From Myth to Project. The Influence of Architects from Italy and Ticino in Russia in the Epoch of Classicism

On 18 February 2004, in the Nicholas Hall (Hall 191) of the Winter Palace, an exhibition opened which displays works of art from Russian, Italian and Swiss collections. The circa 300 items that are exhibited reflect the golden age of Classicism in the architecture of St.Petersburg, the period from 1762 to 1825, spanning the reigns of Catherine II, Paul I and Alexander I. It was a period when architects from many countries of the world were creatively engaged here. Among them were several coming from the Swiss canton of Ticino, including Luigi Rusca, Tommaso, Domenico and Antonio Adamini.

The first section of the exhibition shows the artistic atmosphere of the late 18th century. Besides portraits of monarchs and architects of the period, the exhibition displays works on various subjects taken from antiquity: paintings by Hubert Robert, Giovanni and Paolo Panini, drawings by Charles Louis Clerisseau, Louis Jean Depre, Thomas de Thomon, and also models of classical monuments. We can also see drawings and sketches of decorations created by Italians who worked in Russia. Giuseppe Valeriani, Galli Bibiena, Carlo Pietro Gonzaga.

The second section of the exhibition presents major phases in the development of Russian architecture at the close of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries. Here there are on display the plans and blueprints of the famous architects of the period as well as city views showing palaces and churches that they constructed in Moscow and St. Petersburg. The interiors of the Winter Palace, created by Quarenghi, Rossi and Stasov complete the exhibition.

The exhibition has been organized by the State Hermitage in cooperation with the Cantonal Museum and University of Italian Switzerland in Lugano, with participation also by :
- the Scholarly Research Museum of the Russian Academy of Arts
- the State Museum of the History of St. Petersburg
- St. Petersburg State Theater Library
- St. Petersburg State University of Railways within the RF Ministry of Transportation
- the State Museum and Reserve at Tsarskoye Selo;
- the State Museum and Reserve at Pavlovsk;
- the Russian State Historical Archive;
-the Committee for State Monitoring, Use and Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments within the Administration of St Petersburg
- the Municipal Library and Historical Archives of Angelo Mai, Bergamo
- the Frantoni di Rovetta Museum, Bergamo
- the Carrara Academy, Bergamo
- Private collections.

The exhibition has benefited from the sponsorship by BSI, bankers since 1873, Lugano, and by Pirelli. The Pro Helvetia Foundation also contributed to the realisation of the exhibition.

Additional support was provided by the Republic and Canton Ticino, the Embassy of Switzerland, Moscow, and the General Consulate of Switzerland in St. Petersburg.

A similar exhibition held at the Museum Cantonale d’Arte, Lugano, Switzerland, from 3 October 2003 to 12 January 2004 was a great success.

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The press-conference at the Hermitage Theater

At the opening of the exhibition

At the exhibition