The State Hermitage Museum: Exhibitions

At the Russian Court: Palace and Protocol in the 19th Century
20 June 2009 - 1 February 2010

The Hermitage • Amsterdam Centre
Amsterdam, the Netherlands

The Hermitage • Amsterdam centre is opened with the exhibition At the Russian Court: Palace and Protocol in the 19th Century, one of the biggest temporary exhibitions among the exhibitions that have ever taken place in Amsterdam. Over 2000 exhibits from the collection of the State Hermitage will be presented at the Hermitage • Amsterdam centre from June 20th, 2009 till January 31st, 2010. The exposition tells about the Russian Imperial Court of the 19th century, its traditions, ceremonials and the courtiers, about the times of six emperors, the first of which was the son of Catherine the Great Pavel I and the sixth was the last in the ruling dynasty Nicholas II.

The ceremonial portraits, the unique engravings, the invaluable diplomatic gifts, the splendid dresses and uniforms from the richest collections of the Hermitage are called upon to recreate the atmosphere of one of the most brilliant courts of Europe of the time.

Among the works of art the following should be noted particularly: the portrait of Nicholas II by Ilya Repin and the portraits of the daughter of Pavel I Anna Pavlovna and her husband King of the Netherlands William II by the Belgian artist Nicaise de Keyser and by the Dutch master N. Peinemann. Both works were restored specially for At the Russian Court: Palace and Protocol in the 19th Century exhibition with financial support from the Hermitage Friends Society in the Netherlands.

In whole the fine art restorers of the Hermitage carried out much work by restoring approximately 500 monuments including fine art canvases and graphic leaves, furniture and jewellery, costumes and porcelain, weapons and musical instruments.

The examples of the applied art are presented wonderfully. The fine jewellery and snuffboxes are made by such well-known artists as Karl Faberge. The collections of the fans, hats, umbrellas, ball shoes and other accessories attract unusual interest. The dresses of the mother of Nicholas II, Empress Maria Fyodorovna, created by the most famous French fashion designer Ch. Worth are unique.

The central topic of the exhibition is the life of the Imperial Court, its ceremonial and festive sides. Although the private life of the Royal family for whom the Winter Palace was not just the ceremonial residence but also the place of permanent stay is paid fair attention.

The design of the exhibition was developed by one of the leading design-bureaus in the Netherlands - Merkx+Girod company. The company is well-know in Europe due to the design of such exhibitions as the permanent Masterpieces from the Collection of the Reiksmuseum exposition and temporary Marocco exhibition at the exhibition centre the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam. While decorating the At the Russian Court: Palace and Protocol in the 19th Century exhibition the designers drew their inspiration from the interiors of the two most famous halls of the Winter Palace - the Nicholas Hall and the St. George Hall. The elements of their design were used in the decoration of the two big halls in the Hermitage • Amsterdam centre.

Information for visitors at the exhibition is presented in the form of the traditional text annotations and audio-guides, as well as by means of the large number of interactive computer programs providing the visitors with the additional information. It is worth mentioning that fragments from the film by Alexander Sokurov Russian Ark were used in the interactive design of the exposition.

Performance at Mikhailovsky Theatre Vasiliy Sadovnikov Larger view		Portrait of Prince Nikolai Saltykov Franz Kruger Larger view

Amphora vase with the genre scene Officers playing trick-track 1835 Larger view		Napoleon Bonaparte on the Bridge at Arcole Antoine-Jean Gros Larger view

Portrait of William II of the Netherlands Pieneman Nicolas Larger view		Coronation of Empreror Alexander III and Empress Maria Fyodorovna Georges Becker Larger view

Portrait of Emperor Nicholas II Ilya Repin Larger view		His Imperial Majesty the Emperor Nicholas Alexandrovich 1904 Larger view

Interiors of the Winter Palace. Part of the White (Armorial) Hall Adolphe Ladurner Larger view		Neva Embankment by the Western Facade of the Winter Palace Ludwig Franz Karl Bohnstedt Larger view