. 

Pipes were supplemented by ashtrays and matchboxes, 

lighters, and stands and boxes of various shapes. 

From the time tobacco first appeared in Europe, masters 

have created a wealth of various items for its storage and 

use – not only utilitarian, but sometimes exquisitely expensive. 

Many of them, by virtue of their high artistic merit, 

have become genuine masterpieces of decorative applied 

art and monuments of an era. 

By Olga Kostyuk 

other states beyond the boundaries of Ecumene (the world 

known to the Greeks). Attention was focused on the historic 

role of Alexander for the future of Western Europe, 

Russia and the East, and Hellenism as a global process of 

the interaction of civilizations and cultures. 

The first section of the display highlighted the myth of Alexander 

in the art and culture of Western Europe in the 

modern age. Among the sixteenth – nineteenth-century 

works based on the ruler’s life, exploits and triumphs were 

paintings by Sebastiano Ricci (Apelles Painting a Portrait 

of Campaspe) and Pietro Antonio Rotari (Alexander the Great 

and Roxana), the tapestry Alexander and the Family of Darius, 

as well as items of armaments and armour made in 

imitation of ancient ones. The visitor was then plunged 

into the atmosphere of antiquity in which the young conqueror 

grew up. The account began with the art of Classical 

Greece in the period preceding the great Eastern campaign. 

The display included Italian and Attic vases with 

themes from Homer’s Iliad, which served as a “textbook of 

valour” for Alexander. Particularly eye-catching were the 

colossal statues of Heracles and Dionysus, the mythological 

heroes who were Alexander’s “guiding stars”. 

A separate section was devoted to the semi-barbarian culture 

of the Balkans: the exhibits depicted the way and style 

of life of the Macedonians, armaments and funeral items. 

Undoubtedly of great interest for the European viewer 

were works by the northern nomads, a powerful political 

force of that period: the famous gorytos from the Chertomlyk 

Burial Mound and parts of a horse’s harness. Taken 

together, these items acquainted visitors with the cultural, 

political and artistic environment that shaped the personality 

of the great king and military leader. 

The following sections of the exhibition were devoted to 

Alexander’s campaign to the East, which embodied the 

idea of the expansion of Greek culture; the sections followed 

Alexander’s route in sequence: works of art from 

Asia Minor, ancient Egypt in the Ptolemaic period, and 

monuments demonstrating the ancient traditions in the 

Christian art of Coptic Egypt. Among the masterpieces on 

display were: Alexander in the Guise of Zeus on a gem from 

the 4th century B.C.; depictions of Alexander on coins 

and a miniature portrait of him in marble; portraits of 

the Hellenistic kings Mithridates VI Eupator and Ptolemy; 

the celebrated Gonzaga cameo; a fresco from Nymphea 

depicting the ship of Isis – possibly an ambassadorial ship 

from Egypt to the Bosporus; items of Hellenistic jewellery. 

A small section of the exhibition featured the art of Achaemenid 

Iran in Alexander’s time. Syria in the Hellenistic 

period was represented by a group of coins with rulers’ 

portraits. Many of the exhibits in the section The Hellenized 

Installation of The Immortal Alexander the Great. The Myth. The Reality. 

His Journey. His Legacy exhibition 


East were unique: they included monuments from Central 

Asia, Parthia and the Greek-Bactrian Kingdom. 

The Greek artistic style became universal in the Hellenistic 

period – it was accepted by various peoples, irrespective of 

their religion or state structure. Thus was conceived and 

incarnated the idea of the cultural unity of the world – 

the main consequence of the Macedonian king’s Eastern 

campaign. 

The last section of the display concentrated on Alexander’s 

legacy. Reliefs from Palmyra dating from the 2nd and 3rd 

centuries A.D. prove how firmly entrenched Greek influence 

remained beyond its national frontiers. This is also 

confirmed by Greek papyruses from Egypt, which provide 

evidence of the use of Greek in post-Hellenistic territory 

right up to the 9th century. On the other hand, ancient traditions 

were continued in the culture of Byzantium – the 

last Hellenistic state, which created the new Christian world 

on ancient foundations. In the 15th and 16th centuries Alexander 

played an important role in Persian literature as 

Iskander. In the 18th and 19th centuries “The Alexander 

Romance” became part of Russian culture – in education, 

political thought, art and literature. 

Alexander the Great remains topical even today. In a series 

of photographs and videos specially made for the Hermitage 

exhibition the Dutch photographer Erwin Olaf created 

an image of its main character by combining images of 

the exhibits and images of a live model. Alexander is still 

immortal, as evidenced by the exhibition in the Hermitage 

• Amsterdam Centre. 

By Anna Trofimova 

54 55


a glaSS fanTaSy. ancienT glaSS 

from The hermiTage collecTion 


12 October 2010 – 16 January 2011 

This was the first time the Hermitage staged an exhibition 

devoted entirely to glassmaking in the ancient period, 

which gives some idea of the richness and variety of the museum’s 

collection of this type of art. It included pieces that 

had come from the private collections of the Shuvalovs, 

the Stroganovs, Alexander Bobrinsky and other collectors, 

as well as from the Baron Stieglitz Central Higher School 

of Technical Drawing and the former Russian Archaeological 

Institute in Constantinople. Substantial additions to 

the Hermitage collection were acquired from the Roman 

collector of antiquities Giuseppe Pizzati and the Parisian 

antique dealer M. Sivadjan. In Russia the most significant 

purchases were made in the last quarter of the 19th century 

from such collectors as Yu. Lemme and A. Novikov. 

An important part of the display consisted of objects found 

over a period of decades during excavations of the ancient 

Greek city-colonies on the Northern Black Sea coast (Pantikapaion, 

Nymphea, Chersonesos and Olbia). 

The five sections of the exhibition gave visitors the opportunity 

to learn about all the main techniques of glassmaking 

used by ancient masters. The first section, which 

included the earliest exhibits (5th – 4th centuries B.C.), 

featured miniature bottles for fragrances and various 

pendant-amulets of multicoloured transparent glass of the 

type that had been made in Mesopotamia and Egypt as 

early as the 2nd millennium B.C. The so-called “core” technique 

in which these pieces were made was borrowed from 

the Ancient East. 

The second section comprised glass vessels cast in moulds 

and transformed into exquisite works of art by polishing, 

carving and ornamental painting. Here visitors were able 

to see a unique masterpiece – a cup made in Alexandria 

(Egypt) at the turn of the 3rd and 2nd centuries B.C., with 

a tracery ornament of gold foil contained within two layers 

of clear glass. A separate showcase featured rings with glass 

insets and phalerae (Roman military decorations). 

The mosaic technique, which requires particular virtuosity 

and whose heyday was between the 1st century B.C. and 

the 1st century A.D., is represented in the Hermitage collection 

by some superb exhibits. In terms of the richness of 

their colour range the cups, bottles and necklaces are no 

inferior to pieces of agate and jasper, even surpassing them 

in elegance on account of the use of gold foil. 

The two most comprehensive sections of the exhibition reflected 

the most important stage in the development of ancient 

glassmaking, which began in the mid-1st century B.C. 

with the invention of the glassblowing tube. It was then 

that glass took on its special qualities – delicateness and 

transparency. In addition, masters already had the ability 

to give it every imaginable colour, from delicate light 

blues and greens to garnet-red, bright blue, cold and warm 

shades of green and amber-yellow. The display included 

fascinating examples of the work of Syrian masters, who 

specialized in blowing glass into a mould, a negative multipiece 

mould of clay or stone. This technique made it possible 

to create items with relief decoration and inscriptions. 

The cups with depictions of gods or wishes for victory were 

of particular interest. 

The last section of the exhibition included, besides glass 

items, ceramic vessels and pieces of bronze and silver that 

were similar to glass in the forms and methods used in 

their production. This juxtaposition gave the opportunity, 

on the one hand, to see common aesthetic trends in Roman 

applied art and, on the other hand, to appreciate the 

different effects that were achieved with the use of similar 

forms in pieces of transparent glass that let in rays of light 

and those made of clay or metal. 

The exhibition also gave an idea of utilitarian items – from 

toilet requisites and tableware to funeral urns, which have 

survived for thousands of years despite the fragility of the 

material. 

The project was dedicated to the memory of Nina Kunina, 

a remarkable academic archaeologist, a great specialist on 

the history of ancient glassmaking and curator of the State 

Hermitage collection of ancient glass. 

By Nadejda Jijina and Yelena Khodza 

J SociologiSTS on The exhiBiTionS 

The puBlic aT The paBlo picaSSo 

exhiBiTion Today 

The exhibition of the most famous of twentieth-century 

artists from the Musée National Picasso, Paris, has been 

a great success with the public. It was attended by around 

800,000 people, of whom 70% lived in St. Petersburg and 

30% came from other cities (nearly a third from Moscow). 

It is worth noting that not only regular museum-goers, 

but even those residents of St. Petersburg who had rarely 

or never been to the Hermitage before, decided to visit 

this exhibition. A considerable number of repeat visits 

were also recorded. 

In the break-up of the public, the prevalent share (89%) 

belonged to those with higher education (completed or 

not), mostly in the areas of arts (26%), humanities (26%), 

and exact sciences and technologies (24%). There were 

many young visitors (47%), half of them students, but this 

percentage was not as high as that for other exhibitions 

of twentieth-century art. A greater part of the public were 

older visitors with a long and complex history of appreciating 

Picasso’s art, those who remembered previous exhibitions 

and unending arguments around the artist. 


The great majority of visitors had come specially for the 

exhibition; only 8% had seen it by chance. The study uncovered 

a multi-level structure of reasons behind the visit: 

from simple curiosity and attraction of Picasso’s name to 

the interest (including professional interest) in the collection 

of the Paris museum and the artist’s work. 

The main body of the visitors (75%) had a high opinion 

of the exhibition as a whole, which, together with the attendance 

numbers, provides evidence of its unqualified 

success. Among the descriptions used to convey the visitors’ 

impressions, the most prevalent were: “emotional”, 

“expressive”, “absorbing”, “original”, “unexpected”, “intellectual”, 

“provoking”, “ironic”, and “playful”. 

The vast panorama of Picasso’s art uncovered by the exhibition 

opened a wide field for individual artistic preferences: 

the answers to the question “Which works did you like best?” 

offer a wide range of options. A considerable part of the list 

consisted of both well-known and frequently reproduced 

pieces and the works which had never been on display in 

Russia before. It is interesting that the list of the best-liked 

includes such works as Portrait of Olga in an Armchair, La Celestina, 

Paul as Harlequin, as well as The Kiss (1925), Cat Catching 

a Bird, The Bathers series, Figures on a Beach – those which 

56 57


had been rejected and would certainly have been rejected 

in the past. Such an expansion of the circle of preferences 

is an indication of a change in the public taste. 

It should be added that the majority of respondents were 

able to explain why they had selected specific works; their 

motivation was often more precise and confident than 

in the previous years. For instance, Cat Catching a Bird 

attracted the viewers by its “special force of expression”, 

“tense and expressive image”, “grotesque image”, “clearcut 

idea”, while The Kiss was an “unusual, original presentation 

of the male and female images”, with “a bright colour 

scheme”, “a complex combination of form, colour, and design”, 

“strength of feeling”, and showed “the artist’s ability 

to convey love and conflict in simple forms”. 

Among the respondents, there were also those who pointed 

out the works which had provoked a negative response 

alongside those which they had liked (it is to be expected 

that a large section of this segment was represented by the 

visitors who had a mixed impression of the exhibition – 

22% of the sample as a whole). These include the sculptural 

female heads, Surrealist paintings, as well as Cubist 

and late works. The visitors were critical of “Picasso’s dislike 

of women”, “exaggerated bodily sensations”, “anomalous 

anatomy”, “fragmented forms”, “simplification”, and 

“disharmony”. It is important to note that only a small 

percentage of the visitors (the 3% who disliked the exhibition) 

chose to speak exclusively of the works which they 

had disliked. This is one of the lowest percentages during 

the whole period of studying the temporary exhibitions 

of twentieth-century art. 

The public on the whole was of the opinion that Picasso 

had gained a firm foothold in the history of art, but differed 

in their evaluation of his work: for some it was “an 

artistic revolution”, and for some “a creative experiment”. 

The meaning of the exhibition for the viewers can be 

gauged with the help of the following figures. 7% of respondents 

called it “a sensation”, and 14% named it “one 

of the outstanding cultural events of recent years”. Such 

answers were mostly given by young visitors from outside 

St. Petersburg who saw such a great number of the master’s 

original works for the first time. At the same time, one 

third of the respondents who already had a certain familiarity 

with Picasso’s art but did not necessarily accept everything 

about it described the exhibition as “a cultural event 

among equally important ones”. This part of the public, 

heterogeneous in its makeup, level and area of education, 

was mainly represented by those who had a mixed impression 

of the exhibition. 

The most numerous share of the visitors (46%), who had 

long had an abiding interest in Picasso’s work and had 

a considerable familiarity with it, gave the exhibition high 

marks for a “full, multi-faceted reflection of the master’s 

work”. This category of viewers was mostly represented 

by middle-aged and older people in intellectual and creative 

occupations, including the sphere of art. 

Judging by the impressions and evaluations quoted above, 

the public has undergone a significant evolution in its response 

to Picasso since the time of his famous exhibition 

of 1956, which was a real “culture shock”. Picasso has long 

been well-known and accepted as a twentieth-century classic. 

The wider audience has embraced the artist and is now 

ready to appreciate his works. 

By Irina Bogacheva 

cenTRe pompidou in The sTaTe heRmiTage 

museum exhiBiTion. The puBlic deBaTeS 

The France – Russia Year brought another exhibition to 

the attention of our visitors: Centre Pompidou in the State 

Hermitage Museum. Around 150,000 people saw it within 

a short space of time (between 13 October and 14 November). 

The visitors were mostly from St. Petersburg (68%), 

female (69%), with complete or incomplete higher education 

(84%), and under 30 years of age (61%), nearly half 

of whom were students. Around 50% of the visitors had 

learned about the exhibition beforehand and had a special 

or general cultural interest in contemporary art. Here are 

some typical answers which comment on the reasons for 

coming: “I enjoy and strive to understand contemporary 

art, including the art of France”, “the exhibition contains 

interesting pieces by the founding fathers of Conceptualism”, 

“I could see a Duchamp here! I’ve had a long-time 

ambition to see a readymade of his with my own eyes”. 

Another, equally important, share of the visitors had not 

come specially to see this exhibition, but included it in their 

general tour of the museum, which also encompassed the 

actual rooms which housed the exhibits. It has to be said 

that the majority of these visitors were not familiar with the 

works or even the names of the artists represented. 

The differences in the public’s readiness to embrace contemporary 

Western art necessarily had an effect on the 

distribution of the evaluations of the exhibition. Some respondents 

“liked it” (56%), and some “had mixed feelings 

about it” (35%) or “disliked it” (9%). It is evident that the 

percentage of mixed and low opinions turned out to be 

quite high. 

The respondents were invited to justify their impressions. 

Those who liked the exhibition (primarily young visitors) 

picked the following response options: “I like contemporary 

art”; “I generally like new and original things”. The responses 

were supported with freely expressed individual 

ideas, such as: “I like the different ways of self-expression 

chosen by the artists, they are sometimes more powerful 

than those of classical artists”; “contemporary works 

of art are bold pronouncements, sometimes made at the 

expense of craft. But if the painting, the image is thoughtprovoking, 

it means the work was not done in vain”. 

The visitors who did not like the exhibition mostly picked 

the following weighty reasons for not doing so: “This is not 

art”, “it provokes a strong negative reaction”, “it is out of 

place in the halls of the Hermitage”. More elaborate evaluations 

given by this category of visitors, quoted under “a different 

opinion”, were along the same lines (“the disregard 

for structure and the clear rules developed over centuries 

is abhorrent”). These were primarily the answers given by 

older and middle-aged St. Petersburgers, including both 

frequent and infrequent museum-goers, those who saw the 

exhibition by chance. 

It has already been noted that one third of the respondents 

had mixed feelings about the exhibition. 

But it is also important to point out that the majority of 

answers were not overtly negative. The visitors would more 

often say something like: “I am not familiar with the art 

represented here, but I was happy to be introduced to it”, 

“I am indifferent to it, but I approve the policy of the museum 

of introducing visitors to the art we are not familiar 

with”. A much less frequent answer was “I am interested 

in contemporary art, but I don’t think this exhibition is 

a success” (what was meant was that there were “not enough 

exhibits” to have “a full understanding of the evolution of 

twentieth-century French art”). These respondents were 

mostly middle-aged residents of St. Petersburg and young 

people from elsewhere who were in the Hermitage for the 

first time ever or in a long while. 

The artistic preferences of the visitors yielded an interesting 

picture. The favourite which emerged was Roman Opalka’s 

work From 1 to ∞. Fragment. The reasons for preferring 

this painting include “a concept which is easy to grasp” and 

“a clear way of visualizing an idea”. Among other preferred 

works were those by Georges Mathieu, Yves Klein, and Martial 

Raysse, selected for a number of aesthetic reasons (“an 

elegant design”, “the colour scheme”, “an attractive female 

face”, “an unusual technique”, “the effect of combining 

blue and gold”). 

It is a common phenomenon for exhibitions of contemporary 

art when the same works are both liked and disliked 

by the public. Some of these split the visitors into “admirers” 

and “haters”. In this exhibition, such works were those 

by César, Heimo Zobernig, and Robert Filiou. 

The least popular work was Painting (Manifesto 3) by Daniel 

Buren. It occupied the first place in the list of works 

disliked by the public, and it came last in the list of works 

liked by them. The painting was met with a lack of understanding 

(“I couldn’t see the meaning of it”) and provoked 

banal associations (“It looks like a mattress”). 

The study has once again confirmed a well-known fact: 

mass audiences prefer the works which are easier to understand 

and fill the need for aesthetic pleasure to a greater 

extent. 

By Irina Bogacheva 


“The wind in The pines…” 5,000 YeaRs 

of KoRean aRT. fRom The naTional 

museum of KoRea exhiBiTion 

The exhibition was clearly of interest for many visitors to 

the Hermitage; it was attended by 550,000 people. The majority 

of the visitors came from St. Petersburg (59%), from 

other Russian cities (37%, a third of whom came from 

Moscow), and from the former Soviet republics (6%). 

The prevalence of local visitors in summer was caused by 

the desire to see the exhibition they were interested in, 

which was corroborated by the cited reasons for coming: 

82% of local visitors said they were interested in the exhibition 

and specially in the culture of the East. 

Young people predominated in the break-up of the visitors, 

like in many temporary exhibitions: 53% of local residents 

and 54% of those who travelled to see it; there were 

high percentages of middle-aged visitors (34% and 37% 

respectively); professionally they were students, school and 

university teachers, economic and financial sector employees, 

intellectuals with a background in the sciences and 

humanities, and people of other occupations. 

The general impression left by the exhibition was in most 

cases clearly positive (97%). Impressions varied between 

58 59


such evaluations as “interesting”, “excellent”, “rare”, “wonderful”, 

“original” and “relaxing”. 

We have tried to identify the visitors’ response to the 

general organization of the exhibition and its structural 

planning. Most of the respondents noted the success of 

arranging the exhibits, the logic behind displaying varied 

and multi-faceted series, the convenient location of the objects 

in the rooms so that groups of exhibits and individual 

works could be enjoyed by the viewers. 

Apart from the general impressions, the respondents selected 

specific exhibits and sections of the exhibition 

which had provoked the greatest interest. They tried to explain 

their choices by highlighting the originality of the 

artifacts and appreciating their artistic quality. The most 

frequently named objects were the sculptures of the Buddhas: 

they are “filled with spirituality”, “enigmatic and mysterious”, 

“have a feeling of inner strength and a kind of 

revelation about them”, “create a special atmosphere”, “attract 

the attention and draw your gaze to details”. The Neolithic 

artifacts and early vessels amazed the viewers with 

their craftsmanship and excellent state of preservation. 

The eighteenth-century Choson porcelain, the twelfth- and 

thirteenth-century Kore ceramics, the fourteenth-century 

Kore image of Bodhisattva all have incredibly pure and 

harmonious outlines. The scrolls with monochrome landscapes 

and illustrations to poetic lines were remarkable in 

the way they conveyed moods and were filled with a special 

feeling. The screens with drawings by Kim Khondo were 

appreciated as examples of artistic brilliance and elegance, 

as representatives of specifically Korean culture, etc. 

The appreciation of the exhibition and the Korean culture 

as a whole was much enhanced by the detailed information 

provided in the exhibition room, which contained important 

historical facts about the establishment and evolution 

of the Korean state. Many visitors called these texts 

a discovery of Korea and the long history of its art. 

The vast majority of respondents had a high opinion 

about the explanatory texts, believing that they were informative, 

provided a historical background, were clearly 

worded, helped the appreciation of a complex and littleknown 

material, and paved the way for a further exploration 

of Korean history and culture. A number of visitors, 

while paying tribute to the informative and well-structured 

explanatory texts, also had a number of suggestions and 

comments, which testify to their in-depth appreciation 

of Korean art: 

– it would be nice to have a literary, poetic commentary; 

– more translations from Korean would be welcome; 

– some labels had a description of the object rather than 

its use; 

– it is a pity that there was no map showing the locations 

where the ancient artifacts were found. 

An important matter of the exhibition title also has to be 

mentioned. “The Wind in the Pines” was associated in the 

minds of the visitors with the pure sounds of Korean music 

and proved attractive and enticing. Did the visitors believe 

the title was meaningful? It is beyond doubt that many of 

them did: a certain understatement, an emotional and 

philosophical value of the title appealed to the viewers and 

was reflected in the responses to the question “What do 

you think is the hidden meaning of the title ‘The Wind 

in the Pines…’”? 68% of respondents of different ages and 

occupations expressed some reactions and associations 

provoked by the title and appreciation of the exhibition. 

By Tatiana Galich 

The puBlic on The hermiTage acQuiSiTionS 

(on the basis of a sociological survey held at the temporary 

exhibition watercolour portraits and decorative 

porcelain. new acquisitions) 

The acquisition by the Hermitage of 92 watercolours and 

over 140 porcelain pieces from the current owner of the 

famous Gallerie Popoff (Popov Gallery), Maurice Baruch, 

is often called the purchase of the century. The foundation 

of the collection was laid by Alexander Popov. A professional 

officer who fought in the First World War, Popov 

moved to France in 1919 and opened an antiques shop 

which acquired exceptional works of art. The central place 

in Popov’s collection belongs to the watercolour portraits 

of the first half of the 19th century – a time when this genre 

flourished both in Russia and in Europe. The exhibition 

displayed the works by over 30 artists of the period, both 

well-known and forgotten (Piotr Sokolov, Edward Hau, Orest 

Kiprensky, Karl Briullov, Alexander Orlovsky, Christina 

Robertson, Alexander Molinari, Franz Krueger and other 

nineteenth-century Russian and Western painters). 

The Gallerie Popoff & Co has always taken special pride 

in its unique porcelain. An important part of the exhibition 

was a display of Russian porcelain of the second half 

of the 18th century, first and foremost the products of the 

St. Petersburg Imperial Porcelain Factory, made specifically 

for the members of the Romanov family and their closest 

associates. 

Around 160,000 people visited the exhibition in a month, 

on average 5,500 visitors per day. Throughout the time 

it was open, a random selection of Russian-speaking visitors 

were asked to fill in a questionnaire after seeing it. 

The sociological study aimed to reflect the structure of the 

visiting public, their reasons for coming to the Hermitage, 

the impressions left by the temporary exhibition and the 

reasons for such responses. 

The exhibition was primarily attended by women, who 

accounted for 90% of the respondents. In quantitative 

terms, the largest category were young people under 

30 (40%), followed by an older generation (over 51 years 

of age: 35%) and middle-aged people (25%). The visitors 

mostly had a higher education, complete (70%) or incom- 

plete (16%). The structure of the public was dominated by 

old age pensioners, engineers and technicians, students, 

school and university teachers. The majority of the visitors 

lived in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region (78%). 

18% of the visitors had come from other parts of Russia, 

and 4% from abroad. 

Half of the respondents (51%) quoted the temporary exhibitions 

at the Hermitage as the primary goal of their 

visit. 32% were exclusively interested in the exhibition Watercolour 

Portraits and Decorative Porcelain. New Acquisitions, 

while 16% were interested in all the current temporary exhibitions, 

and 3% were interested in temporary exhibitions 

and certain permanent displays. The “exhibition” public, 

i.e. those who had come specially, consisted only of St. Petersburg 

(48%) and Leningrad Region (3%) residents. 

Around 3/5 of the respondents (58%) had known about 

the exhibition before coming to the Hermitage; they had 

mostly learned about it from television (the Culture and 

STO Channels), newspapers (Panorama TV, Sankt-Peterburgskie 

Vedomosti), and the radio (Radio Hermitage, Radio 

of Russia). 

Half of the respondents (50%) had specific reasons for 

wanting to see the exhibition, which encompassed a wide 

range of artistic, cultural and historical topics: 

– eighteenth- and nineteenth-century pictorial art; 

– the technologies of watercolour drawings and making 

porcelain objects; 

– the history of porcelain and watercolour; 

– the Vinogradov porcelain and the techniques of its 

production; 

– biographies of the artists; 

– the persons portrayed in the watercolours; 

– the age when the works of art were made; 

– the story of the acquisition of the collection by the Hermitage, 

its previous history, and the price paid for it. 

Half of the respondents were moved by the general desire 

to broaden their horizons: they “came out of interest”, 

“wanted to see the exhibition as a whole”, “felt it necessary 

for the sake of general awareness”, etc. 

The exhibition was highly rated by the general public; 

the impressions were exclusively positive. The vast majority 

of respondents (nearly 4/5) gave it the highest mark 

(the evaluations were ranged as excellent/good/satisfactory/unsatisfactory). 

Among the strong points, the respondents 

noted the high artistic level and rarity of the exhibits, 

the selection of the works on display, the excellent 

preservation of the watercolours, and the recreation of the 

spiritual atmosphere of the represented historical period. 

Evaluation of the exhibition 

as a whole 

Excellent 

Good 

No response 

Average points 

% of the overall number 

of respondents 

2/3 of the respondents (66%) had a positive opinion concerning 

the topic of the exhibition; it was “interesting and 

relevant”, and the degree to which this topic was reflected: 

“full”. Around 30% of the visitors believed themselves 

to be insufficiently competent to give a detailed answer 

to this question. 

5% of the respondents described the topic of the exhibition 

as insufficiently reflected: 

– there was no information on how the Hermitage had acquired 

the collection, and little information on the collectors 

(female, 29, higher education (humanities), museum 

worker, St. Petersburg). 

– not enough general information helping to form an overall 

impression of the exhibition (female, 21, uncompleted 

higher education (economics), student of the St. Petersburg 

State Academy of Management Systems). 


topic and its representation 

Excellent 

Good 

Satisfactory 

No response 




60 61 

78 

20 

2 

4.8 

45 

21 

5 

29 

4.6 

The vast majority of the respondents (around 90%) had 

a positive opinion about the structure and presentation 

of the exhibition. They noted the convenient placement 

of the objects, a good light and the quality of the accompanying 

information: 

– the exhibits were well-spaced so that they could be 

viewed without waiting in a queue, which is a very big plus 

(female, 23, uncompleted higher education (art), student 

of St. Petersburg State University). 

– the objects were easy to view and well-lit (male, 74, higher 

education (technology), retired, St. Petersburg). 

– informative labels and well-planned spacing of the 

exhibits (female, 50, higher education (art), restorer, 

St. Petersburg). 


structure and planning 

Excellent 

Good 

Satisfactory 

No response 





57 

29 

4 

10 

4.6 

By Alexei Roshchin


J The preSS 

on The exhiBiTionS 

painTingS By remBrandT and 

hiS pupilS in The nicholaS hall 

I know it myself that you are inevitably 

drawn to the Rembrandts when you come 

to the Hermitage – whether you come often 

or for the first time. It would be an injustice 

to rob the public of the joy of appreciating 

his genius, even for a short time. The museum 

respects its visitors so it has found 

a solution, which at the same time permitted 

it to engage in a favourite pastime of playing 

with the space of the palace. It has often 

been said that the vast Nicholas Hall was 

a trial for artists. It puts everyone in their 

place. There is no doubt as to what it makes 

of the Rembrandts. 

Ludmila Leusskaya, 

“The Rembrandts Have Moved!”, 

Sankt-Peterburgskie Vedomosti, 

3 February 2010 

We were at first saddened to discover that 

the Rembrandt Room in the New Hermitage 

was going to be closed for a routine restoration 

of the parquet floors. We thought we 

were going to have no opportunity of seeing 

the works by this great Dutch master 

for a whole month. But no, it looks like 

the exhibition of Rembrandt and his pupils 

has moved to the Nicholas Hall of the Winter 

Palace for this period. One immediately 

wants to see the familiar canvases in their 

new surroundings and in a new light. 

Mikhail Kuzmin, 

“The Rembrandts Have Moved!”, 

Chas Pik, 17–23 February 2010 

SpaZialiSmo. riccardo licaTa 

and veneTian painTing 

aT The end of The 20Th cenTury 

The exhibition contains 80 works by Spatialist 

artists – Lucio Fontana himself and 

his followers. They didn’t waste time thinking 

of the titles for their works: there is either 

no title at all or a title which is not really 

a title, like Composition No…. Or take the 

Scratches by Mario Deluigi, which are, indeed, 

scratches on the pigment surface of 

the painting. And Santomaso made a collage 

of geometric shapes in subdued colours – 

and called it Venice. 

Tatiana Kirillina, 

“Venice in Squares”, Vecherny Peterburg, 


It is difficult to see any familiar images in 

these abstract paintings, however hard one 

tries. Those interested in the art of the previous 

century may be reminded of the Art 

Informel, a post-war style of painting which 

offered abstract images as a way of breaking 

with the realistic tradition of the 1930s and 

early 1940s. This is Informel, which is now 

primarily associated with bourgeois interior 

design, since it has been used for several 

decades in offices, reception rooms and 

sitting rooms. But one needs to remember 

that in the 1950s, the works by Fontata or 

Licata were not designer projects but artistic 

experiments. 

Stanislav Savitsky, 

“Problems of the World and 

Spatialism”, Kommersant, 


noSTalgia for The rooTS. 

daShi namdaKov’S univerSe 

of The nomadS 

I cannot even begin to interpret the meaning 

of the Tsar-birds and garudas, shamans and 

legendary warriors, but I can try to sense the 

mood and the inner spirit which the artist tried 

to convey. Thus, to understand the meaning 

of the huge Surrealist head with three pairs of 

eyes one only needs to read its title, Clairvoyance. 

But there is something more profound 

here. The huge, bulging head with empty eye 

sockets which seem to be concealing the 

hidden eyes looks really alive and provokes 

At Nostalgia for the Roots. Dashi Namdakov’s Universe of the Nomads exhibition 

a slightly creepy feeling: it seems to be burning 

my body and soul with its gaze. 

Alexei Tsoi, “Dashi Namdakov Conquers 

the Hermitage”, Novaya Buryatia, 

1 March 2010 

The large-scale bronze sculptures and the 

small-scale golden ones, stationary by definition, 

are filled with the passion of pursuing 

a goal. The goal is the prey (not the harvest; 

Namdakov is a nomad, not a ploughman). 

The prey is a literal one – we have here 

a warrior, a fighter, a ruler or a captor. It can 

also be an inner one – then it is a lama or an 

observer. It can be both – in an erotic feeling 

with its temptation of delight and playfulness. 

And it can be all together as in Composition 

2: Abduction: the woman, the beast 

and the myth are one… 

Olga Shervud, “Dashi Namdakov: 

Abduction”. Sankt-Peterburgskie Vedomosti, 

10 March 2010 

A cynical cosmopolite critic will see in this 

story only a glimpse of the mythological selfawareness 

of a nomadic people; the Europeans, 

charmed by the Orient, are ready to perceive 

the bronze embodiment of shamanism 

and the higher forces in the creations of this 

death-defying hero, but it is, amazingly, the 

archaeologists who will be able to appreciate 

this newly-created art in the best way possible. 

They don’t care that Dashi Namdakov’s 

figures may be stalked by the shadowy salon 

Modernist Mikhail Shemyakin or the joyful 

Columbian Fernando Botero. They don’t care 

that this sculpture is in no way “contemporary 

art”, as it never even attempts to speak 

its language. They value the cultural experience 

of discourse in plastic form, which 

is all the more evident when these sculptures 

are viewed side by side with the monuments 

left behind by the ancient nomads. 

The Scythians, of course, have won this battle 

too – but we have the opportunity to see 

the transformation of the Ancient East in the 

age of Avatar. 

Kira Dolinina, “Avatar B.C.”, 

Kommersant, 2 March 2010 

waTercolour porTraiTS 

and decoraTive porcelain. 

new acQuiSiTionS 

At the end of 2009, the Hermitage made an 

awesome acquisition. It bought 92 watercolour 

portraits and over 140 Russian porcelain 

pieces from the Paris Gallerie Popoff (Popov 

Gallery). These are unique objects, perfectly 

in line with the museum’s academic programme. 

According to Mikhail Piotrovsky, 

Director of the Hermitage, “this is a once-ina-century 

opportunity, we had to bend over 

backwards but get it”. 

Olga Luzina, “The Russia We Gained”, 

Fontanka.Ru, 19 April 2010 

For the first time, the visitors could see 

92 watercolours and over 140 porcelain 

pieces. The Hermitage bought these objects 

from Maurice Baruch, the current owner of 

the famous Parisian Gallerie Popoff. According 

to the experts, the unique watercolours 

and exquisite porcelain from the Popov collection 

reflect a high style of museum collecting. 

They are of interest for professionals and 

amateurs alike, which is in like with the collecting 

policy of the Hermitage. 

Ludmila Leusskaya, “Returned Home 

Without an Auction”, Sankt-Peterburgskie 

Vedomosti, 22 April 2010 

“The wind in The pineS…” 

5,000 yearS of Korean arT 

These unique and original works seem to 

have cheated time itself. Unscathed by hundreds 

of centuries, they have preserved their 

beauty to this day. Just like the old Korean 

song “The Wind in the Pines”, they have not 

been lost, swept away forever, and its pure 

sound can attune your perception for a special 

mode needed to appreciate the art unknown 

before… 

At Watercolour Portraits and Decorative Porcelain. New Acquisitions exhibition 

The imagination of those who created these 

masterpieces is original, and their execution 

is exquisite. Take a horseman which is not 

really a sculpture but rather a vessel or bell, 

topped with a dragon holding a pearl. 

Marina Yeliseyeva, “Twelve Treasures 

from the Land of the Morning Calm”, 


3 June 2010 

This exhibition was long prepared and long 

awaited: in 1991 the Hermitage took its 

Scythian gold to the National Museum of Korea, 

and a return exhibition was first planned 

at that time. These plans were remembered 

thanks to a purely political anniversary – it is 

twenty years since the establishment of diplomatic 

relations between Russia and South 

Korea. The exhibition was arranged by the 

Hermitage curators, who tried to achieve the 


most representative selection, to show all the 

most representative and outstanding pieces. 

The finds from royal tombs, Buddhist sculptures, 

ceramics and porcelain, portraits, applied 

art have filled the Nicholas Hall of the 

Winter Palace… 

Olga Luzina, “‘The Wind in the Pines’. 

5,000 Years of Freshness”, Fontanka.Ru, 

9 June 2010 

The poetic title is reminiscent of an old tune 

played on the plucked strings of a komungo. 

In the Korean tradition, the noise of the wind 

in the tops of the mighty pines is a symbol of 

all the pure, noble, and chaste. This spiritual 

mood is reflected by the exhibition itself. 

Yakov Yevglevsky, “The Wind in the Pines’, 

Parlamentskaya Gazeta, 

11 June 2010 

62 63


BacK To ruSSia. 

phoTographS By roger fenTon 

On 14 May, a small-scale exhibition opened 

at the State Hermitage: Roger Fenton (1819– 

1869). Back to Russia. It contains 22 photographs 

– a small but remarkable part of the 

two famous series by one of the pioneers 

of British photography: the first one made 

during the trip to Russia in 1852 and the second 

one which documented the events of the 

Crimean War (1855). From a historical point 

of view, Fenton’s images are a must for any 

museum which lays claim to an independent 

photograph collection. The fact that he is one 

of the first is not as important as the fact that 

he is really the first official war photographer 

in history. 

Kira Dolinina, “The Hermitage Enjoys 

Photos of Russia”, Kommersant, 

18 March 2010 

In 1852, Fenton came to Russia in order 

to photograph the construction of a bridge 

across the Dnieper, commissioned by Nicholas 

I to Fenton’s compatriot, the architect 

Charles Vignoles, and so he was attracted 

to the exotic local scenes, comparable for 

a Westerner to those of Egypt, Greece and 

the Near East, and started to photograph the 

views of Russian cities and their residents. 

The Hermitage exhibition includes six prints 

from this period. In 1855, Fenton was commissioned 

by his publisher and the British 

Government to make over 300 photographs 

of the frontline of the Crimean War, waged 

by the United Kingdom and France against 

Russia. 

Fontanka.Ru, “English Photographs 

of the Crimean War Return to Russia”, 

14 May 2010 

from goThic To manneriSm. 

early neTherlandiSh drawingS 

in The STaTe hermiTage muSeum 

The task of using the Dutch drawings in order 

to trace how the world was changing alongside 

art is a difficult one for the exhibition organizers 

as well as the public. The difficulty 

lies in the fact that Dutch art has no well-defined 

borderline marking the transition from 

religious miniatures and images to sketches 

of landscapes and genre scenes, that is, 

from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. 

The genres exist side by side, often in the 

works by the same master. So it is impossible 

to show how art is changed by developing 

new themes. But this parallelism is a unique 

At Contemporary Porcelain of Sèvres exhibition 

feature of Dutch art. Just like it is possible 

for the works by Bosch and Brueghel to combine 

religious exultation with a sombre naturalism, 

it is also possible to reconcile Biblical 

scenes and caricatures or everyday scenes 

in the Dutch paintings and drawings. 

Ivan Chuviliayev, “From Timid Pencil 

to Dances of the Pen”, Infox.ru, 

20 May 2010 

For the first time, the Hermitage displays 

its unique collection of early Netherlandish 

drawings – 70 pieces from the 15th and 16th 

centuries, including works by Rogier van der 

Weyden, Petrus Christus, Peter Brueghel the 

Elder, Jan Gossaert. The exhibition is entitled 

From Gothic to Mannerism. 

The stylistic landmarks set by the title indicate 

the beginning and end of the artistic 

evolution of Dutch art, as well as its paradoxical 

nature: the Dutch painters made an 

elegant leap from mediaeval forms to imitating 

Classical art and following the achievements 

of Italian artists, skipping the stage of 

the High Renaissance itself with its harmonious 

integral view of the world. 

Olga Luzina, “Drafts for Masterpieces”, 

Fontanka.Ru, 18 May 2010 

conTemporary porcelain 

of SèvreS 

The best examples of contemporary Sévres 

porcelain are represented at the exhibition 

which opens in St. Petersburg today. It is organized 

as part of the France – Russia Year 

in Menshikov Palace, which is a section of the 

State Hermitage Museum. Around 100 works 

by forty artists, whose creative ideas come 

to life in the Sévres ceramics, will help the 

Russian visitors to form an understanding of 

the main genres of modern porcelain production 

at Sévres. The exhibition includes sculptures, 

vases, table decorations, and pieces 

from dinner sets. 

ITAR-TASS, “Best Examples 

of Contemporary Sévres Porcelain 

Represented at an Exhibition in 

St. Petersburg”, 15 June 2010 

picaSSo. from The collecTion 

of The picaSSo muSeum – pariS 

Picasso’s art has one mysterious characteristic, 

which is hard to pinpoint and even harder 

to explain although it seems to be lying 

on the surface. Picasso irritates. He makes 

one mad. More often than any other artist, 

contemporary or not, he provokes the reaction 

of “I don’t understand him”. 

Nevertheless, any Picasso exhibition is always 

crowded. And the crowd can be neatly 

divided into two halves. Some visitors derive 

an interest and pleasure incomprehensible 

to others from viewing the master’s paintings, 

drawings, and sculptures; while the 

other half either sneers in derision, swears, 

or stops by his entirely realistic, even Salon-like, 

portrait of his third woman and first 

wife, the Russian ballerina Olga Khokhlova, 

only to exclaim in indignant bewilderment: 

“He can do it normally when he wants to, so 

what’s the hell?” 

Nikita Yeliseyev, “The Borders 

of Picasso”, Expert Severo-Zapada, 

30 August 2010 

It is incredible how Picasso has managed to 

take the Winter Palace by storm without firing 

a single shot (no revolutionary sailors but 

several designers were involved). Or, strictly 

speaking, it is the main state rooms of the 

Winter Palace (the Field Marshall, Armorial, 

and Piquet Rooms), as well as the Eastern 

Gallery and the Rooms of the Courtyard Gallery 

in the second floor. 

Before the opening of the exhibition, the Director 

of the Picasso Museum Anne Baldassari 

took a whirlwind tour of the rooms in 

order to make sure that the collection was 

ready to be shown to the public. And this is 

when she was asked whether she thought 

that Picasso the rebel and non-conformist 

had managed to conquer the Winter Palace, 

that Everest of Imperial spirit? And her answer 

was clear: Of course he has, how could 

it be otherwise? 

Artur Mezentsev, “Parad-Alle 

of Pablo Picasso”, Peterburgsky Chas Pik, 

23 June 2010 

This exhibition is doomed to success, and 

not only because it is promoted as the main 

event of the France – Russia Year and has 

the special patronage of the Presidents 

of both countries. This is the first display of 

Picasso’s works on such a scale in Russia. 

The famous 1956 exhibition at the Hermitage, 

which paved the way for new art in this 

country, had four times fewer exhibits. 

One of the important things about the exhibition 

is that it is located in the state rooms of 

the Winter Palace. Not every artist can survive 

such surroundings. A huge space full of architectural 

detail, bas-reliefs, and colours, 

At Picasso. From the Collection of the Picasso Museum – Paris exhibition 

tends to be oppressive. But Picasso holds his 

ground, putting up a good fight. It turns out 

the space is worthy of him. 

Ludmila Leusskaya, “Pablo and His 

Models”, Sankt-Peterburgskie Vedomosti, 

21 June 2010 

“Since ToBacco you love 

So much...” 

At the opening of the Hermitage exhibition 

“Since Tobacco You Love So Much...”, dedicated 

to the tobacco accessories in art, the 

Director of the museum Mikhail Piotrovsky 

admitted that in his youth, he used to smoke 

Belomor during the field trips. But he had 

given it up in time. This was the end of the 

unhealthy topic, and everyone proceeded 

to view the snuffboxes, tobacco pouches, 

pipes, cigar cases and match boxes made 

of porcelain, amber and precious metals. 

V.Sh., “The Nineteenth-Century Hydrogen 

Bomb”, Gorod, 27 September 2010 

The Blue Bedroom of the Winter Palace is 

always shrouded in twilight and has an air 

filled with dreams and memories. Some are 

pleasant, but some are nightmares. At the 

moment, this tiny room (in palace terms) 


is filled with the most curious stories. They 

are not told by paintings or sculptures, but 

tiny little objects – mere trifles such as 

snuffboxes, pipes, cigar cases. The exhibition 

which opened here uses Pushkin’s 

words in its title: “Since Tobacco You Love 

So Much...”. It is dedicated to smoking. But 

before you start to frown and protest, we 

have to say that we are not at all condoning 

this unhealthy habit which poisons the 

lives of the smokers and non-smokers alike. 

But smoking is more than just a vice. 

Zinaida Arsenieva, “It’s Not a Morning 

Flower You Like to Smell”, Vecherny 

Peterburg, 1 July 2010 

The smokers of today, whose bad habit is 

nothing more than a sequence of opening the 

pack-clicking the disposable Cricket lighter– 

lighting up–finishing the cigarette–throwing 

away the butt, can hardly imagine how elegant 

was the ritual of smoking of inhaling tobacco 

in the Gallant Century. In the 18th century, 

tobacco was a required accessory for 

a man of the world. And what snuffboxes they 

use! Gold and diamonds, enamel and carving, 

tortoiseshell and ivory, crystal and mother- 

of-pearl – a snuffbox was not a utilitarian 

64 65


object but an exquisite decoration used by 

both ladies and gentlemen. 

Anna Matveyeva, “The Artificial Week: 

a Week of Simple Pleasures”, BaltInfo.Ru, 

27 June 2010 

SwiSS STained glaSS from 

The 16Th – 18Th cenTurieS 

in The hermiTage collecTion 

Swiss stained glass panels did not just reflect 

the traditional Biblical subjects – they were 

a mirror of people’s lives, which makes them 

a valuable historical source. After the age of 

splendid cathedrals had passed and the large 

stained glass windows were no longer in demand, 

the “cabinet stained glass” used in 

secular buildings came into fashion. The Hermitage 

possesses samples of all the types: 

illustrative, armorial, figurative, salutatory, 

matrimonial, panels with a standard-bearer, 

marking accession to an office, peasant, and 

magistrate ones. 

Ludmila Leusskaya, “Stained Glass with 

a Peasant Wedding”, Sankt-Peterburgskie 

Vedomosti, 8 July 2010 

At “Since Tobacco You Love So Much...” 

exhibition 

The Hermitage possesses 70 Swiss stained 

glass panels of the 16th – 17th centuries. 

This is all that remains of a considerable collection 

of stained glass after the barbarous 

sales of valuable artwork in the 1930s. According 

to Svetlana Adaksina, Chief Curator 

of the Hermitage, the history of adding to 

the Hermitage collection of “painted window 

glass separated by lead bars” is no less exciting 

than the study of the art of the mediaeval 

Swiss masters, heirs of the Holy Roman Empire. 

“This collection has been forming since 

the foundation of the Hermitage. To a certain 

extent, it was expanding quite haphazardly – 

the elegant luminous miniatures were presented 

to the Emperors by the connoisseurs 

of Swiss stained glass”. 

Natalia Shergina, “Luminous Glass”, 

Novye Izvestiya, 12 July 2010 

The SailS of hellaS. Seafaring 

in The ancienT world 

The exhibition displays over 200 objects 

which tell the story of seafaring and shipbuilding 

in the Ancient World, of pirates and 

sea deities benevolent or hostile to the sailors. 

The exhibition is divided into sections: 

the heroic cults of Ancient Greece, the real 

heroes – Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar, 

the marine deities and fantastic creatures, 

the dwellers and gifts of the sea, the 

marine trade – coins and amphorae, the advances 

in seafaring – sailing warships. 

Rosbalt-Peterburg, “ The Hermitage 

Presents the Sails of Hellas”, 

22 September 2010 

“Seafaring” is traditionally associated with 

shipbuilding and navigation, but the scope 

of the exhibition is wider. From squids 

to gods, from warriors to fishermen and 

vintners, from women to sea monsters – 

these are the animate characters it presents 

to us. From coins to seafood dishes (as in 

plates) and cups, from earrings decorated 

with a pearl or a golden dolphin, and armour 

(don’t miss the impressive chausses 

with the head of Gorgon Medusa) to the 

remnants of anchors, from inscriptions to 

mosaics – these are the objects represented 

here. This is why the word “sails” in the 

title should not be taken literally, but rather 

as a symbol, a powerful image in the history 

of humanity: the yearning for a dream, the 

wanderlust, the past, the beauty. 

Olga Shervud, “The Dark Waters Boiled”, 


12 October 2010 

paBlo picaSSo. nude woman 

in a Red aRmchaiR from TaTe 

modern, london 

The exhibition of a single painting is a commendable 

but controversial task. Sometimes 

it is spot on, like in the case of many other 

Hermitage exhibitions which show one by 

one the works sold by the Bolsheviks in the 

1930s. Sometimes it is a unique masterpiece 

brought from somewhere else. But sometimes 

an outstanding work, even a masterpiece, 

does not make an exhibition – maybe 

the genius loci is against it, or the stars decree 

that it is not to be. But a beautiful story 

can rescue the whole business, or else it 

will just go away quietly. One can argue which 

category the current display of Nude Woman 

in a Red Armchair belongs to… 

Kira Dolinina, “A Chance Meeting”, 

Kommersant, 6 October 2010 

The Hermitage has no works by Picasso executed 

in the same manner in the 1930s. It is 

all the more important that our visitors now 

have the opportunity to see Nude Woman in 

a Red Armchair in St. Petersburg. According 

to Mikhail Piotrovsky, the new one-painting 

exhibition is an example of museum solidarity. 

An exchange of masterpieces is a complicated 

affair in the age of the financial crisis, 

soaring prices and general problems. Nevertheless, 

after sending three Gaugins to be 

displayed in London, the Hermitage was able 

to get a Picasso in return. 

Natalia Shergina, “The Walter Girl”, 

Novye Izvestiya, 7 October 2010 

This was the time when the Shchukins and 

Morozovs were no longer able to collect art 

in Russia, so we have no works by Picasso 

from his “Marie Walter Period”. It is all the 

more interesting to see Nude Woman in a Red 

Armchair, which the Hermitage secured from 

the London Tate Modern Gallery in exchange 

for the use of the Hermitage paintings in a 

Gaugin exhibition. It is a good thing that this 

is just one painting. It is worth a long contemplation 

which reveals affinities with portraits 

by Ingres and highlights Picasso’s mastery 

of colour. 

V.Sh., “Picasso of the Marie-Therese 

Period”, Gorod, 18 October 2010 

cenTre pompidou in The STaTe 

hermiTage muSeum 

A performance, an installation, an abstraction 

– these are unfamiliar events for the Hermitage 

halls. Provocation meets you at the 

doorstep. The Bottle Drier is called a masterpiece. 

It is even used as the emblem of the 

exhibition. This is the mother of all contemporary 

art. The visitors frown, look down – 

and they are trapped. 

At this exhibition, even the Comments Book 

is a provocation. In order to leave a comment, 

you have to climb to the podium, approach 

a speaking platform. And this is already a performance 

or an installation, call it what you 

like. In any case it is a creative act of contemporary 

art. 

Dmitry Vitov, “The Hermitage Presents 

an Exhibition from the Famous Centre 

Pompidou”, The First Channel, 


It must be a joke! The Hermitage, the greatest 

museum of Western art in Russia, has 

no works by Expressionists, or Futurists, or 

Dadaists, or Surrealists. As for the second 

half of the 20th century – the least said… The 

conservatism of the museum and the public 

is a legacy of Soviet times, when avant-garde 

art was not in favour. The Pompidou Festival 

is an attempt to introduce contemporary art 

to the Hermitage. 

Stanislav Savitsky, “The Bottle Drier 

in the Hermitage”, Delovoy Peterburg, 


The exhibition of the Centre Georges Pompidou 

in the Hermitage organized as part of the 

France – Russia Year is in a way a concise 


history of contemporary art in its French incarnation. 

On the whole, the most interesting journey in 

the exhibition is the evolution from Duchamps 

to Lavier, from readymade to appropriationism, 

which works in the same way. But the 

object appropriated by the artist is no longer 

a household item from outside the sphere of 

art, but the art of the previous generation itself. 

This is the story in which contemporary 

art is biting its own tail: several decades after 

inventing the technique of readymade, it becomes 

readymade itself. 

Igor Gulin, 

“The Readymade Creators”, Weekend, 


The Comments Book is a testimony to the indifferent 

reaction of the Hermitage visitors to 

contemporary art, which finds its way to the 

city’s greatest museum more and more often. 

So far, the pages are dominated by various 

negative emotions. There is also a laconic 

“Cool” in a child’s hand, and a condescending 

“It is good that the museum is not afraid 

of taking risks”. 

The existence of contemporary art in classical 

space is a little like a mock trial with defence 

and prosecution lawyers. The visitors 

who don’t want to impair their aesthetic sensibility 

usually represent the prosecution, 

while the professional community is trying 

hard to prove that the defendant has a right 

to be playful. 

Polina Vinogradova. 

“The Defence of Spring and Love”, 



At Centre Pompidou in the State Hermitage 

Museum exhibition 

66 67


a glaSS fanTaSy. ancienT 

glaSS from The hermiTage 

collecTion 

There are several reasons for being amazed 

and excited by the exhibition. First of all, there 

is the great age of the glass artifacts, some of 

which have survived from the time before the 

birth of Christ! According to everyday logic, 

they were bound to shatter at some point 

during so many years. But in some mysterious 

way they have managed to come down 

to us. Secondly, one is spellbound by the exquisite 

beauty, variety and intricacy of the 

craftsmanship. We recognize glasses, cups, 

amphorae, jugs, flagons. But at the exhibition 

we learn about the existence of amphoriskoi, 

askoi, aryballoi, alabasters, phalerae, pyxides, 

and many others. 

Yelena Druzhinina, “The Glass Fantasy 

of an Incredible Age”, Intellektualny 

Kapital, 13 October 2010 

The craftsmen have learned to create objects 

out of the most delicate glass, so that it has 

hardly any weight in the hand, and also to colour 

them with pure and deep colours using 

various metal oxides. Sometimes the glass 

blowers played on the contrast between the 

transparent background and the image applied 

by means of opaque enamel pigments. 

A splendid example from the exhibition is 

a bright green amphora with a painted floral 

ornament of vine and ivy shoots and leaves 

with birds nesting in them. 

ARTinvestment.ru, “A Glass Fantasy. 

Ancient Glass from the Hermitage 

Collection”, 27 October 2010 

flemingS Through The eyeS 

of david TenierS The younger 

When I was a child, I loved looking at one of 

Teniers’ paintings, Monkeys in the Kitchen. 

Later I learned that the monkeys’ antics were 

the artist’s specialty – he portrayed them frolicking 

about in the kitchens, barber’s salons, 

and pubs. 

Although he was happy to accept any commissions 

(landscapes, portraits, mythological 

and everyday scenes, hunting scenes), 

his favourite subject was the folk revels like 

A Peasant Wedding which resides in the Hermitage. 

Yelena Bobrova, “Mischievous 

Monkeys”, Sankt-Peterburgsky Kurier, 


The Hermitage possesses 33 paintings from 

the artist’s mature period. In his pictures, 

peasants dance at a wedding, play bowls 

and dice, and have fun in a tavern. He painted 

festivals, rural fairs, and sometimes also 

scenes of peasant labour – harvesting and 

haymaking. 

Kultura Sankt-Peterburga, “Flemings 

through the Eyes of David Teniers 

the Younger”, 18 October 2010 

TiTian. madonna and child wiTh 

sT. caTheRine (madonna wiTh 

a RabbiT). from The collecTion 

of The louvre 

An exhibition of a masterpiece by the Venetian 

artist Titian Vecellio Madonna and Child 

with St. Catherine (Madonna with a Rabbit). 

From the Collection of the Louvre has opened 

at the Hermitage. This was Louvre’s return 

loan in exchange for a painting by Paolo Veronese. 

As the Hermitage curators explain, 

the painting was chosen deliberately: with 

all its seeming simplicity it reflects the ideas 

novel for the period, which ultimately led 

to the emergence of the landscape as an independent 

genre. 

Yevgenia Tsinkler, “Titian’s Masterpiece 

Madonna with a Rabbit 

Has Arrived to the Hermitage from the 

Louvre”, Rossiyskaya Gazeta, 


“This is Titian on the brink of his mature period, 

– says the curator of the exhibition, the 

leading research worker of the Department 

of Western European Fine Arts Irina Artemyeva, 

– We have here a “farewell” to the style 

of Giorgone and the art which used to be the 

leitmotif of Venetian art for the first three 

decades of the 16th century. Here everything 

is concentrated, and the detail is of utmost 

importance – this is not going to be typical 

for Titian’s later work.” 

Alina Tsiopa, “The Madonna with 

a Rabbit Comes to St. Petersburg”, 

Nevskoye Vremya, 28 October 2010 

All the details of this expressive scene are 

painted with loving meticulousness. The apple 

and the grapes in the half-open basket 

at Mary’s feet, the strawberry leaves and berries, 

the outline of a distant church tower. And 

these are not here by chance. However the 

essence of the painting is not in these details, 

but in the overall poetic impression it pro- 

duces. The art of the master is remarkable – 

in one scene, he manages to convey all his 

admiration for this world, all his love for life 

and a wonderful harmony between man and 

surrounding nature. This is in a way a Utopia, 

a dream of ideal life in a Universe ordained by 

God in a perfect way. But this dream is so realistic 

and convincing that it is easy to believe 

that it can come true. 

Yekaterina Emme, “Madonna 

with a Rabbit”, InfoSkop, 

October 2010 

a romanTic view. duTch 

and Belgian painTingS 

of The 19Th cenTury from 

The rademaKerS collecTion 

The start of each century marks a certain 

change in aesthetic taste. In our time 

this is evident, among other things, in the 

growing interest in nineteenth-century art, 

which is not limited to textbook Romanticism, 

Realism, and Impressionism. This is 

why the Hermitage presents the artists littleknown 

in Russia today, although 150 years 

ago paintings by Verboeckhoven, Willems, 

Jenisson, Koekkoek, Meyer, Schelfhaut 

would be an expected attribute of any important 

private collection. 

Yelena Druzhinina, “There will Always 

be Romantics”, Intellektualny Kapital, 


The visitors to the museum will see 70 works 

of art from the largest private collection 

of Dutch and Flemish paintings in Europe. 

At present, it includes over a hundred prominent 

Romantic paintings. The exhibition will 

include nearly all the topics which were of interest 

for Romantic artists: summer and winter 

landscapes, seascapes, cityscapes, stilllifes, 

portraits, and genre scenes. 


“A Romantic View”, October 2010 

The hoard of mrS. liKhachyova 

The exhibition represents extremely rare 

historic and household items made of silver, 

which had belonged to a rich St. Petersburg 

family before the Revolution. All of them 

were acquired together. In 1978, a hoard of 

around two hundred pieces was discovered 

at the Voskhod shoe factory, which is located 

in No 52, 3rd Line, Vasilievsky Island, which 

had housed the Nevskaya Wallpaper Factory 

since the start of the 20th century. Some 

of them bore presentation inscriptions addressed 

to Maria Likhachyova, the owner of 

the shoe factory, marking memorable and 

festive occasions. 

Andrei Yerofeyev, “The Likhachyova 

Hoard at the Hermitage”, 

Parlamentskaya Gazeta, 

10 December 2010 

Commemorative dishes and cups, frames and 

stands for crystal vases, teapots, milk jugs, 

sugar basins, tableware, cups, and salt cellars 

made of silver by the Russian craftsmen 

of the second half of the 19th – early 20th 

centuries in different techniques reflect a variety 

of forms and decorations. The most numerous 

group of items are those made in the 

so-called Russian style. The earliest of them, 

a salt cellar shaped like a washtub, is a rare 

example of the interpretation of a traditional 

theme in the applied art of the first quarter 

of the 19th century. 

Tea.ru, “An Exhibition of Old Teapots 

Opens at the Winter Palace”, 


The roman Two-headed eagle. 

from The archaeological muSeum 

aT alicanTe, Spain 

An exhibition of one item – a Roman twoheaded 

eagle – is opening at the State Hermitage 

on St. George’s Day. This exhibit is a 

unique fragment of a bronze sculpture found 

during the excavations of the Roman town of 

Lucentum in 2005. The statue’s ring finger 

bears a ring with an image of a staff which 

was used by Roman augurs as a sign of belonging 

to the priestly rank. 

Interfax–Severo-Zapad, “A Handle 

of a Roman Sword with a Two-Headed 

Eagle will be on Display at the Hermitage”, 

St. Petersburg, 9 December 2010 

The State Hermitage is displaying one of the 

first images of a two-headed eagle in history. 

The bronze hand holding a sword is a fragment 

of a statue found during of the excavations 

of the ancient city of Lucentum on the 

shores of the Mediterranean. It is the only 

item displayed at the exhibition The Roman 

Two-Headed Eagle, organized jointly with the 

Spanish Archaeological Museum in Alicante. 

The important Roman citizen portrayed in 

bronze was holding a special sword in his left 

hand – an attribute of military leaders and an- 

cient heroes. The pommel of this weapon was 

decorated with the image of the two-headed 

eagle, which had never before been seen in 

the art of Ancient Greece or Rome. 

ITAR-TASS, “One of the First Images 

of the Two-Headed Eagle is on Display 

at the Hermitage to Mark St. George’s 

Day”, Moscow, 9 December 2010 

The glaSS Bead caBineT. 

panelS from The chineSe palace 

aT oranienBaum 

The Hermitage is ready to introduce the public 

to a unique inter-museum project – the restored 

Glass Bead Cabinet from the Chinese 

Palace at Oranienbaum. 

This masterpiece of applied art has had 

a rather troubled history. It has long been 

known that it was in need of a complex and 

expensive restoration procedure. The unique 

job of saving the unique panels was entrusted 

to the experts from the Hermitage Laboratory 

for Scientific Restoration of Textiles. 

The outstanding work of the Hermitage experts 

was highly praised by their colleagues. 

The Glass Bead Cabinet. Panels from the Chinese 

Palace at Oranienbaum was awarded 

a special Sautov Restoration Prize in the category 

“Best Restoration Project” of the “Museum 

Olympus” award presented this year. 

Ludmila Leusskaya, “Glass Beads 

on Olympus”, Sankt-Peterburgskie 

Vedomosti, 7 December 2010 

The floor-to-ceiling panels, richly embroidered 

with glass beads, bring about a surge 

of respect for manual labour. Twelve glass 

bead panels, 3.5 m by 1.5 m each, used by 

Catherine the Great to knock dead her worldweary 

guests in a state drawing room, will be 

displayed like paintings. In the 18th century, 

the connoisseurs of the chinoiserie style 

thought that the Imperial “wallpaper” was the 

last word in sumptuous interior design, while 

the modern viewer will be reminded of fairytales 

and the wonders of the East when looking 

at these luminous glass panels. 

Time Out Peterburg, 

“The Glass Bead Cabinet from 

the Chinese Palace at Oranienbaum”, 

26 November – 9 December 2010 


porcelain and roSeS. 

from The “chriSTmaS gifT” 

SerieS 

The first dinner service of Empress Elizabeth, 

the wedding dishes used by the daughters 

of Paul I, Soviet and contemporary porcelain. 

What brings them all together is that most romantic 

of all flowers, the rose. 

The organizers of the exhibition have selected 

unique rather than mass-produced objects. 

The exhibition has no pieces with printed designs. 

The oldest and most valuable object 

in the collection is a snuffbox with a picture 

of playing pugs. 

Vesti.Ru, “Porcelain and Roses: 

the Most Romantic Exhibition 

at the Winter Palace”, 22 December 2010 

The Imperial Porcelain Factory used roses 

to decorate the pieces made for Empress Elizabeth. 

Garlands of moulded roses could be 

seen on the very first “Personal” Service, they 

bloomed in the painting of the gilded tea service 

made during the life of the founding father 

of Russian porcelain, Dmitry Vinogradov. 

In Catherine’s age, roses were put on everyday 

services, they were woven into monogrammes 

and designs on teacups, vases, and 

other presentation pieces. 


“Roses on Porcelain”, 


68 69

eSToraTion and conServaTion 

In 2010, the Department of Scientific Restoration 

and Conservation (headed by T. Baranova) 

restored 4,648 cultural and artistic objects 

Including: 

easel paintings 682 

graphic works 287 

sculptures 81 

objects of applied art 702 

numismatic objects 116 

archaeological artifacts 1,973 

arms and armoury 213 

documents, rare books 47 

mounted works 547 

laBoraTory for ScienTific reSToraTion 

of eaSel painTing 

Headed by V. Korobov 

George Dawe. Portrait of Empress Alexandra with Her Children. 

After restoration 

george dawe 

poRTRaiT of empRess aleXandRa 

wiTh heR childRen 

Oil on canvas. 277 × 187 cm 

Restored by V. Brovkin, A. Nikolsky 

The painting spent several decades rolled up with other canvases 

in the storage area of the State Hermitage, and was only admitted 

for restoration at the end of 2008. The painting looked much older 

than its real age: the varnish was dark and patchy, there were many 

overpaintings along the whole surface, and the size of the canvas had 

been altered. The conservation and restoration work started in the 

autumn of 2008. An examination of the painting revealed that it had 

been transferred to a different canvas, with additions on three sides: 

c. 14 cm on top, and 3.5 cm on both sides. There also were restoration 

retouchings along the whole surface, which had changed colour, and 

a dark yellow layer of surface varnish – both typical for paintings which 

had their original canvas replaced by a new one in the 19th century. 

George Dawe. Portrait of Empress Alexandra with Her Children (detail: before restoration; during restoration; after restoration) 

The technical restoration involved making a new stretcher, straightening 

and patching the painting, adding canvas conservation hems 

to help keep it in place on the new stretcher. This removed the decrepit 

canvas in the corners and rectified the deformities. The restoration 

of the painting itself started with the cleaning of test areas 

from varnish and overpainting. The painting and its structure was 

studied and described in detail. 

The opaque layer of yellow varnish with dark retouching was removed 

by application of a 1:4 alcohol: pinene solution and tools 

such as a brush, a cotton wool pad and a scalpel. As a result, among 

other things, the colour of the dress changed from dirty green to 

dark blue, while the colour of the canopy changed from brown to 

dark red-wine colour. A thinner layer of varnish was re-applied to the 

whole surface with the help of ethanol vapours (Pettenkofer process). 

The painting was covered with a thin layer of megilp, and the 

losses were filled in with oil paints with microscopic precision. 

Now a formerly lost painting by Dawe, Portrait of Empress Alexandra 

with Her Children, will occupy its rightful place in the museum gallery 

as a splendid example of the wonderful English portrait painter’s 

mature work. 

The first versions of the portrait of Emperor Nicholas I and Empress 

Alexandra with their children were transferred in 1846 to the Romanov 

Family Gallery from the Nicholas (Anichkov) Palace, which 

probably led to their restoration and enlargement (which may be 

linked to the architectural designs for a new gallery and the preparation 

of new wall finishing and new frames). Transferring paintings 

to a new canvas in order to enlarge the picture was normal practice 

for nineteenth-century Russian restorers. It allowed them to avoid 

deformities inevitable when restoration painting was joined to the 

original layers. The reverse side of the new canvas would still bear 

the name of the artist along with the place and date of completion. 

Our canvas, however, does not have such an inscription, and only 

the number 460 bears testimony to the fact that the portrait was 

included in the inventory of the Nicholas Palace. It is logical to suppose 

that the complex restoration was carried out between 1846 and 

1855. Thus, the size of the painting was altered in the 19th century, 

making the picture 15 cm higher. It is interesting that the author’s 

copies of the portraits of Nicholas and Alexandra are 262 cm high, 

which corresponds to the original size of the painting in question. 

Thus, it was possible to determine that: 

restoratIon anD conserVatIon 

– the size of the portrait was enlarged to fit that of the companion 

portrait of Nicholas I, and this was done during the nineteenthcentury 

restoration; 

– the restoration (transferral to a new canvas and altering the size) 

took place after the artist’s original copies of both portraits were made, 

in the middle of the 19th century but preceding the 1855 inventory 

of the Nicholas Palace when the portrait was recorded as No 460; 

– the additional pieces of canvas are not original; the colour scheme, 

texture and foundation are different from those in the original 

painting. 

70 71

estoratIon anD conserVatIon restoratIon anD conserVatIon 


of mural painTing 

Headed by A. Bliakher 

reSToraTion of an old ruSSian 

freSco Showing The lower parT 

of The figure of a SainT 

(The hem of The roBe and feeT) 

Pskov, the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, 

12th century 

Under restoration 

Restored by O. Khakhanova 

In 1981, a fresco from the Cathedral of 

the Holy Trinity was lifted from the ruins. 

It had fallen from a great height onto an 

uneven hard surface together with a heavy 

block of masonry. The blow had a destructive 

effect on the front of the fresco, which 

shattered into many pieces. The fresco was 

greatly deformed, broken into multiple tiny 

fragments (from 1 sq. mm to 5 sq. cm), and 

the image was nearly impossible to recover. 

R. Belyakova, restorer from the Laboratory 

for Scientific Restoration of Mural Painting, 

managed to undertake the preliminary conservation 

work in situ. 

At the Lab, the fresco had to be taken apart 

into separate blocks because of the damage 

it had sustained, and these blocks had to be 

further broken into fragments. The fresco 

was in a poor state, with many fragments 

almost crumbling to dust. The restorers 

straightened the surface level of the fresco, 

cleaned the seams and glued the whole work 

together again. 

The work also entailed tracing copies of 

each fragment on plastic film (a working 

scheme), which made it possible to locate 

each piece, including the tiniest ones. This 

method of using a working scheme section 

by section was used for the first time. 

A drawn copy was also made in order to define 

the patterns of the image. 

The fresco is being restored under the supervision 

of V. Fominykh, top grade restorer. 

ancienT egypTian carTonnage 

SarcophaguS wiTh columnS 

of dedicaTory inScripTion 

on The fronT Side 

Restored by L. Gagen 

The cartonnage was received in several pieces. 

Its reverse side had sustained the most 

damage – there were six large fragments 

with the foundation peeling off in many 

places, many cracks, torn-off strips of fabric, 

and other defects. The pieces were all much 

stained. 

The sarcophagus underwent a full restoration 

and conservation procedure: the foundation 

was strengthened, it was backed up 

on a new fabric, the separate fragments were 

pieced and glued together, the colour layer 

was uncovered and cleaned, the deformities 

removed, and internal inserts added to preserve 

the shape of the object. 


of SculpTure and coloured SToneS 

Headed by S. Petrova 

SculpTureS To Be diSplayed aT The exhiBiTion 

The immoRTal aleXandeR The gReaT. The mYTh. The RealiTY. 

his jouRneY. his legacY in The exhiBiTion roomS 

of The hermiTage • amSTerdam cenTre 

Restored by Ye. Andreyeva, K. Blagoveshchensky, V. Klur, 

V. Mozgovoi, S. Petrova 

Over 40 artifacts from the collections of the 

Department of Classical Antiquity and the 

Oriental Department of the State Hermitage 

underwent restoration. The most difficult 

and time-consuming task was the restoration 

of ancient sculpture. 

The marble surface of the statue of Dionysus 

(Roman copy of the Greek original of the 

3rd century B.C., marble, inv. no. ГР-3004 

(A.104)) was covered with persistent, uneven 

dust deposits. The numerous nineteenthcentury 

plaster additions were stained and 

in many places overlay the original marble. 

The wax and galipot mastic used in the 18th 

and 19th centuries to fill in the seams between 

fragments and varnish layers had 

changed colour, darkened and yellowed, 

revealing multiple seams and cracks. During 

the conservation and restoration, the 

surface was cleaned, and the stains and 

impurities removed, along with drops of 

dark mastic and soiled plaster additions. 

The original marble surface was uncovered. 

The numerous seams between large and 

small fragments were cleared of the yellowed 

wax and galipot mastic and filled in 

with a polymeric and crushed marble mixture. 

The insignificant losses were filled in 

using composite materials. 

The work on the statue of Hercules (marble, 

inv. no. ГР 26 (A.308)) entailed making 

a replacement for a large lost fragment of 

the plinth, which was moulded and cast 

of a composite imitation material. A large 

amount of work was also needed to remove 

the stains, clean the seams, remove rough 

mastic and replace it with a reversible polymeric 

and crushed marble mixture. 

During the restoration of the statue of Serapis 

(marble, inv. no. ГР-3550 (A.216)) it 

was considered necessary to make a mould 

of the marble original head dismantled 

by O. Waldhauer, since it was impossible to 

exhibit the statue in fragments. The copy 

made of composite material imitating the 

colour and texture of the marble torso was 

placed on the statue, with a specially designed 

system of combining the fragments 

which would allow for a straightforward 

removal of the restoration addition. 

The unique statue of Eros with his bow 

(marble, inv. no. ГР-3102 (A.199)) was restored 

as well. Its plinth has a bronze band 

with the inscription reading “Acquired in 

1851 from the Papal Government in exchange 

for yielding to it land on the Palatine 

Hill”. The broken plinth was glued 

together and mounted to its original place, 

the marble surface was cleaned, the seams 

were cleaned and varnished over; later 

mastic not matching the original colour 

and texture was removed from the original 

parts of the artifact, large fractures were varnished 

over. 

As a result of the conservation and restoration, 

the marble statues from the collection 

of the Department of Classical Antiquity became 

fit to be exhibited again. 

Statue of Eros with a bow. Fragment. 

Before restoration 

Statue of Eros with a bow. Fragment. 


Statue of Hercules. Before restoration Statue of Hercules. After restoration 

72 73


laBoraTory for ScienTific 

reSToraTion of applied arT 

oBJecTS 

Headed by A. Bantikov 

SecTor for reSToraTion 

of archaeological meTal 

In 2010, 1,500 items were restored in this 

sector. A few of the more important and 

challenging jobs are described below. 

iron helmeT wiTh Silver 

decoraTion in relief 

Northern Black Sea Area, near Kerch 

(ancient Pantikapaion), 

first half – middle of the 3rd century B.C. 

Restored by N. Yankovskaya 

The exhibit had already undergone restoration, 

with fragments of the helmet walls 

pieced together and consolidated with wax 

and galipot mastic. An examination of the 

items revealed that the back part and neck 

flap had disintegrated. In order to exhibit 

the helmet, it was necessary to reassemble 

all the pieces and to clean the surface of the 

silver plates on the cheek guards. In order to 

restore the artifact to its original shape and 

to reinforce the individual pieces, it had to 

be cleaned of old conservation materials: 

wax-and-galipot mastic deposits from the 

seams and dilapidated conservation varnish 

from the surface, which skewed the joining 

edges of individual fragments. The silver 

plates were cleaned and the original shape 

reconstructed. The conservation made it 

possible to consolidate the original materials, 

remove the surface stains and recover 

the fine details of the silver plate patterning. 

Silver rhyTon 

Kuban Area, 4th Semibratny Burial Mound, 

5th century B.C. 

Restored by O. Senatorova 

At the start of the restoration process, the 

rhyton consisted of two fragments. There 

were significant losses and cracks across the 

whole surface. The metal inside the rhyton 

was peeling. The butyral film used for backing 

in places had disintegrated, causing the 

original metal to crack. The butyral film and 

the old conservation varnish were removed, 

the losses and cracks were backed up onto 

thin fibreglass cloth and where necessary 

supplemented with thin polymer plates following 

the original shape. 

Iron helmet with silver decoration in relief. Before restoration 

Iron helmet with silver decoration in relief. After restoration 

Silver rhyton. Fragment. Before restoration Silver rhyton. Fragment. After restoration 

Silver Bowl on Three 

Shell-Shaped legS wiTh gilding 

along The rim 

Northern Black Sea Area, the Pantikapaion 

necropolis, first half of the 3rd century B.C. 

Restored by N. Panchenko 

The object had undergone restoration in 

the 1950s, when the walls were reinforced 

with copper wire armouring welded on tin 

and backed up on thin fabric. 

This hardwiring later caused the thin walls 

of the cup to crack and fall through, which 

created losses and threatened the integrity 

of the whole object. The old conservation 

materials were partially removed: the silver 

and wire were cleaned of tin deposits, and 

the conservation varnish was removed from 

the surface of the object. 

The cleaning of the surface uncovered the 

gilded rim of the cup, which was cleaned as 

well. Then the cup was strengthened, partly 

backed up on fibreglass cloth, and the fragments 

were assembled and glued together. 

BronZe Jug 

Syria – Iraq, 8th – 9th century 

Restored by O. Semenova 

The jug had never undergone conservation 

before. The whole object was covered 

in thick corrosion and soil deposits, under 

which it was possible to see the metal surface. 

There was a hole in the bottom of the 

jug, which was covered with a fabric stopper 

in the Middle Ages. The body was decorated 

with an inlaid rosette. The restorers uncovered 

the original surface of the jug, revealing 

the ornamental neck and the inlay. 

BronZe mirror on a leaTher 

STrap 

Tyva, Chinge-Tei, 7th century B.C. 

Restored by M. Borovikova 

The mirror was brought for conservation 

after it was uncovered during excavations. 

The whole surface of the object was covered 

in corrosion and soil deposits, the 

mirror edges were uneven. On the reverse 

in the centre of the mirror there is a handle 

shaped as a goat figure, tightly braided 

with a fragile leather strap. The restorers 

uncovered a paste bead on the strap near 

the centre of the mirror. The conservation 

resulted in the surface of the mirror being 

cleaned, the strap reinforced and the white 

paste bead cleaned. 

Silver bowl on three shell-shaped legs with gilding along the rim. After restoration 

Bronze jug. Before restoration 

Bronze jug. After restoration 

74 75


SecTor for reSToraTion 

of STained glaSS 

STained glaSS panel lamenTaTion 


Restored by Ye. Krylova, V. Lebedev, 

Ye. Dutova 

The year 2010 saw the end of three years of 

restoration work on a unique stained glass 

panel from the Hermitage collection – Lamentation, 

a sixteenth-century German panel 

probably based on a drawing by Bartolomäus 

Bruyn. The panel is outstanding in its masterly 

use of multi-layered glass painting and 

an exquisite quality of the image betraying 

the art of High Renaissance. O. Novikova, 

a member of the Expert Examination Department, 

assessed the layers of paint on the 

glass frames to reveal the original glass panels. 

The numerous later overpaintings have 

significantly distorted the original look of 

the work. The conservators managed to find 

a solution to the challenging problem of 

replacing the old low-quality overpaintings 

in cold colours with new ones made in the 

traditional multi-layered technique. Many 

of the well-preserved overpaintings from the 

turn of the 20th century were left in place. 

The most challenging task was replacing 

the damaged glass panels containing fragments 

of figures from the central part of the 

stained glass. 

All the restoration additions were made of 

glass of one quality and shade, selected to fit 

the original glass. Opaque brown glass ink 

was used to achieve the necessary tint. 

The corroded lead pieces were replaced 

with new ones conforming to the shape 

and composition of the original material. 

The rusty fastenings were replaced with new 

brass ones. 

After the conservation and restoration, Lamentation 

will be included in the exhibition of 

German art. 

Lamentation, stained glass panel. After restoration 

“The head of Joseph of Arimathea”: a nineteenth-century addition removed 

by the restorers; modern overpainting and burning 

laBoraTory for ScienTific reSToraTion of oBJecTS 

made of organic maTerialS 

Headed by Ye. Mankova 

gun from The arSenal 

deparTmenT 

Painted wood and metal 

Iran (?), 18th century 

Restored by M. Michri 

A group of exhibits was prepared for display 

at the temporary exhibition Decorative Weapons 

from the State Hermitage Collection (Hermitage 

• Kazan Centre, February–October 

2011). 

The gun in question is among the most 

interesting and outstanding exhibits: it is 

around 2 metres long and decorated with 

floral patterns and images of “mythical” lions 

(beasts) and birds, which may be symbolic 

as well as decorative; the decoration is 

bright and eye-catching. 

The exhibit was sent to the Laboratory after 

the metal elements had been dismantled 

at the Laboratory for Scientific Restoration 

of Applied Art Objects. There were 

signs of physical damage, dents and flaking 

wood along the edge of the wooden stock. 

Gun stock with image of a lion. Fragment. 

Before restoration 

Gun stock with image of a lion. Fragment. 


The brick-red paint layer was thick but partially 

lost, especially on the protruding parts 

in the central part of the butt-stock. The layer 

of textured yellow-golden paint had been 

rubbed off and lost in many places across 

the whole surface, and the paint was peeling. 

The original surface varnish had been 

renewed before. The original colour was 

distorted by the uneven layer of dark and 

yellow varnish. The painted surface of the 

stock had many scratches reaching the paint 

and wood layers. 

The surface was dusty and stained with grey 

paint. 

According to the task set by the Restoration 

Commission, the necessary technical 

and technological assessment was carried 

out, the surface impurities and paint stains 

were removed, the priming and paint layer 

were strengthened. The restorers worked 

out a method of removing the later varnish, 

thinning out the dark layer of the original 

varnish and covering the painted surface 

with a new protective layer of conservation 

varnish. Photographs were taken to record 

the different stages of the restoration process. 

The stock is made of walnut (the type of 

wood determined by M. Kolosova, member 

of the Expert Examination Department). 

The most challenging areas in terms of thinning 

out the varnish layer were those where 

the uneven varnish lay over the dilapidated 

ochre-yellow paint layer, especially on the 

images of the two beasts on the butt-stock. 

The clearing of these areas was performed 

in several stages, layer by layer. After the decorative 

painting was conserved, there was 

no more danger of further disintegration 

of the painting on the stock. The patterns 

became much clearer after the varnish layer 

had been diluted, with brighter colours and 

more prominent image details. 

After the complex conservation and restoration 

procedure, the exhibit was re-assembled. 

The gun became fit for display as an 

organic whole. The uncovered patterns will 

help to shed more light on the history of the 

artifact and pave the way for further art history 

research. 

Horse mask with a stag’s head. 


horSe maSK wiTh a STag’S head 

from The fifTh Burial mound, 

paZyryK SiTe 

Wood, leather; 4th – 3rd century B.C. 

Restored by Ye. Chekhova 

The final updating and re-launch of the 

permanent exhibition Siberian Antiquities 

marked the end of a long series of conservation 

projects for the finds from the 

so-called ice burials in the Altai Region. 

Most of the objects found during the Altai 

excavations between 1929 and 1947 were 

uncovered in a much fragmented state. An 

impressively ambitious emergency effort 

to re-assemble the fragments was first attempted 

in field conditions before the excavations 

were over. In the 1950s, once they 

had been given over to museums, the Altai 

finds underwent certain standard conservation 

procedures, which mostly involved removing 

the impurities, gluing together and 

backing up the fragments. A more regular 

restoration programme was started in the 

1970s, by which time the conservationists 

of the world had accumulated sufficient experience 

of working with archaeological artifacts, 

and a number of new conservation 

chemicals had become available. 

A leather horse mask with a stag’s head from 

the Fifth Pazyryk Burial Mound, like many 

other finds, had been torn in places, with 

some leather fragments and details lost. 

The leather had been deformed, crinkled 

76 77


and hardened, but it was still supple. The 

wooden supports of the antlers were nearly 

entirely absent, as was a large part of the 

left antler. During the emergency conservation, 

all the torn areas had been backed 

up on fabric; the lost leather base had been 

replaced with dark glutinous mastic; the 

extant fragments of the second antler had 

been glued to a carton base and attached 

with thread to aluminium wire which replaced 

the wooden supports. The thick 

layer of glue, which had lost all its elasticity, 

was making the leather even more rigid. 

A second restoration was called for, especially 

since it was not only the backing 

materials that had become obsolete (for 

instance, dyed muslin was used for keeping 

fragments together), but the adhesives 

as well – most of them did not conform to 

conservation standards. Moreover, it was 

now possible to subject the collection to 

a modern chemical, physical-chemical, 

and microbiological assessment. S. Khavrin 

from the Expert Examination Department 

analyzed the pigments on the leather antlers 

and the wooden support and established 

that the pigment used was cinnabar. M. Kolosova 

determined that the stag’s head was 

made of Siberian pinewood, and the support 

of the antlers of honeysuckle wood. 

During the restoration, the surface of the 

leather base of the mask was cleaned of impurities 

and adhesive deposits, the deformities 

of the leather were removed inasmuch as 

that was possible, the old rigid patches were 

replaced with up-to-date backing materials 

using polymeric compounds specially developed 

for gluing leather pieces together. 

The rough mastic with colour and texture 

different from those of the original was removed, 

and the lost leather fragments filled 

in with new elastic varnishes selected to 

match the original; the left antler was made 

out of a piece of rawhide to match the right 

one. A light detachable wooden support was 

made by the restorer V. Gradov (Laboratory 

for Scientific Restoration of Furniture) 

to attach the leather antlers to the wooden 

stag’s head. It keeps the antlers secure on 

the leather mask base but does not distract 

the attention of the viewers. 

The mask is displayed together with the 

complete harness set composed of the bridle, 

saddle, saddle cover and saddle-cloth 

which were found in the same horse burial. 

preparing The amBer 

archaeological arTifacTS 

for The exhiBiTion ambeR in 

ancienT culTuRes. masTeRpieces 

fRom The heRmiTage museum 

collecTion 

Restored by K. Nikitina, Ye. Chekhova, 

M. Michri, Ye. Mankova, 

N. Vasilyeva 

The State Hermitage possesses many amber 

artifacts, a considerable number of which 

are archaeological finds discovered in settlements 

and burial sites. 

The Laboratory restorers prepared over 

50 such finds for the exhibition. Among the 

items which underwent conservation were 

pendants, beads, amber pieces, fragments 

of necklaces, cowry shells, shell-shaped pendants 

made of horn; beads composed of amber, 

glass, paste, lignite, carnelian; beads of 

lignite, chalcedony, glass, paste, and bones 

of ancient fish. An interesting find is a figurine 

of a lion from the Bolshoi Burial near 

Armavir (Kuban Region) (first half of the 

1st century). The most numerous finds are 

bead necklaces and pendants, from tiny 

beads (3 mm), flat plaques, or cylindrical 

hollowed pieces to large single pieces (up to 

6 cm) which had undergone only the most 

superficial treatment. 

Archaeological amber – that is, artifacts 

made of ancient resin found underground – 

is a brittle material which is very susceptible 

to atmospheric impact. It is well known that 

when amber pieces undergo a primary treatment 

in order to make them into artifacts, 

this triggers oxidation processes causing 

the amber to darken or change its original 

colour. The preservation of amber, even in 

normal temperature and humidity, depends 

on the environment: air, light, and heat. 

Necklace. Before restoration 

Necklace. During conservation 

Necklace. After restoration 

Any of these factors can cause tiny cracks 

to appear on the surface, which then widen 

and spread to the whole surface of the amber 

object, making the amber brittle and 

opaque. 

The exhibits were brought for restoration 

from storage, where they had usually been 

placed immediately after the excavations 

after only superficial treatment in field conditions. 

A great number of items had never 

undergone conservation before. The state 

of their preservation varied, but the majority 

were in urgent need of restoration. A great 

number of amber beads were in a very poor 

condition, with many cracks, broken fragments, 

stains, damage and flaking of the 

surface layer. In some of the artifacts, the 

material had partially disintegrated, causing 

changes in the texture of the amber: some 

of the beads had an opaque oxidized shell 

on the surface, while the body of the amber 


reSToraTion of TexTileS 

Headed by M. Denisova 

chenille and glaSS Bead panelS 

from The glaSS Bead room 

of The chineSe palace 

Restored by M. Denisova, 

G. Fedorova, L. Loginova, 

M. Tikhonova, T. Grunina-Shkvarok, 

A. Shapran 

Twelve panels embroidered with chenille 

and glass beads were made in 1762–1764 in 

the de Chele workshop in St. Petersburg for 

the Glass Bead Room in the Chinese Palace 

(Oranienbaum). Each panel is placed in a 

wooden carved and gilded frame. 

In the mid-19th century, the chenille embroidery 

was painted over. In 1941–1945 the 

glass bead panels were taken down from the 

walls and moved to Leningrad, where they 

were kept in the crypt of St. Isaac’s Cathedral, 

which caused mould to spread over 

them. They were then brought to the State 

Hermitage for restoration, and in 1946 they 

were returned to Oranienbaum. 

On 10 September 2009, the glass bead panels 

were again dismantled and admitted for 

restoration. Once test clearings and a full 

examination were carried out with the help 

of the experts from the Biological Control 

Laboratory and the Expert Examination 

Department of the State Hermitage, plans 

were laid for the necessary restoration procedure 

which was approved by the Restoration 

Commission of the State Hermitage 

and the Committee for State Control, Use 

piece itself had crystallized and was ready to 

fall into pieces. The restoration procedures 

included macrophotography, which made 

it possible to evaluate the state of preservation 

of the objects and decide on the best 

ways of preserving them. 

The main task in preparing the items for the 

exhibition was to conserve them, i.e. preserve 

them in their original state. The lost 

fragments and cracks were primarily filled 

in to make the objects more durable. 

The formula for saturating and pasting the 

finds was specially developed for each individual 

case. The conservation itself depended 

on the state of preservation – with some 

of the objects, the infusions were limited to 

damaged areas, and some needed to be saturated 

in their entirety. 

The preparation of the exhibits included 

a number of restoration procedures such as 

examination, photography, reinforcement, 

and Protection of Monuments of History 

and Culture. 

At the start of the restoration, all the embroidered 

glass bead panels had been severely 

soiled, deformed, with mould and leak stains. 

Glass bead threads had come loose, sagged, 

and torn off in places. Chenille embroidery 

was covered with coarse gouache paint coatings 

all over the surface. There was a dense 

layer of paint forming a rigid cracked crust, 

which almost covered the original velvety 

surface of the embroidery and distorted its 

colour scheme. In some places, the threads 

of the embroidery were badly worn out, the 

velvety chenille fleece had been lost, the 

base of threads thinned, and the threads 

themselves pulled out. In places of severe 

cleaning, pasting together, varnishing of the 

amber finds (replicas of lost fragments were 

used in very few cases). The small beads 

from the Kichmalka II burial were assembled 

in a necklace. 

The amber finds from ancient burial and 

settlement sites are an important archaeological 

source which yields valuable information 

about both the applied art and the 

prosperity of the population who owned 

them, as well as about the contacts between 

different cultures. The preservation of such 

artifacts equals the preservation of information 

which can be used by researchers both 

in the present and the future. 

Detail of the panel with overpainting Detail of the panel after the ovepainting’s removal 

78 79


thinning and thread loss it was possible to 

see the canvas base, also covered by later 

overpainting. On the canvas, there were numerous 

tears and holes made by nails, as well 

as rust stains. The flax lining of each panel 

was also badly soiled and deformed, and infected 

with mould fungi spores. The lining 

canvas shows signs of old repairs: threads for 

fixing glass beads, additional embroidery 

with chenille and woollen threads made at 

different times. 

The restoration lasted for a year and consisted 

of several stages. First, each panel 

was detached from its backing and the old 

threads used for mending the glass bead 

embroidery were removed. In the areas 

where the chenille embroidery pierced the 

canvas lining, the lining was removed without 

affecting the chenille threads and ultimately 

completely detached from the panel. 

The glass beads were temporarily fixed in 

place where there was a danger of them 

coming loose. The next stage was the cleaning 

of the panels. It was necessary to soften 

and remove the coarse paint coating from 

the velvety surface of the embroidery and 

the dense layer of soiling from the whole 

surface of the panels. Once each panel had 

been cleaned, the next step was to back it 

up against a new canvas and to reinforce the 

embroidery. First, all the “weak spots” of the 

embroidery base and the most badly damaged 

panel edges had to be strengthened. 

Then, loose and crumbling glass beads were 

fastened following the embroidery pattern. 

Where the canvas had been badly damaged 

and many glass beads lost, modern beads 

were strung in accordance with the original 

embroidery technique. Chenille threads 

over the whole surface of the embroidery 

were reinforced with silk threads in matching 

colours. 

During the restoration and conservation 

procedures, the thick layer of dirt and mould 

and the later paint were removed from all 

the panels; the glass beads and embroidery 

threads were held fast in place all over the 

surface; the deformities were partially rectified; 

the panels were backed up against an 

entirely new canvas and made ready to be 

mounted on a stretcher. 

The restored glass bead panels are on display 

at a temporary exhibition in the Hermitage. 

They represent the result of cooperation between 

two museums – the State Hermitage 

and the Peterhof State Museum Reserve. 

Panel. After restoration 


reSToraTion of preciouS 

meTalS 

Headed by I. Malkiel 

The hoard of mrS. liKhachyova 

Restored by I. Malkiel 

In May 1978, a precious hoard was found 

at the Voskhod Factory in Leningrad. It was 

later given to the Department of the History 

of Russian Culture at the State Hermitage. 

The items in the hoard, which date back to 

1824–1910, were made by the best craftsmen 

and companies in St. Petersburg and Moscow. 

Before they were stashed away, all the 

objects had been meticulously polished and 

packed. There was a date – March 1917 – 

on one of the newspapers used for wrapping 

them, which provides a terminus ante quem 

date for the hiding of the hoard. 

The restoration of the pieces began in 

March 2008. The work was hampered by 

soil corrosion, since all the objects had been 

wrapped in newspapers and hidden under 

floorboards. Besides, gilded silver tends to 

darken with time because of the porous 

structure of the gilding and the diffusion 

of the silver itself. The copper component 

of silver alloys and solders had oxidized, so 

that the objects, coated in a green oxide 

layer, had fallen apart where they had been 

soldered together. Soil corrosion and other 

hostile factors turned “new metal” into “archaeological 

metal”. Some of the objects 

in the hoard (knives, spatulas etc.) were 

made of a combination of silver, bone, and 

iron, with iron being the most susceptible 

Coffee pot. Before and after restoration 

Items from Mrs. Likhachyova’s hoard. Before restoration 

Items from Mrs. Likhachyova’s hoard. After restoration 

to changes in outside conditions. After the 

hoard had been extracted, the condition 

of the iron objects deteriorated rapidly: the 

changed humidity and the access of oxygen 

to the dilapidated metal caused a rapid attack 

of corrosion. In order to preserve the 

iron details of the knives, spatulas and pins, 

it was necessary to cover them with a special 

anti-corrosive solution. Nearly all the 

iron objects were oxidized and covered with 

a corroded crust, while iron pins fell apart. 

Laser cleaning of works of art has now become 

a familiar technique; it is successfully 

used by restorers all over the world, 

who have by now accumulated considerable 

experience of using laser technology 

for cleaning metal objects. While the laser 

cleaning of metals is still in its early stages, 

laser welding has long been a key technique 

used by restorers in many of the world’s museums. 

State-of-the-art laser technologies 

make it possible to restore unique metal artefacts. 

The Hermitage was the first museum 

in Russia to use the latest generation of laser 

welding tools in its restoration practice, in 

compliance with all the requirements of museum 

work. 

This work was interesting not only as a treatment 

of a whole set of precious objects with 

a high artistic, historical and social value, 

but also as a major restoration project. After 

the end of the procedures, which took 

two and a half years, all the objects were displayed 

to the public. 

80 81



of furniTure 

Headed by V. Gradov 

longcaSe clocK 

and chinoiSerie caSe 

Case: England, c. 1700 

Dial and clockwork: London, William Post 

of London Bridge, 1750s 

Restored by V. Kashcheyev 

The Laboratory has accumulated considerable 

experience of restoring objects made 

in the “chinoiserie” technique, imitating the 

Chinese red and black lacquer. Such objects 

include the longcase clock restored in 2010. 

The case of the clock was made of English 

oak at the end of the 17th century. The case 

and its decoration have since been repeatedly 

altered and renovated. 

The examination of the item revealed that 

the clock had originally had a dark-green 

background, which was changed to red, 

probably in the 18th century. The existing 

clockwork and dial were probably added at 

the same time, around the 1750s. 

By the time it was brought to the Laboratory, 

the case of the clock was dilapidated. 

The structure was loose, and the glue in 

the mortise and tenon joints had disintegrated. 

The drying of the wood had caused 

the priming under the lacquer painting to 

come loose and flake. There were many late 

and imprecise overpaintings over the whole 

surface. The shell gold, which was the key 

component of the original painting, was 

lost in places, as was the black glue colour 

(bone black). 

Restorer V. Kashcheyev 

According to the restoration task, the loose 

priming was pasted to the painting again, 

so that the case could be dismantled inasmuch 

as that was possible. V. Kashcheyev 

developed a new method of filling in the 

lost areas of the old priming, which made 

it possible to avoid the levelling finish 

when removing the excess new priming. 

The method follows the key principle of 

conservation – the new priming is removable 

and maximizes the preservation of 

the original priming and lacquer painting. 

The remnants of old glue were removed 

from all the components of the case, and 

the mortise and tenon joints were restored. 

Flaking areas and cracks on the panels, 

boards and profiles were patched with new 

wood close to the original in its physical and 

technical characteristics. The case was reassembled 

using new glue, and late imprecise 

overpaintings were removed. The lost areas 

of shell gold were filled in with imitation 

materials, which can be removed again 

without having any effect on the original 

painting. The remaining layer of lacquer 

was an alcohol-based combination of shellac 

and sandarac resin, so the final stage was 

a shellac varnish finishing. 

The clockwork produced by William Post of 

London Bridge was restored and installed 

at the Laboratory for Scientific Restoration 

of Timepieces and Musical Mechanisms by 

O. Zinatullin. 

Longcase clock. After restoration 

laBoraTory for 

ScienTific reSToraTion 

of chandelierS 

Headed by P. Khrebtukov 

lighTing uniTS of The Jordan 

STaircaSe 

The current lighting units on the Jordan 

Staircase were installed when the old spelter 

lamps in the state rooms of the Winter Palace 

were replaced with gilded bronze ones. 

The work started in 1899 under the supervision 

of Leonty Benois, Chief Architect of the 

Imperial court. The artist N. Emme was invited 

to work on detailed designs for chandeliers 

and bracket lamps. All the plaster models 

were made in the workshop of P. Kozlov, 

one of the best modellers in St. Petersburg, 

whose signature can be seen on each of the 

chandeliers. The Adolph Moran factory was 

chosen to make the units themselves. All the 

replacement work was completed by 1903. 

The latest restoration of the bronze items 

from the Jordan Staircase was undertaken 

over thirty years ago, while the bracket 

lamps of the upper tier were last restored in 

the 1950s. Over this time, the electric wiring 

had become faulty, and the bronze had 

become darkened and stained. 

After it was decided to start a complex restoration 

of the Jordan Staircase, the lighting 

units (22 wall brackets and 5 rocaille 

chandeliers) were dismantled and moved 

to the Laboratory for Scientific Restoration 

of Chandeliers. 

The lighting units of the Jordan Staircase 

were in a satisfactory state of preservation. 

But the gilding had partly worn out and was 

stained with rust. The metal was partially 

stained and corroded, with craquelure and 

cracks. Some fixtures had been lost or deformed, 

and some tulip-shaped crystal decorations 

had been lost. The electric wiring 

was faulty. 

In order to minimize the weight of the units 

(each bracket lamp weighs 100 kg, and 

each chandelier weighs 300 kg), as many 

elements as possible were dismantled before 

the units could be removed from the 

suspension hooks. After these components 

had been dismantled, the chandeliers were 

taken down from the hooks and lowered 

by means of a polyspast pulley block with 

the lifting capacity of 200 kg. This work 

required the erection of scaffolding and 

electric hoists. The Laboratory made a new 

pulley block with the lifting capacity of over 

300 kg, which was used to lift and attach 

the fully mounted chandeliers after the restoration. 

The restoration largely consisted in washing 

and cleaning the lighting units. The removal 

of dust and oil deposits, corrosion traces, 

Start of the work. December 2009 

Stains of many years 

Mounting the wiring 

82 83

estoratIon anD conserVatIon 

Mounting the horns 

old varnish and paint, especially from the 

upper-tier bracket lamps, was very timeconsuming 

because of the great weight and 

size of the pieces. But despite their durability, 

one of the chandeliers was found to have 

damaged horns. 

After the restoration the horns became solid 

and regained their original look. 

Any restoration of electric lighting units entails 

the replacement of the wiring. At the 

turn of the 20th century, brass sockets with 

ceramic inserts were used – these could no 

longer be obtained. Cermet sockets identical 

in shape to the old brass ones were used 

instead. The use of bronze-coloured insulated 

wiring made it possible to avoid painting 

the wires with “bronze” varnish. 

The mounting and assembly work was undertaken 

when the interior restoration was 

complete. The last chandelier was mounted 

and re-hung at the end of November 2010. 

The riggers provided priceless assistance 

to the restorers in dismantling, moving and 

re-assembling the brackets and chandeliers 

of the Jordan Staircase. 

The hermiTage reSToraTion School programme 

Coordinated by the restorer M. Michri 

The 2010 programme included an in-depth 

seminar on Field Conservation: Theory and 

Practice, held in the restoration workshops 

of the Sverdlovsk Local History Museum 

and presented by the top grade restorer 

S. Burshneva (Laboratory for Scientific Restoration 

of Applied Art Objects, Archaeological 

Metal Sector). The training course 

was attended by restorers and experts who 

take part in archaeological field trips in the 

Ural Region. 

Theoretical lectures were held on the following 

topics: Aims of Field Conservation, 

Materials and Requirements for Field 

Conservation, Factors Contributing to the 

Disintegration and Preservation of Finds, 

Recommendations on Field Conservation 

for Different Material Groups (Glass, Stone, 

Ceramics, Wood, Leather, Bone), Methods 

of Removing the Finds from the Soil, Restoration 

in Camp, and Packing the Objects for 

Transporting. The lectures were accompanied 

by photo presentations. The course included 

practical classes on solution-making 

and practising the methods of field conservation 

of archaeological finds with the use 

of models. 

Practical classes. Taught by S. Burshneva 

The course was extremely important for 

training experts for work in field conditions 

(both restorers and field archaeologists). 

The correct removal, fixation and 

transporting of archaeological finds to the 

restoration workshops ensures the preservation 

of the objects and yields the most information 

in order to make them useful for 

research. 

The Hermitage Laboratory for Scientific 

Restoration of Graphic Works held a special 

training programme on Restoration of Rare 

Books and Library and Archival Materials 

as part of the Hermitage Restoration School 

Programme. 

The plans for the years 2011–2015 include 

more training sessions on the most in-demand 

topics for the restorers of the Sverdlovsk 

Local History Museum and other 

museums of the Urals and Siberia, as well as 

teaching master classes for experts who have 

already undergone training within the Hermitage 

Restoration School Programme. 

Two training sessions are planned for 2011: 

one on the restoration of graphic works 

(Second World War Posters) and one on the 

restoration of leather. 

puBlicaTionS 

J puBlicaTionS of 2010 

collecTion caTalogueS 

Persian Manuscripts, Paintings and 

Drawings of the 15th to Early 20th Centuries. 

Catalogue of the Collection. By Adel Adamova. 

The State Hermitage. St. Petersburg: The State 

Hermitage Publishers, 2010. – 512 pp., ills. 

For the first time, the catalogue presents the 

entire collection (over 400 works) of Persian illustrated 

and illuminated manuscripts, miniatures 

and drawings on separate leaves, painted 

lacquers and paintings in oil on canvas, preserved 

in the State Hermitage Museum. Most 

of the works in the catalogue are published for 

the first time. The book opens with a history of 

Persian painting and drawing in Iran from the 

14th to early 20th centuries. The major part of 

the catalogue is 296 descriptions (184 playing 

cards are described in one and the same catalogue 

entry), which contains complete information 

about the works, interpretation of the 

plots, attribution and dating. 

Tibetan Painting (Tangka) from the Collection 

of Yuri Roerich (Stored in the State Hermitage 

Museum). By Yulia Yelikhina. St. Petersburg: 

GAMAS, 2010. – 128 pp., ills. 

Yuri Roerich (1902–1960) was an outstanding 

orientalist and collector of Oriental art. His 

collection was divided into several portions, 

one of which is represented in the catalogue. 

Tibetan paintings (tangka), distemper paints 

on cloth scrolls, datable between the 17th and 

early 20th centuries, are outstanding specimens 

of Tibetan Buddhist art. The catalogue 

includes 44 works. 

Museo Statale Ermitage. La pintura Italiana 

del Seicento. Catalogo della Collezione. 

Ermitage • Italia. Milanо: Skira, 2010. – 

270 pp., ills. 

The catalogue of the Hermitage collection of 

seventeenth-century Italian art discusses the 

acquisition of works by famous Italian artists 

active in the 17th century and analyzes their 

artistic qualities. 

caTalogueS of Temporary 

exhiBiTionS 

“The Wind in the Pines…” 5,000 Years 

of Korean Art. From the National Museum 

of Korea. Exhibition Catalogue. The State 

Hermitage. St. Petersburg: The State Hermitage 

Publishers, 2010. – 304 pp., ills. 

The catalogue, addressed to those interested 

in Far Eastern art, demonstrates the works 

of the National Museum of Korea shown for 

the first time in Russia. It is a panorama of 

the history of Korean art, from the Neolith to 

the present day, exemplified by outstanding 

works in different techniques and materials, 

some of which having the status of national 

treasure. 

A Romantic View. Dutch and Belgian Paintings 

of the 19th Century from the Rademakers 

Collection. Exhibition Catalogue. The State 



On the basis of works, different in genre and 

style, the catalogue of nineteenth-century Belgian 

and Dutch paintings demonstrates specificities 

of the art of the two countries. 

The Hoard of Mrs. Likhachyova. Exhibition 

Catalogue. The State Hermitage. St. Petersburg: 

The State Hermitage Publishers, 2010. – 


The catalogue shows the hoard discovered in 

1978, which is a complex of objects of applied 

arts created in the 19th and early 20th centuries 

by leading silversmiths of St. Petersburg 

and Moscow, as well as some Western European 

masters. The silver of the well-to-do family 

of St. Petersburg industrialists shows the main 

trends in the art of the time, giving an idea 

of the tastes of the metropolitan bourgeoisie. 

The catalogue gives some unique details concerning 

the Hermitage restorers’ work on the 

objects of precious metals and organic materials, 

which make up the hoard. 

“Since Tobacco You Love So Much”. 

Exhibition Catalogue. The State Hermitage. 

St. Petersburg: The State Hermitage Publishers, 

2010. – 184 pp., ills. 

The volume includes objects of applied arts, 

different in shape and decor, used by Europeans 

in the 17th – 20th centuries, which have 

become part of the life of many generations 

and of the many-centuries tobacco culture of 

Europe, e.g. snuffboxes, also used as valuable 

gifts, graters for tobacco leaves, pipes, and various 

tobacco containers, such as tobacco boxes 

and pouches, cigarette cases, etc. 

84 85

publIcatIons publIcatIons 

Nostalgia for the Roots. Dashi Namdakov’s 

Universe of the Nomads. Exhibition Catalogue. 

The State Hermitage. St. Petersburg: Chisty 

List, 2010. – 216 pp., ills. 

The catalogue of Dashi Namdakov’s exhibition 

in the State Hermitage Museum is part 

of a larger exhibition project, in which works 

by modern Russian artists reside by and communicate 

with ancient objects, making nostalgia 

a continuation of traditions. In Namdakov’s 

compositions mythological imagery 

and historical reality combine, bringing to the 

surface deeper associations of the two with the 

militant and austere world of nomads, which, 

at the same time, are wonderfully harmonious. 

His art brings to us the echoes of the past, 

in a new form and from an unexpected point 

of view. 

From Gothic to Mannerism. Early Netherlandish 

Drawing in the State Hermitage Museum. 

Exhibition Catalogue. By Alexei Larionov. 



The catalogue of the temporary exhibition of 

early Netherlandish drawings includes some 

of the works from a richest Hermitage collection, 

some of which had never been exhibited 

before. A considerable number of drawings 

have been re-attributed, some of these having 

acquired an attribution (to an author 

or school) for the first time. Each of the drawings 

published is accompanied by an extensive 

author’s comments. 

The Sails of Hellas. Seafaring in the Ancient 

World. Exhibition Catalogue. The State 



The volume includes objects of applied and 

visual arts, as well as weapons and coins of ancient 

Greece and Rome. The catalogue, showing 

a pantheon of sea gods, allows one to trace 

the history of navigation and shipbuilding in 

Classical Antiquity. The catalogue contains 

over 200 works of art and objects of material 

culture. 

Picasso. From the Collection of the Picasso 

Museum – Paris. Exhibition Catalogue. 

The State Hermitage. Paris: Skira Flammarion – 


2010. – 320 pp., ills. 

The catalogue of the exhibition from the Picasso 

Museum in Paris demonstrates the evolution 

of Picasso’s technique, from the earliest 

works to the mature period. 

A Glass Fantasy. Ancient Glass from 

the Hermitage Collection. Exhibition Catalogue. 



The Hermitage collection is one of the richest 

in the world, in terms of the number and 

variety of glasswares created in the Eastern 

Mediterranean and Europe in Classical Antiquity. 

The decorations and everyday-life objects 

in different techniques, covering a period 

of almost a thousand years (from the late 

5th century B.C. to the 4th century A.D.), 

were acquired at different times from various 

collections and from the Greek colonies in the 

Northern Black Sea Area. Both the catalogue 

and the exhibition are dedicated to the memory 

of the Hermitage curator and archaeologist 

Nina Kunina (1929–2007), an outstanding 

expert in Classical Antiquity glassmaking, 

who had put forward the idea of the present 

exhibition. 

Titian. Madonna and Child with St. Catherine 

(Madonna with a Rabbit). From the Collection 

of the Louvre. By Irina Artemyeva. The State 


Publishers, 2010. – 16 pp. (“Masterpieces 

from the World’s Museums in the Hermitage” 

series). 

The masterpiece by Titian was brought to the 

Hermitage from the Louvre. In a captivating 

form, the book tells about the history of the 

painting and the School of Venice, to which 

the great master belonged. 

Swiss Stained Glass from the 16th to 

18th Centuries in the Hermitage Collection. 

Exhibition Catalogue. By Yelena Shlikevich. 



Swiss stained glass from the 16th to 18th centuries 

is a truly unique phenomenon in the 

art of the small country located in the very 

centre of Europe. Even the contemporaries 

found the so-called “cabinet stained glasses” 

mass-produced during the period in question 

truly surprising from the point of view of both 

the style and scale of production. In addition 

to Biblical subjects, the stained glasses reflect 

various aspects of the life of the country at different 

periods, which makes them a valuable 

historical source. The catalogue shows the history 

of the Hermitage collection and the principal 

characteristics and subject diversity of the 

compositions. 

Porcelain and Roses. Exhibition Catalogue. 

The State Hermitage. St. Petersburg. The State 


(“Christmas Gift” series) 

The catalogue contains productions of the Imperial 

Porcelain Factory, created from the mid- 

18th century to the present time. The works 

represented show one of the most important 

elements of the flower motif, the decorated or 

moulded rose, in all of its diversity, used in porcelain. 

The catalogue contains new information 

about the artists of the Porcelain Factory 

at the Imperial period. It includes works from 

the collection of the State Hermitage, as well 

as those by today’s artists of the Imperial Porcelain 

Factory, Ltd. 

Flemings through the Eyes of David Teniers 

the Younger (1610–1690). Exhibition 

Catalogue. By Natalia Babina. The State 

Hermitage. St. Petersburg. The State Hermitage 


The catalogue, published on the occasion 

of 400 years of the outstanding Flemish artist, 

includes 33 paintings, mostly genre ones, 

belonging to the peak of his artistic career 

(1640s – 1650s), preserved at the State Hermitage. 

Many of these are true masterpieces 

demonstrating the various aspects of Teniers’ 

art and the specificities of his style. 

Centre Pompidou in the State Hermitage 

Museum. Exhibition Catalogue. The State 



The catalogue was prepared within the Centre 

Pompidou in the State Hermitage Museum exhibition 

and festival. In Russia, it was the first largescale 

show of masterpieces of painting, sculpture 

and video art from the renowned Musée 

National d’Art Moderne, Paris, which belongs 

to the Centre Pompidou, as well as the demonstration 

of other artistic forms by modern 

French artists. The catalogue includes articles 

by leading experts in modern French art. 

The Hermitage in Photographs. Exhibition 

Catalogue. The State Hermitage. St. Petersburg: 



86 87


The hermiTage 

loanS To oTher muSeumS 

Catherine the Great. Exhibition Catalogue. 

St. Petersburg: Slavia, 2010. 

Catalogue of the exhibition devoted to the time 

and personality of Catherine the Great, held 

in the Hermitage • Vyborg Exhibition Centre, 

from 16 June 2010 to 7 February 2011. 

The Embroiderer’s Art. Western European 

Embroidery for Costume and Interior 

Decoration of the 16th to the Early 

20th Centuries. Exhibition Catalogue. 

By Tatiana Kosourova. St. Petersburg: Slavia, 

2010. 

Catalogue of the exhibition devoted to Western 

European embroidery from the 16th to 

the early 20th centuries held at the Museum 

of History and Arts of the Kaliningrad Region 

from 23 March to 29 August 2010. 

French Art of the 17th and 18th Centuries 

from the Hermitage. Exhibition Catalogue. 


The catalogue of the exhibition held at the 

Hermitage • Kazan Centre, The Kazan Kremlin 

State Historical-Architectural and Artistic 

Museum Reserve (14 April 2010 – 16 January 

2011) includes paintings, sculptures and works 

of applied arts from the period of thriving of 

French art. 

Spanish Art in the Hermitage. Exhibition 

Catalogue. St. Petersburg: Slavia, 2010. 

The catalogue of the exhibition held in the 

Radishchev Museum of Fine Arts in Saratov 

(29 June – 21 November 2010) includes works 

by Spanish painters from the collection of the 

State Hermitage. 

Images of Italy. Western European 

Painting of the 17th – 19th Centuries 

from the Hermitage. Exhibition Catalogue. 



Vladimir-Suzdal Museum Reserve (5 February 

– 11 April 2010) includes views of Italian 

cities and landscapes by European painters of 

the 17th – 19th centuries. 

Russian Silver of the 18th to Early 

20th Centuries from the Hermitage. Exhibition 

Catalogue. St. Petersburg: Slavia, 2010. 


Ivan Shemanovsky Museum Exhibition Complex 

of the Yamalo-Nenetsk Region (3 Decem- 

ber 2010 – 31 January 2011) includes works by 

Russian and Western European masters active 

in Moscow and St. Petersburg in the 18th – 

20th centuries. 

The Stroganovs – Collectors of Antiquities. 

Treasures of the Hermitage in the Perm 

Regional Museum. Perm: The Perm Regional 

Museum, 2010. 

The booklet devoted to the exhibition held 

at the Perm Regional Museum (16 November 

2010 – 13 March 2011) is concerned with the 

antiquities acquired by the Hermitage from 

the collections of the Stroganovs. 

Amber in Ancient Cultures. Masterpieces 

from the Hermitage Museum Collection. 

Exhibition Catalogue. St. Petersburg: Slavia, 

2010. 


Amber Museum in the Kaliningrad Region 

(14 September – 12 December 2010) includes 

amber objects discovered by excavations. 

Au service des Tsars. La garde imperial russe 

de Pierre le Grand à la révolution d`Octobre. 

Musée de l`Armée. Paris: Somogy édition d’art, 

2010. 

The catalogue of the exhibition In the Service 

of the Tsars. The Russian Imperial Guard from Peter 

the Great to the October Revolution held at the 

Museum of the Army, Paris (8 October 2010 – 

23 January 2011), devoted to the Russian Imperial 

Guard playing a most significant role in 

the history of Russian state. 

Matisse to Malevich. Pioneers of Modern 

Art from the Hermitage. Amsterdam: 

Stichting Publieksfasiliteiten De Nieuwe Kerk 

en Hermitage • Amsterdam, 2010. 

The catalogue of the exhibition Matisse to 

Malevich. Pioneers of Modern Art from the Hermitage 

held at Hermitage • Amsterdam Centre 

(6 April – 17 September 2010) includes early 

twentieth-century French paintings from the 

collection of the State Hermitage. 

Staging Power. Napoleon–Charles John– 

Alexander. Stockholm, 2010. 

The catalogue of the Staging Power. Napoleon– 

Charles John–Alexander exhibition held at the 

National Museum of Fine Arts, Stockholm 

(29 September 2010 – 23 January 2011) includes 

personal belongings, portraits, sculptures, 

uniforms, weapons, watches, decora- 

tions, medals and furniture reflecting power 

and glory and connected with the three main 

characters of the exhibition. 

Star of the North. Catherine the Great 

and the Golden Age of the Russian 

Empire. Shanghai: Shanghai Museum 

(Chinese edition), 2010. 

Catalogue of the exhibition Star of the North. 

Catherine the Great and the Golden Age of the Russian 

Empire, devoted to Catherine the Great, 

held at the Shanghai Museum (25 August – 

12 December 2010). 

The Immortal Alexander the Great. The Myth. 

The Reality. His Journey. His Legacy. 

Amsterdam: Stichting Publieksfasiliteiten 

De Nieuwe Kerk en Hermitage • Amsterdam, 

2010. 

Catalogue of the Immortal Alexander the Great. 

The Myth. The Reality. His Journey. His Legacy exhibition 

held at the Hermitage • Amsterdam 

Centre (18 September 2010 – 16 March 2011), 

devoted to the Alexander the Great myth and 

his Oriental campaign and its consequences 

for the East and the West. 

reporTS 

of The STaTe hermiTage muSeum 

Reports of the State Hermitage Museum. 

Vol. LXVIII. The State Hermitage. 


2010. – 152 pp., ills 

The Reports is an annual edition presenting the 

results of the museum’s recent research, restoration, 

preservation and exhibition activities. 

The articles are primarily concerned with the 

Hermitage collections and individual works 

of art. Their authors introduce art pieces unknown 

to the wide public and, using the latest 

scientific and scholarly achievements, specify 

and make more accurate attributions, datings 

and interpretations of the works already published. 

Other sections of the book deal with 

most important recent acquisitions of the museum, 

its newly-opened and reorganized permanent 

exhibitions as well as new studies in 

the Hermitage`s history. The “In Memoriam” 

section covers careers of outstanding members 

of the Hermitage staff. Published in Russian 

and English. 

88 89


TranSacTionS 

of The STaTe hermiTage muSeum 

Transactions of the State Hermitage 

Museum. XLIX. The Origins of Russian 

Statehood in the Context of the Early Mediaeval 

History of the Old World. Proceedings of 

the International Conference Held at the State 

Hermitage Museum. 14 to 18 May, 2007. 



The volume, containing papers of a conference 

under the same title, is devoted to the 

key problem in the history of the Russian Empire, 

viz. the origin of Russian statehood and 

the formation of the ethnos. To this end, the 

Slavic ethnic basis has been discussed, as well 

as the role in the process of Scandinavians 

and the contacts with Byzantium, the Frankish 

Empire, Khazar Kaganate, Volga Bulgaria and 

Arab Caliphate. The various points of view on 

the problems in question, in combination, give 

a more precise idea of the initial period of the 

history of Rus’/Russia. 


Museum. L. Museums of the World in 

the 21st Century. Restoration, Reconstruction, 

Renovation. Proceeding of the International 

Conference 20–22 October 2008. 

Ed. by A. Trofimova. The State Hermitage. 


2010. – 190 pp., ills. 

The papers of the conference that took place 

in the State Hermitage Museum are devoted 

to one of the most important themes of museology 

in the late 20th – early 21st centuries, 

i.e. reconstruction of museum space, museum 

expanding, restoration and re-exposition. The 

participants of the conference were representatives 

of such major museums as the Metropolitan, 

Villa Ghetty, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, 

Museum of the History of Arts (Vienna), 

Glyptotheke (Munich), Museum of Modern 

Art (New York), New Museum of the Acropolis 

(Athens), Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam), Museum 

of Arts (Philadelphia), Museums of the 

Moscow Kremlin, Pushkin State Museum of 

Fine Arts (Moscow), State Historical Museum 

(Moscow) and State Russian Museum (St. Petersburg). 

Each museum was represented by a 

group of experts who presented new projects, 

concepts and programmes. The State Hermitage 

presented the project of the restoration of 

the General Staff building, the Hermitage-2014 

master plan (with the Rem Koolhaas Studio) 

and re-exposition programme of Classical Antiquity 

rooms. 


Museum. LI. Byzantium within the Context 

of World Culture. Proceedings of the 

Conference Dedicated to the Memory of Alisa 

Vladimirovna Bank (1906–1984). The State 



The volume prepared by the Oriental Department 

of the Hermitage is based on the materials 

of the mediaevalist conference held at the 

Hermitage in 2008. It includes six sections: 

Byzantine Painting, Applied Arts, Numismatics, 

Sphragistics, Palaeography, Byzantine Archaeology, 

Byzantium and Adjacent Countries and 

Problems of the History of Byzantine Culture. 


Museum. LII. Personalities from Peter 

the Great`s Time – 2010. To Mark the 

300th Anniversary of Menshikov Palace 

(1710–2010). Conference Proceedings. 



The materials of the annual conference are 

devoted to various aspects of the history of Peter 

the Great’s time and the biographies of the 

contemporaries of the Tsar’s reforms, in particular, 

of his outstanding associate Alexander 

Menshikov; several papers deal with the latter’s 

palace and the museum displays located in it. 

The articles are based on the study of works 

of art and archival materials, some of them referred 

to for the first time. 


Museum. LIII. Architecture of Byzantium and 

Kievan Rus from the 9th to the 12th Centuries. 

Materials of the International Seminar. 

November 17–21, 2009. The State Hermitage. 


2010. – 498 pp., ills. 

Materials of the seminar devoted to the Middle 

Byzantine monumental architecture in the Byzantine 

world. 


Museum. LIV. Boristhenos–Berezan. 

Archaeological Collection of the State 

Hermitage. Vol. 2. Ed. by Sergei Solovyov. 



The edition continues publication of the materials 

of the Berezan archaeological collection 

of the State Hermitage. In the present 

volume, leading experts in Classical Antiquity 

describe and analyze the production of pottery 

workshops of Corinth, Athens and Klasomenos 

brought to Berezan in the 4th – 3rd centuries 

B.C. 

monographS 

Androsov, Sergei. Sculptors and Russian 

Collectors in Rome in the Second Half 

of the 18th Century. St. Petersburg: Dmitry 

Bulanin, 2010. – 258 pp., ills. 

The monograph is concerned with the connection 

between the thriving of Neoclassical 

sculpture in Rome in the second half of the 

18th century and that of Russian collecting, 

when travellers and art lovers visited Rome, 

attracted by the art of Classical Antiquity. 

The problem has never been dealt with systematically. 

Korshunova, Militsa. Collection of Russian 

Architectural Drawings in the Trinity College. 

Dublin. St. Petersburg: Alpharet, 2010. 

The monograph presents descriptions, in Russian 

and English, of Russian architectural drawings 

of the late 1740s, discovered by Edward 

McParland in the library of the Trinity College, 

Dublin. The majority of these are record drawings, 

but some are original authentic ones, e.g. 

the plan of the St. Alexander Nevsky Monastery 

by Theodor Schwertfeger. 

Kosolapov, Alexander. Scientific Methods 

in the Examination of Works of Art. The State 



The textbook is based on a lecture course at 

the Department of Museology and Protection 

of Cultural Heritage, Faculty of Philosophy, 

St. Petersburg State University. Problems of 

stylistic or artistic and historical examination 

are not dealt with specifically in the course. 

The textbook includes descriptions of the major 

scientific examination methods used in the 

laboratories of the museums of Russia, Western 

Europe and North America. 

Matveyev, Vladimir. Mechanical Arts and 

the Imperial Academy of Arts. Dedicated 

to 250 Years of the Russian Academy of Arts 

and the State Hermitage. Moscow: The Ruda 

i Metally Publishers, 2010. – 280 pp., ills. 

The book is devoted to one of some lesser 

known aspects in the history of the Imperial 

Academy of Arts, connected with the eighteenth-century 

classes of “mathematic instruments 

and watchmaking”. 

90 91


Khmelnitskaya, Yekaterina. Serafim Sudbinin. 

At the Turn of Epochs: from Art Nouveau 

to Art Deco. St. Petersburg: Chisty List, 

2010. – 164 pp., ills. 

The book is devoted to the actor, painter and 

sculptor Serafim Sudbinin and porcelain productions 

after sketches by him. 

Yarovaya, Yelena. The Heraldry of the Genoese 

Crimea. The State Hermitage. St. Petersburg: 



Comparison of the coats-of-arms on the tombstones 

of the Genoese nobility of the 14th and 

15th centuries and the depictions of these 

in armorials demonstrates the use of heraldry 

practices in the Genoese colonies in the 

Crimea. 

Julia Kagan. Gem Engraving in Britain from 

Antiquity to the Present. With a Catalogue 

of British Engraved Gems in the State 

Hermitage Museum. The Beazley Archive and 

Archaeopress. Oxford, 2010. – 496 pp., ills. 

For the first time, the author describes changes 

in the use of gems, methods of their reproduction, 

the nature of patronage and collecting in 

England, history of museum collections and 

the role of Britain in the study of it. The book 

includes A Catalogue of British Engraved Gems 

and an appendix (also on CD) with An Alphabetical 

Chronological Table of British Gem Carvers 

and Imitators made with the American glyptologist 

Helen Serras-Herman. 

The cuRaToR SerieS 

Nikulin, Nikolai. War Memories. The State 

Hermitage. 3rd ed. St. Petersburg: The State 


(“Curator” series) 

For over thirty years, the author had kept the 

manuscript of the book in the drawer of his 

desk, without any hope to have it published. 

He had barely finished high school, when he 

found himself in the most bloodshed sections 

of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts, finishing 

the war in Berlin. It was a miracle that he survived. 

The book is an attempt to rid himself 

of the burden of the memories of that war. 

In it, the reader will not find optimistically 

patriotic battle scenes typical of literary garbage. 

The story Nikulin tells is the truth of the 

trenches. 

pedagogical and 

educaTional ediTiTionS 

Krollau, Natalia. French Painting of the 19th – 

Early 20th Centuries. The State Hermitage. 


2010. – 136 pp., ills. (“Your Hermitage” series) 

This is a story of the evolution of French painting, 

based on works from the collection of the 

State Hermitage Museum. The book tells about 

the radical changes in the pictorial idiom, connected 

with the appearance of Impressionism 

and subsequent trends, such as Post-Impressionism, 

Fauvism, Cubism and Purism. 

The Crouching Boy by Michelangelo. By Sergei 

Androsov. The State Hermitage. St. Petersburg: 


20 pp., ills. (“Masterpieces of the Hermitage” 

series) 

The sculpture, known traditionally as the 

Crouching Boy, by the Italian Renaissance sculptor, 

painter and architect Michelangelo Buonarroti 

(1475–1564), came to Russia in 1785 

as part of John Lyde-Brown’s collection. The 

highest quality of execution confirms that the 

unfinished sculpture belongs to Michelangelo. 

As was formerly believed, it had been created 

c. 1524, during his work in the Capella Medici 

in Florence. It is more plausible, however, that, 

although conceived about 1523–1524, the 

sculpture was made somewhat later, c. 1530– 

1534, probably in connection with the sculptor’s 

other plan that never materialized. 

arT BooKS 

Masterpieces of Western European Jewellery 

from the 16th to 19th Centuries from the 

Hermitage Collection. By Olga Kostyuk. 



In 2010, the Hermitage started a new publishing 

project, art books. The first in the series 

was the book devoted to the renowned collection 

of Western European and Russian jewellery 

of the 16th – 19th centuries. It includes 

but 100 objects of the collection of many thousand 

works of precious metals and gems. The 

core of the collection was the Imperial Gallery 

of Precious Objects, which had productions of 

the best European jewellers. Some were commissioned 

by members of the Imperial family, 

others received as diplomatic gifts. The Gallery 

acquired not only the most expensive works, 

but also the rarest and artistically valuable 

ones. Therefore nowadays, the Hermitage jewellery 

collection is characterized by exquisite 

works of art, rather than just the abundance 

of gold, precious stones and platinum. 

reSearch and 

meThodological puBlicaTionS 

Children’s Art Classes as a Factor 

in Personality Formation and Creative 

Development. Proceedings of the International 

Conference. 17–18 January 2008. The State 



The volume includes the materials of the conference 

devoted to 50 years of the Art Studio 

of the School Centre held at the School Centre 

Methodology Sector of the State Hermitage 

Museum. The conference papers were devoted 

to theoretical and practical aspects of the impact 

of art classes on the formation of a creative 

personality. 

The Museum and Problems of “Cultural 

Tourism”. Materials of the 8th Round Table. 

8–9 April 2010. St. Petersburg: The State 


The materials of the annual Round Table devoted 

to the exchange of experiences between 

museums. 

The First Decade of the 21st Century: New 

Language of Art?! Materials of the Russo-British 

Round Table with the Newspeak: Today’s British 

Art programme. 25 October 2009. Ed. by 

S. Kudryavtseva and Ye. Lopatkina. The State 

Hermitage; Pro Arte. St. Petersburg: The State 


Modern art became the centre of interests in 

the Hermitage policy in 2007, when the Hermitage 

20/21 project was officially adopted. In accordance 

with the main goals of the project 

(the expanding of the twentieth-century art 

exposition and the organization of exhibition 

and other activities connected with modern 

art), several exhibition programmes became 

materialized in the Hermitage. The Russo-British 

Seminar – Round Table, with the participation 

of well-known art critics, curators and 

artists from Russia and elsewhere, was held in 

connection with the Newspeak: Today’s British 

Art exhibition. 

The Art of Jewellery and Material Culture. 

Eighteenth colloquium: 19–23 April 2010. 

Abstracts of papers. The State Hermitage. 


2010. – 188 pp. 

The Art of Jewellery and Material Culture colloquium 

has been held in the Hermitage since 

1996. The abstracts published are by experts 

in various spheres, viz. archaeologists, gemmologists, 

historians, art scholars, anthropologists, 

specialists in archival science, designers, 

artists and jewellers. In combination, 

they give an overall picture of the origin and 

development of jewellery, as well as the state 

of the art. 

92 93

publIcatIons 

reporTS of 

archaological expediTionS 

Archaeological Papers. Issue 38. Studies 

in Archaeology of Eurasia. Dedicated to 

the Memory of Yaroslav Domansky. The State 

Hermitage. St. Petersburg. The State Hermitage 


The present issue of the Reports is dedicated 

to the memory of the renowned archaeologist 

Yaroslav Domansky of the State Hermitage. 

It includes papers by his colleagues and 

friends, experts in the archaeology of Classical 

Antiquity and the Stone and Bronze Age of the 

Urals and Siberia, the early Iron Age of the 

North-East of Russia, and mediaeval Eastern 

Europe. 

Report on Archaeological Excavations 

of Mediaeval Chembalo Fortress (Balaklava) 

in 2008–2009. Materials of the South Crimean 

Expedition. VIII. Ed. by S. Adaksina, V. Myts 

and S. Ushakov. The State Hermitage Museum; 

Institute of Archaeology, Ukrainian National 

Academy of Sciences (Crimean Branch); 

The Chersonesos Taurica National Reserve. 

St. Petersburg and Simferopol, 2010. – 


Expedition Field Report for 2008–2009. Materials 

of the Penjikent Archaeological Expedition. 

XII. Ed. by P. Lurye, I. Malkie and A. Omelchenko. 

The State Hermitage; A. Danish Institute 

of History, Archaeology and Ethnography 

(Republic of Tajikistan Academy of Sciences); 

Institute for Iranian Studies (Austrian Academy 

of Sciences); Institute for the History of Material 

Culture (Russian Academy of Sciences). 

St. Petersburg, 2010. – 136 pp., ills. 

Display of the State Hermitage Museum 

at the Moscow Book Fair 

94 95

conferenceS 

in memoriam igor dyakonov 

With the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts, 

Russian Academy of Sciences 

12–13 January 

Conference devoted to the problems of ancient 

Mesopotamia and adjacent countries. 

the conference is held on a regular basis, 

with the participation of assyriologists from 

research institutes and universities of st. Petersburg 

and Moscow. 

in memoriam vladimir lukonin 

27 January 

annual meeting devoted to the study of ancient 

and mediaeval East. 

in memoriam Boris piotrovsky 

12 February 

annual meeting devoted to a wide range of 

problems of archaeology and ancient history, 

and new discoveries in various spheres 

of research carried out in the Hermitage 

Museum. 

round Table: cultural layer and 

architectural objects in the cultural 

layer 

17 February 

Round table devoted to archaeological and 

legal aspects of the preservation of cultural 

layer. the meeting was attended by experts 

from various institutions of st. Petersburg, 

Moscow, Pskov, Novgorod and other cities 

of Russia. 

enlarged meeting of the department 

of the archaeology of eastern europe 

and Siberia. dedicated to 80 years 

of irina Zasetskaya’s Birth 

25 February 

the meeting was devoted to the problems 

of scythian and sarmatian archaeology. 

The museum and the problems 

of “cultural Tourism” 

8–9 April 

annual seminar of the Hermitage and other 

museums in Russia and abroad, devoted to 

the exchange of experience in the sphere 

of tourism and cultural programmes. 

Award System: Russia and Scandinavia. International Symposium 

international conference: 

The museum and the state 

15–17 April 

Conference devoted to the current problems 

of the collaboration of the museum 

and governmental institutions 

art of Jewellery and material 

culture 

19–23 April 

annual seminar devoted to the art of jewellers 

of different periods, from ancient times 

to the productions of modern artists. 

25th international colloquium 

of the corpus vitrearum medii aevi 

(cvma): stained glass collections 

and Their history 

5–9 July 

Conference devoted to the history of 

stained glass collections and the problems 

of the museumification and exhibiting of 

stained glass works in modern museum collections. 

meeting of the numismatics 

department, dedicated to 80 years 

of igor dobrovolsky’s Birth 

14 July 

the meeting was devoted to the current 

problems of ancient and mediaeval Oriental 

numismatics. 

international Symposium: award 

systems: Russia and scandinavia 

2–3 September 

the 2nd International symposium devoted 

to the problems of Russian and scandinavian 

phaleristics was attended by renowned 

experts from Russia, sweden and Finland. 

byzantium in the context of the world 

culture. in memoriam alisa Bank 

With the Imperial Orthodox Palestinian 

Society 

5–7 October 

Conference devoted to Byzantine art is held 

on a regular basis. the theme of this meeting 

was “theology and Byzantine art”. 

round Table: This Terrible modern 

art in the universal museum 

6 October 

the round table was devoted to problems 

of modern art in the museum space. 

The central asian city within 

the system of mediaeval oriental 

cities. conference dedicated to 

60 years of grigory Semenov’s Birth 

20–21 October 

the conference was devoted to the problems 

of archaeology and history of town 

planning, fortification and development 

of the Oriental city in the middle of the 

1st – middle of the 2nd millennium B.C. 

in memoriam vladimir levinson-lessing 

27–28 October 

traditional annual conference devoted to 

the problems of the history and attribution 

of museum collections. 

in memoriam ivan Spassky (1904–1990) 

11–12 November 

the conference reflected the entire spectre 

of Ivan spassky’s interests, from Russian 

numismatics, sphragistics, medallurgy and 

heraldry to Oriental and Classical antiquity 

numismatics. the meeting was attended by 

the researchers of the Hermitage and other 

museums and institutions of st. Petersburg, 

Moscow and the Ukraine. 

personalities from peter the great`s 

Time 

16–17 November 

annual conference devoted to the reign 

of Peter the Great. 

early russian architecture of the Time 

of St. vladimir and yaroslav the wise 

With Novgorod State Museum Reserve 

22, 24 November 

seminar devoted to the archaeological 

study of the tithes Church in Kiev and 

the dating of st. sophia’s in Kiev. 

russian lithograph portrait 

from the hermitage collection 

30 November 

the seminar devoted to the study of Russian 

lithograph portrait in the Hermitage 

inTernaTional conference: The museum 

and The sTaTe 

The international conference, devoted to the problems of 

cooperation of museums and governmental institutions, 

continued a series of conferences and meetings of leading 

representatives of the museum community, which have 

been held at the State Hermitage Museum since 2006 with 

the participation of the directors of the world most important 

museums, representatives of municipal and federal 

governmental institutions and ministries of Russia and other 

countries. The talks given covered topics of the primary 

significance, concerning the development of museums in 

today’s economic and legal situation. The issues discussed 

included museum economics, museum activities and their 

financing, preservation of cultural heritage, the role of the 

state and the museum in the reconstruction of museum 

and the problems of restoration of Russian 

lithographs was organized jointly by 

the Department of the History of Russian 

Culture and the Laboratory for scientific 

Restoration of Graphic Works of the Department 

of scientific Restoration and 

Conservation of the state Hermitage. 

It was the fist specialized seminar of restorers 

and curators held in the Hermitage 

in the recent decades. the participants 

visited laboratories of the Department of 

scientific Restoration and Conservation 

of the Hermitage Museum, including the 

Laboratories for scientific Restoration of 

textiles, tempera Painting and Graphic 

Works, where they were shown the equipment 

of the workshops and the restoration 

process in progress. 

90 years of the oriental 

department 

1–2 December 

the conference was devoted to the history 

of the Oriental Department and to Oriental 

studies in the state Hermitage Museum. 

30 years of the heraldic Seminar 


the conference was devoted to the 30th anniversary 

of the Heraldic seminar. 

archaeological Session 


the meeting was devoted to the results 

of the work of archaeological expeditions 

in 2010. 

conferences 

Laboratory of the Department of Scientific 

Restoration and Conservation. The State 

Hermitage Museum 

80 years of the department 

of the archaeology of eastern europe 

and Siberia 

23 December 

the conference was devoted to the history 

of the Department and the main directions 

of the development of archaeology at the 

Hermitage. 

heraldry, as an auxiliary historical 

discipline 

traditional monthly seminar on the problems 

of heraldry. 

premises, collection enhancement, and state legislation 

and museum development. The participants of the conference 

included the Federal Service for Control over the Implementation 

of Law in the Sphere of Protection of Cultural 

Heritage, the Government of St. Petersburg, Committee 

for State Protection of Monuments of History and Culture, 

Victoria and Albert Museum (London), Staatliche Museen 

zu Berlin, Rijksmusem (Amsterdam), the Stabiae Restoration 

Fund (RAS), Shanghai Museum, the State Tretyakov 

Gallery, Peterhof State Museum Reserve, Tsarskoye Selo 

State Museum Reserve, Kerch State Museum Reserve, Italian 

Ministry for Culture, Russian State University for the 

Humanities, Kemerovo Provincial Museum of Fine Arts, 

and Tsaritsino State Historical, Architectural, Art and Landscape 

Museum Reserve. The conference provided a forum 

for a discussion among representatives of governmental 

institutions and museum professionals. The international 

96 97

conferences 

participants had an opportunity to exchange their experiences, 

present and discuss various strategies and scenarios 

in solving problems that the state and the museum have 

to face in the sphere of preservation of cultural heritage. 

The spectrum of problems discussed included today’s legislation 

and museum activities, museology and investments, 

adaptation of historical buildings for museum premises, 

museum collection enhancement and the history of state, 

and legislation in the sphere of fundraising. The conference 

was organized with the support of the Pro-Arte Foundation, 

Ford Foundation, and Likeon – Museum Concepts 

and Projects, Ltd. 

By Anna Trofimova 

25Th inTernaTional colloQuium of 

The coRpus viTReaRum medii aevi (cvma) 

It is the first colloquium in the history of the Corpus, held 

in Russia. The theme of the colloquium was Stained Glass 

Collections and Their History. It included about one hundred 

participants from Europe and North America. During the 

four days of the colloquium, twenty-two papers were read, 

plus a number of poster presentations. The papers of the 

Hermitage researchers were devoted to the history of the 

Hermitage collection of stained glasses (Yelena Shlikevich), 

the history and methods of restoring stained glasses at the 

Hermitage laboratory (Yelena Krylova) and the collection 

of cartoons for the Swiss sixteenth- and seventeenth-century 

stained glasses preserved at the Department of Drawings 

(Natalia Sepman). The other participants’ papers dealt 

25th International Colloquium of the Corpus Vitrearum Medii Aevi (CVMA) 

with the history of collections of Great Britain, France, the 

United States, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium, 

Austria, Spain and Poland. The participants also visited 

the newly organized stained glass repository and restoration 

workshop. In connection with the event, the museum 

organized the exhibition, Swiss Stained Glasses of the 16th – 

18th Centuries in the Collection of the Hermitage. The seventy 

stained glasses shown at the exhibition are the best ones 

in the Hermitage collection. The eight-year restoration had 

been carried out jointly by the Section of Restoration of 

Stained Glasses and the Expert Examination Department, 

with the use of new restoration methods. 

By Yelena Shlikevich 

inTernaTional conference: 

The cenTRal asian ciTY wiThin The sYsTem 

of mediaeval oRienTal ciTies 

The conference was dedicated to 60 years of Grigory Semenov 

(1950–2007), Head of the Oriental Department 

(from 2001) and the founder and head of the Hermitage 

Bukhara Expedition (1981–2007), who has made an invaluable 

contribution to the study of Central Asian antiquities. 

Besides the researchers of the Hermitage, their colleagues 

from other research centres took part in the conference, 

viz. those of St. Petersburg, Moscow, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, 

Kirghizia, France, Germany and the United States. Most 

of the papers given dealt with the topic Semenov had been 

concerned with, i.e. the evolution of the mediaeval Central 

Asian city. A special session was devoted to Penjikent 

(Tajikistan), a most completely explored early mediaeval 

site closely connected with Semenov’s career as an archaeologist 

and Orientalist. Worthy of a special note are the papers 

by participants from Tajikistan and Germany, devoted 

to the recent excavation of the Sandjar-shokh site, and by 

Pavel Lourie and Igor Malkiel of the State Hermitage, on 

the excavation of Khisrak (Upper Zarevshan), characterized 

by unusual architecture and unparalleled state of preservation 

of the organic finds. With the ancient and early 

mediaeval Oriental city were also connected papers concerned 

with recent discoveries in Kirghizia and at Paikend 

(Province of Bukhara, Uzbekistan), the site closely linked 

to Grigory Semenov’s whole archaeological career. The socalled 

“long walls” of Bukhara Oasis were used as an example 

in the discussion of the problems connected with 

the appearance and existence of similar structures in other 

agricultural areas of Central Asia. A number of papers were 

devoted to Mediaeval Buddhism in Semirechye (Kirghizia) 

and Balkh Oasis (Northern Afghanistan), as well as the 

antiquities of Fergana, Khoresm, Uyghur Khaganate, 

the Golden Horde (Volga Region and the Crimea) and the 

Northern Caucasus. A volume of the conference papers 

is in preparation. 

By Andrei Omelchenko 

conferences 

conference devoTed To 30 yearS 

of The heraldic Seminar 

It is, largely, due to close connection of heraldry and the 

history of culture that the Hermitage has traditionally been 

a repository of heraldic knowledge and centre of heraldry 

research. In the 19th century, outstanding heraldry experts, 

such as Florian Gilles and Baron Boris von Koehne, 

worked in the Hermitage. The curator of the Jewellery 

Gallery, Arminius von Voelkersahm and the curator of the 

arms collection, Eduard Lenz were experts in methods of 

heraldic analysis as well. In the early 20th century, among 

the Hermitage curators was a renowned Russian heraldist 

Sergei Troinitsky. During the Soviet period, the traditions 

of heraldic studies in the Hermitage, with its richest 

collections and the library, were maintained by the elder 

generation of curators, such as Alexander Voitov (Russian 

heraldry), Andrei Korsun (general and Western European 

heraldry), Lev Rakov and Vladislav Glinka (Russian uniforms). 

The outstanding numismatist Ivan Spassky was also 

a historian of awards; Nikolai Semenovich was concerned 

with the study of standards and banners. This tradition was 

continued later on, the logical result of it having been the 

organization, in 1980, of the seminar “Heraldry, an Auxiliary 

Historical Discipline”. On 15–16 December 2010 

a meeting dedicated to 30 years of the Hermitage Heraldic 

Seminar was held in the State Council Room of the State 

Hermitage, with the participation of representatives of the 

Hermitage, the State Russian Museum, the Heraldic Council 

under the President of the Russian Federation, the Institute 

of Material Culture (Russian Academy of Sciences), 

Historical and Archival Institute (Moscow) and Institute 

of World History (Russian Academy of Sciences), as well 

as researchers from Kirov, Ryazan, Yekaterinburg, Tver 

and Krasnodar. A very significant role in the organization 

of the meeting belongs to the leading expert on the history 

of uniforms, head of the Military Heraldry Division of the 

Hermitage Arsenal, Sergei Plotnikov, who died on 14 February 

2011. Those who knew him and worked with him will 

always miss a good friend and an outstanding scholar and 

museologist worthy of the museum, which he represented 

with dignity. 

The range and scope of the papers given has demonstrated 

close ties of the Hermitage Heraldic Seminar’s thirty 

years’ activity with various directions in Russian heraldry, 

both theoretical and applied. 

By Georgy Vilinbakhov 

diSSerTaTionS 

98 99 

inga yakovleva 

chineSe porcelain of The laTe Qing 

period (1796–1911). arTiSTic TradiTionS 

and Their culTural conTexT 

For the Degree of Kandidat (Candidate) of Art History 

The object of the study is Chinese porcelain of the Late 

Qing Period (1796–1911), which has not been duly dealt 

with in scholarly publications so far. For this reason, the 

theme is a considerable lacuna in the study of Chinese 

pottery. The dissertation is a multi-aspect study of Late 

Qing porcelain production, including criteria to discern 

authentic works from fakes. The significance of the problem 

of porcelain authenticity for the period in question 

is connected with the fact that certain categories of works 

were created as part of a retrospective trend concerned 

with making replicas of earlier productions and aging 

techniques. 

The features of novelty of the present work include the 

description of Chinese porcelain art in 1796–1911 as a historical 

and cultural phenomenon, as well as a study of its 

nineteenth-century milieu. A new periodization of Chinese 

porcelain making in the 19th century has been suggested, 

which reflects the major stages in its stylistic evolution. Besides, 

the dissertation contains a differential classification 

system of porcelain productions and principles of characterization 

of individual works. The dissertation includes 

translations from European and Chinese sources, fundamental 

for the field in question, which contain data unreflected 

in Russian publications. 

The reconstruction of the general panorama of the development 

of Chinese porcelain in the 19th century given in 

the dissertation, as well as the description of the methods 

and techniques used by porcelain makers can be the basis 

for future studies in the present area.

archaeological expediTionS 

inTegraTed anTiQuiTy expediTion 

Head of expedition: Sergei Solovyov 

Excavation works on the Zavetnoye-5 settlement in the 

vicinity of the ancient Greek city of Acra (Zavetnoye Village, 

Crimean AR, Ukraine) were continued jointly with 

Donetsk National University (Head: L. Shepko) and Krakow 

University (Head: Ye. Papuci-Vladyko). The excavations 

formed part of the research programme “Acra: 

Ancient City and Its Environs” (2002–2010) focusing on 

the archaeological sites in the rural districts of this 

Ionian colony on the European shore of the Cimmerian 

Bosporus. The field work was performed to the north-east 

Terracotta protome of Demeter 

of the ancient city on the plateau where a large manor 

house (dating from the last quarter of the 4th – first third 

of the 3rd century B.C.) with a basement facility, a courtyard, 

living rooms and household pits had been explored 

in 2005–2007 and where a large monumental structure 

dating back from the same period had been discovered 

in 2009. A geophysical survey carried out on a 0.8 ha area 

prior to the excavation works revealed the remains of antique 

buildings as well as overlying military facilities dating 

from the Second World War. The principal achievements 

of the 2010 field season were exploratory works on 

325 sq. m of the settled area, with the occupation layer 

reaching 1.20 m in some places; the uncovering of a large 

proportion of a monumental religious building, possibly 

a village temenos from the last quarter of the 4th century 

B.C., and a large soil structure (a dwelling dugout built in 

the first half of the 4th century B.C); the retrieval of multiple 

and various fragments of Greek and local containers, 

tableware and kitchenware, bone, stone and metal 

articles as well as fragments of terracotta figurines. 

The part of the temenos unearthed in Zavetnoye-5 

in 2009–2010 consists of a 15-m long platform with a pad 

paved with large well-processed stone plates to the north. 

Initially the pad may have measured at least 6.5 × 7 m. 

Adjacent to the platform on the east were at least four 

rooms sized 4.8 × 6.3 m; 4.8 × 4.5 m and 3.8 × 4 m, arranged 

in a line. One of the rooms was found to contain 

a large number of ceramic articles on an area of c. 4 sq. m. 

The findings included large fragments of at least four amphorae 

produced in Sinop, Thassos and Cnidus, pieces 

of red clay and black lacquer table dishes, numerous 

fragments of pottery and a whole kalypter. One remarkable 

find is a fragmented red clay dinos covered in red 

engobe, with white plant-shaped patterns painted over 

it. In the same area seven terracotta protomes and their 

fragments representing similar images of Demeter were 

found. Judging from these articles, the unearthed monumental 

building complex was a ground consecrated 

to Demeter. 

archiTecTural and archaeological 

expediTion 

Head of expedition: Oleg Ioannisian 

Works continued on the territory of the Tithes Church 

of the Virgin in Kiev. A gross area of about 50 sq. m was 

excavated. Additional exploratory works were conducted 

on the north-west corner of the main four-pillar space; the 

corner was found to have had large protrusions on the 

basement level. This allows to conclude that the original 

facades had lesenes, which have previously gone undetected 

by researchers. The pylon located 2.65 m to the 

west of the south lesene of the west wall’s central curtain 

was explored. The surviving parts include the foundation 

(1.8 m thick; 3 × 3 m) and the lower part of the stone wall 

which used to have a 1.7 m protrusion on the east side. 

The masonry technique and the plinth of the pylon are 

similar to the previously explored repair stonework found 

in the south-west corner of the ancient church galleries 

and can be dated by the first third of the 12th century. 

Only one pylon had been constructed as the occupation 

layer in the symmetric area to the north was found to be 

intact. This structure, unprecedented in sturdiness, served 

to reinforce the west wall or the thrust of the slab in the 

BereZan (lower Bug) expediTion 

Head of expedition: Dmitry Chistov 

Excavations continued on Site O located in the north-west 

part of Berezan Island. A total of about 400 sq. m was excavated 

over the past two seasons. The traces of residential 

and production activities detected on the site (dating back 

to the second or third quarter of the 5th century B.C.) were 

of immense interest. Three household pits were found on 

the level explored, one of them filled with waste containing 

large fragments of several dozens of broken tare amphorae 

of the third quarter of the 5th century B.C. 

The key achievement of the past season was the uncovering 

of a complex of buildings dating from the late 6th – 

first third of the 5th century B.C. In the past three years, 

remains of two closely situated similarly aligned buildings 

BuKhara expediTion 

Head of expedition: А. Torgoyev 

excavaTionS in paiKend 

Head of unit: A. Omelchenko 

The expedition continued excavations in Paikend. Works 

were conducted on two sites: the Citadel and the South 

Suburb. 

Similarly to the previous seasons, excavations in the southwest 

sector of the citadel were conducted on barrack-type 

rooms adjacent to the south wall of the fortress and opening 

into a single corridor. By present, a total of eleven 

rooms have been unearthed. The building complex is 

the first monumental structure in this part of the citadel. 

central compartment of the west gallery after the southwest 

corner of the church was destroyed by a natural disaster 

(earthquake). 

In 2010 surveillance over ground works in the courtyards 

and interior facilities of the State Hermitage was conducted. 

Remains of an eighteenth-century brick collector 

dismantled during the construction activities in the first 

quarter of the 19th century were explored in the General 

Staff building. In the Reserve House (Zapasnoi Dom) 

of the Winter Palace at 30 Palace Embankment, some 

structures and the early eighteenth-century brick floor 

were stabilized; the thickness and makeup of the occupation 

layer in the courtyards were explored. 

Fragment of the capital. Peter I’s Winter Palace 

archaeoloGIcal expeDItIons 

were examined. Judging by the layout, structural features, 

location within a fenced area and different alignment 

compared with the rest of the complex, these facilities 

were intended for public or religious rather than residential 

purposes. 

The cultural deposits and building remains of the previous 

periods were examined on the 2009 site (gross area 

c. 200 sq. m). It was found that these buildings had been 

added to earlier structures destroyed by fire in the last 

quarter of the 6th century B.C.; although badly damaged, 

traces of several surface pillar (possibly wattle) structures 

of unclear purpose were discovered. Following the exploration 

of the earliest layers of the archaic Berezan settlement, 

a series of complexes dating from the first half of the 

6th century B.C. was unearthed, including round-shaped 

half-dugouts and household pits. 

Imitation of Euthydemus tetradrachm (type: “Ruler wearing a tiara”) 

Silver. Diameter 2.7 cm. Room 7 

100 101

archaeoloGIcal expeDItIons archaeoloGIcal expeDItIons 

The copper imitations of Late Kushan coins found on the 

floor in the rooms suggest that the facilities were operational 

during the 3rd and 4th centuries. 

Exploration works on the street to the east of the complex 

which ran past the dungeon and led to the arch showed 

that the entrance to the Citadel had been reconstructed 

at least thrice. 

In the South Suburb, part of a mihrab was unearthed in the 

building which served as local mosque in the late 10th – 

early 11th century; clay-and-gypsum coating was preserved 

in situ on both sides of the mihrab niche. Other fragments 

of the panel found on the floor nearby were decorated 

with a carved geometric and plant ornament and colourful 

frescoes; the fragments were stabilized and transferred 

to the local museum. 

Restoration works were performed on previously excavated 

facilities, i.e. Tower 8 in Shahristan II as well as the minaret 

and column bases in an early temple located inside the 

citadel. 

KraSnaya rechKa excavaTionS 

Head of unit: А. Torgoyev 

Archaeological excavations on the Krasnaya Rechka site 

were continued jointly with the expedition of the Institute 

of History and Cultural Heritage of the Kyrgyz Republic 

National Academy of Sciences. The works were 

conducted on three areas, two of which were located 

within the so-called south extension and the third one in 

Shahristan II. 

The most interesting results were obtained in the south extension, 

which includes a complex of buildings with a high 

triangular hill identified as a Zoroaster temple. 

A wall in the south extension was sectioned; like other 

walls on the site, it was constructed using the khantu technique 

from separate clay ribbons placed into the frame. 

upper dvina expediTion 

Head of expedition: Boris Korotkevich 

Archaeological excavations were conducted in the south 

of the Pskov Region in Anashkino, Borokhnovo and 

Mikhailovskoye. The works in Anashkino continued the 

activities launched in 1991. The occupation layer was 

found to contain materials from the Late Bronze (late 

2nd – early 1st millennium B.C.) to the mediaeval period 

(9th – 10th century). In 2010 the edge of the flat ground 

and the slopes were examined for surviving ancient layers 

and traces of ancient defence structures. As a result, 

new data were obtained on the use of the site during the 

first half of the 1st millennium B.C. and at the end of the 

Paikend Citadel. South-west sector. “Barracks”. 

Room 5 (khumkhona storage facility) 

The building history of the wall was limited to just one 

period. Apparently, the wall quickly became unnecessary 

and was used for burials. In the past season, a burial with 

a small Tyurgesh coin lying near the head was unearthed. 

The most interesting results were obtained in the course 

of exploratory works on one of the hills within the building 

complex with a triangular hill in the middle. A detached 

building with massive adobe walls was discovered. The unearthed 

area shows that the building was surrounded 

by corridors and may be identified as a Buddhist temple. 

The area near the entrance was found to contain small 

fragments of an unbaked clay sculpture which formed part 

of the headdress of a Buddhist character. 

On Shahristan II, stratigraphy and excavation works on 

residual twelfth-century structures (destroyed by fire) 

in the top building layer were performed. 

1st millennium A.D. Works in Mikhailovskoye became necessary 

as the land with the ancient site was bought by a private 

owner. The cultural layer was damaged on the slope 

along the whole of the site by a fence built around the 

plot. The expedition cleaned up the edge of the terrace 

resulting from the construction. Traces of previously undetected 

ancient defence moats were found together with 

the cultural layer that contained artifacts dating from the 

Early Iron Age. In Borokhnovo, exploration works were 

started on the mediaeval defence structures dating back 

to the middle or late 1st millennium. A large area with remains 

of a defence wall or levee running along the edge 

was unearthed. The works are scheduled for completion 

in the next year. 

ancienT ruSSian expediTion 

Head of expedition: Sergei Tomsinsky 

Inspection of the conserved 2009 excavation pit on the site 

of Vasily III and Ivan IV’s residence in Aleksandrovskaya 

Sloboda (Aleksandrov, Vladimir Region) was performed; 

the topography was clarified of the residual palace structures 

outside the Dormition Convent (the Tsar’s Court) 

awaiting further field research. The location of at least 

one large structure was identified which formed a single 

planning pattern with the building remains explored 

in 2005–2009. 

TranSKuBan expediTion 

Head of expedition: Yuri Piotrovsky 

Exploration works continued on the Eneolithic settlement 

of Meshoko located on the south of Kamennomostsky village 

(Adyg Republic) dating from the late 5th – early 4th 

millennium B.C. Stratigraphic works were completed on 

Pit VII to explore the site’s lowest layer (light-grey humus 

loam) reaching 1 m in thickness. As a result, a large 

collection of artifacts was obtained dating from the early 

period of Meshoko. The most significant observations 

can be made from the pottery ornaments. Apart from 

stick-on decorations, the ceramic material found in the 

lowest layer bore pearly patterns most typical of the pottery 

retrieved from the top layer (dark-grey humus saturated 

with rubble), indicating certain cultural succession 

between the two main layers. A large number of shale 

bracelets were found. The retrieved flint tools included 

arrowheads and inserts chipped on both sides, as well 

as scrapers. The most common stone tools retrieved were 

flat objects sharpened by chipping on both sides (stone 

knives). In addition, remains of a cob floor were found at 

the depth of about 2 m at the border of the lowest level 

and the buried soil; most of the flooring remains outside 

the area explored. 

Archaeological exploration was restarted on the Kostromskoi 

Mound (Division Kurgan 1) near Severny Khutor, Mostovsky 

District, Krasnodar Region. Although the mound, 

explored by N. Veselovsky in 1897, has long been considered 

a definitive Early Scythian monument, our knowledge 

of the burial structure, funerary ritual and inventory is still 

incomplete. The current height of the mound is 4 m; the 

diameter is 45 m. The 2010 pit (gross area c. 480 sq. m) 

included a large segment of Veselovsky’s trench, in the 

previously unexplored part of which an artificial pad 

was unearthed, partly sectioned by Veselovsky’s trench. 

An oval pit sized 1 × 1.2 m, filled with 18 horse sculls was 

located at the north edge of the pad; on the south, the upper 

parts of two burnt pillars were found. On the surface 

of the pad, fragments of three radially arranged burnt 

Kostromskoi Mound, seen from the west 

102 103


wooden half-beams were found. The section of the east wall 

of the trench shows that the pad is covered with a layer 

containing the same organic inclusions as the pad surface. 

At the depth of 1.7 m from the present surface of the 

mound, this layer is covered with clay and sand coating 

carrying fragments of moulded Early Meot pottery. 

A Bronze Age catacomb burial was found with a destroyed 

vault and the entrance well with two steps on the south 

(explored in 1897) in the part of Veselovsky’s trench adjacent 

to the east wall section of the present trench. The catacomb 

was found to contain fragments of broken covering 

slabs, human bones and ceramic fragments. 

An unexplored Bronze Age pit burial was found to the 

south of the catacomb. 

The early stage of advanced exploratory works on the Kostromskoi 

Mound confirmed some data quoted in N. Veselovsky’s 

report; however, no reliable evidence of a tentshaped 

sub-mound structure has been found. 

goldern horde expediTion 

Head of expedition: Mark Kramarovsky 

Exploratory works continued on the defence line of mediaeval 

Solkhat. Three pits were made on the ridge of the 

south-east branch of Maly Argamysh Mountain. Walls of 

an open-type defence tower measuring 10 × 10 m were 

found in Pit XXXIII; remains of a forge (?) including 

a furnace chamber and a mouth with a pre-furnace 

area were unearthed in one area of the excavation site. 

Pit XXXIV contained the foundation of the defence wall. 

The defence wall line includes a three-part trench consisting 

of the central recess filled with crushed stone and 

lime mortar, and light clay substructures adjacent to the 

recess on the north and south which were intended for 

constructing the footing course of the defence wall jacket. 

The total width of the trench for the bedding and packing 

of the defence wall was about 2.5 m. The wall consisted of 

two jackets made from stones fixed together with mortar. 

The space between the jackets was filled with rubble and 

the same type of mortar. The profiles of the sides and edges 

of the pit support the findings of the previous season. 

In the south-west corner of the site, a burial of a woman 

and child without any inventory was found at the depth 

of 0.37 m. The burial was covered with reused facing slabs 

of the defence wall. 

In Pit XXXV the infill of the central part of the trench for 

the defence wall was clearly localized. At the bottom on 

the east and west parts of the trench medium and large 

stones fixed together with clay mortar were preserved in 

situ, which apparently formed part of the wall foundation 

on the site. 

The finds included fragments of metal objects of unknown 

use and nails; an arrowhead; fragments of bone objects 

and pottery fragments; a four-part caltrop; an anthropomorphic 

figurine made of a metal (brass?) plate – ongon, 

and a fragment of a tomb. 

A total of 23 coins were found, two of which were worn 

out, one had been minted in Turkey, one in Moldavia 

(stamp of Alexander the Kind (1400–1432?)), one in Russia 

(1730–1740). The other coins were copper Jochid puls 

(one with a Genoese portal stamp). A Russian grosh, minted 

during Anna Ioannovna’s reign, allows to define the 

period when the walls of mediaeval Solkhat’s defence belt 

were dismantled and their stones were reused. 

myrmeKeyon expediTion 

Head of expedition: Alexander Butiagin 

Works continued on the site of the ancient city of Myrmekeyon 

located on the territory of Kerch. Excavations 

were performed on Ash Pit 2 as well as to the north of 

it, in the north-west corner of the adjacent Site И (I). 

Poorly preserved walls of buildings dating back to the 

first centuries A.D. were found. On the main site, the 

ash pit was explored to the depth of 0.8 m. Apart from 

the areas completely destroyed by later excavations, the 

occupation layer had a typical ash pit stratigraphy, with 

Terracotta figurine. 3rd – 2nd century B.C. 

alternating layers of grey and brown ash loam and multiple 

fragments of mussels, ash, baked soil, coals and small 

stones. The ash pit layers contained abundant ceramic 

material, including over a hundred fragments of branded 

amphorae from Sinop, Heraclea, Rhodes, Cnidus and 

other cities, terracotta fragments, copper coins and fragments 

of ceramic vessels with graffiti. One special find 

was a remarkably well-preserved terracotta figurine of 

a standing woman. For the first time, a seriously damaged 

gold bead was found in the ash pit. This area of the 

ash pit was bounded by stone and adobe walls separating 

it from the residential structures. A major part of the ash 

pit was disturbed by wartime groundwork. Excavations of 

the shelter and driveway yielded a considerable amount 

of wartime material including fourteen cannon shells. 

The shelter preserved the frame of a car damaged by 

an explosion as well as scattered human bones, possibly 

coming from the same body. 

nymphaeum expediTion 

Head of expedition: Olga Sokolova 

Exploratory works continued on the Bosporan town of 

Nymphaeum (Kerch, Crimean AR, Ukraine), on the south 

slope of the Nymphaeum Plateau, where field research has 

been conducted on the sacred ground complex for many 

years. 

On the West Excavation Pit, removal of the overlying level 

continued to the south of the propylaea explored in 1996– 

2000 in order to identify the building system in the area. 

No building remains were found. The layer comprised material 

mostly dating from the 4th – 3rd century B.C., with 

inclusions from an earlier (6th – 5th century B.C.) and 

later (2nd century B.C.) periods. 

In the past season it was decided to extend the exploratory 

site further west after a step-like structure was uncovered 

in 2009 partly located outside the excavation pit. 

A 200 sq. m extension (8 squares sized 5.0 × 5.0 m) was 

made along the west edge of the excavation pit. A 0.5 and 

2.1 m thick layer was removed, saturated with Roman and 

Hellenistic material. Eleven different-size household pits 

were unearthed in this area. 

On the South-West Pit, excavations continued to the west 

of the defence tower. On two 50 sq. m squares a fragment 

of the wall and four household pits were discovered. 

The finds from the layer and the buildings can be dated 

by the 5th B.C. to the 1st – 2nd century A.D. 

A topographic survey was conducted on the territory of the 

Nymphaeum necropolis on the area with a mound over 

what looks like stone funeral vault, judging by the visual inspection 

of the illegal survey pit. Excavations on this structure 

are planned in the coming season. 

Rim of a pithos with an inscription 

104 105


penJiKenT expediTion 

Head of expedition: Pavel Lourie 

Works started jointly with the History, Archaeology and 

Ethnography Institute of the Tajikistan Academy of Sciences 

continued on the Ancient Penjikent Reserve as well 

as on the early mediaeval town of Khisorak in the upper 

part of the Zeravshan Valley. 

An instrumental topographic plan of Khisorak and its 

environs was compiled and some ceramic material retrieved. 

On the initiative of Professor Yu. Yakubov, parts 

of the decor of the citadel shrine unearthed in 1997–1998 

were unconserved, retrieved and restored. These include 

two carved wooden blocks and three bricks from the altar 

niche covered in carved stucco. 

On the Ancient Penjikent site, works continued in the 

south part of Unit XXVI, where buildings of a later period 

adjacent to the east wall of the city, the brick pad on the 

square between the east street and the wall and the buildings 

located beneath the pad (one of them bore traces 

of painting) were unearthed. 

On Site XXVI-C, exploratory activities started in 2009 continued 

on the household in the south-west segment of the 

unearthed area. A vestibule, a corridor and a ramp frame 

were unearthed as well as the section of the street adjacent 

to the entrance; earlier floors were examined in two rooms 

unearthed in 2009. 

Works on the sixth-century Lower Palace situated by the 

Kaynar Spring near the ancient city site had been frozen 

in 1992, and the area immediately turned into a dumping 

Wall painting with tulips and poppies from Layer 2 in Room 13: 

Lower Palace, Kaynar Spring 

Carved wooden blocks from the Khisorak Citadel 

place; however, last winter the site was cleared for a vegetable 

garden. As the water in the irrigation canals and the 

roots of the trees planted there have a negative impact on 

the subsurface site, urgent excavations were started. Three 

layers of paintings were inspected in Room 13 (two with 

tulips, one with a female dancer (?)) in the north sector 

of the east wall; a large-size Room 16 was outlined. 

The 2010 excavations have provided new data on the 

monumental decor of Sogdian buildings and the life in 

Penjikent in the 8th century; foundations were laid for systematic 

archaeological research in ancient Khisorak. 

norTh-weST expediTion 

Head of expedition: Andrei Mazurkevich 

Excavations on the banks of the Serteyka River, Smolensk 

Region, as well as subaquatic excavations in the Pskov 

Region on Sennitsa Lake and in the Serteyka River bed 

were conducted. Joint exploratory works were performed 

in collaboration with the Bavarian Heritage Preservation 

Department, Bavarian Ludwig Maximilian University and 

Nanter Х-Paris University. As a result, early Neolithic sites 

of the late 7th – 6th millennium B.C. were unearthed and 

explored; subaquatic excavations were performed on lacustrine 

settlements of the 3rd millennium B.C. Remains 

of a wooden platform, fragments of a wicker basket with 

multiple remains of fish bones and shellfish, and a stone 

battle axe were found and conserved. First-ever subaquatic 

explorations were carried out on Serteya I, which represents 

an entirely different type of campsite compared with 

Serteya II; in all probability, the area on the bank of the 

paleolake used to have fish stakes and/or places for shortterm 

stay during fishing. 

STaBian expediTion 

Head of expedition: Alexander Butiagin 

Excavations were conducted in collaboration with the Pompeii 

Archaeological Superintendence through the support 

of the Stabiae Restoration Fund (RAS) on the Araidne 

Villa destroyed by the Vesuvius eruption in 79 B.C. The villa 

is located on the Varano Plateau near Castellammare 

di Stabia. This is the first-ever excavation project conducted 

by a Russian research expedition in the area of 

Vesuvius. 

The works focused on the thermae buildings and partly 

the peristyle with the surrounding corridors. Most of the 

surviving walls were 2.5–3 m high; some carried frescoes. 

About 2 sq. m of graffiti representing military ships, human 

faces and phalluses as well as numerous Greek inscriptions 

were found on the walls of the corridor. They had probably 

been left by servants who used this corridor to access the 

bathhouse and the kitchen. The most interesting findings 

were made as a result of the excavations in the patio, where 

the thermae visitors took rest. A mosaic with an ornament 

of black and white stones was found on the floor. The walls 

were decorated with columns and paintings in the 3rd 

Pompeian style. A small room was found nearby which 

may have accommodated an alcove. Its walls were lavishly 

decorated with patterns against the yellow, white and 

red background. One particularly important finding was 

the in situ frescoes of the Cupid Released type, i.e. a small 

Slavic-SarmaTian expediTion 

Head of expedition: S. Voronyatov 

Survey work and the search for a Roman site suitable for 

further excavations continued. Two areas of the Bryansk 

Region (Starodubsky and Pogarsky) along the left and 

right banks of the Rassukha River were explored. 

A 1 sq. m survey pit was started on the Shershevichi II Site 

discovered in the previous field season, from which fragments 

of moulded pottery and a prongless iron buckle 

were retrieved. The unclear stratigraphy of the survey 

pit walls confirmed the suggestion that the occupation 

layer may have been damaged by ploughing during forest 

planting. 

The Sinin VIII Site on the right bank of the Rassukha River, 

discovered in 2002 by our colleagues from Bryansk, yielded 

some pottery material; the brink of the river was cleared 

up; a topographic plan was compiled. A 12 sq. m survey 

excavation was started next to the river brink. The occupation 

layer comprised pieces of moulded ceramic vessels, 

fragments of iron knives, clay spindle whorls, plummets 

and coating with traces of branches. No significant buildings 

were identified. 

Wall with the painting Cupid Released. 

Ariadne Villa 

106 107


image of Cupid and two images of winged women, one of 

them also in an excellent state of preservation. Next to 

it, a scratched Greek inscription was discovered. A niche 

unearthed in the corner of the patio preserved traces of 

a wooden bench and lavish decorative paintings with images 

of branches, painting tools and musical instruments. 

The uncovered frescoes were stabilized on the walls by the 

expedition restoration staff. 

Multiple fresco fragments from the walls and the ceiling 

were found in the occupation layer and among the debris, 

also carrying numerous images (head of the Gorgon, 

shields, sphinxes and plant ornaments). Not many objects 

were found as the property from the villas had been partly 

evacuated during the earthquake. Still, apart from pottery 

fragments, metal parts of the doors and a bronze coin of 

the Republican period were retrieved. The most unexpected 

objects were the first two fragments of branded roof 

tiles ever found as a result of excavation on the villa. 

cenTral aSian expediTion 

Head of expedition: Nikolai Nikolayev 

Works continued on the Xiongnu gravesite of Orgoyton, 

Buryatia Republic, most of them on the north area 

of the site. The exploration focused on the “princely” 

mound, the largest on the gravesite, comparable in size 

with Mound 24 on the Xiongnu gravesite of Noin-Ula, 

Mongolia. The stone surface structure is 14.5 m wide; the 

length, including the dromos, was 28.6 m. A layer of turf 

was removed from the whole of the mound in the past 

season; the south side of the fence was cleared up and 

a stone stela was found on the east end. The pottery fragments 

found in and outside the fence around the mound 

suggest that the mound, like most Xiongnu princely burials, 

may have been robbed. 

The Khakassian unit of the Central Asian Expedition 

worked on the Itkol 2 Gravesite on the south bank of the 

same-name lake in the Shirinsky District, Khakassia Republic; 

two mounds were explored. 

Mound 24 included a round fence, 7 m in diameter, made 

up of vertically arranged sandstone slabs, with a grave in 

the centre. The grave contained an intact burial of a forty- 

to fifty-year-old woman, with two clay vessels laid at her 

feet. The burial also contained two massive bronze cladding 

of a wooden vessel decorated with punctures and 

incisions along the edge. The mound originated during 

the Afanasyev Culture and may date from the first third 

of the 3rd millennium B.C. 

Mound 14 initially consisted of a stone ring, 9 m in diameter, 

made up of slabs laid flat on the ground. Later, during 

the Okunev Period, the mound was reconstructed, 

with a square fence (10 × 10 m) composed of vertically 

Fragment of stucco with a fantastic statue. 

Ariadne Villa 

arranged slabs built around the ring. Ten burials dating 

back to this period were found, five of them had been 

robbed. The burials comprised pottery samples, small 

copper plaques and eight carved bone objects, four of 

which were stylized images of animal and bird heads, the 

other four were miniature images of the Okunev stelae. 

The reconstruction of the mound may have occurred 

during the early period of the Okunev Culture (last quarter 

of the 3rd millennium B.C.). 

cenTral caucaSian expediTion 

Head of expedition: Yevgenia Vasiliyeva 

Works continued on the Kichmalka-2 Gravesite in the area 

of Kichmalka Village, Kabardino-Balkaria. A total of six 

burials were explored, including two Koban Culture graves 

dating from the 7th century B.C., two Sarmatian burials 

of the 2nd to 3rd century and two Alan catacombs of the 

late 5th – early 6th century. 

The Koban burials include rectangular stone chests made 

up of vertically arranged stone slabs with similar stone 

slabs on top. The graves were individual and were found to 

comprise iron knives, astragals, two pendants (one bone, 

one bronze), small paste beads, larger glass and stone 

beads and clay spindle whorls. The Sarmatian burials 

were of two types, some in ground pits partly closed with 

stone slabs, others in catacombs. The two Alan catacombs 

were studied; the more interesting catacomb contained 

a couple and featured rich funerary inventory, including 

a large number of glass, amber and stone beads, bronze 

fibulae, inlaid plaques, a pin, a spoon, a mirror, a buckle, 

a ring and tweezers. The niche in the catacomb chamber 

wall contained an iron sword with an amber bead with colour 

inlays serving as a belt retainer; an iron dagger with 

a leather sheath decorated with a gilded silver plate bearing 

a scale-shaped decorative pattern; a bronze locket with 

eagle heads and colour inlays. Next to them, a horse bridle 

was found including an iron bit with psalia (probably 

wooden) covered in tin foil as well as bronze harness strap 

unions with eagle heads, bronze fittings, medallions and 

buckles. Most of the objects were decorated with colour 

inlays. At the feet of the skeleton was a riveted bronze cauldron 

with an iron handle; under the cauldron, remains 

of a leather saddle with a wooden saddlebow, decorated 

with gilded silver plates were found. The catacomb also 

contained some pottery and two tin mugs. 

SouTh crimean expediTion 

Head of expedition: Svetlana Adaskina 

The South Crimean Archaeological Expedition of the 

State Hermitage and the Crimean Office of the Archaeology 

Institute (Ukrainian Academy of Sciences) continued 

exploratory works on the Cembalo Fortress in Balaclava 

(14th – 15th century). The 2010 field season followed up 

the activities performed in 2008–2009; works were pursued 

along the fortress’s east defence line, between the Barnabo 

Grillo Tower and the Portal Tower. 

The newly uncovered site (measuring about 150 sq. m) 

is located inside the east curtain, beneath the road leading 

towards the Barnabo Grillo Tower. The buildings on this 

slope were arranged in terraces. 

In the new field season, the built-up residential area was 

further extended to the west and north. Multiple burials 

without inventory were discovered to the south and north 

of the temple unearthed in the previous field season. 

One of the most remarkable finds was a leaf of a twelfth- or 

thirteenth-century Kievan-type bronze cross (encolpion). 

On the whole, some interesting stratified material was obtained 

which provides valuable information on housing 

construction principles and the infrastructural development 

of the mediaeval Cembalo Fortress. 

SouTh-eaST crimean expediTion 

Head of expedition: Vasily Gukin 

Archaeological excavations were first performed in the 

port of the mediaeval city of Sugdeya. 

Pit VIII was started of Terrace 4 (counting from the sea 

level), 35 m north-west of the so-called Marine Fortification, 

explored by M. Frondzhulo in 1965–1970. Archaeological 

works conducted during the reporting field season 

have enabled to unearth four stone surface structures, 

two sufas, seven tandyrs, a stone hearth and a fireplace. 

The uncovered strictures dated from different periods and 

showed traces of numerous reconstructions. 

Stratigraphic survey suggests the presence of two houses 

with sufas, or heating devices. The sufas included interacting 

heating systems, i.e. tandyrs and kanas. The houses are 

built over earlier permanent structures. 

The ceramic material included glazed and unglazed pottery 

dating back to different periods, from Hellenic to late 

mediaeval. A variety of metal, ceramic, bone, glass and 

stone articles was also retrieved. 

The numismatic material consists of 54 coins of different 

periods and cultures from the layers and buildings 

found on the site. The coins show that the excavated layers 

probably dated back to the 10th – late 15th century at the 

earliest. 

SouTh SiBerian expediTion 

Head of expedition: Konstantin Chugunov 

Exploratory works continued on two elite burials. 

Excavations were performed on Mound 1 forming part 

of the Bugry Gravesite (Rubtsovsky District, Altai Region). 

The works focused on the surface structures, namely, the 

4 m tall mound (75 m in diameter) and the moat around 

the mound, measuring 115 m in diameter. Excavations 

were conducted by means of a bulldozer, due to which 

three more sections were stabilized and graves in the central 

and peripheral areas of the site were unearthed and 

cleared up. 

In the Piy-Khemsky District, Tyva Republic, explorations 

continued on the Chinge-Tey I funerary complex. The 

mound was 75 m in diameter and 2 m high; the surrounding 

moat measured 110 m in diameter. Works were performed 

on the north-west sectors of the surface structure 

and part of the moat. The sludge layer in the moat was 

found to contain isolated bones of horses, bears and small 

ruminants as well as some human bones. Another interesting 

retrieval was three horn plates with a circular ornament 

and a fragment of a clay object. An opus quadratum 

wall surrounding the mound, located 5 m away from the 

cromlech, was found under the layers of sludgy ground. 

One of the blocks in the wall was a fragment of a stela 

with carved images of deer. Two intact graves of warriors 

were uncovered in the corridor between the wall and the 

cromlech; the burials contained rich inventories including 

bronze and iron weapons, belt fittings, a gold earring 

and a gold headdress decoration as well as glass, turquoise, 

amber and gold beads. Given the burial explored in 2009, 

it can be suggested that these additional graves were arranged 

at regular intervals at the foot of the wall surrounding 

the mound. Upon completion of the works, the stabilized 

facade masonry was conserved with bags containing 

ground and turf to preserve the architecture of the site for 

subsequent museumification. 

108 109

maJor conSTrucTion and reSToraTion 

reSulTS of The firST STage reSToraTion 

of The eaSTern wing of The general STaff 

Building 

Since 2009 the eastern wing of the General Staff building, 

which was handed over to the Hermitage Museum in 1988, 

has been under restoration and restructuring designed 

to adapt the building to museum designation in accordance 

with the blueprints of Architectural Studio 44. The scale 

of the work is commensurate with the considerable dimensions 

of the building, which comprises over 800 rooms on 

its four floors, dozens of staircases and a system of five connected 

courtyards inside. The area of the first stage restoration 

zone totals 35,500 sq. m, covering predominantly two 

of the five courtyards located farthest from Palace Square 

and Pevchesky (Singers’) Bridge. 

In the course of the first stage of restoration work practically 

all the brick walls of the building were reinforced by 

means of injection technique or with metal ties. In rooms 

with valuable finish the preservable old brick and wooden 

ceilings were strengthened. One wall that could no longer 

perform its supporting function was duplicated with 

a monolith slab, the old brickwork remaining intact. 

As part of the first stage all the essential external connection 

work was performed for running water taps outside, 

natural gas and water supply and sewerage. A new propane 

heating system boiler was put into operation, as well as all 

the vital utility systems required for the normal functioning 

of the museum (such as lifts, air-conditioning, ventilation 

and security systems). All the rooms were connected 

to the systems of air-conditioning and climate control necessary 

for proper preservation of artworks. 

Out of the 45 halls covered by the first stage, 30 were in 

need of multipronged restoration, during which great attention 

was paid to the surviving elements of the interior 

décor. In the first three halls the specialists carried out the 

restoration of plafonds. Where possible, they conserved 

what remained of the old painted decoration. In the 

rooms with most of the painting lost, the restoration artists 

reproduced the pictures with maximum accuracy on the 

basis of analogy with their surviving parts. In the course of 

restoration the outer walls in the courtyards were returned 

their historical light gray colour of 1837. 

As part of the first stage of the project specialists restored 

26 stoves; in doing so, they carefully took down the tiles, 

restored them and fitted them back after strengthening 

the original brickwork. At present the stoves and fireplaces 

perform a purely decorative role, for their smoke flues 

were first cleaned and then filled with bricks. 

The original doors and details of metal decorations were 

restored in the Hermitage workshops; 150 windows were 

reproduced according to their individual dimensions; 

glued-laminated parquetry, window-panes and -sills were 

restored. The stone plates on the steps of the stairways inside 

the building were refurbished. In a number of rooms 

the original ceilings, walls and door openings were covered 

with metal casings. 

The key element of the architectural project – the New 

Large Enfilade – was built inside the inner courtyards 

4 and 5, which alone gives an idea of the project scale. 

The steps of the state amphitheatre-like stairway, faced 

with Italian breccia Sarda limestone, lead to the fourteenmetre-wide 

door opening on the enfilade of new exhibition 

space. The gate-like door is veneered with oak wood; 

the special coupling device enabling the door to open was 

manufactured at the Kirov Works. 

The illumination of the exhibition space of the New Large 

Enfilade is provided by skylights. They are made of special 

light-weight concrete, which minimized the load on the 

major constructIon anD restoratIon 

old walls. The roof of glass and metal is flat, which hides 

it from outside. 

The design of the New Large Enfilade is based on the alternation 

of large exhibition halls and “hanging gardens” on 

platforms that do not reach the original walls of the building. 

The platforms are connected with the building floors 

by small glass-capped bridges, which secure connection 

between the buildings in Bolshaya Morskaya Street and 

on the Moika Embankment. The conversion of the former 

utility yards of the ministries into exhibition space made 

it possible to increase the museum’s area from 21,000 

to 32.5,000 sq. m. The yards were deepened; in the basements 

and on the ground floor of building 4, cloakrooms 

and technical service rooms were set up. 

On 10 December 2010, during the Hermitage Days, a solemn 

ceremony was held to mark the completion of the first 

stage of the restoration of the eastern wing of the General 

Staff building. In the presence of Valentina Matviyenko, 

the Governor of St. Petersburg, a token key to the restored 

sections of the General Staff building was handed over 

to Dr. M. Piotrovsky, Hermitage Director, by Mr. V. Smirnov, 

President of Intarsia group of companies that implemented 

the project. 

110 111

major constructIon anD restoratIon major constructIon anD restoratIon 

reSToraTion of The Jordan STaircaSe 

In 2010 the Hermitage conducted comprehensive complex 

restoration work on the Jordan Staircase. The specialists 

restored the grisaille glue paintings on the concave surfaces 

on the ceiling where it meets the walls; they took care of 

the sculptures, moulded decor, marble flights of stairs and 

railings; lost gilding was reproduced. They removed dirt 

from the painted plafond Gods on Olympus by eighteenthcentury 

Italian artist Gaspar Diziani; the pigment layer was 

strengthened, later-date retouches were removed, the varnish 

layer was regenerated and lost paint reproduced. 

Owing to the restorers’ sparing approach, they succeeded 

in retaining the original stucco of the walls and their 

moulded decor, as well as the windows and doors with their 

original fittings and mountings dating from the 1830s, as 

well as mirrors with silver amalgam and the old gilt of decorative 

details, which was strengthened, with lost parts reproduced 

with gold leaf, in full conformity with the original. 

The old lighting fixtures, such as chandeliers and sconces, 

were restored and refitted with bulbs. All the utility and 

electricity lines were replaced and burglar and fire alarm 

systems were refurbished. The work was performed by the 

LLC PCF Design-Optimum Prof under supervision by the 

Hermitage Restoration and Repairs Department, Department 

of the History and Restoration of Architectural Monuments, 

KGIOP (Committee for State Protection of Monuments 

of History and Culture) and Rosokhrankultura 

(Federal Service for the Protection of Cultural Heritage). 

reSToraTion of parQueTry 

In 2010 parquet floor restoration was carried out in the 

Rembrandt Room, in rooms 168–173 (Russian Culture 

in the Second Half of the 18th Century), in the Gallery 

of Numismatics, in the Oriental Gallery, in rooms 314 and 

323–332 (French Art in the Early 19th and in the 20th 

Centuries) and in the Knights Room. The area of restored 

parquetry totals 2,831 sq. m. 

In the Rembrandt Room, 80% of the area of its art parquetry 

floor (composed of such valuable woods as beech, 

ash and amaranth) was damaged in consequence of the 

wear and tear of the protective layer of varnish. 

In rooms 168–173 (Russian Culture in the Second Half of 

the 18th Century), the depth of worn-out parquet reached 

0.5 mm – while the floor was of a complex geometric design 

and consisted of parts of valuable woods (such as ebony, 

oak, mahogany, boxwood, amaranth, walnut, lemon, 

rosewood, ash and birch). 

The mosaic parquet floor of the Knights Room made 

of valuable woods (such as beech, ash, sycamore, mahogany, 

satinwood, ebony and merbau) developed cracks and 

reconSTrucTion of The air heaTing SySTem of The winTer palace 

In the course of implementing the programme entitled 

“Reconstruction of Air Heating System Centres in the 

State Hermitage” an appropriate plan was worked out in 

2008; in 2009–2010 heat generation centre No 13, which 

is designed for St. George’s Hall and the Room of Egypt, 

both located in the eastern part of the Winter Palace, was 

reconstructed. 

When operating the said centre, it was very difficult to meet 

the climatic requirements in the rooms because every time 

air of right temperatures was delivered to St. George’s Hall 

on the first floor, the ground-floor Room of Egypt experienced 

temperatures considerably higher than admissible. 

Conversely, when the Hall of Egypt on the ground floor 

had normal temperatures, St. George’s Hall suffered from 

dropping temperatures. 

In view of the circumstances, it was decided to divide the 

zone covered by the heating unit into two parts and simultaneously 

reconstruct the old heating centre and install an 

additional heating centre, No 13A, which should prepare 

air and deliver it to the Room of Egypt alone. 

To accommodate the extra heating unit, repair was done 

to an appropriate room in the basement and an additional 

intake of outdoor air was arranged through a window 

opening on to Black Drive (Church Pit). 

The functions of the existing ventilation ducts were revised 

so that now some of them served the purpose of recirculation; 

a new duct was made and an air distribution grid was 

dents caused by moisture and dirt and loss of adhesion 

to the foundation. In the course of restoration the specialists 

strengthened the foundation of the floor (including 

the sleepers, subfloor boards; additional supports were 

made and installed as well). Seams and cracks in the patterned 

parquets were filled with thin strips of wood; geometric 

elements of the designs laid in and attached with 

glue. The reproduction of those details of the pattern 

that were no longer fit for use was carried out with blanks 

strictly corresponding to the dimensions and the wood 

type of the original in strict conformity with the restoration 

rules. After that the parquet was covered with protective 

layers of wear-resistant varnish in accordance with the 

method approved by the Committee for State Control, Use 

and Protection of Monuments of History and Culture. 

On the part of the Hermitage, supervision over the restoration 

was carried out by the museum’s Department of Chief 

Mechanic. The following companies participated in the 

parquetry restoration work: LLC Parquet-Hall, LLC Intarsia, 

LLC Yantarnaya Priad and LLC Parketny Mir. 

installed to send part of the appropriately heated air into 

the Hall of Apollo. In St. George’s Hall, the sizes of openings 

in the walls were increased so as to let in more air 

from the ventilation ducts at the normal rate of its inflow. 

In the Egyptian Room some of the ducts were blocked to 

provide a transit air flow to the first floor, into St. George’s 

Hall. In both halls decorative brass grids modelled on their 

originals were installed (together with regulation grids). 

All the intra-wall ducts in this zone of the museum were 

cleaned from dust and appropriately processed. 

The work performed makes it possible to maintain the required 

temperature levels every season of the year. 

During the reconstruction of the old heating centre and 

the installation of the new one, the Hermitage used up-todate 

energy equipment manufactured by these companies: 

Rosenberg (ventilation), Grundfoss, Danfoss and Brouen 

(plumbing), ABB (power plant), Siemens (automation) 

and Munters (cell pack humidifiers). 

The system of automatic control over the heating centres 

is connected to the central server of the Visonic network, 

which enables the operator to manage the work of the 

heating centres and regulate the characteristics of the air 

right from the central energy control panel. 

The work was carried out under supervision of the Restoration 

and Repairs Department and the Department of the 

Chief Power Engineer. 

112 113

major constructIon anD restoratIon major constructIon anD restoratIon 

repairS To accumulaTor BaTTery (raSTrelli gallery) 

The accumulator battery to provide current for lamps and 

lights outside opening hours and in emergencies was set 

up in the early 1980s. Its power was 300 a/h. It consisted of 

112 separate open lead cells filled with a solution of sulfuric 

acid. During their charging, acid vapours were released 

with the formation of hydrogen. The battery maintenance 

required particular caution and thoroughness and ranked 

among dangerous and hazardous jobs. 

In 2010 the operation of replacing the battery cells, installing 

lighting fixtures and doors conforming to fire safety 

regulations in the battery room was put out to tender. CJSC 

ERViS’s bid was accepted and the company installed newgeneration 

60З2S 300ВАЕ batteries with over 20 years’ 

serviceability. Their design features caps that fit the cells 

hermetically precluding any leakages of gas or electrolyte. 

The batteries are provided with special filter plugs that prevent 

acid aerosols in operation. A lighting system that conforms 

to the current fire safety standards for rooms of this 

type was installed in the battery room; its protection code 

corresponds to IP65. An appropriate door was installed in 

the battery room, of E160 fire-safety class. The work was 

overseen by the staff of the Chief Power Engineer. 

From September to December 2010, a team of chasers 

from LLC Rest-Art were busy restoring thirty repousse copper 

sculptures on the parapet of the northern and eastern 

facades of the Winter Palace; the work proceeded under 

technical supervision by the Hermitage Restoration and 

Repairs Department, the museum’s Department of the History 

and Restoration of Architectural Monuments, as well 

as by representatives of Rosokhrankultura (Federal Service 

for the Protection of Cultural Heritage). The concrete filling 

was removed from the hollow insides of the figures, 

the details of the iron armatures and copper casings were 

cleaned. The rusted lower parts of the armatures were dismantled. 

The brick foundations were inspected by experts 

and their conservation was performed; openings were 

drilled for additional pipes to reinforce the armatures. For 

some armatures new elements were made, with both old 

and new parts of the armatures coated with an anticorrosive 

agent. All lost details were reproduced and the shabby 

sheets of copper on hatches were replaced. All deformities 

were smoothened and the seams riveted and soldered. 

All the surfaces were cleaned of dirt deposits, crumbly layers 

of patina and copper oxides. To provide extra protection to 

the copper casings and avoid spottiness in the overall colour 

scheme, the restorers used a three-coat painting system. 

The statuary on the parapets of the Winter Palace was installed 

in the spring of 1762. The figures had been hewn of 

Pudost limestone by Russian stone sculptors after sketches 

by the Italian architect Rastrelli. The frailty of Pudost limestone 

and the northern climate caused quick dilapidation 

of the statuary, whereas attempts at restoration proved unsuccessful. 

When one more stone vase fell down from the 

roof of the Winter Palace, a decision was made that the 

stone figures be replaced by chased copper sculptures. 

During the installation of the repousse copper statues, the 

lower parts of the figures were filled, up to their chests, 

with crushed limestone and sand, and lime was poured 

over the filling. The porous limestone and lime inside the 

copper casings absorbed moisture from the condensate, 

creating constant humidity round the armatures and causing 

accelerated corrosion of their iron. No openings had 

been provided in the lower parts of the figures for the outflow 

of excessive condensate. The accumulating moisture 

led to progressively increasing corrosion in the armatures, 

affecting their strength. Consequently, hardly thirty years 

had passed when the copper statuary began to dilapidate. 

After the causes of the poor condition of the statues 

were established, new restoration work was carried out. 

The rocks and sand were removed and concrete mortar 

was poured in their stead, to a depth of 0.5 to 1 m. In the 

1940s, the surfaces of the statues were painted black with 

a mixture of linseed oil and soot. In 1976 the Hermitage 

started a systematic planned restoration of all the parapet 

sculptures of the Winter Palace, one by one, by the State 

Hermitage Museum’s own workforce of skilled restorers. 

The process of restoration normally began with the cleaning 

away of the black paint and the replacement or strengthening 

of the rusted parts of the armatures. Then the entire 

surfaces of the armatures were coated with an anticorrosive 

agent, whereas burst seams, holes and places of rupture 

were soldered, with occasional patches. The cleaned 

surface of copper was kept for a while outdoors, for a layer 

of so-called “noble” patina to form, which, in the opinion 

of those days’ specialists, was a good means of protecting 

copper from atmospheric effects. 

Present-day experts are of the opinion that a coat of patina 

on figures made of thin sheets of copper in the hostile atmosphere 

of a big industrial city is insufficient protection 

and therefore additional protective measures are called for. 

For a better wind resistance, the lower parts of the armatures 

should be reinforced; the design of the attachments 

should be changed and further strengthened. The hollow 

insides of the figures should not be filled with anything so 

as to stay properly ventilated and be accessible for control 

over their state of preservation not only where the armatures 

and attachments are concerned, but also the inside 

surfaces of copper sheets. 

reSToraTion of The repouSSe copper SculpTureS on The winTer palace parapeTS 55Th anniverSary of The deparTmenT of elecTronic eQuipmenT, 

alarm and communicaTion SySTemS 

The Department of Electronic Equipment, Alarm and 

Communication Systems was exactly 55 years old on December 

1, 2010. It was formed by order of Mikhail Artamonov, 

the then Director of the State Hermitage Museum, 

in 1955 in connection with the opening of a new automatic 

telephone station and the first burglar alarm system in the 

museum. At that time the Department comprised seven 

staff members, who operated the telephone exchange and 

the museum’s first burglar alarm control panel. The panel 

was assembled by the staff, who used for the purpose some 

components of the old exchange; about 300 points were 

protected – chiefly the door and windows of the ground 

floor. At present the original control panel is kept as a historical 

exhibit in the office of the Deputy Director for 

Maintenance. 

As electronics developed, the Hermitage Museum kept 

expanding its systems for burglar alarm and communication; 

other new systems were introduced, such as fire alarm 

systems, fire extinguishing video surveillance, computer 

networks and wireless communication. The Department 

grew numerically as new sections and new positions were 

created. 

At present the Department consists of 32 members employed 

in its three sections: alarm systems, communication 

and video-surveillance. The Department is responsible for 

the introduction and operation of means of electronic security, 

communication systems, computer hardware, fire 

safety, as well as other electronic equipment and systems 

required for the normal functioning of the museum. 

In the elapsed year 2010 the Department completed all its 

projects on repairs to the telephone exchange and the replacement 

of the museum’s automatic telephone station; 

it carried out an updating of the server room, in the course 

of which some sophisticated equipment was installed, 

as well as highly productive servers and a data storage facility. 

Extensive work was performed to install and put into 

operation one of the latest alarm systems that protects 

about a thousand paintings in the museum. 

The Department mounted a digital HD surveillance system 

to safeguard the Alexander Column. Its high-resolution 

enables the guards to identify people within the zone 

covered and record whatever acts they perform. 

Work is under way to equip the Big (Old) and Small Hermitage 

buildings with fire safety systems; updating and expanding 

the integrated burglar alarm and access control 

system is being currently carried out and additional video 

surveillance cameras are being installed. 

114 115

STrucTure of viSiTS To The hermiTage in 2010 

Total number of visitors 2,490,387 

Including: 

Free admissions * 859,377 

Russian nationals 742,619 

Foreign visitors 785,885 

Internet ticket holders 14,322 

Over 1,500,000 people visited the Hermitage 

exhibitions outside the museum. 

There were over 3,550,000 hits of the Hermitage 

website. 

* The State Hermitage offers free admission rights to children, school 

pupils and students (regardless of citizenship), senior citizens of Russia 

and a number of other categories of Russian nationals entitled to special 

benefits. 

educaTional evenTS 

The number of guided tours to the Hermitage 

organized in 2010 was 32,018 

116 117 

Including: 

General tours round the museum 14,040 

Tours to the Treasure Gallery-1 5,937 

Tours to the Treasure Gallery-2 3,785 

Tours to the Winter Palace of Peter I 425 

School thematic tours 4,339 

Thematic tours and series of tours 

for adults 3,330 

Tours to the Imperial Porcelain Factory 

Museum 145 

Special series of tours 17 

Classes for school children 795 hours 

Classes at student clubs 652 hours 

Number of lectures delivered 357 

Including: 

at the Hermitage 300 

in Vyborg and Kazan 57

eDucatIonal eVents eDucatIonal eVents 

The STaTe hermiTage muSeum weBSiTe in 2010 

http://hermitagemuseum.org 

For over ten years the website of the Hermitage Museum 

has been providing its multi-million audience with a wealth 

of information on the museum, its collections, exhibitions 

and other events of its life. The news “footage” for 2010 

covered 132 events and carried 32 articles devoted to the 

year’s temporary exhibitions in the Hermitage. 

Today’s Hermitage pages on the Internet are not merely 

a source of information, but also a means of opinion exchange 

on the topical issues of cultural life and museum 

policies. The section headed “Inviting to Discussion” includes 

a column “Your Opinion of the Hermitage Museum’s 

Social Programme”, where the user finds materials on 

the current system of discounts and benefits for some categories 

of visitors, as well as users’ opinion of the museum’s 

social policy. (This Section exists only in Russian so far.) 

Emails received by the Guestbook unit on the Hermitage 

site make it possible to understand the interests of our audience. 

In 2010, after the end of the summer season, our 

Visitors’ Letters section (in Russian) published emails containing 

remarks and suggestions regarding the terms of ad- 

Special programmeS 

arT and muSic – aSSociaTionS 

• shadows of Versailles. “theatre” of Court Portraiture 

• “to Vivaldi’s Music…”. Faces of Venice (Canaletto, 

Guardi and Longi) 

• “Romantic Classicists”. the Earthly Paradise of Hans 

von Mare 

• Goethe: “stop the Moment!” the Light and Colour 

of Impressionism 

• “Quo vadis?” the Image of Christ in Early Christian art 

• year of Italy in Russia. Marking the Day of st. Cecily, 

Patron saint of Music 

• year of Italy in Russia. alexander Pushkin: “Of sterling 

Beauty she’s the Purest of samples”. Raphael’s Madonnas 

hermiTage collecTionS 

Theme meetings with the Hermitage staff resemble sessions 

arranged by Catherine II in her day. 

• Book Kunstkammer in the Hermitage. an Evening 

in the Hermitage Library 

• “at the Origins of the Oriental Department”. 

yakov Ivanovich smirnov (1869–1918) 

• Fyodor Glinka: “For the Russians your Image is 

both Charming and Holy…” From the Music Library 

of Empress Elizabeth 

• Raphael in the Hermitage. alexander Pushkin: “Of sterling 

Beauty she’s the Purest of samples”. Briefly about 

the Conestabile Madonna 

mission to the museum, accompanied by the Hermitage’s 

comments on all the questions raised in the emails. 

The website acquaints its visitors with the museum’s plans 

for overall development, including its target of creating 

new museum facilities in the eastern wing of the General 

Staff building by the year 2014, the 250th anniversary of the 

Hermitage State Museum. The first stage of the restoration 

work in the eastern wing of the building, which ended 

in 2010, was given detailed coverage on the website pages. 

The life of the Hermitage is reflected in video picks (in Russian), 

which is a new developing trend of the Hermitage 

website. Thus, for example, a number of video films were 

produced in 2010 – such as “A Glass Spectacle: Antique 

Glass in the Hermitage”, “Factory Owner Likhachyova’s 

Hoard”, “Oriental Scholar A. Ivanov’s Story of the Art of 

Kubachi Village in Dagestan”, “For the Centenary of the 

Dance and Music Panels by Henri Matisse” and “Knights Returning” 

video sketch. 

New materials about the collection of European and Russian 

weapons have been added to the division “Collection 

Highlights”. Some interesting pages from the history of the 

Hermitage and the history of technology are reflected 

in the respective articles found in the History section. 

• For the 250th anniversary of the Hermitage in 2014. 

From the History of the Imperial Residence. 

a Court Ball 

“the 18th Century – from Peter I to Catherine II” 

“Dazzling Balls in the Reign of Nicholas I” 

“Fancy Dress Ball in 1903” 

pariSian SalonS 

• “Parisian Photo album”. artistic Milieu and Fashion 

of the Early 20th Century 

• Church of Notre-Dame de toute Grâce du Plateau 

d’assy (1937–1950) 

• Renaissance of Great Christian art in twentieth-Century 

France 

“round The coSTume” 

• New years in the Last Century. yu. Plotnikova and 

st. Petersburg art Collectors 

• Venetian Carnival. Display of Costumes Produced 

by ye. Rusanova’s studio of Historical Costume 

duTch drawing roomS 

• Van Gogh. Potato Eaters – archetype aspect 

• New Information about Certain Dutch Paintings 

from the Hermitage Collection 

• Leonart Bramer, Photography Master from Delft 

• “Living on the shore”. the sea in the Life and art 

of Holland 

118 119 

lecTureS 

amsterdam, netherlands 

Lecture Hall in the Hermitage • Amsterdam Centre 

Lectures accompanying From Matisse to Malevich. 

Pioneers of Modern Art from the Hermitage exhibition 

vyborg 

Lecture Hall in the Hermitage • Vyborg Centre 

Lecture series: “Pages from the History of Renaissance 

Art” 

Lecture series: “Pages from the History of the Art of Classical 

Antiquity” 

Kazan 

Lecture Hall in the Hermitage • Kazan Centre 

“Great Monuments of World Art” 

“Visiting the World’s Cities and Museums” 

• Frans Hals – Viewed from the 21st Century 

• Leonart Bramer, Photography Master from Delft 

• anna Pavlovna Romanova, a Russian Princess 

on the Dutch throne 

hermiTage Through The employee enTrance 

Special programme for the staff of the museums of St. Petersburg 

and the Leningrad Region 

• Issues Involved in the Keeping and attributing 

of artistic Weapons 

• Visit to the Laboratory for sientific Restoration 

of Precious Metals 

• Photographic Materials. Peculiarities of Work with 

the Collection 

• “Museum within the Museum”. Menshikov Palace 

• Laboratory for Biological and Climate Control 

• Collection of Japanese art. topical Issues of Exhibit 

Mounting 

• archive of the state Hermitage Museum 

from The hermiTage To The veTeranS 

of The greaT paTrioTic war 

• “the Hermitage during the War”. Celebrating 

the 65th Victory anniversary. Meeting 

with the War Veterans in the Hermitage theatre 

The Hermitage Assemblies. A Court Ball. “A Live Illustration” 

to “Live Pictures” of Imperial Balls. Characters from the Hermitage paintings – 

work by the Production Department of the Academy of Theatrical Art 

vladimir 

Vladimir-Suzdal Museum Reserve 

Public lecture for the residents of Vladimir: “The Hermitage, 

Its History, Buildings and Collections” – to preface 

the opening of the exhibition entitled Images of Italy. Western 

European Painting of the 17th to 19th Centuries from the 

Hermitage. 

volsk 

Art Museum 

Lecture: “From ‘A Hermit’s Nook’ to the Great Museum” 

Saratov 

A. Radishchev Museum of Fine Arts 

Lecture to preface the opening of Spanish Art in the Hermitage 

exhibition (to mark the 125th anniversary of the saratov 

Museum)

eDucatIonal eVents eDucatIonal eVents 

chronology of evenTS 

aT The youTh educaTion cenTre 

“fi(ni)sh is coming” 

23 January 

Student Nikolai Urentsev from the “Creative Photography” 

interest group put on display an assortment of his blackand-white 

pictures taken with a fisheye lens film camera. 

alexander dashevsky. “a rear view mirror” 

11 to 14 February 

A master class in the “Actual Art” series was taught at the 

Youth Centre by the artist Alexander Dashevsky from 

St. Petersburg. 

“winter Symphony” 

16 February 

The beginning of the second semester in the Hermitage 

Youth Centre was highlighted by a festive treat for the most 

active members of the Hermitage Student Club as after 

the closing of the museum that evening Mikhail Guryev, 

Head of the Laboratory for Scientific Restoration of Time 

Pieces and Musical Mechanisms, gave a talk in the Pavilion 

Hall about the Peacock clock, followed by a demonstration 

of the clock in action and a concert of classical music given 

by soloists from the State Hermitage Orchestra 

“The mediaeval world” 

5 March 

An unusual class of two interest groups of the Hermitage 

Student Club was held in the Knights Room; the groups 

were “The Italian Club” and “The French Club of the 

15th – 18th Centuries” (headed by M. Vlasova); the class 

dealt with the music and dancing culture of the Middle 

Ages. The students were able not only to listen to mediaeval 

music, but even to learn by heart several songs and not 

only to see some dances of mediaeval Italy and France, but 

to learn how to dance some of them. They were helped to 

hear the sounds of the Middle Ages by the musicians from 

the Lorem ipsum ensemble of old music and the dancers 

of the studio Danza of old dance. 

meeting with the curator of the spazialismo: 

Riccardo licata and the venetian painting of the late 

20th century exhibition 

10 March 

The Centre organized for the students of St. Petersburg 

a meeting with Alexei Mitin, the curator of the exhibition 

and a staff member of the Hermitage Museum. 

“day of the march cat – 2010” 

27 March 

“Day of the March Cat” is a special project devoted to the 

cats living in the museum. 

western european plein air: Аmsterdam, 

the hague and antwerp 

27 April 

In July 2009 architecture students from the State University 

of Construction and Architecture had their drawing 

practice in some of the most beautiful countries of Western 

Europe. their drawings and photographs, “travellers’ 

sketches”, were exhibited in the youth Centre. 

“hermitage lomography” 

15 May 

On the Museum Night the Hermitage Conservation and 

Storage Centre arranged a LOMO wall covered with photographs 

taken with very small and simple LOMO film 

cameras. Participants were members of the Lomographic 

Society and of the “Creative Photography” interest group. 

Students’ Summing-up conference 

16 May 

Members of the 19 interest groups run by the Hermitage 

Student Club delivered various presentations. 

“interpretation. portraiture in the museum” 

2 to 8 June 

Joint project by the “Creative Photography” interest group 

(led by Igor Lebedev) of the Hermitage Student Club 

and students (led by Thomas Werner) of the Parsons New 

School of Design, New York 

3 June 

The Student Club conducted an international round table, 

in which St. Petersburg photographers took part, as well as 

photography students from the Parsons New School of Design 

and members of the “Creative Photography” interest group. 

5 June 

Thomas Werner’s Master Class 

“art Semester in the hermitage” 

This is an annual educational summer programme for students 

from the USA: “Russian Art in Retrospective”. 

June and July 

As part of its educational programme for students from 

Canada, the Hermitage Youth Centre offered a course 

“The Hermitage and St. Petersburg – the Classical and the 

Contemporary”. The six-week course worked out by the 

Youth Centre combined excursions to the Hermitage and 

other museums in St. Petersburg, lectures and trips to the 

suburbs with practical art work in the studio, in the Hermitage 

rooms, as well as en plein air. 

9 to 22 August 

The programme expressly designed for students of art institutions 

of higher education in Canada included excursions 

to the Hermitage and other museums in St. Petersburg, 

as well as drawing and painting practice in the rooms and 

halls of the museum and en plein air, plus master classes 

in graphic art, painting on wood, photography and video 

art, as well as visiting studios of some present-day artists. 

meeting with maggi hambling, artist from Britain 

29 September 

Provided for by the “VIP Guests” programme of the Youth 

Centre 

Students day in the hermitage museum 

3 October 

In 2010 the traditional Students Day was devoted to the art 

of the 20th and 21st centuries. Dmitry Ozerkov, Head of 

the Section of Modern Art, talked about the programme of 

the festival entitled “The Pompidou Centre in the Hermitage 

Museum” and its participants. The Chief Researcher 

of the Department of Western European Fine Arts Albert 

Kostenevich focused his speech on the memorable 2009 

exhibition in the Hermitage of Pablo Picasso’s works from 

the Picasso Museum in Paris and presented the one-picture 

show Nude Woman in a Red Armchair, the opening of which 

was timed expressly for the Students Day in the Centre. 

“cyberfest–2010” 

In accordance with the “Actual Art” programme, the Youth 

Centre again became the venue for staging the events 

of this international festival of cyber art. 

21 November 

Jan-Peter E.R. Sonntag. Video Lecture: “Boundaries and 

Infinity” 

23 November 

Lidia Kavina. Lecture and Master Class: “Termenvox – 

Method of Playing and Applying the Instrument to Twenty-First-Century 

Music” 

24 November 

PinkPinksorbet. Lecture: “second Life Odditorium. Kunstkammer 

in the second Life” 

26 November 

Daniil Franz. Master Class for Children: “Humanizing 

Robots” 

“modern french art and…” 

Part of the educational programme accompanying the exhibition 

The Pompidou Centre in the Hermitage 

17 December 

“French Art and the Cinema”. Recent French animated 

cartoon 

18 December 

“French Art and Fashions”. Meeting Yu. Demidenko, fashion 

historian 

new year action by the “art workshop” interest group 

26 December 

Carried out in the Great Courtyard of the Winter Palace. 

programme: “inTerpreTaTion. porTraiTure 

in The muSeum” 

On 2 to 5 June 2010, the Youth Centre presented a photographic 

project, which was the second result of joint 

work by the “Creative Photography” interest group of the 

Hermitage Student Club and the Parsons New School of 

Design. “Interpretation” presented today’s young people’s 

view of the treasures preserved within museum spaces and 

at the same time it was one more attempt to answer the 

question as to how, in what way the interaction between 

the museum and the visitor works. Thirty students from 

the “Creative Photography” interest group and from the 

Department of Photography of the Parsons School of Design 

studied pictures in the museums of their cities: the 

Russian students scrutinized portraits from the Hermitage 

collections, while the American students examined 

portraits in the Metropolitan, MoMA, Whitney and Guggenheim 

museums in New York. Historically portraiture 

played an important role in the creation, definition and 

strengthening of morality, conventions and recognition 

of certain social groups and performed the role of the 

heritage of all these. The principles of representing the 

authority, socio-economic status, the moral values, public 

righteousness and beauty which are determined by the 

clothes, gestures, signs of power and sexuality are to be 

found in the aesthetic genre of each period. The task set 

for the Hermitage students and their counterparts from 

the Parsons School was to study such changes in the idiom 

of the picture and produce their own interpretation of this 

in photographic form. 

2 June 

All those wishing to see the students’ works had an opportunity 

to do so in the Hermitage Student Centre in the 

Winter Palace. 

3 June 

A lively discussion, with St. Petersburg photography artists 

participating, took place in the Student Centre; the 

themes discussed were the difference in concepts and interpretations 

seen in the work of the Russian and American 

students, the participants’ explanation of their choice 

of prototypes for their photographic versions and the educational 

aspect of the project. 

5 June 

Professor Thomas Werner from the Parsons School of Design 

taught a master class devoted to different types and 

varieties of portraits in photography. 

120 121

eDucatIonal eVents 

educaTional children programme 

connecTed wiTh The exhiBiTion “The wind 

in The pines…” 5,000 YeaRs of KoRean aRT 

In the summer of 2010 the methodological unit of the School 

Centre offered visitors a new educational programme for 

junior school children and their parents. It was connected 

with the exhibition that opened in the Hermitage on 1 June, 

2010: “The Wind in the Pines…” 5,000 Years of Korean Art. 

The young visitors were shown gold ornaments found 

in the tombs of the rulers of the ancient Silla State, various 

monuments of Buddhist culture, ceramics and porcelain, 

objects made of bronze and stone, screens with painted 

decorations, silk scrolls with Buddhist subjects, genre and 

“dayS of claSSical anTiQuiTy 2010” 

programme for School children 

On 21–25 April 2010, the annual festival “Days of Classical 

Antiquity” was held in the rooms of the Department 

of Classical Antiquity. It was the fourth time that this festival, 

which had become very popular with children of 

junior and middle school age, was held in the Hermitage 

Museum. The main objective of the festival is to attract the 

attention of school children and other young people to 

monuments of Classical Antiquity and to demonstrate that 

the study of ancient traditions, which is an integral part 

of today’s life, can be an exciting event of the education 

process. 

As before, the rooms of the Department of Classical Antiquity 

were the main site for the festival. Within the framework 

of the festival a drawing contest for children was arranged: 

portrait paintings and other works of that country’s art. 

The children learned about the archaeological excavations 

of the royal mounds going on in Korea and the traditional 

writing system. They also listened to some Korean legends 

and fairy tales. 

Exhibition tours were conducted by staff members of the 

National Museum of Korea and by the Head of the School 

Centre I. Dubanova. Then the children assembled with their 

own hands models of the ancient Korean rulers’ crown and 

of a pagoda, the celebrated Temple of Hopes Fulfilled, and 

took them all home as keepsakes to remember their visit 

to the Hermitage. The kits for those workshops were provided 

by the Korean side. The programme was a great success 

and was enjoyed both by the children and the adults. 

“The World of Classical Antiquity in Colour”. The young 

students of art schools were given an assignment: to draw 

a picture within their two-hour stay in the Hermitage rooms 

inspired by the works of Classical art there or by famous 

ancient myths and traditions. a display was arranged in 

the sivkov Passage, where the most interesting drawings 

by school children and photographs by students from the 

Hermitage youth Centre were hung to create an interesting 

series of “antiquity and the Present”. the festival also 

included a quest game and a lecture on the restoration 

of ancient statues. 

For children with special needs the sculptor A. Fumelli 

gave a class of modelling, in which the children were given 

a chance to work with plastic materials and create their 

own works based on ancient originals. 

The festival was supported by the LLC “Likeon – Museum 

Concepts and Projects Ltd”. 

Special developmenT programmeS 

cooperaTion agreemenT for 2010 Signed 

BeTween The STaTe hermiTage and philipS 

in ruSSia 

On 11 February 2010, the State Hermitage and Philips in 

Russia signed a Cooperation Agreement, which will involve 

the installation of a new lighting system for the Alexander 

Column, the Jordan Gallery, and the St. George Hall in 

the Winter Palace. The Agreement was signed by Mikhail 

Piotrovsky, Director of the Hermitage, and Joost Leeflang, 

CEO of Philips in Russia. 

In the Jordan Gallery, Philips will modernize the lighting 

system by replacing the existing lighting units with LED 

projection lamps. The St. George Hall (Great Throne 

Room) will be lit by state-of-the-art Novallure LED lamps 

made by Phillips. 

High-power LED projector lamps will be used to illuminate 

the Alexander Column. 

preSenTaTion of The holland alliance 

proJecT 

On 15 April 2010, the museum saw the presentation of the 

joint projects by the State Hermitage and KLM Royal Dutch 

Airlines. The evening was timed to coincide with the launch 

of daily flights between St. Petersburg and Amsterdam. 

To mark the event, KLM took a key part in a special project, 

the transportation of Dance, the masterpiece by the great 

early twentieth-century artist Henri Matisse, to the Hermitage 

• Amsterdam Exhibition Centre for the exhibition 

From Matisse to Malevich. Pioneers of Modern Art from 

the Hermitage. 

On 29 March, KLM sent to Russia the largest aircraft of 

the Dutch fleet, the Boeing-747 Combi. The Matisse masterpiece 

was on loan to the Amsterdam exhibition to mark 

the centenary of the work, which was painted in 1910. It returned 

to Russia on 9 May. 

memorandum of culTural cooperaTion Signed BeTween The STaTe hermiTage, 

The vleric leuven genT managemenT School campuS, ST. peTerSgurg, 

and The inTernaTional early muSic feSTival 

On 19 October 2010, a Memorandum on Agreement to 

Cooperate was signed by the State Hermitage, the Vleric 

Leuven Gent Management School, St. Petersburg, and the 

International Early Music Festival. 

In view of the mutual desire of the parties to promote 

the cultural heritage of St. Petersburg and Flanders in 

order to improve the bilateral economic and cultural relations, 

and in view of the wish to stage several events in 

St. Petersburg and Flanders and thus to prepare a platform 

for further cooperation between St. Petersburg and 

Flanders in the cultural, political, and economic spheres, 

the State Hermitage is willing to cooperate with its Flem- 

ish colleagues in preparing joint exhibitions of works 

of art from the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg 

(“The Collection”) at the State Hermitage and Flemish 

museums. 

The Memorandum on Agreement was signed by representatives 

of the Parties in the State Hermitage in the presence 

of Mr. Kris Peeters, Minister-President of the Government 

of Flanders. Mr. Mikhail Piotrovsky signed on behalf of the 

State Hermitage Museum, Mr. Louis Verbeke signed on 

behalf of the Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School, 

and Mr. Andrei Reshetin signed on behalf of the International 

Early Music Festival. 

The ceremony of signing the Memorandum 

of Cultural Cooperation between the State Hermitage, 

the Vleric Leuven Gent Management School 

(St. Petersburg Campus), and the International Early 

Music Festival. Mikhail Piotrovsky, Louis Verbeke 

122 123

specIal DeVelopment proGrammes specIal DeVelopment proGrammes 

The 65th anniversary of the victory 

in the Second world war 

preSenTaTion of The proJecT By 

The archiTecT alexander niKolSKy creaTed 

in The BeSieged leningrad in 1942 

On 5 May 2010, the Project for a Temporary Triumphal Arch 

to Greet the Troops was presented in the Armorial Hall of the 

Winter Palace. Designed by Alexander Nikolsky in 1942, 

during the siege of Leningrad, it is a part of a series of drawings 

he made between October 1941 and February 1942. 

The drawing shows the view of Prospekt Stachek in the Avtovo 

District with the residential buildings built in 1937– 

1941. Nikolsky’s professional activity in the pre-war decade 

was focused on this district, which was also hotly contested 

during the fierce defence of the city in the autumn and 

winter of 1941. A column of KV-85 tanks is shown parading 

along the avenue: they were the first Soviet-made 

heavy tanks which defended the frontline in the autumn 

and winter of 1941. Ten years after the outbreak of the 

war, a monument to a KV-85 tank was erected in Morskoi 

Pekhoty Street to honour the defenders of Leningrad. 

On 22 January 1942, Alexander Nikolsky wrote in his diary: 

“I firmly believe the siege will be lifted soon, and I have 

started contemplating the triumphal arches to greet the 

heroic troops who liberate Leningrad”. 

Triumphal arches were constructed in Leningrad for the 

ceremonial greeting of the victorious troops on 8 July 

1945. 

The drawings and watercolours by the artists and architects 

who refused to be evacuated from Leningrad and 

continued working during the siege are precious witnesses 

to the life of the city during that time. Many of the artists 

were involved in civic defence, camouflaging the airfields 

and other sites, evacuating museum collections, keeping 

anti-aircraft watch on the roofs. By December 1941, most 

of them had to live a barracks-style life to survive and were 

lodging in the Union of Artists building, in the cellars of 

the Hermitage, the Russian Museum, the Academy of Arts, 

which were used as makeshift air-raid shelters. 

Alexander Nikolsky’s drawings became the chronicle 

of life in Leningrad in 1941–1942. He was an accomplished 

draughtsman, and his clear, well-structured drawings 

reveal the artist’s thought and expose the heart of the 

composition he had in mind. 

Nikolsky’s wartime drawings capture the horrible marks 

of war with documentary precision: the ruined buildings, 

the camouflaged monuments, the air balloons and barricades 

in the city streets and squares in his views of Leningrad 

under siege and its everyday life. Of special note are 

the illustrations to the architect’s siege diary of 1941–1942. 

These pencil drawings recreate the atmosphere of the besieged 

city with its everyday heroism. 

Alexander Nikolsky. Project for a Temporary Triumphal Arch 

to Greet the Troops 

preSenTaTion of ediTionS dedicaTed 

To The Second world war 

On 24 May 2010, an evening event marking the 65th anniversary 

of the victory in the Second World War organized 

by the State Hermitage and the Worldwide Club of St. Petersburgers 

was held in Menshikov Palace. 

Two editions were presented to the audience: Lev Pumpiansky. 

The Hermitage: Poems. Letters to the Family (Yekaterinburg: 

the Novoye Vremya Mid-Urals Publishing House, 2009) and 

Voice of Your Heart (St. Petersburg: Petrocentr, 2010). 

The collection of works by Lev Pumpiansky (1889–1943), 

a prominent Leningrad art historian, Dean of the Faculty 

of the History of Art of the Russian Academy of Arts, includes 

a poetic cycle dedicated to the Hermitage written 

during the years of the siege, and the works published 

during his lifetime and letters to his family written between 

1906 and 1943. 

a warTime vegeTaBle paTch 

in The hanging gardenS 

A special event marking the 65th anniversary of the victory 

in the Second World War and the 69th anniversary of the 

start of the siege of Leningrad was held in the Hermitage 

on 10 September 2010. 

A corner of a “vegetable patch of the siege days” was recreated 

in the Hanging Gardens of the Small Hermitage 

with the help of LLC Neolik and the Prinevskoye horticultural 

enterprise. It forms part of the project “Hermitage–2014”. 

The vegetable garden was reconstructed on 

the basis of documents from the Academic Archives of the 

State Hermitage, which include drawings by A. Kaplun, 

V. Miliutina (1942), and V. Kuchumov (1945). The project 

was supervised by the Deputy Director for Construction 

M. Novikov. 

According to the archives, potatoes, cabbages, carrots, 

swedes, beetroot, turnips, spring onions, spinach, and dill 

were all planted in the Hanging Gardens and the Great 

Courtyard of the Winter Palace in 1943. Ash was used 

as a fertilizer. 

The gathering of the harvest in the Hanging Gardens was 

timed to coincide with the anniversary of the start of the 

siege. The vegetables harvested from the “wartime patch” 

were used to make pies which were presented to the museum’s 

oldest members of staff. L. Voronikhina, Leading 

Methodologist of the Education Department, told the 

guests about the life of the museum and its staff during 

the siege years. 

The event was organized with the help of Fazer Food 

Services. 

During the grim years of the siege, Lev Pumpiansky turned 

to the “eternal values”, poetic contemplations on the masterpieces 

of world art. The original plan for the cycle included: 

an Introduction, the Antiquity Section, the Middle 

Ages, Flanders and Holland, France. A public reading of 

some of the poems from the cycle finished by the summer 

of 1942 was held on 15 August of the same year. The Hermitage 

Cycle remained unfinished. 

The album Voice of Your Heart is a collection of creative 

works by the students of the Nikolai Roerich Art College. 

It includes pictorial and sculptural studies, posters, literary 

sketches and essays. 

The history of the wartime class of 1943/44 – archive documents, 

photographs, memories of the war years which 

open the book, – echo the thoughts of the students of the 

turn of the 21st century, which focus on the war, the lives 

of the people, the “proud and tragic” pages of the life in 

the besieged Leningrad. 

Harvest from the Hermitage Hanging Gardens 

124 125


day of maecenaS aT The hermiTage 

On 13 April, the Hermitage Theatre saw the fifth celebration 

of the Day of Maecenas and Benefactor, which makes 

it a well-established St. Petersburg tradition. Since last year, 

it has had the support of the St. Petersburg Government 

Committee for Culture. The birth date of Gaius Cilnius 

Maecenas, the famous Roman aristocrat and friend of poets, 

artists, and musicians, was calculated on the basis of an 

ode by Horace. The meeting place is the Hermitage, which 

keeps the famous Tiepolo painting, Maecenas Presenting the 

Liberal Arts to Emperor Augustus, which has become a symbol 

of the celebration. 

The visitors were introduced to very different charitable 

projects. While the economic crisis continues, many companies 

have cut their charity spending. This makes it even 

more important to have stable, continuous programmes 

providing help to museums and other cultural, educational, 

and healthcare institutions. Such programmes, funded 

by companies like Gazprom Transgaz St. Petersburg, 

Khleb ny Dom, Philips in Russia, the North-West Branch of 

the Russian Federation Sberbank, were presented by their 

leaders. The same category includes the “Theatrical Emergency” 

project, launched by the Committee for Culture 

and supported by the Unilever Concern, which has already 

taken off in other Russian and CIS cities. 

The changing environment calls for new, sought-after 

forms of social activity. Thus, the programme “Keep the 

Best at the Universities!” involves major IT companies 

providing assistance to the best academic staff at Russian 

universities, helping them to continue with their research 

and teaching within the universities themselves. The bene- 

factor companies, which are instrumental for meeting the 

challenge of modernizing the economy, were introduced 

by Vladimir Vasiliev, Head of the Council of Rectors of 

St. Petersburg Universities. 

St. Petersburg was the birthplace of the idea, later adopted 

by other Russian regions as well, to rebuild the art gallery 

in the city of Tskhinvali. This project was presented by Julietta 

Tskhovrebova, a visitor from South Ossetia where she 

is Director of the Arveron Gallery. St. Petersburg artists donated 

their works to the revived collection. 

As usual, a number of vulnerable children were invited to 

take part in the celebration. Some of them came from the 

SOS Children’s Village (town of Pushkin). The children’s 

clothing designer Lali Managadze presented her works 

with the help of young disabled models as part of the “Special 

Fashion” project. 

This year’s ceremony was dedicated to the 65th anniversary 

of the victory in the Second World War. In the war 

years, self-sacrifice was a mass phenomenon. The guests 

learnt about the donors in the besieged Leningrad and 

saw a unique colour film about the June 1945 Victory Parade 

in the Red Square in Moscow. The only surviving participant 

of this parade who lives in St. Petersburg, the retired 

colonel Mikhail Pavlov, was an honorary guest of the 

celebration. 

To mark the Day of Maecenas, an exhibition of rare books 

(15th – 20th centuries) on the history of the Italian Renaissance 

donated to the museum from M. Gukovsky’s Library 

was opened in the Foyer of the Hermitage Theatre. A. Odinokov, 

a collector from Veliky Novgorod, donated to the 

Hermitage graphic works of the 16th – 20th centuries, as 

well as books and albums of the early 19th – 21st centuries; 

A. Zhukov, a St. Petersburger, donated a presentation edition 

of the book on the Feodorovsky Gosudarev (St. Theodore 

Icon of the Virgin) Cathedral in Tsarskoye Selo, with 

a facsimile reproduction of the inscription “Happy Christ’s 

Holiday Nikolai Alexandra 25th December 1916”. 

“if we are TogeTher, we are all STrong!” 

a chariTy evenT aT The hermiTage 

On 18 April 2010, the Hermitage held the traditional 

charity event for the Anima Development Centre. Every 

year, from 2004 onwards, the museum has thrown open its 

doors for 300 children, teenagers and young people with 

developmental problems, as well as their parents. Regular 

classes at the Hermitage School Centre and monthly excursions 

have been organized for them. 

This year, the parents and children taking part in the charity 

event were joined by children from the No 8 Vyborgsky 

and No 27 Kirovsky Children’s Homes and the Boarding 

School No 18 of the Nevsky District in St. Petersburg, and 

the Social Shelter from the city of Tver. 

The participants were offered a choice between the tours 

“Western European Silver of the 16th – 20th Centuries”, 

“The Impressionists”, “State Rooms of the Hermitage”. 

The concert of creative companies from the St. Petersburg 

Arts Lyceum was held at the Hermitage Theatre. 

The hermiTage gaTherS iTS friendS. 

a feSTival for diSaBled children 

On 20 May 2010, the State Hermitage and the Umka Charitable 

Social Organization which provides help to disabled 

children staged a charity event called “The Hermitage 

Gathers Its Friends” for children of different ages as well 

as young people with health problems and disabilities. 

The programme was drawn up jointly with the museum’s 

School Centre. This event is always attended by children 

and adults from such institutions as the Hospice, the 

Ozerki Special School, the Solnechnoye Recuperation Resort, 

and the Krasnye Zori Boarding School. This time, the 

members of the Education Department have organized 

tours for them to introduce them to the new exhibitions 

on the art of the Ancient World and the Renaissance. 

General excursions were organized for groups from the 

League of Disabled People and the Child Psychiatry 

Healthcare Centre, who were participating in the event for 

the first time. It is important to note the interest and attention 

with which the children listened to and absorbed 

the excursions, their responsive and grateful attitude to the 

tour guides. The second part of the event was a concert in 

the Hermitage Theatre. Ballet dancers of the Mariinsky 

Theatre and graduates of the Vaganova Ballet Academy appeared 

in a remarkable performance combining classical 

and modern dances. 

126 127


day of The march caT aT The hermiTage 

On 27 March, the Hermitage held the traditional Day 

of the March Cat, a special project developed by the museum 

as a tribute to the cats that live there. The visitors could 

meet the feline heroes of the day in the Great Courtyard of 

the Winter Palace. 

The artists Dmitry Shagin and Sergei Bugayev-Africa staged 

a campaign “The Cat on the Ground, on Water and in Air”, 

inviting volunteers to draw a fantastic animal – a flying cat, 

a prancing cat or an aquatic cat. Visitors could play “cat 

and mouse” in the museum rooms: their task was to help 

a Hermitage cat to find its main prey, mice, in the works of 

art from the Hermitage collection. 

In the Hermitage attic, the exhibition “What can be Better 

than a Tomcat? Only… a She-Cat” included works by artists 

inspired by these graceful animals, including professional 

paintings, photographs by the students of the Creative 

Photography Studio run by the Hermitage Youth Centre, 

and works by the school pupils who took part in the competition 

“Cats in Myth and Legend”. 

On 2 August 2010, projects within the World Heritage & 

Youth Programme (WHY 2010) were presented at the 

Hermitage. 

The participants of the Hermitage Volunteer Service Programme, 

who included students from a dozen Russian cities, 

presented their projects focusing on the role of preserving 

the cultural heritage for the young people. 

The programme’s implementation became possible due 

to the cooperation of the State Hermitage with the Rosatom 

State Corporation. It was the second consecutive year that 

Ahead of the Day of the March Cat, the State Hermitage 

organized an art competition for the young pupils of arts 

schools and studios from St. Petersburg and Leningrad Region. 

In 2010, the children were invited to portray a cat as 

a mythological and legendary animal. The winners were 

announced on the Day of the March Cat at the Hermitage. 

The world heriTage and youTh culTural and educaTional programme 

“preServing our culTural heriTage TogeTher”: 

a compeTiTion for young reSTorerS aT The STaTe hermiTage 

On 28 September 2010, the State Hermitage and Coca-Cola 

Export Corporation announced the launch of a new collaboration 

programme – a competition for young restorers 

at the State Hermitage entitled “Preserving Our Cultural 

Heritage Together”. The grant competition for professional 

placements at museums and restoration centres 

abroad is an educational programme, a way of obtaining 

additional professional experience abroad and sharing 

it with colleagues in the Russian regions. Each of the competition 

winners will be required to hold a master class 

in one of the cities of the North-West and to supervise restoration 

projects in the field of his/her master class. 

The panel judging the competition includes Mikhail 

Piotrovsky, Director of the State Hermitage (Chairman), 

his deputies Svetlana Adaksina, Georgy Vilinbakhov, and 

the best students from Rosatom’s closed administrativeterritorial 

formations, having passed through special competitive 

selection, visited the Hermitage and participated 

in the programmes of the museum’s Volunteer Service. 

For two weeks, young people were getting familiar 

with the museum, working in its various departments, taking 

part in archaeological excavations, meeting specialists 

in the field of the preservation of cultural heritage, and participating 

in discussions along with students of art and architectural 

higher educational institutions of St. Petersburg. 

Vladimir Matveyev; Tatiana Baranova, Head of the museum’s 

Department of Scientific Restoration and Conservation; 

Lubo Gruich, Director General for Russia’s Coca-Cola 

Export Corporation; Anna Kozlovskaya, Public Relations 

Director at Coca-Cola; Konstantin Chukchukov, Regional 

General Manager for Russia’s North-West Region at Coca- 

Cola HBC Eurasia. 

The winners of the competition were announced on 8 December 

2010, during the Hermitage Days. They were the 

restorers T. Sabianina (Laboratory for Scientific Restoration 

of Graphic Works), T. Shlykova and O. Shuvalova 

(Laboratory for Scientific Restoration of Applied Art Objects, 

Ceramics Sector), and I. Malkiel (Laboratory for Scientific 

Restoration of Precious Metals). The second stage 

of application selection is planned for February 2011. 

dialogue of culTureS-2010: 

fifTh inTernaTional forum for young 

JournaliSTS from euraSia 

Between 15 and 17 November 2010, the Fifth International 

Forum for Young Journalists from Eurasia was held 

at the State Hermitage. Over 150 participants from Azerbaijan, 

Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, 

Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, as well as students of St. Petersburg 

and Moscow Universities, gathered in the Hermitage 

Theatre to discuss the current issues of journalism 

and the future of mass media. 

The forum, organized by the State Hermitage and the Eurasia 

Media Centre, was opened by the museum’s Director 

Mikhail Piotrovsky and the Secretary General of the International 

Confederation of Journalist Unions Ashot 

Dzhazoyan. 

17 November was a day of TV shooting. Representatives 

of television channels had an opportunity to see the Restoration, 

Conservation and Storage Centre in Staraya Derevnya, 

as well as the permanent and temporary exhibitions 

of the museum, and shoot films covering the topics they 

selected. 

At the closing of the Forum, commemorative tokens “For 

Real Contribution to the Dialogue of Cultures” were pre- 

Seventh International Festival “Musical Hermitage”. Andrei Kondakov at the grand piano 

sented to the Advisor to the Director General of UNESCO 

Henrikas Juskevicus and the President of the Civilization 

Television Company Lev Nikolayev. 

SevenTh inTernaTional feSTival 

“muSical hermiTage” 

On 20–28 February 2010, the Seventh International Festival 

“Musical Hermitage”, organized by the State Hermitage 

and the Hermitage Academy of Music with support from 

the St. Petersburg Government Committee for Culture, 

was held at the Hermitage Theatre, the Academic Capella, 

and the Small Hall of the Philharmonic Society. 

The concerts, different in genre, featured musicians from 

eight countries. The Festival was opened by the Finnish orchestra 

“Tapiola Sinfonietta” directed by the German conductor 

Oleg Snetkov. The “Jazz Ring” saw performances by 

the Moscow Art Trio (M. Alperin, S. Starostin, A. Shilkoper) 

and the St. Petersburg Modern Trio (A. Kondakov, 

V. Volkov, V. Gaivoronsky). The well-known French 

violinist Pierre Amoyal played to the accompaniment 

of the Camerata de Lausanne Orchestra. award winners 

of the famous Canal Festival, the Cordevento Trio from 

Amsterdam (Izhar Elias, Alessandro Pianu, Erik Bosgraaf), 

128 129


and the outstanding countertenor Michael Chance in cooperation 

with soloists of the Musica Petropolitana group 

(Dmitry Sokolov and Irina Shneyerova) performed in the 

early music concert programme. 

The Festival was concluded with a performance by Musica 

Nuda from Italy, one of the most popular jazz duets in 

Europe (Petra Magoni and Feruccho Spinetti), and a gala 

concert by the winners of the Spoleto Competition of Opera 

Singers accompanied by the State Hermitage Orchestra 

(conducted by Mats Liljefors). 

The concerts of the Festival were supported by the General 

Consulate of Norway in St. Petersburg, the General 

Consulate of the Netherlands in St. Petersburg, the Finnish 

Institute in St. Petersburg, the Italian Institute of Culture 

in St. Petersburg, the Swiss Centre in St. Petersburg 

and the Helvetia Hotel 

fourTh inTernaTional feSTival 

“dedicaTion To maeSTro” 

Between 12 and 20 March 2010, the State Hermitage and 

the Domus Producer Centre presented the Fourth International 

Festival “Dedication to Maestro” in the Hermitage 

Theatre and the museum rooms. Six exclusive concerts 

featuring stars of classical music and jazz were held 

Fourth International Festival “Dedication to Maestro” 

in the museum exhibition rooms and on the stage of the 

Hermitage Theatre. 

Traditionally, the Festival included concerts timed to coincide 

with memorial dates. The State Hermitage Orchestra 

(conducted by Vladimir Ziva, Honored Arts Worker 

of the Russian Federation) marked the 170th anniversary 

of Pyotr Tchaikovsky with its concert, while the recital 

by the Honoured Artist of Russia Vladimir Mischuk was 

dedicated to the 200th anniversary of Frederick Chopin. 

Classical music arranged for jazz and jazz improvisations 

inspired by the music of G.F. Handel were performed by 

the world-famous jazz pianist and composer Rolf Zielke 

(Germany), who played in St. Petersburg for the first time 

with his Handel Jazz band. The programme “Dedication 

to Jazz” featured famous jazz musicians Bugge Wesseltoft 

(Norway) and Lars Danielsson (Sweden). The “Dedication 

to the Hermitage” concert included music by Chopin, Sibelius, 

Schumann (State Hermitage Orchestra, conducted 

by Arkady Steinlucht, solo performance by Oleg Weinstein). 

The closing gala concert included a performance 

by Nikolai Petrov, USSR People’s Artist, and the Dagilelis 

Boys Choir (Lithuania) accompanied by the State Hermitage 

Orchestra conducted by Saulius Sondeckis, USSR People’s 

Artist and winner of state awards. 

For the seventh time, the Festival was organized with support 

from Promsvyazbank. 

TenTh inTernaTional feSTival 

“muSic of The greaT hermiTage” 

The International Festival “Music of the Great Hermitage” 

has celebrated its tenth anniversary this year. In June 2010, 

the monumental work Seven Gates of Jerusalem by the living 

classic, outstanding Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki 

was performed in the Great Courtyard of the Winter 

Palace. 

Each year, the Festival invites the best musicians from all 

over the world to take part. Over the years, its concerts 

in the museum’s halls and courtyards have been graced 

by the performances by Krzysztof Penderecki and Valery 

Gergiev, Katia Ricciarelli, Lubov Kazarnovskaya, Yury Shevchuk, 

Dina Korzun, Sergei Bezrukov, Sergei Makovetsky. 

For five years, the jazz programmes of the Festival have 

been coordinated by the prominent pianist and composer 

Andrei Kondakov. The stars of world jazz who have performed 

here include Tim Garland, Bill Bruford, David 

Sanchez, and Igor Butman. 

The 10th anniversary Festival covered all the genres which 

have already become traditional – early music, classical 

music, jazz and world music. The distinctive feature of the 

10th Festival was that it started a whole series of cultural 

events leading up to the 250th anniversary of the Hermitage, 

which will be celebrated in 2014. It also marks 2010, the 

France – Russia Year, with a unique concert on the French 

Republic’s national holiday, Bastille Day. 

The Festival opened with a concert dedicated to the great 

Italian Renaissance painter Michelangelo Caravaggio, 

whose masterpiece The Lute Player resides in the Hermitage. 

In the Large Italian Skylight Hall, the Laus Consentus 

Trio from Italy (two lutenists and soprano) performed 

the music of Caravaggio’s day. Each part of the concert corresponded 

to a particular painting by the master. The concert 

is held with support of the Italian Institute of Culture 


The classic guitar quartet Meridion from Sweden played 

Spanish music with an excursus into German baroque and 

modernity in the Small Spanish Skylight Hall, which houses 

the collection of Spanish paintings. 

The Courtyard of the New Hermitage, small and cosy, with 

its great natural acoustics, hosted the traditional Jazz Fusion 

Concert featuring Andrei Kondakov along with one 

of the brightest stars of world jazz, winner of five Grammy 

Awards, the brilliant trumpet player Randy Brecker (USA). 

The Festival’s closing ceremony was held on Bastille Day. 

The chosen venue was the Great Courtyard of the Winter 

Palace. Performances by the Licedei Theatre Company 

and different dance groups, competitions, entertainments, 

and a fashion show set the stage for the performance by 

the most unusual French group Lo’Jo, who combine the 

French Chanson, African, Arab, Italian music, funk, jazz 

and dub with elements of street theatre and circus performances. 

The project was part of the 2010 France – Russia 

Year, brought to life under the patronage of the Russian 

Federation Ministry for Culture and the French Institute 


The Tenth International Festival “Music of the Great Hermitage” 

was organized by the State Hermitage and the 

Hermitage Academy of Music with support from the St. Petersburg 

Government Committee for Culture. 

ninTh inTernaTional feSTival 

“grand walTZ” 

In July 2010, the State Hermitage, the Union of Museum 

Workers of St. Petersburg and Leningrad Region, and the 

Domus Producer Centre held the traditional Grand Waltz 

Festival. 

Eleven concerts (equal to the number of seasons Johann 

Strauss had spent in St. Petersburg) were organized in the 

Hermitage Theatre, the St. George Hall in the Winter Palace, 

in Peterhof’s Grand Palace, the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoye 

Selo and, of course, in the Rose Pavilion in Pavlovsk. 

Prominent musicians took part in the Festival: soloists of 

the Viennese opera Herwig Pecoraro and Marcella Cerno, 

the Austrian conductor Peter Gut and the Russian conductors 

Vladimir Ziva, Alexander Kantorov, Alexei Karabanov 

and Dmitry Khokhlov; the pianists Peter Laul and Vladimir 

Mischuk; Russian People’s Artist, violinist and conductor 

Sergei Stadler, as well as the Klassika St. Petersburg State 

Symphonic Orchestra, the Admiralty Orchestra of the 

Leningrad Naval Base, and the Andreyev State Academic 

Russian Folk Orchestra. 

The Festival was opened with the concert entitled “Kings 

of the Waltzes”, which featured music by Strauss, Shostakovich, 

von Suppé, and Glinka. 

Waltzes by Strauss, Sibelius, Waldteufel, Glazunov, Tchaikovsky, 

Sviridov, Khachaturian, and Petrov were performed 

during the “Splendid Waltzes” soiree concert. 

“The Viennese Waltz” and “The Viennese Ball” events were 

dedicated to the music of Strauss, Lehar, Kalman. The piano 

soiree “Pictures at an Exhibition” included works by 

Mussorgsky, Prokofiev, and Ravel. 

An unusual “Evening of Russian Romances” featured songs 

by Glinka, Rubinstein, Tchaikovsky, Glazunov, Prokofiev, 

and the “Six Divertimenti Inspired by Russian Songs and 

Romances” by Henri Vieuxtemps were performed on the 

piano and violin. 

The concerts “Our Favourite Waltzes” and “Cinema and 

Waltzes” paid tribute to the music of theatre and cinema. 

The piano soiree “…Just Waltz” featured the music of Frederic 

Chopin. 

The Festival was closed with the “Grand Waltz” concert 

which included waltzes by Glinka, Tchaikovsky, Petrov, Gavrilin, 

Slonimsky, Sviridov, and the “Encore” by the Admiralty 

Orchestra of the Leningrad Naval Base. 

The Ninth International Grand Waltz Festival was organized 

with the help of JSC Bank of Moscow. 

130 131

Board of TruSTeeS of The STaTe hermiTage muSeum 

On 19 June 2010, the meeting of a new 

Board of Trustees was held at the 

State Hermitage Museum. 

Vladimir Potanin, President of the Interos 

Company, was re-elected Chairman 

of the Board of Trustees. 

The budget of the Hermitage was 

adopted at the meeting. Measures 

for preserving the museum’s autonomous 

status were discussed. One of 

the key topics of the meeting, the creation 

of the endowment, will become 

the main objective of the Board of 

Trustees. The plan of key events leading 

to the celebration of the 250th 

anniversary of the Hermitage was approved. 

The key tasks include: 

• completion of the restoration of 

the eastern wing of the General 

Staff building and the establishment 

of the Museum of the Nineteenth- 

and Twentieth-Century 

Art; 

• completion of the second stage 

and start of the third stage of construction 

at the Staraya Derevnya 

Restoration, Conservation and 

Storage Centre; 

• restoration of the Zapasnoi (Reserve) 

House and the Antiquity 

Rooms in the New Hermitage; 

• preparation for the establishment 

of the Museum of the Guard in 

Palace Square and the Museum 

of Russian State Symbols in the 

Stock Exchange building on the 

Spit of Vasilievsky Island; 

• completion of the electronic collection 

management system; and 

• creation of the printed and electronic 

Encyclopaedia of the State 

Hermitage. 

The following people are on The Board of TruSTeeS 

of The STaTe hermiTage: 

Vladimir Potanin Chairman of the Board of Trustees 

Alexander Avdeyev Culture Minister of the Russian Federation 

Alexei Kudrin Finance Minister of the Russian Federation 

Mikhail Piotrovsky Director of the State Hermitage 

Leonid Blavatnik President of Access Industries 

Oleg Deripaska General Director of OJSC Basic Element 

German Gref President and Chairman of the Board 

of OJSC Sberbank of Russia 

Leonid Fridland President of Mercury 

Mikhail Shvydkoi Special Representative of the President 

of the Russian Federation for International Cultural 

Cooperation 

David Yakobashvili Chairman of the Board of Directors 

of Wimm Bill Dann 

Meeting of the Board of Trustees. Vladimir Potanin 

133

inTernaTional adviSory Board of The STaTe hermiTage muSeum 

SixTeenTh annual meeTing 

The Sixteenth Meeting of the State 

Hermitage Museum International 

Advisory Board was held in St. Petersburg 

on 27–28 August, 2010. 

Traditionally, the discussions deal with 

most pressing issues of the museum’s 

development. As always, themes for 

discussion were developed by the Director 

of the State Hermitage Museum 

Prof. Mikhail Piotrovsky. This year, the 

Board members were invited to take 

part in the round table “Contemporary 

Art in the Hermitage: Approach 

and Strategy” discussing the “Hermitage 

20/21” Project. The questions 

introduced for consideration by the 

International Advisory Board included 

exhibitions of contemporary art 

scheduled for 2011–2014, results of 

the latest contemporary art shows in 

the Hermitage, approach and ideas 

of the Advisory Committee on Contemporary 

Art, strategies of acquiring 

objects of “new art” for the museum, 

and work with private collectors. 

The Board members had a tour of 

the reconstruction site in the eastern 

wing of the General Staff building, 

and visited two museums of contemporary 

art that recently opened in 

St. Petersburg: the New Museum and 

the Erarta on Vasilievsky Island. 

Members of the Hermitage Advisory 

Committee on Contemporary Art, Sir 

Norman Rosenthal, former Director 

of the Exhibition Department of the 

Royal Academy of Arts, London; Tim 

Marlow, Director for Exhibitions, 

White Cube Gallery, London, and 

Geraldine Norman, Advisor for the 

“Hermitage 20/21” Project, London, 

were invited to take part in the working 

sessions of the Advisory Board. 

On 28 August the Members of the International 

Advisory Board visited the 

Gatchina State Museum Reserve. 

134 

currenT memBerS 

of The STaTe hermiTage muSeum inTernaTional adviSory Board: 

Irène Bizot Ancien Administrateur général, Réunion des Musées 

Nationaux, Paris 

Mounir Bouchenaki Director-General, ICCROM, Rome 

Michael Brand Director, J. Paul Getty Museum 

Gabriele Finaldi Director Adjunto de Conservación e Investigación 

Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid 

Stuart Gibson Secretary to the International Advisory Board 

Former Director, Hermitage UNESCO Project 

Henri Loyrette Président directeur général, Louvre, Paris 

Neil MacGregor, Chairman Director, The British Museum, London 

Henk van Os Former Director, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam 

Alfred Pacquement Directeur du musée national d’art moderne 

Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris 

Annamaria Petrioli Tofani Former Director, Uffizi, Florence 

Svetlana Philippova Secretary to the International Advisory Board 

Head, Hermitage Friends’ Office 

Mikhail Piotrovsky Director, The State Hermitage Museum, 

St. Petersburg 

REtiREd mEmbERs 

Reinhold Baumstark Director, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen, 

Munich 

J. Carter Brown Director Emeritus, The National Gallery of Art, 

Washington, DC 

Wim Crouwel Former Director, Museum Boymans van Beuningen, 

Amsterdam 

Wolf-Dieter Dube Former Director, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin 

Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Berlin 

Horst Gödicke Representative of the Director-General of UNESCO, 

Paris 

Alan Hancock Director, PROCEED, UNESCO, Paris 

Anne d’Harnoncourt Director, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, 

Philadelphia 

Michel Laclotte Directeur honoré du Musée du Louvre, Paris 

Ronald de Leeuw Director, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam 

Edmund Pillsbury Former Director, Kimbell Museum, Fort Worth 

Françoise Rivière Assistant Director-General for Culture, UNESCO, 

Paris 

Paolo Viti Direttore Activita Culturale, Palazzo Grassi, Venice 

InternatIonal aDVIsory boarD of the state hermItaGe museum 

135

gueSTS of The hermiTage 

Visit by Xi Jinping, Vice President of the People’s Republic of China. 

21 March 2009 

Visit by Alvaro Colom, President of Guatemala. 

23 March 2010 

Visit by Gjorge Ivanov, President of Macedonia. 

17 June 2010 

Visit to the Hermitage by Valentina Matviyenko and Sergei Shoigu. 

Valentina Matviyenko, Sergei Shoigu, Mikhail Piotrovsky. 27 February 2010 

Visit by Mary Patricia McAleese, President of the Republic of Ireland. 

10 September 2010 

Visit by Rosa Otunbayeva, President of Kyrgyzstan. 

18 November 2010 

Visit by Danilo Türk, President of Slovenia. 

18 November 2010 

Guests of the hermItaGe 

136 137

Guests of the hermItaGe Guests of the hermItaGe 

fifTh inTernaTional chariTaBle gala recepTion aT The winTer palace. 

“old maSTerS – picaSSo – TwenTy-firST-cenTury arT. 

The garden of conTemporary arT – feaST of The flowerS” 

On 25 June 2010, the State Hermitage held the Fifth International 

Charitable Gala Reception. The funds raised by 

the reception will be used for the restoration of the eastern 

wing of the General Staff building and the creation of the 

Museum of Nineteenth, Twentieth-, and Twenty-First-Century 

Art. The project will be completed to mark the 250th 

anniversary of the Hermitage in 2014. 

The co-chairs of the Honorary Committee of the International 

Charitable Gala Reception are: Valentina Matviyenko, 

Governor of St. Petersburg, Alexander Avdeyev, 

Russian Federation Minister for Culture, Alexei Kudrin, 

Russian Federation Finance Minister, Prince Dmitry Romanov, 

Vladimir Potanin, head of Interros Company, and 

Mikhail Piotrovsky, Director of the State Hermitage. 

During the reception, the guests of the museum visited 

the Garden of Contemporary Art in the Courtyard of the 

Old Hermitage and saw the works of modern artists: Silence 

by Petr Bely, winner of the 2009 Sergei Kurekhin Award, 

Valkyrie by Darya Fursei, Return by the prominent St. Petersburg 

sculptor Dmitry Kaminker, Head of Sobchak by Zurab 

Tsereteli, President of the Russian Academy of Arts, and 

works from the Birth Certificate series by Filipp Dontsov. 

The guests of the Hermitage then visited the specially 

opened exhibitions Picasso. From the Collection of the Picasso 

Museum – Paris, and “The Wind in the Pines…” 5,000 Years 

of Korean Art. Twenty-four works by Ilya and Emilia Kabakov 

were displayed in the Hermitage Theatre foyer. These 

serigraphy masterpieces form part of the collection gifted 

by the artists to the State Hermitage. 

CLASP by the widely acclaimed British monumental sculptor 

Antony Gormley, made just a month before the reception, 

was on display in the rooms of ancient art. The exhibition 

was sponsored by JT International together with the 

British Council and became an advance advert for a major 

exhibition of Gormley’s works due to open in 2011. 

The exhibition of one of the most prominent contemporary 

artists Anish Kapoor was planned to coincide with 

the gala reception. His work Stainless Steel can be seen 

in the Great Courtyard of the Winter Palace until the end 

of the summer. JT International and the British Council 

were instrumental in organizing the exhibition. 

The musical programme for the evening was highly original. 

It included the staging of the play Accents; a performance 

by Russia’s best break dance band Top-9, winner of many 

international awards; a specially prepared choreographic 

routine to the music of Mikhail Ivanov staged by Daniel Salimbayev, 

winner of international competitions; jazz recitals 

by Anton Rumiantsev (sax) and the brothers Andrei (double 

bass) and Mikhail (piano) Ivanov, Distinguished Artists 

of Russia, winners of European competitions and festivals. 

The pavilion chosen for the formal dinner “Feast of the 

Flowers” was decorated with watercolours by Alla Beliakova, 

one of Arthur Fonvisin and Robert Falk’s favourite 

students, and with floral compositions. 

138 139

Guests of the hermItaGe Guests of the hermItaGe 

140 141

hermiTage friendS organiZaTionS 

friendS’ evenTS. 2010 

11 February 

Joint programme of the State Hermitage 

Museum and the Philips Company following 

the signing of the Agreement of Cooperation 

for the year 2010. The Agreement outlines 

a project for the architectural illumination 

of the Alexander Column as well as renovations 

of the lighting system in the Jordan Gallery 

and one of the halls of the Winter Palace. 

The Agreement was signed by Prof. Mikhail 

Piotrovsky and Joost Leeflang, CEO of Philips 

in Russia. 

18 March 

The State Hermitage Museum and the Creative 

Association of Museum Employees of 

St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region held 

a round table entitled Friends of the Museums 

Today – Aspects of Cooperation and Opportunities 

for Further Development. The meeting was attended 

by 24 representatives from 16 museums 

of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad Region. 

Following the discussion, the Hermitage 

Friends’ Club shared experience with museum 

colleagues and invited all participants of the 

round table to take part in the evening programme 

for the Hermitage Friends, Hermitage 

Mosaics. 

18 March 

Meeting entitled The Hermitage Mosaics offered 

the Friends thematic tours of the museum 

expositions guided by the curators of the Hermitage. 

All tours were unique programmes 

prepared specially for this event. 

31 May 

Final event of the season 2009/2010. The Hermitage 

Friends were the first visitors of the 

unique exhibition “The Wind in the Pines…” 

5,000 Years of Korean Art. Dr. Tatiana Arapova, 

curator of the exhibition, told guests about the 

unique objects from the collection of the National 

Museum of Korea which were displayed 

at the exhibition. 

25–29 June 

This year the traditional Gala Banquet in the 

Winter Palace was attended by 25 representatives 

of the Hermitage Museum Foundation 

(USA). A special programme, Monday at the 

Hermitage, was organized for them during 

their stay in St. Petersburg. The programme 

included a tour of the museum, visit to the 

storage of Russian porcelain and the Staraya 

Devervnya Restoration, Conservation and Storage 

Centre. 

Joint event of the State Hermitage and the Philips Company 

following the signing of the Agreement of Cooperation for the year 2010 

5 and 19 August 

Joint events of the State Hermitage Museum, 

the Consulate General of the Republic of 

Korea in St. Petersburg and the World Club 

of Petersburgers were held in the spirit of 

celebrating the 20th anniversary of the establishment 

of diplomatic relations between the 

Russian Federation and the Republic of Korea. 

On August 5 guests visited the exhibition 

“The Wind in the Pines…” 5,000 Years of Korean 

Art and attended a charity performance by an 

Opening of the new season in the Hermitage Friends’ Club. 

The dance performance True Style by the “Ed physical theatre” 

ensemble of musicians from the charity organization 

Krasota Dushi which benefits hospice 

children and orphans. On August 19 a visit to 

the exhibition and a reception in the Winter 

Palace of Peter the Great were held for the 

Russian and Korean business community. 

6 September 

Joint event of the State Hermitage Museum 

and the Hennessy Cognac House, a Corporate 

Member of the Hermitage Friends’ Club, 

Round table Friends of the Museum Today – Aspects of Cooperation 

and Opportunities for Further Development 

was devoted to the closing of the exhibition 

Picasso. From the Collection of the Picasso National 

Museum – Paris. It was organized for the Hermitage 

Friends and guests of the Hennessy 

Cognac House. The event included a reception 

in the Jordan Gallery and a visit to the 

exhibition. 

28 September 

Press-briefing dedicated to the launching 

of a joint grant internship programme with 

the Coca-Cola Company for conservators of 

the State Hermitage Museum. At the end 

of the press conference journalists visited the 

Laboratories for Scientific Restoration of Tempera, 

Easel Painting and Precious Metals in the 

Staraya Derevnya Restoration, Conservation 

and Storage Centre. 

6 October 

Opening of the new 2010/2011 season in 

the Hermitage Friends’ Club. The evening 

programme included the official opening 

of contemporary art festival The Hermitage 

Week of the Pompidou Centre in the Hermitage 

Theatre. At the opening of the festival, 

the Friends were shown video installations 

by Pierrick Sorin, Vero Goyo and Jerome 

Lefdup, followed by the dance performance 

True Style by the “Ed physical theatre” in the 

Hermitage Theatre. 

11 November 

Presentation of the results of the joint project 

Restoration of the “Adoration of the Magi” Triptych 

by the prominent fifteenth-century Dutch art- 

ist Hugo van der Goes was held by the State 

Hermitage Museum in cooperation with the 

National Reserve Bank. The Hermitage specialists 

made a presentation on the complicated 

conservation treatment of the painting. 

The evening programme also included a performance 

by soloists of the Mariinsky Theatre 

accompanied by the State Hermitage Orchestra 

in the Hermitage Theatre, followed by 

a reception in the Winter Palace of Peter the 

Great. 

hermItaGe frIenDs orGanIzatIons 

23 November 

Presentation of the results of conservation 

projects implemented in cooperation with 

Japan Tobacco International, a Corporate 

Member of the Hermitage Friends’ Club. 

The evening programme included a talk 

by the museum conservators about interesting 

and complicated conservation of the unique 

museum objects, as well as tours of the exhibition 

on the history of Russian culture of the 

first quarter of the 19th century. It was followed 

by a reception in the Winter Palace of 

Peter the Great. 

8 December 

International Hermitage Friends’ Day. Hermitage 

Friends from around the world are annually 

invited to the museum for this celebration. 

This year the evening began with a presentation 

of the new lighting system for the angel 

on the Alexander Column in Palace Square, 

which was developed by Philips Company. During 

the traditional evening walk through the 

museum Hermitage Friends were shown new 

exhibitions opened specially for the Hermitage 

Days. The collection shown at the exhibition 

Urartu Artifacts: New Acquisitions was given 

to the Hermitage by the collector Torkom 

Demirjian with support from the Hermitage 

Museum Foundation (USA). 

The traditional welcome of Prof. Mikhail Piotrovsky, 

ceremony of Honorary Diplomas bestowed 

on the Sponsors of the State Hermitage 

Museum, and a concert of the State Hermitage 

Orchestra took place at the Hermitage Theatre. 

The evening programme ended with cocktails 

in the beautifully lit Jordan Gallery. 

Joint event of the Hermitage and the National Reserve Bank presenting the project 

The Restoration of the “Adoration of the Magi” by Hugo van der Goes 

142 143


foundaTion hermiTage friendS in The neTherlandS 

For the Dutch Friends, the year 2010 was again a very successful 

year. The number of members was again growing 

to a record of 5,500 at the end of the year. Also, the Catherine 

Circle and the Peter Circle proved to be successful and 

growing. 

All the Friends received three newsletters during the year. 

The Friends’ Newsletter contains information on the Hermitage 

• Amsterdam Centre, the current exhibition and 

of course the information about the State Hermitage Museum 

and the update on various projects sponsored by the 

Friends. Apart from that, there are special Friends-only offers 

for trips, theatre and ballet performances, and special 

lectures. 

A special day was organized for the Friends for the opening 

of the two exhibitions in the Hermitage • Amsterdam: 

on 5 March for the Matisse to Malevich exhibition, and on 

15 September for the Alexander the Great exhibition. Both 

days were visited by c. 1,500 guests. They enjoyed the exhibition 

and listened to introductions given by the Hermitage 

• Amsterdam exhibition department. 

In 2010 the Dutch Friends supported various projects, 

both in Amsterdam and in St. Petersburg. For the Matisse 

to Malevich exhibition in Amsterdam, the Dutch Friends 

addreSS: 

Foundation Hermitage Friends 

in the Netherlands 

P.O. Box 11675, 

1001 GR amsterdam 

the Netherlands 

tel.: (31) 20 530 87 55 

Fax: (31) 20 530 87 58 

Email: vrienden@hermitage.nl 

www.hermitage.nl 

sponsored the production of the multimedia presentation 

on the collections and lives of Shchukin and Morozov. 

For the Alexander the Great exhibition, the Dutch Friends 

supported the project Morphing Alexander which included 

making a series of photos and a film by the Dutch photographer 

Erwin Olaf. 

In St. Petersburg, the restoration of the paintings of the 

Dutch masters from the Hermitage Museum collection 

continued and entered its final phase. The Dutch Friends 

also decided to sponsor the conservation of nineteen 

gilded frames for the Dutch paintings mentioned above, 

as well as the production of fifteen new authentic frames, 

also intended for the Dutch masterpieces. 

The Board meetings were held on 25 January, 31 March, 

15 June, 17 September, and 8 November. Several Board 

members: Michael Veltman, Kees ter Horst, Rina Rijkenberg 

and J. Meerdink took their leave from the Foundation’s 

Board of Directors after many years of service and 

countless hours of work for the Friends of the Hermitage. 

They were praised for their work at a special dinner. Maya 

Mutlu who works in the department of communication 

of Hermitage • Amsterdam and coordinates the Friends 

activities was replaces by Martijn van der Velden. 

HERMITAGE MUSEUM FOUNDATION (USA), INc. 

The Hermitage Museum Foundation (USA), Inc. contributes 

to the preservation and promotion of the State 

Hermitage Museum, raises funds for restoration and conservation 

projects as well as for securing the donation of 

art and artifacts, and participates in various charity activities. 

The Foundation also hosts educational outreach programmes 

and supports exhibitions throughout the US, 

and organizes an annual White Nights Tour to the museum. 

In February, the HMF launched a series of lectures with 

a lecture by Prof. Cynthia Whittaker, Catherine the Great and 

the Art of Collecting – A Network of Spies. 

April produced two events in New York City: a reception 

and private viewing of a rare icon collection from the Museum 

of Russian Icons in Clinton, Massachusetts, and a private 

reception and screening of the documentary film, 

The Hermitage Dwellers by Aliona Van der Horst at Tuxedo 

Park, New York. The film was enthusiastically received by 

all and generated interest in the annual HMF-sponsored 

White Nights Tour to the Hermitage. 

In May, the HMF President and Faberge expert, Peter L. 

Schaffer made a presentation with a slide show entitled 

Will the Real Faberge Please Stand Up at Doubles, a private 

club in New York. 

In mid-June, the HMF hosted another reception and 

screening of The Hermitage Dwellers at the Russian Cultural 

Center in Washington, D.C. 

In late June, the HMF brought twenty guests from the US, 

Ireland and Sweden to the annual Hermitage Banquet Gala 

and White Nights Tour to St. Petersburg. 

In October, Dr. Rock Brynner made a presentation based 

on his book Empire & Odyssey: The Brynners in Far East Russia 

and Beyond about the four generations of the Brynner 

family in the Far East of Russia, ending with his father, actor 

Yul Brynner. 

In November, the HMF hosted several days of intense activities 

with a schedule that included over twenty-five exclusive 

receptions, gatherings, private meetings and viewings 

coinciding with Prof. Piotrovsky’s visit to New York. On November 

4, the “standing room only” concert featuring the 

Grammy-nominated violinist Anastasia Khitruk and a reception 

took place at the Consulate General of the Russian 

Federation. On November 6, the sellout HMF Awards 

Dinner at Christie’s, honoring the artists James Rosenquist 

and Vitaly Komar, was organized, in the presence of collectors, 

artists, dealers and friends. The HMF also recognized 

Torkom Demirjian’s gift of Urartu artifacts to the Hermitage 

Museum through the HMF in honor of Academician 

Boris Piotrovsky, whose book had inspired Mr. Demirjian’s 

career. The next day, Prof. and Mrs. Piotrovsky together 

with a group of the HMF Board members and friends travelled 

to the Storm King Art Center, an outdoor museum 

in Mountainville, NY. In addition to the many one-on-one 

meetings with museum directors, collectors and galleries, 


visits included: the Three Faiths exhibition at the New York 

Public Library followed by a viewing of the Bakhmeteff 

Archive at Columbia University, the Treasures into Tractors 

symposium on the next day, as well as signing an agreement 

with the Houston Museum of Natural Science for 

a first-ever all-Hermitage exhibition of Treasures which will 

open in mid-May 2011. 

In December, the HMF held a holiday reception and viewing 

of Skazki and two private collections at the Ana Tzarev 

Gallery: Kim Balashak’s collection of Soviet era ornaments 

and Paul Rodzianko’s collection of Russian pre-revolutionary 

Christmas and New Year postcards. 

The HMF held its semi-annual Board meetings on May 3 

and on November 5 in New York City. 

The Friends of the HMF have been working on the two issues 

of the HMF Newsletter (released in January and 

September). 

The HMF finally completed the transfer to the Hermitage 

Museum of the collection of 105 metal and clay pottery 

Urartu artifacts, given to the State Hermitage Museum 

by Mr. Torkom Demirjian in honor of Academician Boris 

Piotrovsky. This collection was exhibited for the first time 

in December at the Hermitage. 

In 2010, the HMF also supported the following restoration 

projects: conservation of the statue of Resting Satyr, 

a Roman work of the 2nd century A.D. and Musician Monkeys, 

a rare nineteenth-century Swiss music box. Ongoing 

restoration projects funded by the HMF donors include 

the tapestry The Healing of the Paralytic from the Acts of the 

Apostles series based on Raphael’s cartoons; Titian’s Flight 

into Egypt; antique bronzes from the collection of the Marquis 

Campana; and Engraved Geographical Maps of the Petrine 

Era. 

144 145 

addreSS: 

Hermitage museum Foundation (UsA) 

505 Park avenue, 20th Floor 

New york, Ny 10022 

Usa 

tel.: (1 212) 826 3074 

Fax: (1 212) 888 4018 

www.hermitagemuseumfoundation.org

hermItaGe frIenDs orGanIzatIons hermItaGe frIenDs orGanIzatIons 

The STaTe hermiTage muSeum foundaTion of canada inc. 

and The canadian friendS of The hermiTage 

The highlight of 2010 has certainly been the success of 

the Canada–Hermitage Young Artists programme organized 

by Dr. Sophia Kudriavtseva, Head of the Youth Education 

Centre of the State Hermitage Museum, and Robert 

Kaszanits, President of the Foundation. Judging from the 

letters of appreciation and the photographs, it was an unqualified 

success. Ten third- and fourth-year art students 

were selected through competitions held among three of 

Canada’s leading university art schools. The competitions 

were under the supervision of the deans of their schools. 

The participating schools in 2010 were: York University 

(Toronto), Concordia University (Montreal) and the Ontario 

College of Art and Design (Toronto). The students attended 

“Art Semester at the Hermitage” organized by the 

Hermitage Youth Education Centre. The itinerary concentrated 

on skills development. Classes were held in St. Petersburg 

on August 9 to 22, 2010. Most popular were visits 

to artists’ studios. The Canadian Friends enjoyed sponsoring 

one of the students and following her experience. 

The State Hermitage Museum Foundation of Canada participated 

in the publication of the English edition of Masterpieces 

of European Jewellery from the 16th to 19th Centuries 

in the Hermitage Collection album. In the future, the Founda- 

addreSS: 

the state Hermitage museum Foundation 

of Canada inc. 

900 Greenbank Road, suite 616 

Ottawa, ON K2J 4P6 

Canada 

tel.: 1 (613) 489 0794 

Fax: 1 (613) 489 0835 

www.hermitagemuseum.ca 

tion plans to participate in the production of more collection-based 

publications that help bring the Hermitage’s 

academic excellence to the world. 

In October 2010 Robert Kaszanits brought the Canadian 

Friends of the Hermitage from the Volunteer Association 

of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts to St. Petersburg 

to participate in the “Monday in the Hermitage” programme. 

The tour was led by Dr. Hilliard Goldfarb, Associate 

Chief Curator of the Montreal Museum, and Yvonne 

Zacios, Head of the Volunteer Association. Robin Young, 

Executive Director of the Canadian Friends, worked during 

the summer months arranging details of the October 

tour. 

Toronto Chapter’s Fall 2010 lecture programme was rich 

in history. They first organized a lecture with Dr. Corey 

Keeble on the Palaces of St. Petersburg – War and Peace on October 

6. On October 27, Rick Phillips presented An Evening 

with Rachmaninoff and Dr. Keeble joined the chapter again 

to cover the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905 on November 

17. Ottawa Chapter’s Fall 2010 lecture programme included 

screening of The Hermitage Dwellers, a film featuring 

some people who work for the museum, directed by Aliona 

Van der Horst. 

addreSS: 

Canadian Friends of the Hermitage 

1500 Bank street, suite 302 

Ottawa, ON K1H 1B8 

Canada 

tel.: 1 (613) 236 1116 

toll Free: 1 (866) 380 6945 

Fax: 1 (613) 236 6570 

Email: friends@hermitagemuseum.ca 

www.hermitagemuseum.ca 

hermiTage foundaTion (uK) 

With the help of the London Friends, the two British 

sculptors, Anish Kapoor and Antony Gormley, were shown 

at the Hermitage from June to September 2010. Anish Kapoor’s 

Sky Mirror was a sensational presence in the Great 

Courtyard of the Winter Palace, reflecting the building as 

well as the sky. Antony Gormley’s Clasp, a single figure built 

from plates of rusted iron, stood in the Dionysus Hall surrounded 

by Classical marbles to arresting affect. 

The London Friends started the year with a banquet 

at Sotheby’s raising money for the “Hermitage 20/21” 

Project. Ilya and Emilia Kabakov were invited to participate 

as the guests of honour. A series of plates were auctioned 

at the dinner – very generously decorated by the 

Kabakovs, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Antony Gormley, 

Zaha Hadid, Bruce McLean and Keith Tyson. The guests 

of the evening enjoyed wonderful music performed 

by Vladimir Spivakov. 

In April the London Friends had a book launch for Gem 

Engraving in Britain from Antiquity to the Present by Julia Kagan 

in the Hermitage Rooms. Unfortunately, Mrs. Kagan 

herself could not be there, but she was watching the video 

from the occasion within hours after the event. 

Thierry Morel joined the organization as Managing Director 

in June 2010 when the London Friends had a stand 

at Art & Antiques London, an art fair in Kensington Gardens. 

The Friends showed a group of twentieth-century 

Russian photographs on display stands, kindly lent by Zel- 

da Cheatle and the Tosca Fund, and sold catalogues of the 

Hermitage collections with great success. Several new London 

Friends were recruited. 

The summer banquet in St. Petersburg included some 

100 guests from all over the world invited by the London 

Friends. The British Consul, William Elliott, gave a special 

party for them the day before in the lovely garden of the 

Consulate overlooked by the Smolny Cathedral. 

A very diverse range of specialists from different departments 

of the Hermitage came to London under the Visiting 

Curators scheme. The program of the year 2010 

started with Sergei Plotnikov, keeper of military drawings, 

for whom visits to Windsor Castle and the Imperial War 

Museum were arranged; then Yelena Krylova came to study 

stained glass and asked especially to see the sixteenth-century 

window in the village of Hingham in Norfolk. Marina 

Guruleva was in search of experience with the restoration 

of encaustic painting and was particularly helped by the 

Hamilton Kerr Institute in Cambridge, and finally Alexander 

Butyagin and Nadezhda Novoselova, studying Greek 

settlements on the Black Sea, were introduced to the Institute 

of Classical Studies and the Ashmolean Museum 

in Oxford. 

In December the London Friends of the Hermitage 

changed its name to the Hermitage Foundation UK 

to give a wider range of possible services to the Hermitage 

Museum. 

146 147 

addreSS: 

Hermitage Foundation (UK) 

the Hermitage Rooms, somerset House 

strand 

London WC2R 0RN 

UK 

tel.: 020 7845 4635 

Fax: 020 7845 4637 

Email: info@hermitagefriends.org 

www.hermitagefriends.org

financial STaTemenTS of The STaTe hermiTage muSeum 

The STaTe hermiTage muSeum expendiTureS By SourceS of income 

(in thousands of roubles) 

Payroll 221,230,5 425,161,0 421,899,1 3,261,9 646,391,5 

Payroll social security 52,704,6 82,393,8 81,536,6 857,2 135,098,4 

total payroll 273,935,1 507,554,8 503,435,7 4,119,1 781,489,9 

Purchase of materials 46,349,8 2,471,1 1,732,9 738,2 48,820,9 

Building services 59,000,0 4,722,2 472,2 4,250,0 63,722,2 

transportation and communications 9,970,2 4,895,4 3,390,9 1,504,5 14,865,6 

Repair of equipmant 42,286,9 317,2 317,2 0,0 42,604,1 

Repair of buildings 53,585,7 0,0 0,0 0,0 53,585,7 

Police brigades* 17,342,7 53,7 0,0 53,7 17,396,4 

acquisition of art works 75,467,1 28,0 0,0 28,0 75,495,1 

Other current expenses 98,899,2 62,264,4 52,175,7 10,088,7 161,163,6 

total current expenses 402,901,6 74,752,0 58,088,9 16,663,1 477,653,6 

(excluding payroll) 

total current expenDItures 676,836,7 582,306,8 561,524,6 20,782,2 1,259,143,5 

Capital building activities 680,000,0 0,0 0,0 0,0 680,000,0 

Capital repair 341,802,8 0,0 0,0 0,0 341,802,8 

Equipment purchases 169,589,9 2,812,2 136,2 2,676,0 172,402,1 

total capItal expenDItures 1,191,392,7 2,812,2 136,2 2,676,0 1,194,204,9 

total expenDItures 

of the hermItaGe 1,868,229,4 585,119,0 561,660,8 23,458,2 2,453,348,4 

which amounts to UsD thousand 

(at 30.37 roubles per dollar exchange rate) 

61,515,6 19,266,3 18,493,9 772,4 80,782,0 

* From 2007 expenses for fire brigade 

are totally payed by the RF Ministry 

of Emergency situations. 

Revenue 

from the Federal 

Budget 

total 

Other Revenue 

Business 

undertakings 

Including 

Donations and 

other revenue 

total 

expenditure 

income in 2010 


1. receipts from the federal budget 

(including proceeds from renting out property and 

equipment belonging to the Hermitage – 12,284,4 ) 

1,873,261,2 75.28% 

other receipts 

including: 

615,090,4 24.72% 

2. Proceeds from exhibitions 524,116,0 21.06% 

3. Recompense for participation in exhibitions 27,561,0 1.11% 

4. Donations and other revenue 27,784,0 1.12% 

5. Grants 

6. Earnings from cultural, educational 

780,0 0.03% 

and theatrical programmes 

7. Fees for reproducing pictures 

20,173,2 0.81% 

from the Hermitage collection 

8. Earnings from selling catalogues 

6,750,4 0.27% 

and souvenirs 6,915,3 0.28% 

9. Other income 1,010,5 0.04% 

total receipts 


2,488,351,6 100% 

(at 30.37 roubles per dollar exchange rate) 81,934,5 

expendiTureS in 2010 


1. payroll 781,489,9 32% 

2. Purchase of equipment and materials 

3. Building services, transportation 

221,223,0 9% 

and communication 78,587,8 3% 

4. Building and equipment repairs 96,189,8 4% 

5. Expenses for police brigades 17,396,4 1% 

6. acquisition of art works 75,495,1 3% 

7. Other current expenses 161,163,6 6% 

8. Capital repair and construction 

total expenditures: 

1,021,802,8 42% 

current and capital expenses 


2,453,348,4 100% 

(at 30.37 roubles per dollar exchange rate) 80,782,0 

fInancIal statements of the state hermItaGe museum 

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 

8 2 3 4 5 6 7 

148 149 

9 

1 

1

principal paTronS and SponSorS of The STaTe hermiTage muSeum in 2010 

Ms. Jayne Wrightsman (USA) 

Mr. Vladimir Potanin (Russia) 

Mr. George Sosnovsky (USA) 

Mr. Leonard Blavatnik (UK) 

Mr. Yevgeni Satanovsky (Russia) 

Vladimir V. Potanin Charitable Foundation (Moscow) 

Smolensk Diamonds Group 

Coca-Cola Export Corporation (Moscow) 

Korean Air Lines Co., Ltd. 

Delzell Foundation (USA) 

INTARSIA GROUP (St. Petersburg) 

CJSC “JTI Marketing & Sales” (Moscow) 

Nobel Biocare Russia (Moscow) 

Philips Company in Russia (Moscow) 

Aksel Motors Co. (St. Petersburg) 

BMW (Germany) 

Social-Cultural Foundation “Hennessy” (Moscow) 

“Heineken Breweries” LLC (St. Petersburg) 

The Bank of Moscow 

Art-Color Ltd. (St. Petersburg) 

Beta-Kom (St. Petersburg) 

“Ilim Group” (St. Petersburg) 

“Atomenergomash” OJSC (Moscow) 

Open Joint Stock Company Promsvyazbank (St. Petersburg) 

Novotel St. Petersburg Centre Hotel 

CafeMax St. Petersburg CSJC (St. Petersburg) 

Bronze Horseman Ltd. (St. Petersburg) 

The International Festival “Diaghilev. P.S.” (St. Petersburg) 

E-shop OZON.ru (Moscow) 

National Reserve Bank (Moscow) 

LLC “Samsung Electronics Rus Company” (Moscow) 

Renaissance Construction Ltd. (St. Petersburg) 

Vitrinen-und Glasbau REIER (Germany) 

“Museum Technologies” Ltd. 

The PRO ARTE Foundation (St. Petersburg) 

Parquet-Hall Ltd. (Moscow) 

The Imperial Porcelain Factory (St. Petersburg) 

Grand Hotel Europe in St. Petersburg 

Slavia Publishing House (St. Petersburg) 

“Pro Animale für Tiere in Not e.V.” (Germany) 

Prettycat Group Ltd. (St. Petersburg) 

“SOLVO” Ltd. Co. (St. Petersburg) 

“NISSA CENTRE” (St. Petersburg) 

ARDOS Co. (Moscow) 

Hlebny Dom/Fazer, Russia (St. Petersburg) 

“Petroflora” (St. Petersburg) 

DELIA, Ltd. (St. Petersburg) 

GLENDO-RUS Co. (St. Petersburg) 

The Company “Ivanko” (St. Petersburg) 

The Veterinary Clinics Network “ELVET” (St. Petersburg) 

“Argus-Spectrum” Joint Stock Company (St. Petersburg) 

The KHEPRI, Ltd. (St. Petersburg) 

St. Petersburg Mint 

The Likeon – Museum Concepts and Projects Ltd. 

(St. Petersburg) 

Arctur Travel Ltd. (St. Petersburg) 

Travel Company MIR (St. Petersburg) 

“Rusinco” Ltd. (St. Petersburg) 

“VODOHOD” (Moscow) 

“Astra Marine” Ltd. (St. Petersburg) 

The Netherlands Institute in St. Petersburg 

Consulate General of India (St. Petersburg) 

iNFoRmAtioN spoNsoRs oF tHE stAtE HERmitAgE 

mUsEUm 

News Outdoor Russia (St. Petersburg) 

Joint Stock Company “Pulkovo Airport” (St. Petersburg) 

Joint Stock Company “Aero-Advertising” (St. Petersburg) 

PLADIS (St. Petersburg) 

APIRK (St. Petersburg) 

Sign City (St. Petersburg) 

“GK Sfera” Co.Ltd. (St. Petersburg) 

“Ministry of Design” (St. Petersburg) 

“Russian Jeweller” Ltd. (St. Petersburg) 

Metropress Ltd. (St. Petersburg) 

SeveroWest Media Ltd. (St. Petersburg) 

Radio Hermitage (St. Petersburg) 

“Yellow Pages” Ltd. (St. Petersburg) 

Paulig Ltd. (Moscow) 

oFFiCiAl sUppliER oF iNFoRmAtioN sERviCEs 

to tHE stAtE HERmitAgE mUsEUm 

NIKOLAEV e: Consulting (St. Petersburg) 

oFFiCiAl CoURiER oF tHE stAtE HERmitAgE mUsEUm 

“Westpost” Ltd. (St. Petersburg) 

oFFiCiAl lEgAl AdvisoR oF tHE stAtE HERmitAgE 

mUsEUm 

Baker & McKenzie – CIS, Limited (St. Petersburg) 

oFFiCiAl AdvisoR oF tHE stAtE HERmitAgE mUsEUm 

BDO Unicon Management (Moscow) 

oFFiCiAl pARtNER oF tHE stAtE HERmitAgE mUsEUm 

Renaissance St. Petersburg Baltic Hotel (St. Petersburg) 

oFFiCiAl pARtNER oF tHE stAtE HERmitAgE mUsEUm 

Courtyard Marriott Vasilievsky Hotel (St. Petersburg) 

oFFiCiAl CAtERER oF tHE stAtE HERmitAgE mUsEUm 

Potel & Chabot Company (St. Petersburg) 

prIncIpal patrons anD sponsors of the state hermItaGe museum In 2010 

HERmitAgE FRiENds oRgANizAtioNs AbRoAd 

Foundation Hermitage Friends in the Netherlands 

Hermitage museum Foundation (UsA) 

Acquavella Galleries 

A La Vieille Russie 

150 151 

Christie’s 

Eli Broad Foundation 

Ian Hague 

Michelle Kelner 

Leon Levy Foundation 

Marble Hill Cellars 

Mr. & Mrs. Paul Rodzianko 

Roederer Estate 

Peter L. Schaffer 

the state Hermitage museum Foundation of Canada, inc. 

Canadian Friends of the Hermitage 

Robert & Elizabeth Kaszanits 

The Joseph Frieberg Family Foundation 

Friends of the Hermitage (UK) 

Lauren Bon 

Maxim Artsinovich 

Alexander Machkevitch 

Phillips de Pury 

Paula Cussi 

Mariam Eisler 

British Council

hermiTage friendS’ cluB 

The State Hermitage Museum is inviting 

you to participate in its special international 

programme – The Hermitage Friends’ Club. 

The State Hermitage Museum was the first 

museum in Russia to organize a Friends’ society 

back in November 1996. Since that time, 

to be a Friend of the Hermitage has become 

a good tradition. Many international and Russian 

companies, charitable organizations, foundations 

and individuals have already become 

Members of the Hermitage Friends’ Club. 

We invite you and/or your company to join 

the international Hermitage Friends’ Club and thus 

contribute to the preservation of the priceless 

treasures which form the Hermitage’s legacy, 

guaranteeing that they are available to future 

generations. 

The main developmenT programmeS 

of The hermiTage are: 

Restoration and renovation of the museum buildings, 

halls and premises; 

Restoration of exhibits; 

Improvement of visitor services; 

Academic research and education programmes; 

Purchase of new exhibits. 

The donation may be made in the form of money or 

goods, services, materials, or special discounts for “in-kind” 

donations. 

Different levels of Individual and Corporate Membership 

are offered depending on the sum of your donation for 

one of the development programmes. 

The State Hermitage Museum gratefully receives donations 

from its supporters, and grants special privileges to 

the Hermitage Friends. 

All Hermitage Friends receive Personal Membership Cards 

of the Hermitage Friends’ Club. 

Personal Membership Card entitles its holder (according 

to the Membership Level chosen) to participate in the special 

programme of visiting temporary exhibitions of the 

State Hermitage Museum as well as the permanent displays 

and the Hermitage branches and centres in Russia 

and abroad (St. Petersburg, Vyborg, Kazan, Amsterdam). 

The holders of the Personal Membership Cards receive 

invitations to participate in special events arranged exclusively 

for the Hermitage Friends’ Club Members. 

The Internet café offers a 30% discount to the Hermitage 

Friends; 

Shops and kiosks offer a 20% discount to the Hermitage 

Friends; 

The museum Internet shop (www.shop. 

hermitagemuseum.org) offers a 10% discount to the 

Hermitage Friends; 

Members of the Hermitage Friends’ Club are welcome 

to enter the Hermitage Museum from the Komendantsky 

Entrance of the Winter Palace, where they can use 

the cloakroom and have a rest in the Friends Room. 

Some of the privileges granted by the Hermitage to 

Corporate Members of the international Hermitage 

Friends’ Club in proportion to the level of their charitable 

contribution: 

The Corporate Members are added to the “List of 

Sponsors and Patrons of the State Hermitage Museum”, 

which is published in the Hermitage’s Annual Report 

and on the official website of the State Hermitage 

Museum (www.hermitagemuseum.org). 

An Honorary Diploma is awarded to the Corporate 

Member to certify its support in the development 

of the Hermitage. 

For organizations making especially significant contributions, 

the Director of the Hermitage grants additional benefits. 

all memBerShipS are renewaBle annually. 

for furTher informaTion 

on The hermiTage friendS’ cluB, 

pleaSe, conTacT: 

friendS’ office 

Komendantsky Entrance to the Winter Palace 

(from Palace Square) 

Tel.: (007 812) 710 90 05 

Fax: (007 812) 571 95 28 

Email: friendsclub@hermitage.ru 

poSTal addreSS: 

The State Hermitage Museum 

34 Dvortsovaya Emb. 

190000 St. Petersburg 

Russia 

hermItaGe frIenDs’ club 

152 153

staff members of the state hermItaGe museum staff members of the state hermItaGe museum 

STaff memBerS of The STaTe hermiTage muSeum 

direcToraTe of The STaTe hermiTage muSeum 

M. Piotrovsky Director, Corresponding Member 

of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 

Full Member of the Russian Academy of Arts, 

Professor of St. Petersburg State University, 

Doctor of Sciences (History) 

G. Vilinbakhov Deputy Director for Research, 

Chairman of the Heraldic Council 

at the President of the Russian Federation, 

Professor of the Stieglitz St. Petersburg 

State Academy of Art and Industry, 


S. Adaksina Deputy Director, Chief Curator 

M. Antipova Deputy Director for Finance and Planning 

A. Bogdanov Deputy Director for Maintenance, 

Senior Lecturer of St. Petersburg 

University of State Fire Service, 

Kandidat of Technical Sciences 

V. Matveyev Deputy Director for Exhibitions and Development, 

Kandidat of Sciences (History of Arts) 

M. Novikov Deputy Director for Construction 

office of The direcToraTe 

M. Dandamayeva Academic Secretary, 

Kandidat of Sciences (History) 

M. Khaltunen Secretary to the Director, 

Kandidat of Sciences (Culturology) 

V. Kovalenko Secretary to the Deputy Director 

for Research 

Ye. Gandzha Secretary to the Deputy Director 

and Chief Curator 

M. Matiyash Secretary to the Deputy Director 

for Finance and Planning 

O. Korolkova Secretary to the Deputy Director 

for Maintenance 

Yu. Marchenko Secretary to the Deputy Director 

for Exhibitions and Development 

D. Oreshnikova Secretary to the Deputy Director 

for Construction 

V. Bredikhin Manager of the Entrance Zone 

direcTor’S adviSerS 

Yu. Kantor Adviser for Special Projects and PR, 


A. Galkin Adviser for Security 

Ye. Sirakanian Adviser for Special Programmes, Charity Projects 

and Sponsorship 

claSSical anTiQuiTy 

deparTmenT 

A. Trofimova 

Head of the Department, Kandidat 

of Sciences (History of Arts) 

Ye. Arsentyeva 

Deputy Head of the Department 

L. Nekrasova, 

Chief Curator 

M. Akhmadeyeva 

Academic Secretary 

A. Butiagin 

Head of the Northern 

Black Sea Area Sector 

Ye. Khodza 

Head of the Ancient Greece 

and Ancient Rome Sector, Kandidat 


archaeology of eaSTern 

europe and SiBeria 

deparTmenT 

A. Alexeyev 

Head of the Department, 


Yu. Piotrovsky 


A. Mazurkevich 

Chief Curator 

A. Furasyev 

Academic Secretary, 


Ye. Korolkova 

Head of the Sector of the South 

of Eurasia, Kandidat of Sciences 

(History of Arts) 

R. Minasian 

Head of the Sector of the Forest 

and Forest-Steppe Zone 

of Eastern Europe, Kandidat 

of Sciences (History) 


N. Kozlova 

Head of the Department 

M. Gavrilova 

Chief Curator 

D. Vasilyeva 


A. Pritula 

Head of the Near East and Byzantium 

Sector, Kandidat of Sciences 

(Philology) 

A. Bolshakov 

Head of the Ancient East Sector, 


O. Deshpande 

Head of the Far East Sector, 


weSTern european 

fine arTS deparTmenT 

S. Androsov 


Doctor of Sciences (History of Arts), 

Foreign Member of Ateneo Veneto 

(Venetian Academy of Sciences), 

Full Member of the Academy 

of Arts in Carrara 

M. Dedinkin 


M. Garlova 

Chief Curator 

A. Vilenskaya 


R. Grigoryev 

Head of the Engraving Sector, 

Kandidat of Sciences 


I. Grigoryeva 

Head of the Drawing Sector 

B. Asvarishch 

Head of the Sector 

of the 19th – 20th Century Painting 

and Sculpture, Kandidat of Sciences 


N. Gritsay 


of the 13th – 18th Century Painting, 



weSTern european 

applied arTS deparTmenT 

T. Rappe 



O. Kostyuk 

Deputy Head of the Department, 



Ye. Abramova 

Chief Curator 

S. Kokareva 


T. Kosourova 

Head of the Applied Arts Sector, 



M. Lopato 

Head of the Sector of Precious 

Metals and Stones, Doctor 


hiSTory of ruSSian 

culTure deparTmenT 

V. Fedorov 


N. Guseva 

Deputy Head of the Department, 



I. Zakharova 

Chief Curator, Kandidat of Sciences 

(History) 

Yu. Sharovskaya 


I. Ukhanova 

Head of the Sector of Decorative 

and Applied Arts, Leading 

Researcher, Doctor of Sciences 

(History), Corresponding Member 

of the Russian Academy 

of Natural Sciences 

G. Miroliubova 

Head of the Sector of Visual Arts, 

Kandidat of Sciences (History of Arts) 

S. Nilov 

Head of the Winter Palace 

of Peter I Sector 

numiSmaTic deparTmenT 

V. Kalinin 


Ye. Lepiokhina 


O. Stepanova 

Chief Curator 

K. Kravtsov 

Academic Secretary, Head of the 

Sector of Ancient Coins and Coins 

from Asia and Africa 

L. Dobrovolskaya 


of Numismatic Monuments 

from Europe and America, 


arSenal 

D. Liubin 



Yu. Yefimov 

Head of the Arms and Armoury 

Sector 

S. Plotnikov 

Head of the Military Heraldry Sector 


V. Meshcheriakov 


A. Dutov 


Ye. Ignatyeva 

Chief Curator 

I. Saverkina 

Head of the Exhibition Sector, 

Academic Secretary, 


G. Rodionova 

Head of the Education Sector 

general STaff 

A. Dydykin 


imperial porcelain 

facTory muSeum 

A. Ivanova 


T. Kumzerova 

Chief Curator 

T. Petrova 


hiSTory and reSToraTion 

of archiTecTural 

monumenTS deparTmenT 

V. Lukin 


Chief Architect of the Hermitage, 

Kandidat of Architecture 

V. Yefimov 

Head of the Sector of Scientific 

Restoration 

S. Stepanov 

Head of the Sector of Scientific 

Restoration and Conservation 

archiTecTure 

and archaeology SecTor 

O. Ioannisian 


D. Yolshin 


modern arT SecTor 

D. Ozerkov 


reSearch liBrary 

Ye. Makarova 

Head of the Library 

O. Zimina 

Deputy Head of the Library 

N. Martynenko 

Deputy Head of the Library 

I. Gogulina 

Head of the Funds Sector 

R. Klimchenkova 

Head of the Catalogue Sector 

A. Markushina 

Head of the International Exchange 

Sector 

A. Samsonova 

Head of the Service Sector 

T. Tarayeva 

Head of the Completion 

and Inventory Sector 

R. Shavrina 

Head of the Bibliography Sector 

G. Yastrebinskaya 

Head of the Library Branches Sector 

manuScripTS and 

documenTS deparTmenT 

Ye. Yakovleva 


Ye. Solomakha 


educaTion deparTmenT 

L. Yershova 


N. Vasilevskaya 

Head of the Hospitality Sector 

M. Kozlovskaya 

Head of the Methodic Sector 

S. Kudriavtseva 

Head of the Youth Centre 

and Student Club, 



O. Kuznetsova 

Head of the Service Sector 

L. Torshina 


for Special Programmes 

School cenTre 

I. Dubanova 

Head of the Centre 

B. Kravchunas 

Head of the Art Studio, Kandidat 


N. Krollau 

Head of the Methodic Sector 

exhiBiTion deSign 

deparTmenT 

B. Kuzyakin 


V. Koroliov 

Head of the Sector of Temporary 

Exhibitions 

puBliShing deparTmenT 

Ye. Zviagintseva 


N. Petrova 


I. Dalekaya 

Head of the Pre-printing Preparation 

Sector 

Ye. Nasyrova 

Head of the Sale Sector 

V. Pankov 

Head of the Printing Sector 

A. Rodina 

Head of the Editors Sector 

V. Terebenin 

Head of the Photography Sector 

elecTronic ediTionS 

preparaTion SecTor 

I. Melnikova 


regiSTrar deparTmenT 

N. Grishanova 


A. Aponasenko 


O. Shcherbakova 

Head of the Sector of Control for 

the Preservation of Museum Items 

Ya. Ivanova 


of the Registration of Temporary 

Accepting and Leasing 

of Museum Exhibits 

Yu. Yefimova 


of the Registration of Museum 

Exhibits of Precious Metals 

and Stones 

N. Ternovaya 

Head of the Sector of the Forming 

of Data Base on the Hermitage 

Collections 

deparTmenT 

of The organiZaTion 

of regiSTer and STorage 

of The STaraya derevnya 

cenTre 

T. Zagrebina 


Yu. Gromova 


154 155

staff members of the state hermItaGe museum staff members of the state hermItaGe museum 

SecTor of new acQuiSiTionS 

V. Faibisovich 

Head of the Sector, 

Kandidat of Sciences (Culturology) 

SecTor of exhiBiTion 

documenTaTion 

O. Ilmenkova 


TreaSure gallery 

Ye. Kashina 


ScienTific reSToraTion 

and conServaTion 

deparTmenT 

T. Baranova 


Ye. Chekhova 


laboRaToRY foR scienTific 

ResToRaTion of easel 

painTing 

V. Korobov 

Head of the Laboratory 


ResToRaTion of TempeRa 

painTing 

I. Permiakov 



ResToRaTion of muRal 

painTing 

A. Bliakher 



ResToRaTion of oRienTal 

painTing 

Ye. Shishkova 

Head of the Laboratory, 




ResToRaTion of gRaphic 

woRKs 

T. Sabianina 



ResToRaTion of sculpTuRe 

and colouRed sTones 

S. Petrova 



ResToRaTion of applied 

aRT objecTs 

A. Bantikov 



ResToRaTion of objecTs 

made of oRganic maTeRials 

Ye. Mankova 



ResToRaTion of TeXTiles 

M. Denisova 



ResToRaTion of pRecious 

meTals 

I. Malkiel 



ResToRaTion of Timepieces 

and musical mechanisms 

M. Guryev 



ResToRaTion of fuRniTuRe 

V. Gradov 


laboRaToRY foR 

scienTific ResToRaTion 

of chandelieRs 

P. Khrebtukov 


experT examinaTion 

deparTmenT 

A. Kosolapov 




and Technical eXaminaTion 

A. Kosolapov 



laboRaToRY foR phisical 

and chemical meThods 

of eXaminaTion 

of maTeRials 

L. Gavrilenko 


laBoraTory 

for Biological conTrol 

L. Slavoshevskaya 


Kandidat of Sciences (Biology) 

laBoraTory 

for climaTe conTrol 

T. Bolshakova 


perSonnel deparTmenT 

V. Khrushch 


Ye. Odintsova 

Head of the Personnel and Social 

Payments Sector 

O. Chertova 

Head of the Sector of Employment 

Relationship 

office worK deparTmenT 

O. Yushina 


N. Diumina 

Head of the Typing Sector 

Ye. Solovyova 

Head of the Office Work Sector 

legal deparTmenT 

M. Tsyguleva 


TheaTre and educaTion 

deparTmenT 

N. Orlova 


S. Mitskevich 


ouTer communicaTionS 

deparTmenT 

N. Kolomiyets 


hoSpiTaliTy Service 

N. Silantyeva 


O. Ratnitsyna 


of the Administrators 

of Entrance and Recreation Zones 

N. Trofimova 

Head of the Dataware Sector 

SecTor of TouriSm 

and Special programmeS 

O. Arkhipova 

Head of the Sector, Kandidat 


preSS Service 

L. Korabelnikova 

Head of the Service 

Special evenTS SecTor 

A. Soldatenko 


marKeTing and adverTiSing 

SecTor 

A. Lisitsyna 


SecTor of proJecT finance 

Ye. Fedorov 


friendS 

of The hermiTage SecTor 

S. Philippova 


SecTor of Sociological 

reSearch 

V. Selivanov 

Head of the Sector, 

Doctor of Sciences (Philosophy) 

righTS and reproducTion 

SecTor 

A. Mikliayeva 


STaraya derevnya 

cenTre for reSToraTion, 

conServaTion and STorage 

V. Dobrovolsky 

Head of the Centre 

A. Terentyeva 

Deputy Head of the Centre 

planning and BudgeT 

deparTmenT 

V. Chudinova 


N. Grigoryeva 


O. Zhukova 

Head of the Sector of Summing 

Planning and Economic 

Analysis 

A. Makarova 


of Payment for Services 

N. Krestina 


of Financial Operations 

BooK-Keeping 

Ye. Mironova 

Chief Book-Keeper 

I. Belova 

Deputy Chief Book-Keeper 

V. Polskaya 

Head of the Ticket Offices Sector 

STaTe purchaSeS 

deparTmenT 

N. Dubinina 


Social developmenT 

deparTmenT 

T. Voronova 


Technical deparTmenT 

A. Plotnikova 


mainTenance of The general 

STaff Building 

N. Yakubenko 


T. Romanovskaya 


mainTenance 

of menShiKov palace 

I. Prokofyeva 


chief mechanic deparTmenT 

R. Baburin 

Chief Mechanic 

chief power engineer 

deparTmenT 

V. Smirnov 

Chief Power Engineer 

O. Targonsky 

Deputy Chief Power Engineer 

Ye. Vizner 

Deputy Chief Power Engineer 

capiTal conSTrucTion 

deparTmenT 

V. Shin 


reSToraTion and repairS 

deparTmenT 

M. Brezinsky 


A. Moskaleva 


elecTronic TechniQue, 

alarm SySTemS and 

communicaTion deparTmenT 

P. German 


N. Khobotov 


N. Velli 

Head of the Sector of Communication 

and Computers 

N. Koniukhova 

Head of the Sector of Alarm 

Systems 

M. Vlasenko 

Head of the Sector of Video Control 

mainTenance deparTmenT 

of The STaraya derevnya 

cenTre 

S. Gusev 


B. Pozhemetsky 


compuTer SecTor 

A. Grigoryev 


deparTmenT of 

The Supplying of Technical 

eQuipmenT for BuildingS 

and exhiBiTionS 

O. Bogdanova 


Ye. Riabova 


muSeum SecuriTy Service 

A. Khozhainov 


O. Boyev 


T. Danilova 


operaTion deparTmenT 

of The SecuriTy Service 

S. Taranov 


K. Mikliayev 

Head of the First Response Sector 

M. Melnik 

Head of the Sector of Supervisors 

L. Anisimova 

Head of the Mandate Sector 

secuRiTY seRvice 

(impeRial poRcelain 

facToRY museum) 

A. Gavrilets 



(sTaRaYa deRevnYa cenTRe) 

N. Zakharov 



(geneRal sTaff building) 

N. Kisilyov 



(menshiKov palace) 

V. Kozlov 


fiRsT depaRTmenT foR 

secuRiTY of The museum 

compleX (fiRsT museum 

secuRiTY depaRTmenT) 

V. Zababurin 


A. Inozemtsev 


second depaRTmenT foR 


compleX (second museum 


V. Arkhipov 


S. Trofimov 


ThiRd depaRTmenT foR 


compleX (ThiRd museum 


O. Chebotar 


N. Burmak 


fouRTh depaRTmenT foR 


compleX (fouRTh museum 


V. Katkov 


I. Garin 


gallery moniTorS 

deparTmenT 

I. Belousikova 


Ya. Kostochkin 


TranSporT deparTmenT 

G. Salnikov 


A. Zavadsky 

Head of the Garage 

A. Laptev 


civil defence 

and emergency SecTor 

A. Maksimychev 

Head of the Civil Defence Staff 

156 157

email addreSSeS of The STaTe hermiTage muSeum 

direcToraTe 

secretary to the Director 

haltunen@hermitage.ru 

secretary to the Deputy Director 

for research 

vilinbahov@hermitage.ru 

secretary to the Deputy Director, 

chief curator 

kat@hermitage.ru 

alexei bogdanov, 

Deputy Director for maintenance, 

chief engineer 

bogdanov@hermitage.ru 

mariam Dandamayeva, 

academic secretary 

scientia@hermitage.ru 

muSeum deparTmenTS 

hospitality sector 

visitorservices@hermitage.ru 

press service 

press@hermitage.ru 

rights and reproduction sector 

A. Mikliayeva, Head of the Sector 

mikliaeva@hermitage.ru 

Development Department 

development@hermitage.ru 

education Department 

L. Yershova, Head of the Department 

ershova@hermitage.ru 

school centre 

school_c@hermitage.ru 

system administrator 

lanadmin@hermitage.ru 

Web-master of the state hermitage museum 

webmaster@hermitage.ru 

electronic editions preparation sector 

I. Melnikova, Head of the Sector 

melnikova@hermitage.ru 

computer sector 

A. Grigoryev, Head of the Sector 

grigo@hermitage.ru 

159

REFERENCE EDITION 

The STaTe hermiTage muSeum annual reporT. 2010 

Photographs by: 

N. Antonova, P. Demidov, L. Heifetz, A. Koksharov, 

Yu. Molodkovetz, S. Pokrovsky, I. Regentova, K. Sinyavsky, K. Shapovalov, 

S. Suyetova, S. Taranov, A. Terebenin, V. Terebenin, L. Volkov, L. Volkova 

translated from the Russian by: 

M. Artamonova, A. Davydova, T. Dodonova, D. Hicks, 

Yu. Kleiner, N. Magnes, R. Smirnov 

English text edited by Yu. Redkina 

Designed by I. Dalekaya 

Computer layout by N. Sokolova 

Подписано в печать 01.08.2011 

Усл. печ. л. 18,5. Тираж 800 экз. Заказ 39 

Издательство Государственного Эрмитажа. 

190000, Санкт-Петербург, Дворцовая наб., 34 

Отпечатано в типографии ГК «Афина». 

153000, г. Иваново, ул. Смирнова, 10

The STaTe hermiTage muSeum annual reporT

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