Is the Hermitage the world's greatest museum? I had heard people make that statement, but I have never really given it much credence. Seriously, how could it be? The Louvre has the advantage being the home country of so many of the world's great artists, how could the Hermitage be better? I was skeptical, especially since only days earlier I had been in another of the world's great museums, the British Museum.
The overriding impression I always have at the British Museum is; "Wow, having a global empire sure gives you the chance to steal some cool stuff!" The Brits have treasures from everywhere. The Russians never really had a global empire, how can their treasure trove ever compare? Yet it does.
The Hermitage is amazing, not only for its quality but also for its size and scope of its collection. The guide says that its collection contains more than 3 million objects. What they display is contained in more than 300 rooms. It is truly a massive collection. Contained in the collection are some amazing pieces. Having been to the Vatican I have seen Roman statuary - but not pieces in a condition as good as the Hermitage. Fingers! The statues still have their fingers! And the paintings, room after room of the Masters. It is an all inspiring collection.
When you recover, you begin to think about what it means. 300 rooms, many of which were worth seeing even if they have not been stuffed with art. A palace whose scale makes Versailles seems small. Palaces do not appear magically. They are the product of wealth and power. The Hermitage and the Winter Palace are testimony to the enormous wealth and power of Russia's Czars. The art that fills them is the legacy of a ruling class that extracted great wealth from its country and its people. Maybe in the palace you can see the revolution coming?
The overriding impression I always have at the British Museum is; "Wow, having a global empire sure gives you the chance to steal some cool stuff!" The Brits have treasures from everywhere. The Russians never really had a global empire, how can their treasure trove ever compare? Yet it does.
The Hermitage is amazing, not only for its quality but also for its size and scope of its collection. The guide says that its collection contains more than 3 million objects. What they display is contained in more than 300 rooms. It is truly a massive collection. Contained in the collection are some amazing pieces. Having been to the Vatican I have seen Roman statuary - but not pieces in a condition as good as the Hermitage. Fingers! The statues still have their fingers! And the paintings, room after room of the Masters. It is an all inspiring collection.When you recover, you begin to think about what it means. 300 rooms, many of which were worth seeing even if they have not been stuffed with art. A palace whose scale makes Versailles seems small. Palaces do not appear magically. They are the product of wealth and power. The Hermitage and the Winter Palace are testimony to the enormous wealth and power of Russia's Czars. The art that fills them is the legacy of a ruling class that extracted great wealth from its country and its people. Maybe in the palace you can see the revolution coming?
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