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St. Petersburg Tercentenary Press Conference On 16 April, 2003, the Hermitage Theater hosted a press conference dedicated to the museum’s participation in the St. Petersburg tercentenary celebrations. Director Mikhail B. Piotrovsky told about the Hermitage plans for the jubilee, opening of museum rooms after restoration, special jubilee exhibitions and the program White Night at the Hermitage. He also briefed journalists on the creation of a new entrance to the museum, restoration of the General Staff Arch and plans to open the Hermitage center of restoration and storage in Staraya Derevnya. Journalists were presented the new exhibition In Search of the Greek Miracle in the Room of the Archaic Art reopened after restoration at the New Hermitage (built by the architect Leo von Klenze in 1842-51). The State Hermitage Museum launched its program of the New Hermitage restoration in 1997. The program is designed to create an exhibition which would meet the contemporary standard of a museum of ancient art. Restoration of the Room of Archaic Art (room No. 111) is a necessary and important step in this direction. Its decoration has been preserved almost intact. All its basic elements have been renewed or restored. The exhibition shows the collection’s best Greek and Cyprian vessels, statuettes, arms, coins, carved stones and jewelry created from the middle of the 2nd millenium to the middle of the 1st millenium BC. New system of lighting has been created in the room: now both the painted ceiling and each showcase are lit. The exhibition of archaic Greek art is designed to show in succession the most important aspects of early Greek history and culture, temple and symposion, commerce and art, religion and epic, military prowess and female beauty. Basic stages in the development of various fine arts of Archaic Greece, from Mycenean age to the threshold of classics, are represented. The new exhibition of Byzantine icons (room No. 382, 3rd floor of the Winter Palace) was opened to public in the spring of 2003. It is centered around thirty rare images dating from the 11th-15th centuries, representing various schools and styles of Byzantine painting. Alongside icons are displayed unique Byzantine enamels, carved ivories, silver, glyptics and ceramics (over 80 exhibits). With the use of special design and warm lighting, the Hermitage created a specific ambiance vital for the display of Greek Orthodox art. In May 2003, the restaurant Hermitage will be opened in the General Staff’s East Wing. Ten rooms, each in its own style, cover an area of 1,500 sq.m. They are interconnected by a gallery intended for exhibitions of contemporary art. Suite of rooms and vaulted ceilings dating from the time of Carlo Rossi (1820s) have been preserved. Paintings, sculptures, chandeliers and other elements associated with the Hermitage rooms are used in interior decoration. Closing the press conference, the Hermitage Director answered journalists’ questions. |
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