This spectacular museum has a vast collection that is impossible to see in one visit. We were impressed with the building itself, as evidenced by one hallway shown here. We decided to focus on collections we not likely see elsewhere, and found the Russian collections but especially the Siberian Heritage collection to be completely fascinating.
I have friends that are visiting Russia at this time and this will be on their list! How wonderful to see even this small (hardly small) part of the big museum!
Beautiful! This one is called the Raphael Gallery, or the Raphael Loggias, and if I am not mistaken, it is modelled after one of the palaces in Rome with frescoes by Raphael.
@seanna@maggiemae@julieco -- thanks for your comments! It really was an impressive building and I can't do justice to it in a photo. @vera365 -- so cool that you recognize it so specifically! I had to wait a while to get all the people out of the photo. I took this one sitting on the floor.
It was worth the wait for sure! And... how can I not recognise that - growing up in Saint Petersburg meant for me to get into a "pretty" itchy dress on the weekend and be taken either to the Hermitage or to a ballet or to an opera. As a kid, you notice all the non-official things, like "where the best place to sit in a theater so that you are closer to the cafe"? or "In which of the Hermitage rooms are there velvet benches where you can draw shapes with your finger as the fabric gets darker or lighter depending on your move?" etc etc... But at the end, you end up knowing the place, and the ballets and operas.... My parents would love to know all of that was not in vain! :)
@vera365 -- LOVE your story!! Better than my image, for sure! Well-told stories have a way of doing that; creating impressions of scenes in our minds. THANKS for sharing! BTW, I made it to the Saint Petersburg Symphony Orchestra's season opening performance, as well as to Swan Lake at the Kremlin, and the Tchaikovsky Violin Competition in Moscow.
What an ornate and amazing hallway. I really enjoy your "sitting on the floor" perspective. Your shot, combined with the stories and comments from above, really bring this building to life.
@vera365 -- so cool that you recognize it so specifically! I had to wait a while to get all the people out of the photo. I took this one sitting on the floor.