Permanent Presentations at the Hermitage Amsterdam

Russia and Amstelhof

There are two permanent presentations in the Amstel Wing, at the front of the Hermitage Amsterdam. One room is devoted to relations between the Netherlands and Russia, in particular the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg and Hermitage Amsterdam. The other room focuses on the history of Amstelhof as a building and an institution. The latter extends into the Regents’ Room for Women and the old kitchen which both have a historical atmosphere, having been restored as far as possible on the basis of old photos and documents.

Russia and the Hermitage: Encounters

Hermitage Amsterdam owest its existence to a series of historic encounters, beginning with the friendship between Peter the Great (1672-1725) and the Amsterdam burgomaster Nicolaes Witsen (1641-1717). Witsen’s history of shipbuilding was the standard authority at that time and was much consulted by Peter the Great. The book was the starting point for the meeting and the friendship between the two men, and a copy can be seen in this room, next to their portraits.

The second encounter that links Russia and the Netherlands was between Anna Pavlovna, the daughter of Tsar Paul 1, and Prince William of Orange, later King William II. The links between the House of Orange and the Romanovs is highlighted by the busts of both, and the porcelain service that Anna was given on her marriage.

The most recent encounter was between Ernst Veen and Mikhail Piotrovsky, who first met in 1991. Their friendship led to the formation of this branch of the Hermitage in Amsterdam. Since then, Veen has formed a group, the Friends of the Hermitage, which has made substantial contributions to restoration projects in the Hermitage in St Petersburg. Portraits of the two men by the photographer Koos Breukel are on view, together with a painting of Tsar Nicholas I, the founder of the Hermitage as a museum in 1852.

The ground plan of the Hermitage in St Petersburg is worked into the parquet floor. Visitors can make a virtual tour of the extraordinary rooms of the Hermitage in St Petersburg using touchscreens and filmshows.

The history of Amstelhof

Three rooms tell the story of 350 years of care by the Reformed Parish in Amsterdam, focusing on the Home for Elderly Women on the River Amstel, Amstelhof. One room, the Regentesses’ Room illustrates the administration and financial structure of the Parish; another has a permanent display about the history of Amstelhof; and lastly the old kitchen features aspects of everyday life in Amstelhof.

Regentesses’ room

The furnishing of this room is intended to emphasise the eighteenth-century lightness of the space while retaining the nineteenth- and twentieth-century elements. As the room has been much altered down the centuries, an exact reconstruction is impossible, but visitors will gain an impression of how it used to look, using furniture and objects from the Parish collections. Some of the original furniture is on loan from the collection of the Amsterdam Historical Museum together with pieces owned by the Parish.

Permanent presentation and former kitchen

The themes covered here are: parish care from the Middle Ages, Daily life, the elderly residents, Founding of Amstelhof, Building history, Special occasions, and the Last forty years. These are illustrated with paintings, documents and objects from the history of Amstelhof.

The exhibits in both rooms are on long-term loan from the House of Orange-Nassau Historic Collections Trust, the Amsterdam Historical Museum, the Parish, private collections, photographer Jan van Breda and the Hermitage Amsterdam.

More information:

HERMITAGE AMSTERDAM
Press Office
Noepy Testa, Kim van Niftrik
T: +31 (0)20 - 530 87 55
F: +31 (0)20 - 530 87 50
E: pressoffice@hermitage.nl
W: www.hermitage.nl/pers