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THE STATE HERMITAGE MUSEUM The Art of 18th and 19th Century Tula Arms. The State Hermitage Collection. April 8, 2005 - January 8, 2006. The exhibition in the Menshikov Palace includes more than 100 examples of Tula arms production from the Arsenal collection within the State Hermitage, which is considered one of the largest of its kind in the world.
The Hermitage is presenting its collection of Tula arms on this grand scale for the first time. The exhibition enables visitors to appreciate the specific artistic features of Russian arms and to become acquainted with the history of their creation. According to the chronicles, arms were manufactured in Tula as early as the late 16th century. One of the first examples of the activity of the Tula arms masters is a rare exhibit item - a large cast-iron cannon dating from 1694 and bearing the following inscription: "In the year 7202 (1694), in December, this cannon was made by resident of Tula, state blacksmith Mikhail Afanasiev." The main part of the exhibition displays hunting and parade arms from the 18th century. The Tula arms producers demonstrated extraordinary inventiveness in the means and methods of decoration. A special dominant note of the exhibition may be said to be the so-called "sets," most commonly of hunters' equipment consisting of several objects made in the same style. Looking at the set of flintlock gun and two pistols which Empress Elizaveta Petrovna commissioned the Tula arms makers to produce in 1751 for her favorite Count Alexei Razumovsky, we are amazed by the wealth and refinement of the finishing, including chasing, carving and gilding. The exhibition includes a large group of toy and miniature arms for children that were made by the Tula arms manufacturers. These are reduced-size models of firearms which are noteworthy for their extreme precision of execution. Many of them were ordered by Empress Catherine the Great for her grandchildren, the Grand Princes Alexander, Constantine and Nicholas. Tula's 19th century arms producers came under the influence of Historicism. Here we see examples of swords, firearms and weapons used to deal blows which reproduce the master works of Moscow's 17th century Armoury. |  Dueling set 1840's. álexei Babyakin, master Russia Steel, bronze, wood, velvet; forging, engraving, damascene, carving  Sword 1847 A. Afanasiev, master Russia Steel, silver, colored paste, velvet; engraving, gilding, chasing. |
 Resistance. 1937-38 Volet of triptych Oil on canvas. 168 x 103 |
THE STATE RUSSIAN MUSEUM MARC CHAGALL June 30 - September 19, 2005
The oeuvre of Marc Chagall is for the first time presented so completely in St Petersburg. The exposition includes 65 paintings and 82 graphic works.
The exhibition includes works from the Russian Museum collection, the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, the National Museum of Modern Art, Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, Musee national Message Biblique Marc Chagall in Nice, the Beieler Foundation in Basel, museums of Pskov, Saratov and Tula, Isaac Brodsky Memorial Museum in St Petersburg and private collections in Russia and abroad, the major part of which has never been exposed before. The exposition also includes works from the artist's family collection which rarely were exposed during the artist's life. This exhibition allows the viewer to get the most complete impression of the artist's oeuvre of seven decades and to follow the evolution of the master's creative development both in Russia and abroad. |  Double Portrait with a Glass of Wine. 1917-18 Oil on canvas. 235 x 137 |
a premiere of Mikhail Glinka's opera A Life for the Tsar, marking two hundred years since the composer's birth the second Russian performance of a new production of Richard Wagner's tetralogy Der Ring des Nibelungen (10-15 June) stars of the Mariinsky Opera Olga Borodina, Anna Netrebko and Vladimir Galuzin performing their finest roles in operas and solo concerts a series of performances entitled The Balanchine Century (2-7 June), marking one hundred years since the birth of George Balanchine, the 20th century's greatest choreographer a series of Piano Stars of the White Nights concerts with virtuoso performers Mikhail Pletnev, Alexander Toradze, Yefim Bronfman, Vladimir Feltzman and Tsimon Barto.
 Applique: a dancer in a calathos Middle of the 4th century B.C. 
Tragic male mask 1st century A.D.
THE STATE HERMITAGE MUSEUM | Muses and Masks. Theatre and Music in Antiquity. The Antique World on the Petersburg Stage March 1, 2005 - May 25, 2005 The exhibition has two sections. The section entitled Theatre and Music in Antiquity features 170 exhibits from the collections of the Department of the Ancient World and the Department of Numismatics of the State Hermitage. Sculpture in the round, reliefs, painted vases, bronze and terracotta statuettes, clay masks and lamps, cut stones and works of jewellery, as well as coins and tessera (tokens for admittance to theatrical and circus performances) attest to a universal love for the theatre. The works of art and objects of everyday use which Greeks had around them in their theatres and temples, at their feasts and in libraries were created in various regions of Ancient Greece and Italy - in Attica, Boeotia, Corinthia, Southern Italy, Etruria, Rome and the Northern Black Sea Littoral.
A large part of the exhibited items of jewellery was discovered in Scythian barrows dating from the second half of the 4th century B.C. in the Northern Black Sea Littoral. They mainly show dancing personages - barbarian girls and youths performing sacral dances at festivals in honor of the gods and during observance of rituals. Pendants, earrings with Eros motifs, and a golden wreath all illustrate the theme of music and theatre. The second section of the exhibition, which is entitled The Antique World on the Petersburg Stage, displays 60 exhibits from the St Petersburg State Museum of Theatrical and Musical Arts and enables the visitor to trace the influence of ancient theatrical traditions on the performing arts of the 19th and 20th centuries. |
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THE STATE HERMITAGE MUSEUM Mannerheim. Russian Officer. Marshal of Finland January 25, 2005 - June 5, 2005
The monographic exhibition which has opened in the halls of the General Staff building is dedicated to the memory of the outstanding statesman of Finland, Carl Gustaf Mannerheim (1867-1951). Mannernheim was a count, lieutenant general of the Russian Army, knight in several Russian orders, cavalry general, field marshal and marshal of Finland. The fate of this extraordinary man was closed connected with Russia and St Petersburg.
|  Marshal Mannerheim 1941 |
 Coronation Egg 1897 Gold, platinum, diamonds, rubies, rock crystal, enamel |
THE STATE HERMITAGE MUSEUM Faberge. Lost and Found 6 December 2004 - 13 February 2005
The Anteroom of the Winter Palace is showing the collection of one of the most important collectors of works by Faberge, Malcolm Stevenson Forbes (1919-1990), editor-in-chief and president of Forbes Inc., who assembled his collection over the course of several decades.
This collection is on display in its country of origin thanks to Russian entrepreneur Victor Vekselberg, chairman of the board of OAO SUAL Holding, who purchased it from Malcolm Forbes' heirs and has made it available for viewing in Russia. The exhibition has been organized jointly by the State Hermitage and the Bond of Time Cultural-Historical Foundation. At the heart of the collection are nine Easter eggs, which constitute the second largest group (after the Moscow Kremlin Armoury) of the famous Easter surprises which emperors Alexander III and Nicholas II gave to their spouses. In 1917 they were taken away to Moscow and during the 1920's-30's many were sold abroad. The exhibition consists of 26 items, including 15 Easter eggs, nine of which belonged to the imperial family. |  Lillies of the Valley Egg 1898 Gold, diamonds, rubies, enamel |
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