Overview

Director Mikhail Borisovich Piotrovsky offers readers a fascinating and lavishly illustrated insider's view of one of the world's greatest art collections, and the rich and turbulent history of the spectacular museum that houses it. For 250 years the State Hermitage has been one of Europe's most palatial museums. In this extraordinary volume, the museum's long-time director, Piotrovsky takes the reader on a private tour of this global treasure. One of the largest collections of Western art in the world, the Hermitage is also a product of Russia and its dramatic history. In a series of thoughtful and illuminating essays, Piotrovsky explores the incredible artworks, personages, and dramatic behind-the-scenes events that have made the museum what it is today. From historic moments that have shaped the museum to fascinating anecdotes about how specific pieces, such as Leonardo da Vinci's Madonna Benois, and indeed entire collections were acquired, to explanations of the architectural splendors and oddities that comprise the museum, these essays uncover the stories and events that make up the life of the Hermitage. Lavishly illustrated, it provides a thoroughly engaging, authoritative, and accessible insider's look at the artworks, people, and historical forces that have created the greatest museum in the world.

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9780847843787

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Reviews

I welcome the new book, My Hermitage: How The Hermitage Survived Tsars, Wars and Revolutions to Become the Greatest Museum in the World, for its erudition, passion and lively history. . .Ihope The Hermitage is on your list of must-see museums. If so, this is the essential reference that will enrich the hours and days of exploration. - TheStyleSaloniste.com The story of the palatial museum's 250-year history, which is as rich in adventure as it is in art, is extravagantly revealed. -THE SOCIETY DIARIES The visuals of My Hermitage continually remind you of the encyclopedic collection housed there. This beautiful, lavishly illustrated book hints at the opulence of the setting of that collection as well . . . For some, these reminders of the tsarist past jar with their decadence, but I saw them as the most appropriate setting for the art a literal, almost limitless palace of human imagination. - BIG THINK

I welcome the new book, My Hermitage: How The Hermitage Survived Tsars, Wars and Revolutions to Become the Greatest Museum in the World, for its erudition, passion and lively history.The first time I visited The Hermitage in St. Petersburg, I dashed for miles, with my guide, in a frenzy to see the fabled Matisse collection, the Rembrandt gallery, the Gold Room (diamond-studded saddles and all the Faberge pieces), the Peacock Clock, as well as the Raphael loggias, the Van Dycks, the greatest Canalettos, and the Jordan staircase, the Greek vases, the jasper urns, the dazzle of chandeliers and the Degas and Bonnard paintings, along with Gainsborough and the collection from Houghton Hall. . .Ihope The Hermitage is on your list of must-see museums. If so, this is the essential reference that will enrich the hours and days of exploration. - TheStyleSaloniste.com The story of the palatial museum's 250-year history, which is as rich in adventure as it is in art, is extravagantly revealed. -THE SOCIETY DIARIES

Author Information

Mikhail Borisovich Piotrovsky has been the director of the State Hermitage Museum since 1992 and has dedicated his career to making the treasures of the museum accessible to individuals and institutions around the world. With a degree in Oriental and Arabic studies, he is a professor of St Petersburg State University, where he chairs the ""Museology"" and ""Ancient Orient"" departments. He is the author of numerous publications. His father, Boris Borisovich Piotrovsky, an eminent archaeologist, was director of the museum from 1964 to 1990.

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