The Hermitage

Ten years ago (okay, maybe eleven) I stepped foot in one of the most extraordinary and fascinating structures every built by mankind. I knew very little about it; in fact, I’d never heard of it until I met my husband.

“The Hermitage?” I had said. “What is that?”

“Oh, it’s amazing,” my husband replied.

And it was. The walls were lined with ornate patterns weaving in and out of each other; trim inlaid with gold adorned the most magnificent architecture I’d ever laid eyes on.

Not only that, but it was a museum, filled to the brim with the treasures of Leonardo da Vinci, Rafael, Simone Martini, Peter Paul Reubens, Jean-Honore Fragonard, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Claude Monet, Michelangelo, Antonio Canova (my favorite!), Auguste Rodin, and Jean-Antoine Houdon. And these exhibits are just the icing on the cake.

We were lucky, while there, to find that the Hermitage was hosting an exhibition of ancient Egypt, including mummy corpses and Egyptian art. It was the first time I’d seen a mummy in real life, encased in glass and just as creepy as they look in the movies. It was awesome!

Not only this, but the museum boasts art from as far back as B.C. time periods and ancient Greece and Rome. Jewelry from different periods, as well as sculptures by unknowns. The exhibit rotates, and even after spending a number of days in the Hermitage (also the Winter Palace of the late Peter the Great and his Queen Alexandra), my husband claims he had still not seen every room or every artwork that he could have. I believe him.

My favorite part of my experience in the museum was coming across Cupid and Psyche, by Antonio Canova. I didn’t know they even had this work here. My husband also saw this piece in the Louvre in Paris. I was jealous, but I could hardly be too concerned when I had already seen the piece once. It was magnificent. There is something about marble carved statues as well – sort of like the Stradivarius for violins, Carrera is the most beautiful and sculpture worthy marble in the world. There are many excellent marble statues that adorn the halls of the Hermitage.

But I’m getting sidetracked. So months before I went to this museum, I came across a photograph of one of the most gorgeous statues I had ever seen; Cupid & Psyche. I loved it at once. I grew up around very little artistic culture, so seeing these things even in pictures had quite an impact on me at first. And when I saw the sculpture up close and personal? I can’t quite describe how that feels. Surely if you’ve ever seen a masterpiece in real life and try to compare it to a picture, you know what I mean. There is something deep and even individualistic about involving yourself in a work of art like this.

If you ever have the chance to go to The Hermitage, do it. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity (unless you live in St. Petersburg, of course). If not, find a museum closer to you and go. There is probably a fantastic museum at a University close to you.

Until next time, my best wishes in your search for the beautiful.

-Amanda