White Nights 2014 - Hermitage Museum Foundation

You are cordially invited to an exclusive tour of St. Petersburg
White Nights 2014
June 22-29
Celebra ting the 250 Anniversa ry of the Hermita ge Museum
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22 June, Sunday – Arrivals; welcome reception at Turgenev House
23 June, Monday – Day at the Hermitage
This all–day visit when the museum is closed to the public is an exceptional opportunity to view its masterworks and
interiors without crowds. We will overview as many of the highlights as we comfortably can on this day with certain
others being saved for the visits on Wednesday and Saturday. This curator–led tour will include the Theater and
Peter the Great’s modest Winter Palace below. We will also focus on the European painting collection, including the
Old Masters (Italian & Dutch) and the Impressionists. After a pause for a quick lunch at the Hermitage canteen
which includes a sushi bar, we will visit – in no particular order – the Peacock Clock; the War of 1812 Hall; the
Pazyryk Burial; the Urartu artifacts, etc. We will continue to take in additional exhibits until closing time at 6pm.
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24 June, Tuesday – Anichkov Palace and Bobrinskoy Palace tours
The Anichkov Palace
One of the oldest buildings on Nevsky Prospekt, St. Petersburg's central thoroughfare, the Anichkov
Palace stands next to the landmark Anichkov Bridge across the Fontanka River. When the building was
commissioned by Empress Elizabeth in 1741, the site of the palace was on the outskirts of St.
Petersburg, and Nevsky Prospekt was lined with trees. The original architect, Mikhail Zemtsov, gave the
building its form and dimensions, while Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli completed the original
baroque decorations. Elizabeth gave the completed palace to Aleksey Razumovsky, her favorite and
unofficial spouse.
Between these visits, we will have lunch in the vicinity and explore this neighborhood of St. Petersburg.
Afternoon Tour of the Bobrinskoy Palace
Recently restored the Bobrinskoy Palace is now the home of the European University of St. Petersburg.
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25 June, Wednesday – Day at Peterhof In the morning, we travel by hydrofoil across the Gulf of Finland to Peterhof.
The Lower Gardens of Peter the Great's time, now known as the Lower Park, are a masterpiece of Russian
eighteenth–century garden design and engineering. The park includes a labyrinth of paths and ornate iron
footbridges, as well as several small pavilions and gazebos. Peterhof (“Peter’s Court” in Dutch) is a stunning
formal summer palace, modeled on Versailles, but possibly even outdoing the original in grandeur and scope.
Lying on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and chosen for its proximity to Kronshtadt, it is a masterpiece of
architecture, landscape design, and fountain engineering. The Great Palace, which was built in 1715 by Jean
Baptiste Leblond, was known in Peter’s time for its summer fetes at which guests were invited to explore the
Czar's domain. The Catherine Block is a spacious palace created by Catherine the Great. Catherine lived on the
estate as the wife Peter III for fifteen years before the coup d’etat of June 28, 1762 made her Empress. It was
from that Tea House that she traveled to St. Petersburg to ascend the throne. The Samson Fountain, pictured
here, depicts the strongman tearing apart the jaws of a lion. It is especially noteworthy as it symbolizes Peter's
victory over Sweden at the battle of Poltava in 1709, a battle that finally secured Russia’s hold on this region.
Afternoon visit to Olga and Tsaritsa Pavilions, Belvedere and the Farm Palace
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Evening boat trip through the canals and rivers of St. Petersburg
When Peter the Great founded the city, he expected boats to be the dominant mode of transportation and
had many canals dug through the islands. For example, Vassilevsky Ostrov was originally crisscrossed with
canals known as ‘lines’ that were later filled in and turned into streets. This private boat tour is your chance to
see the palaces of St. Petersburg as they were meant to be seen, from the water. The long sunset of the White
Nights provides the perfect illumination. St. Petersburg by boat is perhaps the finest view of the city.
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26 June, Thursday – Tour of Staraya Derevnya, the Stroganoff
Palace and theYusupov Palace
Staraya Derevnaya
The Open Storage at Staraya Derevnya securely and scientifically houses the vast treasures of the Hermitage that
are not part of the permanent displays. Using state–of–the–art storage and display techniques, the facility covers
35,000 square meters of floor space, and is comprised of restoration workshops and lecture halls as well as the
vast 'open storage' facility. The largest collection is from the Department of the History of Russian Culture, and
holds over 3,500 canvases by Russian artists from the 17th to the 20th centuries, uniquely displayed on sliding
racks, as well as ancient frescoes from churches in Pskov and Smolensk, icons, sculpture, and antique Russian
furniture. Other displays of note include exhibits that, due to their size, have rarely been displayed to the public
before, including the impressive Hall of Carriages and, in the Oriental Department section, the beautiful field
tent presented to Catherine the Great by Turkish Sultan Selim III in 1793. Also on display are a wealth of
classical monuments, and some lesser–known works of European art.
The Stroganoff Palace
The Stroganoff family is one of the legendarily wealthy and most respected of Imperial Russia. The palace on Nevsky
prospect, which has been recently restored, is one of the most beautiful of the palaces of St. Petersburg and is one of
only a few Baroque palaces whose facade has remained essentially untouched. Designed by Bartolomeo Rastrelli for
Count Sergei Grigoriyevich Stroganoff, it was built in 1753–1754 but decorated mostly by his son Alexander, who
later became President of the Imperial Academy of Arts. The Neoclassical style interiors were revamped in the 1790s
and early 1800s by architect Andrey Voronikhin, whose mother was a Stroganoff serf, and who himself was rumored
to be the son of Alexander Stroganoff. Since 1988 it has been part of the Russian Museum. We will visit not only
rooms open to the public, but those still in the process of restoration.
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The Yusupov Palace
On a quiet stretch of the Moika stands a long yellow palace. From 1830 to 1917, it belonged to the Yusupovs, an
immensely wealthy princely family, who were known for their philanthropy and art collecting. Abounding opulence
and luxury are preserved here at one of the only palaces in St. Petersburg to retain its original interior design. The
rooms stand as a testimony to the turn–of–the–century era in which the city aristocracy florished. The rooms are
decorated in various styles: baroque (the theater), Empire style (gala halls), Oriental style (the Turkish study),
neoclassicism (some rooms of the ground floor) and others. The rich interiors amaze visitors with their paintings,
carving, marble, mirrors, crystal chandeliers, silk, and exquisite furniture. The Yusupov Palace saw one of the most
dramatic episodes in Russia's history: the murder of Grigory Rasputin. In 1916, a group of the city's noble elite,
including one of the Grand Dukes, led by Prince Felix Yusupov, conspired to kill the one man who they felt
threatened the stability of an already war–torn Russian Empire. Grigory Rasputin, a peasant and self–proclaimed holy
man, had won favor with the Tsar's family through his alleged supernatural powers and ability to cure the Tsarevich’s
of hemophilia. His control over the decisions of the Imperial couple posed a very real threat to legitimate rule in
Russia. Rasputin was murdered in the basement on the night of December 16–17, 1916. His death proved to be an
almost greater mystery than his life.
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27 June, Friday – The Summer Gardens and Fabergé Museum
The Summer Garden
The Summer Garden is also the location of Peter the Great's first Summer Palace, built by the great Italian architect Domenico
Trezzini. This Summer Palace – a two-story Dutch-style affair with a high roof and comparatively modest interior – was one of St.
Petersburg's first stone palaces. Its original interiors have been preserved to this day.
In 1777, the Summer Garden was severely damaged by flooding. Several statues were destroyed and fountains broken. However,
it was soon restored to its original plan. Today its avenues are adorned by 79 sculptures by Italian sculptors of the 17th and 18th
centuries, including Boratta, Bozzazza, and many others – the oldest collection of garden statues in Russia. The Neva River end
of the Summer Garden is bounded by a fence designed by the architect Yury Felten in 1773–1786. The Garden is also home to
a Coffee House (designed by Carlo Rossi) and a Tea House (designed by Ludwig Charlemagne).
Fabergé Museum
St Petersburg now has two museums devoted to the work of Peter Carl Fabergé, jeweler to the tsars. Billionaire
collector Viktor Vekselberg, who bought Malcolm Forbes’ Fabergé egg collection in 2004, has provided 4,000 items
drawn from his fine and decorative art collections for exhibition in the Shuvalov Palace, now the Fabergé Museum.
This museum, on the Fontanka, is in an 18th–century building once owned by the Naryshkin and Shuvalov
Russian noble families. The Palace has gone through extensive restoration in order to house this magnificent
collection.
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White Nights Gala at the Winter Palace
Every year, this magnificent celebration, worthy of the Russian Tsars, attracts patrons of the arts and
friends of the Hermitage from all over the world. This year the Gala will be dedicated to the 250th
anniversary of the Hermitage Museum. Festivities will commence at the Council Entrance on the
Palace Embankment. From there, the guests will proceed to the Pavilion Hall where the guests of an
earlier era awaited the appearance of the Imperial couple. Champagne will then be served in the
Hanging Garden of Catherine the Great. From there, guests will assemble in the Hermitage Theatre
where the artists of the Mariinsky Opera and Ballet will entertain with stylized 18th century
performances of baroque opera and ballet. Guests will then view the Winter Palace's main halls as
they walk to the Jordan Gallery for a five-course banquet. By tradition, at midnight, the famous
Peacock Clock will chime. And for the grand finale, an after party at the General Staff Building will
take place in the midst of MANIFESTA 10.
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28 June, Saturday – Visit to Tsarskoye Selo
The Catherine Palace
After the era of Peter the Great, Tsarskoye Selo, the “Tsar’s Village” became the formal summer residence of the
Russian Imperial family and visiting nobility. A number of Imperial palaces were built in its vicinity. It was here
that Russian engineers laid the country's first railway line in order to shuttle the nobility to and from St. Petersburg
as well as between palaces for summertime balls. The train station at Tsarskoye Selo itself is an Art Nouveau gem,
with murals depicting stations along the route. Tsarskoye Selo was renamed Pushkin in the Soviet era in memory of
the beloved poet Alexander Pushkin who studied at the lycee here and later owned a dacha in town
Although the Catherine Palace was named for Peter the Great’s wife, the Baroque facade we know today was built
by his daughter, the Empress Elizabeth. Many of the Neo–classical interiors were, however, remodeled during the
reign of Catherine the Great. Barthalameo Rastrelli, the architect of the Winter Palace, designed the Catherine
Palace for Elizabeth with a view to rival both Versailles and Peterhof. Three hundred meters in length, it is the
longest palace in the world, and it is nearly one kilometer in circumference. Rastrelli also designed and executed
the legendary Amber Room, using a total of 450 kg of amber, mostly in panels, and presented to Peter the Great by
King Frederick I of Prussia. The mosaics were created by Florentine craftsmen. Removed by the Germans during
World War II and remaining lost since, the Amber Room was has been meticulously reconstructed. However, one
of the mosaics, Smell and Touch, was rediscovered in 1997. No less impressive is the Great Hall, a grand ballroom
lined with two tiers of windows interspersed with mirrors, perfect for balls on bright mid–summer nights.
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Pavlovsk
Pavlovsk came into existence in 1777 when Empress Catherine II granted her son, Grand Duke Paul,
court hunting grounds situated on the bank of the Slavyanka River. After decades, it became one of the
most beautiful summer palaces of Russia, both austere and graceful, and featuring the work of numerous
leading architects who variously interpreted Russian classicism. In 1780, Charles Cameron began the
construction of the central building of the palace, several pavilions, small bridges, and the general layout of
the park, an enormous parcel of 600 hectares filled with scenic views of the Slavyanka river created in the
tradition of English landscape design. While named after Grand Duke Paul, the palace actually bears the
stamp, especially on the inside, of his widow Maria Feodorovna, an enlightened woman who loved the
palace and lived there for many years after his death. The opulence is subtle and restrained, the ensembles
gently harmonious, and the overall impression inexplicably uplifting.
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Final Evening Farewell at Turgenev House, Fontanka 38
Turgenev House was built as an apartment building in the 19th century. While it has been
home to a number of prominent Russians, it now takes its name from the Russian writer Ivan
Turgenev who lived there between 1860 and 1883. The house also served as a city residence of
Leo Tolstoy.
Featured in numerous architectural and interiors magazines, this exquisite apartment was
designed and furnished by the eminent Russian scholar and art historian John Stuart. The
building is situated overlooking the Fontanka River, only fifty yards from the famous Anichkov
Bridge and Nevsky Prospekt.
29 June, Sunday – Departures
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Reservation Form
White Nights Tour June 22-29, 2014
Name (Last, First, Title):___________________________________________________
Address:_________________________________________________________________
City:___________________________ State:______ Zip Code:________________
Telephone: (_____)___________________
Email:____________________________________
The cost of this 7-day/6-night “White Nights” Tour (including the Hermitage Gala, all lunches and
dinners, your stay at the Kempinski Hotel, and one evening at the Mariinsky Theatre) is: $12,500/person
single occupancy; $11,150/person double occupancy. The cost of the Gala Dinner is underwritten so all
ticket proceeds go to the Hermitage Museum’s endowment fund.
Costs not included above:
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Optional Novgorod excursion
Optional morning at the Hermitage on June 30.
Optional Moscow tour
Airfare to and from Russia
Visa processing costs (once hotel reservations are made, we can obtain your invitation letter)
I would like to purchase ______ tours at $_____ per person for a total of _________________
I am interested in optional tours of:
Hermitage June 30:___________
Moscow:_____________
Novgorod:____________
I cannot attend but would like to make a donation to the HMF in the amount of $__________
Please make checks payable to the “Hermitage Museum Foundation” and return this form to:
Hermitage Museum Foundation, “White Nights Tour”
505 Park Ave, 20th Floor, New York, NY 10022
The Hermitage Museum Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and your donations will be taxexempt to the extent permitted by law.
About Us
The Hermitage Museum Foundation (USA), Inc. is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization committed to preserving
the universal cultural heritage of the Hermitage Museum, supporting its future development, and improving access
to its unique holdings through exhibitions, educational outreach programs, and publications.
Since its inception in 1994, the HMF has contributed broadly to the preservation of the Hermitage’s collections
and the historic buildings in which they are housed. Among the Museum’s treasures whose restoration and
conservation have been made possible by the Foundation and its donors are Alexander Kruger’s stunning
equestrian portrait of Alexander I in the Hall of 1812 and David Roentgen’s Apollo bureau purchased by
Catherine the Great as well as the renovation of the Greek and Roman galleries. The Foundation has also already
helped build the Hermitage’s holdings by facilitating gifts such as a major collection of Urartu artifacts,
photography, decorative objects and works by contemporary American artists.
The HMF is currently most engaged in its Art from America™ initiative which seeks to secure post–war and
contemporary art for the twentieth and twenty–first century galleries to be housed in the newly-refurbished General
Staff building. Under this program, the Foundation is in the process of arranging gifts of art and planning several
exhibitions for 2014 and 2015 as well as supporting the publication of literature in this area.
In May of 2013, with the active involvement and support of the HMF, the exhibition Houghton Revisited opened
at Houghton Hall. With the collaboration of the Hermitage, the National Gallery, the British Museum, the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, Tsarskoye Selo and other lenders, the Walpole collection was re-assembled for the
first time in its original setting since it was purchased by Catherine the Great in 1779. The exhibition broke all
records having been viewed by over 114,000 visitors. Houghton Revisited was named best exhibit of the year in the
U.K.
In the recent past, the HMF also helped make possible important exhibitions of contemporary art at the Hermitage
by Louise Bourgeois (2001), Cy Twombly (2003), and Willem de Kooning (2006). Additional exhibitions and
related gifts will follow.
Leading Guide, Julia Korn
In addition to the curators who will lead our group on our visits to a number of venues, we are fortunate to have
with us again on this tour Julia Korn as our leading guide once again.
For the past 20 years, Ms. Korn has been Senior Researcher at the National Pushkin Museum in St. Petersburg and
has published articles on Russian literature, history and arts. Fluent in English, she acts as the International Liaison
Officer for the Museum. In this capacity, she has travelled to the UK and the US many times. In 1999, she helped
coordinate the renowned International Pushkin Conference at Stanford University, California. Ms. Korn is also
the St. Petersburg Representative of the International Pushkin Charity Fund concerned with the preservation and
conservation of the legacy of the great Russian poet, Alexander Pushkin. She is a graduate of the St. Petersburg
State University, where she majored in Russian Literature and History. In 2003, she graduated from the Art
Management Department of the Sibelius Academy, Helsinki, Finland.
Between 1997 and 2004, she served as a Director for the Stars of St. Petersburg Ballet Tours, regularly presenting
fully staged productions throughout the western states of the US. As a world traveler herself, she has a keen insight
into the special needs of the discerning traveler. Since 1995, she has applied her combined skills working as a tour
programmer and guide for groups as well as private clients. She has qualified in numerous courses and acquired all
the licenses to conduct tours in all the major museums and palaces in and around St. Petersburg providing services
for guests with special interests in arts, music, ballet, history and literature.
Distinguished past clients have included the Paul Getty Foundation, the Smithsonian Institute, the “Save Venice”
Charity Foundation, Eugene O’Neil Theatre Centre, the Florence Academy of Arts, the family of Vice–President
Al Gore, film director Joe Wright and his production team, descendants of famous Russian aristocratic families, as
well as numerous cultural, business, and political leaders.