The education centre comprises computerized study workplaces for use by up to seven people at any one time. It provides an introduction to interactive courses in Russian and English.The Education Centre or Centre for Training and Information Technologies is located in the Rastrelli Gallery on the ground floor of the Winter Palace. The centre was created within the framework of the Hermitage-IBM project and funded by a grant from the IBM Corporation to the State Hermitage. Trial use of the Education Centre began in 1998, and the official opening took place on 15 June 1999. The ceremony included presentation of the results of many years of partnership between the State Hermitage and IBM and visitors were given access to a number of programs (courses) for individual study. The project envisaged not only the joint development of educational courses, but also training of Hermitage staff to enable them to develop similar courses on their own.
The training centre is takes the form of a single structure with seven computer workplaces built into it. Visitors can use the trackballs to select one of the interactive courses on offer. Each section of a course contains a test at the end so that students can check their acquisition of knowledge. All the courses feature high-quality images, elements of which can be enlarged. This function makes it possible to view details of works in a way that is impossible when viewing them in the ordinary manner in the museum. The main conception behind the creation of the courses was to provide museum visitors with a means of obtaining more information about the works in the museum collection than is possible during an individual private visit or a guided tour.

Today the Hermitage is constantly developing new programs that then become additional courses in the Education Centre. Specialists from the Schools Centre prepare texts and illustrations that are incorporated in special programs by workers of the computer class. All the instructional courses are produced in Russian and English. Use of the Educational Centre is free of charge for visitors to the Hermitage.

Programs of the Centre for Training and Information Technologies

The Educational Centre offers training courses developed by the research staff of the Schools Centre in conjunction with specialists from the IBM Corporation. Two courses - Gospel Subjects in Western European Painting from the Hermitage Collection and Ancient Subjects in 16th-20th-century Western European Art from the Hermitage Collection - are the result of the joint project. In 1999 the Schools Centre began developing new courses. An example of this independent work is the course on The Gallery of Ancient Painting. All the educational courses are in heavy demand with museum visitors.

The course Gospel Subjects in Western European Painting from the Hermitage Collection is intended for all lovers of painting. It immerses the user in the world of Gospel subjects as reflected in the paintings of artists belonging to various schools and eras. The 40-hour course has five sections: The Main Images of the New Testament, The Story of Mary, The Childhood of Christ, Christ's Ministry and Christ's Passion. The illustrations have been chosen in such a way that a single subject is represented by the paintings of a number of artists. For example, the depictions of the Annunciation were created by Simone Martini (14th century, Italy), Filippino Lippi (15th century, Italy), Cima da Conegliano (15th century, Italy) and Pieter Lastman
(17th century, Holland). This enables the constructors of the course to graphically demonstrate to the user the changes in the expressive idiom of painting over several centuries.

The course entitled Ancient Subjects in 16th-20th-century Western European Art from the Hermitage Collection was created for children 10 years and older. It consists of five sections: Ancient Authors, The Gods of Olympus, The Heroes of Ancient Greece and Rome and The Story of Psyche. An amusing character named Hermic takes a fascinating journey around the Ancient World. Users will discover how painters and sculptors with a thorough knowledge of ancient literature well employed its subjects in their works and learn what ancient authors wrote about. They will also find out how and why Maurice Denis came to create his series of decorative panels on The Story of Psyche.

The structure of both courses makes it easy to compare works on the same subject that were created in different eras and are now displayed in different parts of the museum.

The course on The Gallery of the History of Ancient Painting is an introduction to the unique interior bearing that name in the New Hermitage. The paintings decorating the gallery were produced from drawings by Leo von Klenze, the architect who designed the New Hermitage (1842-51), the first building in Russia specially built to house collections of art. According to the architect's concept, the gallery was supposed to remind visitors to the museum about the outstanding painters of Ancient Greece and Rome and provide an idea of their works that have not come down to us today. The 86 paintings in the gallery present the evolution of painting in Ancient Greece and Rome over a period of a thousand years (from the 7th century B.C. to the 4th century A.D.). The course is intended for both youngsters and adults.

The Computer Education Centre
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The courses are popular with schoolchildren
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Members of the Schools Centre staff preparing a new course
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The course Gospel Subjects in Western European Painting
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The course Ancient Subjects in Western European Painting
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The course The Gallery of the History of Ancient Painting
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A page from one of the courses
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A page from one of the course tests
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