One of the most popular museums not only in St. Petersburg, but in all of Russia. Perhaps there is not a person in our country who has not at least heard of the State Hermitage Museum.

Moreover, it is constantly ranked among the best museums in the world. All year round tourists from different countries come here. Sometimes it even seems that foreigners gather here more than Russians. Partly because the tours are in different languages, and you constantly hear unfamiliar speech.

The State Hermitage in St. Petersburg was called the Imperial Hermitage until 1917. Its history began with the collections of world art by Catherine the Great. Today there are about three million exhibits here: from the Stone Age to the present day. Don’t worry if you don’t have time to see everything, it’s just impossible. Scientists have calculated that it takes eight years to walk around the Hermitage, stopping at each exhibit and studying it! So take a tour so you don’t get confused and see the main masterpieces.

Today the Hermitage in St. Petersburg occupies five buildings on the Neva River embankment. The main one is the Winter Palace. Then come the Eastern Wing of the General Staff, the Menshikov Palace, and the storage rooms.

By the way, it is not only the modern security systems and video surveillance that keep an eye on the works of art. For almost 300 years now cats have lived in the Winter Palace.

The first cats were brought to St. Petersburg by Catherine the Great. At the time, hordes of mice and rats occupied the palace and only the most formidable rats-catchers could cope with them.

Even today they literally work in the Hermitage, guarding its exhibits from rats, of which there are still many. Today within the walls of the Winter Palace live about 50 cats.

What to see
The collection of the State Hermitage Museum includes paintings, graphics, sculptures, archaeological monuments, objects of applied art. If you have only one day to visit, you don’t have time to see all the halls of the museum. That is why it is better to determine beforehand what to see.

We recommend you start with the portrait gallery of the Romanov dynasty. Include the hall with the famous golden peacock clock, which Catherine received as a gift from Prince Potemkin. A separate hall for fans of Da Vinci and Picasso. The Egyptian Hall and the famous Jordan Stairs in the northwestern part of the Winter Palace are interesting.

The main question is whether to take a tour or not? On the one hand, you depend on the group, on the other, accompaniment with stories about the exhibits is really interesting.

Loud interest and artistic value of the Hermitage are its collections of paintings. It is not for nothing that the museum is called the temple of art. You can walk around its halls an immeasurable amount of time and still, for many years you can not see everything. But there are true gems that demand contemplation in the first place – the acknowledged masterpieces of the world’s great masters of all times.

Leonardo da Vinci
There are now 14 paintings left in the world by the unsurpassed master Leonardo da Vinci. Two of his Madonnas are on display in the Hermitage Museum: “Madonna Benoit” and “Madonna Litta.” The latter is considered the most lyrical depiction of Our Lady ever painted on canvas. The master was able to convey the feminine tenderness, the maternal love that a loving mother feels for her baby. In 1864 the canvas was purchased from the owner of the Milan Picture Gallery, Count Litta. It is a treasure of the Hermitage.

Titian
Titian’s work is represented in the Hermitage by eight works, among them “Penitent Mary Magdalene.” The first version of the painting was commissioned by the artist in 1560, but it made such an impression on his contemporaries that Titian had to paint three more versions, each of which changed the background, the position of the hands and the heroine’s head. The version preserved in the Hermitage is considered the most perfect. The painting depicts an earthly woman who has suffered much heartache. Her eyes are full of tears and her eyes are full of remorse. In 1850, Nicholas I bought it and several other paintings for his museum collection.

El Greco
Works by Spanish masters are represented by over one hundred and sixty paintings. This collection is the largest outside of Spain. One of El Greco’s paintings is The Apostles Peter and Paul. This canvas, painted in 1592, for various reasons was consigned to oblivion for almost three centuries. It is filled with a secret meaning and mysterious symbols, about which the experts argue. The portrait was made in such a delicate technique that even with the aid of an X-ray scanner it is difficult to find unequivocal answers. One thing is indisputable, the image of the Apostle Paul the artist gave his own features.

Rembrandt
An entire room is devoted to this artist. Each of the canvases on view for all to see attracts and fascinates. Among the most famous masterpieces is “Danaë”. The plot of this painting is the appearance of Zeus in the form of jets of golden rain to a girl imprisoned in a dungeon. It can be seen in the work of many artists, including Titian.

The canvas has long confounded art historians, because it vividly displayed two styles of execution. Only when in the disposal of the experts was X-ray, it all became clear. Initially, the master has depicted his wife – Saskia, who posed him for many works. Next to the heroine was a laughing angel, and it rained gold on her. But after the death of his wife, Rembrandt changed the girl’s face in the portrait, giving it the features of his new companion.
Apparently the artist’s grief for the deceased wife was very strong. On the canvas appeared an old maid, and the expression of the angel’s face became mournful. Despite the fact that Danaë does not fit into modern canons of beauty, she is considered the embodiment of femininity and sensuality.

A terrible story happened in the last century with “Danaë.” One Saturday in June 1985, a man from the tour group learned from the guide that “Danaë” is one of the most valuable paintings in the Hermitage. Without thinking twice, he doused the canvas with sulfuric acid and stabbed it twice. It seemed that the priceless masterpiece was lost forever, because it was almost destroyed about 30% of the picture. But thanks to the painstaking work of restorers, it was restored. It took 12 years. Now the picture is again on display and delights visitors, but it is fenced with armored glass.

Another masterpiece by Rembrandt, which is impossible to pass by, is “The Return of the Prodigal Son. This is one of the artist’s last works. He worked on its creation for almost thirty years. The famous biblical story on the canvas is causing a lot of controversy among art historians, one of which concerns the question of who and what is the background of the picture. Some researchers believe that the figures barely discernible in the darkness are the prodigal son himself before he left his paternal home and after his return. But this version is not the only one.

Caravaggio
Only one work by Caravaggio, The Young Man with the Lute, is represented in the Hermitage. Some researchers believe that they are dealing with a copy of the original. For many years the work was exhibited as The Lute Lady. Careful research of the work and biographical information confirmed the originality, which means that it really depicts a young man, and the prototype was a friend of the artist – Mario Minniti. The masterpiece is among the first made in the technique of directional lighting. To create this effect and accurate rendering, the artist seated sit sitters in a dark basement and under an incident beam of light coming in from the room’s only small window.

Thomas Gainsborough
In our country there is only one painting, belonging to the brush of the English painter Thomas Gainsborough, and it is exhibited in the Hermitage. We are talking about the Lady in Blue. It depicts the Duchess Elizabeth de Beaufort. Here she is the very femininity and elegance. All the more surprising because her mother was an ardent activist in the British “blue stocking” movement. The work is one of the best Baroque portraits. The artist was able to convey the exquisite beauty of the girl, her fine features and grace. It came into the museum treasury in 1912 from the collection of Jägermeister Khitrovo.

Renoir
In the Hermitage, several canvases belonging to the brush of Renoir are exhibited. One of them – “Portrait of the actress Jeanne Samarie. The work is filled with light, effulgent shades and transitions cause genuine admiration. However, the history of the masterpiece is dramatic. Barely painted picture was almost lost. Renoir painted it for the exhibition, and, knowing that the paints did not dry, did not cover with varnish. But the employee of the gallery, which transported the picture decided that the artist simply did not have enough money, and arbitrarily varnished it. The paints were leaking. The painting could not be restored. The painter had to take up brushes again and repeat his genius creation.