The Rembrandt Hall in the Hermitage
building is devoted to one of the largest collections of Rembrandt's art works.
Rembrandt is considered the greatest artist of the Golden Age of the Dutch
school of painters and of all the galleries that have aquired Rembrant
paintings, the Hermitage has the largest collection of his works. The Rembrandt
Hall gallery exclusively displays 20 of Rembrandt 's paintings and
it was just wonderful to stand and study each painting even though it became
crowded at times. Some of the paintings that I especially enjoyed included:
"Flora"-1634 is
a painting of Rembrant's wife; during the happiest period of his life in
Amsterdam. Rembrandt has manage to capture the silvery shine of her silk dress,
the sparkles of silver embroidery and the gleam of her necklace, so
naturally.The soft warm light that flows across her figure speaks of his love
for her.
Sadly Flora died, from
tuberculosis at the age of 29, not long after this painting was completed.
" Descent from the Cross"-
1634 reflect Rembrant's personal inspiration from meditating on the biblical
text. His use of light, again reveals the emotions of grief, love and
tenderness as Jesus' contorted body is take down from the cross.Rembrant is
indeed the master of light and shade!
"Holy Family"-1645 is
a touching scene in a modest home, warm fire, simple carpenter furniture and a
stirring baby Jesus, being glanced at from Mary (whose face resembles the
face of Rembrant's model and loyal companion after Flora's death) Again
Rembrant uses light to highlight facets of the picture. Soft light eminates
from the firelight and shines on the cradle, on Mary's face and on the Bible
pages that she's been reading. THe scene is one of love, care, peace.
"The Return of the Prodical Son"
-1668 is a particular poignant painting, painted towards the end of Rembrant's
life. Once again the master of light and shade uses rich brown colours and
light to express the emotion of the moment.
Paintings by other artist that I also
enjoyed are:
"The Madonna Litta"-
by Leonardo de Vinci was painted in the 15th century. It has a very
ornately gilded frame.
"Lute Player" 1596 by
Caravaggio an Italian painter painted 2 other versions of this painting,using
the same model and scene but each versions varies a little in the depth of
detail. Caravaggio, like Rembrant used light to enhance and convey
real life scenes in his paintings and especially the still- life portrayal of
the vase of flowers, the fruit and the folds on the clothing.
Other rooms in The Hermitage include
works by Monet, Renoir, Van Gough, Gauguin, Cezzanne, Degas and others I
can't recall. THe number of exhibits of art works is astounding.
The Knight's Hall, another gallery in
the Hermitage, has an extensive collection of knights armoury and weapons
through the ages. It was interesting to see how the different suits of armour
have developed and were modified over the centuries, as new materials were
discovered or developed.
The collection of shields, swords,
jostling sticks and early firearms is extensive. We entered the Knight's Hall
towards the end of our tour and because we were fairly tired we were a bit on
'infomation-overload' and not able to take it as much as we would have done
earlier in the day. However, I have included photos of horse and men in armour
but it is by no means near the extent of the displays that we saw. In Malta
too, you may recall that we had seen an impressive collection of the way in
which knight and horse armour, shields and weapons had evolved over the
centuries.
Leaving the Hermitage with our heads
still swirling with everything we'd seen, we walked out into Palace Square
where we were surprised to see to copies of antique palace coaches and
carriages been drawn through the square by stately horses. These carriages are
hired by tourists wanting to experience what it was like to be part of the
royal family. Everyday the carriages and coaches ferry tourist leisurely around
Saint Petersburg.
The square was filled with people and
the General Staff Building building (the curved building with a double archway)
directly opposite the Hermitage looked resplendent in the afternoon
sunlight.
This building has an extended 580 metre
long semi-circular facade. -The longest facade in the world! In the middle of
the building's facade is the Grand double-Arch under which the armies of the
Emperors gathered when they were on parade or heading out to
battle.
Adorning the top of the arch is a
wonderful sculpture; "Chariot of Glory" which was created
to celebrate the memory and victory of Russian troops over Napoleon's
army. It seems like this victory was celebrated in many ways. Today we saw
paintings of the battles, a hero's chamber of portraits, several other
references of artwork were also dedicated to the victory of Russia over
Napolean.
Next we headed for our coach, a 21st
century coach with less grandeur than those we'd just seen in Palace Square but
with a higher passenger capacity.
Tomorrow we do this all over again - ie
explore more of what St Petersburg has to offer. It sure has been a full day.
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