The Hermitage: Architecture and Collections Sofia Kudriavtseva

The Hermitage is a museum of world culture, a constellation of remarkable works of architecture with exceptional interiors that houses great collections representing a variety of civilizations. At the same time the Hermitage is a great Russian museum that has become a national symbol. This museum is a typical manifestation of our culture with its characteristic openness to the world, the convergence and adoption of the most varied traditions that become transformed into Russian tradition. Transformation is indeed the key word in Russian culture, which is both national and global, without borders. The Hermitage transforms Rembrandt into a Russian Rembrandt, Matisse into a Russian Matisse, and Scythian culture into a source of Russian culture. It also makes the Russian icon, Russian Empire style, Russian Classicism and Russian Avant-Garde into world phenomena. This is achieved through the amazing museum neighbourliness and dialogue between artefacts of different cultures placed in the context of St Petersburg architecture and Russian imperial history. Это и многое другое вы найдете в книге The Hermitage: Architecture and Collections (Sofia Kudriavtseva)