Electronic collection of Presidential Library tells about history of Hermitage

December 7, 2024 marks the 260th anniversary of the founding of the State Hermitage Museum, one of the largest art and cultural institutions in the world. To celebrate this significant date, the Presidential Library is inviting you to explore the electronic collection State Hermitage Museum on its portal.

The history of the Hermitage can be traced back to 1764, when Catherine II acquired a large collection of paintings from German merchant Johann Gottsched. These paintings, which were primarily Dutch and Flemish, formed the basis for the museum's collection.

In 1764, by the decree of Catherine II, construction began next to the Winter Palace on the Neva embankment. A pavilion was built, which a few years later housed the Empress' art collections. This small building, attached to the ceremonial residence, was conceived as a place for the Empress to rest from state affairs. Initially, Catherine called this building the Hermitage (from the French "Ermitage" - a place of solitude, a hermit's dwelling, a secluded corner). Later, the name of the entire museum collection was transferred to this building.

The electronic collection of the Presidential Library, State Hermitage, includes publications from the 19th and 20th centuries that tell the story of the museum's history and art collection. It also includes archival documents about the formation of the Hermitage's collection and staff, as well as records of balls and masquerades held in the palace, and evidence of the great fire that destroyed the imperial residence in 1837. The collection also contains information about the museum's situation during the Revolution of 1917, and numerous visual materials.

To make it easier for users, the collection is divided into five sections: Publications on the History of the Winter Palace and Hermitage, Archival Materials, Postcards, Photographs, and Video Materials. Each section contains a wealth of interesting information about Russia's most popular museum.

In the section Publications on the History of the Winter Palace and the Hermitage of the rare edition Guide to St. Petersburg: Description of St. Petersburg and Its Sights (1886), the process of how the rich museum collection was formed is described.

Catherine the Great's work on filling the museum collection was continued not only by her successors, but also by other imperial subjects. One example of this is the section Archival Materials, which includes the digitized document Attitude of Prince S. Trubetskoy, Director of the Hermitage, on Accepting for Storage a Collection of Original Prints by Rembrandt and His Students (1897).

In addition, the Video Materials section offers the documentary Winter Palace (2017), as well as a restored newsreel from 1906. This footage shows the historical event of the opening ceremony for the first convocation of the State Council and State Duma, held in the St. George Hall of the Winter Palace, with the participation of last Russian Emperor Nicholas II.

Now, the Hermitage Museum complex consists of six interconnected buildings: the Winter Palace, the Small and Large Hermitages, the New Hermitage, the Hermitage Theatre, and the Spare House of the Winter Palace. The Postcards and Photographs sections feature numerous views of the Winter Palace and other Hermitage buildings, taken in different periods, as well as images of the museum's halls and collections.