Hermitage Days-2008

This year the traditional Days of the Hermitage were held from 1 until 9 December. The museum drew up the preliminary conclusions of the year and shared its plans for the future.

1 December, the "Hermitage Days - 2008" were preceded by an Internet-meeting with the Director of the museum Mikhail Borisovich Piotrovsky "The Hermitage in the year of 100th anniversary of Boris Borisovich Piotrovsky. The anniversary year results". The range of the topics considered comprised the issues related to the programme "The Great Hermitage", the Hermitage centres outside St. Petersburg, the museum's visitors and hospitality.

5 December, journalists were invited to the Hermitage Restoration and Storage Centre in "Staraya Derevnya". There they were given an opportunity to walk around the halls of the Repository's biggest building being constructed and scheduled for commissioning in 2009; to see the new rooms of the Laboratory for the Scientific Restoration of Works of Applied Art which marked its 75th anniversary this year; to become the first to see the artefacts of the Storage of wall paintings from the Central Asia monasteries along the Silk Road (the Department of the Oriental Culture and Art, the Section of the Far East Culture and Art) and the exposition of the horse harness in the Coach House. In the afternoon an exhibition "Alberto Giacometti. Sculpture. Painting. Drawing" was opened in the Twelve-Column Hall of the New Hermitage.

This year the main events fell on 8 and 9 December.

8 December, Mikhail Borisovich Piotrovsky held a general assembly of the Hermitage employees and a press conference dedicated to the preliminary results of the year and plans for the future. The most fascinating Hermitage publications of 2008 were introduced to the journalists and the museum staff. The Foyer of the Hermitage Theatre housed the exhibitions "The Hermitage in the World of Publications" and "The Hermitage in Photographs". The day continued with a press walk about the museum which enabled the journalists to become the first viewers of a new permanent exhibition devoted to the West European Silver of the XVI-XIX centuries opened in the Alexander Hall of the Winter Palace; to see the exhibition "The Caves of a Thousand Buddhas. The Russian expeditions on the Silk Road"; to observe the restored parquet works from a range of the Winter Palace's famous halls; as well as to become familiar with the project "The Hermitage Logo". On this very day the Hermitage Theatre housed a solemn ceremony at which the Vladimir Potanin Charitable Foundation awards were presented to 100 museum employees. In the evening the Hermitage greeted the Hermitage Friends' Club.

9 December, on St. George's Day, in the St. George (Large Throne) Hall a solemn ceremony was held with the object of presenting the artefacts donated to the Guards' Museum by the Association of Descendants of the Preobrazhensky Life Guard Regiment Officers and Anatoly Vilkov. The attendees could see the gifts in the Picket Hall of the Winter Palace and take part in the official opening of the exhibitions of the West European Silver and "The Caves of a Thousand Buddhas".

The St. George Sabre of the Prince of Oldenburg - a gift for the Guards' Museum from the Association of Descendants of the Preobrazhensky Life Guard Regiment Officers		Exhibition Caves of a Thousand Buddhas: Russian Expeditions on the Silk Road
The catalogue “The Art of France. 1860-1950. Painting. Drawing. Sculpture”		The Festival “Days of Classics-2008”. A photo from the exhibition “The Hermitage in Photographs - 2008”

The Internet-conference with Mikhail Piotrovsky in Cafemax

At the general assembly of the museum employees

At the press conference with the journalists

The custodian Nikolay Pchelyn, the senior research associate of the State Hermitage Oriental Department, presents the frescos from the Central Asia monasteries

At the opening ceremony for the permanent exhibition “The West European Silver of the XVI-XIX Centuries” in the Alexander Hall

Exhibition
Alberto Giacometti. Sculpture. Painting. Drawing