On 15 August 2024, in Nizhny Novgorod a major exhibition entitled “The Magic Hermitage” was formally opened which recreates in multimedia format the atmosphere of the world’s finest museum.
Participating in the opening ceremony were Mikhail Piotrovsky, General Director of the State Hermitage, Gleb Nikitin, Governor of Nizhny Novgorod Region, Deputy Governor Oleg Berkovich, and the region’s Culture Minister Natalia Sukhanova.
“In this exhibition a space has been created that acts as an intermediary between people of different generations and art in all its multilayered complexity. It uses a new language to tell about the museum and to converse with those who have never been there in order that in the future they might come to the museum prepared,” Mikhail Piotrovsky stated. “It is a move into the future and a response to the present day. The exhibition employs the newest technologies, some of which are still only beginning to develop. This is not simply digitization, but already something considerably more advanced – the foundations for the next decades have been laid here.”
The display features digital doubles of the Hermitage’s main masterpieces. They have become accessible to viewers far away from Saint Petersburg thanks to 3D mapping, audiovisual installations, holograms and artificial intelligence. It is planned that the exhibition will go on tour around the regions of Russia and even abroad, but Nizhny Novgorod, Russia’s Cultural Capital in 2024, has become the starting point for that voyage.
“It is an immense honour for us to receive an exhibition from what is not only the best museum in the world, but also in the finest city on Earth – Saint Petersburg. Undoubtedly those that visit Nizhny Novgorod will have a remarkable opportunity not only to enjoy our own splendours, but also to go to the Magic Hermitage,” Gleb Nikitin said, thanking the exhibition’s organizers.
Exhibition-goers will be able to tour the museum, visiting six of its famed interiors, spend time in the picture gallery and view 3D copies of sculptures. The centrepiece of the display is the Peacock Clock – the unique timepiece can be seen working thanks to motion-capture technology that reproduces its actual movements.
Besides hi-tech effects, the display will be accompanied by a special audio-guide that will help to transport them to the world of the beautiful and to learn many new things..
The exhibition is taking place in the Tseh Multimedia Art Space. The project has been created on the initiative of the State Hermitage Museum with the support of the Presidential Foundation for Cultural Initiatives and the government of Nizhny Novgorod Region. The organizer is the autonomous non-commercial organization GALA-RUS.
The Hermitage delegation flew to the event on an airliner decorated with a depiction of the famous Scythian deer, one of the symbols of the museum. The new livery for the Superjet 100 Kaluga was created as part of the collaboration between the State Hermitage and Rossiya Airlines.
* * *
In the first hall of the exhibition, visitors can take a stroll around the Hermitage and see six of its famed interiors – spherical panoramic projection will present, one after another. the Jordan Staircase, the Saint George and Armorial Halls, the War Gallery of 1812 and the Raphael Loggias. The impression of actually being there is heightened by projections onto all the surfaces of the hall – it will even be possible to examine the ceiling paintings and the patterns of the parquet floors.
In the display, visitors will also be able to study the paintings and sculptures that prompt people from around the globe to travel to the Hermitage museum. A panoramic panel with a 180° view will present the paintings, while a separate hall features 3D holograms of sculptures. The centrepiece of the display will be the Peacock Clock, which gathers more viewers than any other Hermitage exhibit. An unforgettable performance awaits the visitors – the unique timepiece can be seen working thanks to motion-capture technology that reproduces its actual movements.
A visit to the exhibition will end in an interactive hall containing pictures that have come alive. Video artists have breathed life into Hermitage masterpieces for a few seconds, allowing viewers to immerse themselves in the atmosphere of far-off events.
