Portland Public Library

My Hermitage, Mikhail Piotrovsky ; translated from the Russian by Antonina W. Bouis

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 368-371) and index

portraitsillustrations

index present

non fiction

My Hermitage

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871508717

Mikhail Piotrovsky ; translated from the Russian by Antonina W. Bouis

In a memoir, the museum's longtime director takes the reader on a private tour of this global treasure. Holding one of the largest collections of Western art in the world, the Hermitage is also a product of Russia and its dramatic history. Founded by Empress Catherine the Great in 1764, the stunning Winter Palace was built to house her growing collection of Old Masters and to serve as a home for the imperial family. Tsars came and went over the years, artworks were acquired and sold, buildings were burned down in terrible fires, and still the collections grew. After the violent upheavals of the Russian Revolution in 1917, the palaces and collections were opened to the public. Now, in an unprecedented collection of illuminating essays, Piotrovsky explores the cultural history of a collection as rich in adventure as art. From fascinating intrigues to revelatory scholarship on the collection's incredible art and artifacts, My Hermitage is a profound and captivating story of art's timelessness and how it brings people together

Who owns the Hermitage?-- In the beginning was the word -- Buildings and figures -- Timeline -- The first evacuation -- The second evacuation -- The third evacuation -- The big Hermitage -- Staircases and entrances -- Emperors and poets -- Collectors -- Curators -- Conversation of cultures -- Puzzles and stars -- The Hermitage fortress