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Interiors of the New Hermitage. The Main Staircase
and the Vestibule
1853
Constantine Andreyevich Ukhtomsky
The steps in the grand staircase of the New Hermitage have
a elevated, unhurried rhythm. Daylight pouring through the windows of
the upper floor superbly illuminates the space, stressing its enclosed
nature and the depth of the three-flight staircase with its parallel columns
of Serdobol granite and the wide door set in a Classical portal on the
upper landing.
Sixteen columns of red Finnish granite represent the main tectonic element
in the architecturally austere vestibule. The coffered ceilings are embellished
with decorative painting and sculptural figures of Glory. The floors are
tiled with Italian marble. Opening from the sides of the vestibule is
the suite of museum state rooms that in von Klenze's design were allocated
to the collection of sculpture and the Hermitage library.
The sculptors Josef Hermann and Alexander Terebenev, the marbler Agostino
Triscorni, the master granite-worker Molchanov and the craftsman Koyev
worked on the decoration of the staircase and vestibule.
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