Artistic Atelier

Section leader - Nadezhda Viktorovna Platonova, Researcher, State Hermitage

The task of this section is to approach the world of fine arts through personal artistic experience. The section does not set for itself the goal of teaching classical academic drawing. This is not the Academy of Arts. But we are also not simply an art studio. Here we get to know the expressive language of painting by working with the monuments of world art, using the art collections of the Hermitage as our basis. In his works the artist communicates what are for him the most important experiences, feelings, and thoughts. The section which we call 'the artistic atelier' proposes to draw close to all this, to understand how the artist achieves one or another impression in his metier, how he converts his received knowledge in practice and expresses on paper his inner world.

The program of activities is very diverse. It includes short lectures about the forms and genres of art, about technical methods used by different masters. We visit the ateliers of contemporary artists; we offer independent practical work in a studio or in the open air; and we organize exhibitions. No special artistic preparation is required to participate in our activities. The program is constructed in such a way that anyone who wishes can master the specific skills of working with different materials such as water colors, pastels, sanguine and others. The tasks are organized in accordance with the principle of progressively increasing degree of complexity, from drawing objects all the way up to complex compositions. The activities can provide participants with a path for finding their own personal creative potential. This can be the application of their artistic inclinations or simply a means for appreciating art more profoundly.

During courses in the Art Atelier

A collage on the wall. Decorating the atelier with one's own hands

Contact with masterpieces of bygone ages

Work in the Art atelier