Exhibitions
- Peter the Great
- Upcoming
  - Gauguin, Bonnard, Denis
- Archive
  - Vincent. The Van Gogh Museum in the Hermitage Amsterdam
    - Introduction
    - Van Gogh Moves
  - Impressionism: Sensation & Inspiration
  - Rubens, Van Dyck & Jordaens
  - Splendour and Glory
  - The immortal Alexander the Great
  - Matisse to Malevich
    - Introduction
    - Highlights of the exhibition
    - Background by Henk van Os
    - Sergey Shchukin and Others
    - Artist biographies
    - Russian literature around 1900
    - Terminology
    - Links
    - Archive
      - Dance
  - At the Russian Court
  - Caspar David Friedrich
  - Images of St Petersburg
  - Art Nouveau
  - Persia
  - Collectors in St Petersburg
  - Silver wonders from the east
  - Pilgrim treasures
  - Venezia!
  - Nicholas & Alexandra
  - Greek gold
Admission tickets
Activities
Hermitage St Petersburg
St Petersburg & Russia
Hermitage Amsterdam and Amstelhof
Hermitage for Children
Discounts and arrangements
Frequently Asked Questions

Collectors in St Petersburg

Introduction

Peter the Great called his city "the window on Europe". Until the 1917 Revolution St. Petersburg was one of the most cosmopolitan cities in Europe. In the 19th century the city expanded rapidly as a result of industrialisation and growing prosperity. The arts flourished: art dealers did good business and more and more rich inhabitants of the city put together large collections. This exhibition introduces four of these collectors, each with their own preference for a particular school, country or period. They collected 'old masters', paintings from the 16th to the 18th century, or concentrated on contemporary art from the mid-19th century.