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The Opening of the Newly Restored Bosphorus
Halls and the Michelangelo Hall in the New Hermitage and also the Apollo
and Alexander Halls in the Winter Palace The Bosphorus Halls of the New Hermitage The restoration of the Bosphorus Halls took place from February to November 2007, and have realized the original intention of their creator, the architect Leo von Klenze. In the 1930s the fresco style walls painted after the fashion of the Pompeian frescoes were replaced with grey-green, and in the 1970s were repainted a bright red. It is only in 2007 that the interiors have been returned to their historical appearance. As part of the restoration all the finishing elements of the interior, which had been made by 19th century Russian craftsmen have been renewed. It has been re-plastered, the frescoes on the ceiling have been cleared, the doors have been restored, veneered with valuable types of wood, the marble floor has been decorated with a chess pattern, artificial marble has been placed in window and door panels. The halls have been equipped with LED lighting, creating a soft illumination for the ceiling and light focus on the items being displayed. The recreation of the original appearance of the halls has stylistically united the interiors with their neighbouring rooms, as was intended at the time of their conception, and the technical reconstruction and new LED illumination has enabled the transformation of the halls into a modern museum area for new expositions of art from ancient cities on the northern littoral of the Black Sea. The project for the reconstruction of the permanent exhibits in the Bosphorus Halls was carried out with the support of the Restoring Ancient Stabia Foundation. The Alexander Hall of the Winter Palace The restorations of the Alexander Hall (architect A.P. Brullov) were undertaken in July - October 2007. The work also included replacing communication and electrical wiring systems. Complete and thorough work was necessary for the restoration of parquets with complicated geometric pictures, chosen from expensive woods (palisander, mahogany, ebony, maple and oak). The total area of the work included 565 square metres. The restoration was made complicated by the fact that by the windows overlooking palace square the parquet was worn out to the width of the veneer sheet. As part of the restoration unsuitable parquet was replaced making it necessary to reproduce details of the parquet, which was done according to archived documentation. Apollo Hall of the Winter Palace The restoration of the parquet in the Apollo Hall was done in October - November 2007. The parquet was made from valuable wood to the plans of N.E. Yefimov during the reconstruction of the Winter Palace following the fire at the end of the 1830s-1840s. The composition of the parquet was unique for its intensity of drawing and artistic perfection. The total area of restoration work consists of 160 square metres. Considering the extremely thin layer of this unique parquet surviving, polishing had to be carried out extremely carefully and sparingly with maximum accuracy for the preservation of the original parquet. Lost elements have been replaced with those possessing the precise properties of the original. A complicated engraving has been added to the parquet with maximum similarity to the original. Michelangelo Hall of the New Hermitage The restoration of the parquet in the Michelangelo Hall was carried out in October-November 2007. The artistic parquet was made from valuable woods in accordance with the original plans by the architect Leo von Klenze at the end of the 1840s - early 1850s. The picture of the parquet was made up of alternating squares of dark and light wood, creating the impression of watermarks. As the analysis of the parquet showed in 2005, valuable woods were used in its creation (American mahogany, Guibourtia, West-Indian Satinwood, palisander and maple). The area of the restoration is 95 square metres. The work was complicated by holes in the floor. Strengthening and conservation of the original plates has been done. The parquet had been sparingly polished. The restoration completely replaced the worn out fragments of the parquet with pieces which matched the type of wood, texture and colour of the original. The restorations have been carried out under the direction of employees of the respective departments of the State Hermitage Museum to plans, agreed upon by the Committee for the Oversight, Use and Preservation of Historical and Cultural Monuments: Bosphorus Halls: Likeon - Museum Conceptions and Projects Ltd, Alexander Hall: Parquet Hall Ltd, Apollo and Michelangelo halls: Passim Ltd. |
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Copyright
© 2011 State Hermitage Museum |
