The Hermitage in Prado
Prado Museum, Madrid, Spain
8 November 2011 - 8 April 2012

On November 8th, 2011, the Hermitage in Prado exhibition began to operate at the Prado National Museum.

“This exhibition describes the Hermitage museum as a phenomenon. The majority of the items being exhibited here were collected by the Russian Tsars. In this way, we want to bring Russia to the museum’s visitors. I sincerely hope that the Spanish public will like this exhibition,” noted the director of the State Hermitage Museum, Mikhail Borisovich Piotrovsky in his video message dedicated to the opening of the exhibition.

This exhibition stretches across the chronological period from the 5th century B.C.E. to the 20th century and includes more than 100 works of painting, graphic arts, sculpture, and applied and decorative arts, as well as archaeological artifacts of a high artistic level that will fully demonstrate the richness and significance of the Hermitage as one of the world’s major museums. This is the first time that the Prado museum’s visitors have had the opportunity to view such a complete and all-inclusive exhibition from the Hermitage collection.

Works by the most famous of Western European artists, Caravaggio, Carracci, Velázquez, El Greco, Rubens, Rembrandt, Picasso, Matisse, Cézanne are presented at this exhibition. Among the sculptors whose work is on display are Bernini, Houdon, Canova, Rodin and Matisse. The exhibition includes sketches by the celebrated artists: Dürer, Clouet, Bruegel the Elder, Rubens, Lorrain, Watteau, Ingres and Picasso. The gold items made by ancient Greek and Scythian craftsmen present particular interest. They include the famous comb with a battle scene from the Solokha Burial Mound (Northern Black Sea Region). Works by Russian and Western European jewellers and the craftsmen of India, China and Central Asia have also been included in this exhibition.

One section of the exhibition will familiarize visitors with works by the Russian painters of the 19th century, which depict views of Saint Petersburg and the interiors of the Winter Palace and the Hermitage. Furniture from the Winter Palace, splendid vases, Pierre-Philippe Thomire’s bronze decorations, examples of the famous art of the work of Russian lapidaries, and costumes (a dress belonging to the Empress Maria Feodorovna, a general’s uniform from the Life-Guard of a Hussar Regiment) serve as an addition to this exhibition. This will give visitors a glimpse of the interior of the residences of the Russian Emperors.

The Hermitage in Prado exhibition is the second part of the exchange program between the two museums: the Prado at the Hermitage exhibition was held in the halls of the Hermitage from February 25th to May 29th of 2011, and was visited by more than 600 000 people. Both of these exhibitions were part of the Year of Spain in Russia and Year of Russia in Spain.

Eternal Spring Auguste Rodin Larger view

Absinthe Drinker Pablo Picasso Larger view