Today I visited the Hermitage Museum at the Winter Palace for the first time since last spring. On the 2018 Moscow program, our group embarked on a guided tour of the palace’s second floor. The tour guide, Valery, was phenomenal: he was knowledgeable, humorous, and went to great lengths to show us everything on the second floor with the short amount of time at his disposal. That tour though, was provocative and resonated with me more than anything else in Saint Petersburg last year. I was stunned by the Hermitage and its splendor, but on Valery’s tour there was little time to pause and gander in each hall. Imagine standing in the private apartments of Russia’s emperors for all of 2 minutes, and then departing with the probability that you will never return. As someone with an interest in Russia’s imperial period, it was painstaking to leave every room, but that pain was immediately replaced by the wonder and history of the next room!

 

Now, if you aren’t interested in Russian imperial history, then you are forgiven for dismissing my feelings during last year’s Hermitage tour. But I suspect you will sympathize with me, when you learn that the halls we were gliding through displayed works by artists such as Reubens, Rembrandt, Rafael, Da Vinci, Velazquez, and much, much, more. If you could gaze upon Rembrandt’s The Prodigal Son for 3 minutes, would you do it? Or would you pass, because 3 minutes would never satisfy you? It depends on your taste of course, but in the Hermitage, there is something for everyone. I left the Hermitage last year in a state of wonder and despair, but the latter weighed on me more. The Hermitage, to me, was a museum within a museum: the best artwork of Europe on display within the residence of Russia’s emperors.

 

So it is that I found myself in Russia’s imperial capital just one year later, with a student ID card that permitted me free entrance to the city’s crown jewel. On my first trip, which lasted all of two hours, I decided to dedicate my time to inspecting the imperial apartments and the objects on display there. I first encountered the imperial portrait gallery, where I was particularly struck by the full-length portrait of Alexander I, who is the object of my independent seminar this term. It was striking to see this portrait in person, and it loomed large over me. Seeing Alexander in full-length, in his formal home and the seat of Russian imperial power, contributed to a numbing effect which washed over me. It is a sight to be seen.

 

The other sights I took to during my first visit were the Malachite Room of the Winter Palace, and Nicholas II’s library. The library is constructed entirely of wood and reminded me of the Oak Dining Room at the Yusupov Palace, which I contend is the most magnificent palatial room I have encountered in Petersburg palaces. Check out my blog on the Yusupov Palace to see pictures of the Oak Dining Room. This first of three visits to the Hermitage was rejuvenating and surreal, as I had the opportunity to see the imperial apartments with an additional year’s worth of knowledge under my belt.