Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
262, then turn right and loop through smaller rooms 272-280 to find the stairs up to the
third floor.
Part 3: Modern Masters
The Hermitage has an impressive collection of paintings by Impressionist and Post-Im-
pressionist masters. It's perfect for seeing how these artists—living in France in the late
19th century—influenced one another. Many of these works became public museum pieces
when the Soviet Union nationalized the collections of rich businessmen so the proletariat
could enjoy them.
Overview: So many canvases are crammed into these small rooms, it's hard to keep
track of who's who. Here's a primer on just a few of the many famous names represented
here: Edouard Manet (1832-1883) bucked the strict academic system to paint realistic
scenes of everyday life, rather than prettified goddesses. Manet inspired his friend Edgar
Degas (1834-1917) to sketch candid snapshots of the modern Parisian lifestyle—café
scenes, workers, and well-dressed families bustling through Parisian streets. ClaudeMon-
et (1840-1926) and his close friend AugusteRenoir (1841-1919) took things another step,
setting their canvases up outdoors and painting quickly to capture shimmering landscapes
using a mosaic of bright colors. Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890), a moody Dutchman,
learned this Impressionist technique from the bohemians in Paris, but infused his land-
scapes with swirling brushwork and an emotional expressiveness. Van Gogh's Post-Impres-
sionist style was adopted by his painting partner, Paul Gauguin (1848-1903), who used
bright patches of colors and simplified forms to re-create the primitive look of tribal art.
Henri Matisse (1869-1954) went further, creating the art of “wild beasts” (Fauves), us-
ing even brighter colors and simpler forms than Gauguin. Gauguin had greatly admired
a brilliant-but-struggling artist named Paul Cézanne (1839-1906), who also rejected tra-
ditional three-dimensionality to compose paintings as geometrical blocks of color. As the
20th century dawned, Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) broke Cezanne's blocks of colors into
shards and “cubes” of color, all jumbled up, anticipating purely abstract art.
The Hermitage offers a unique chance to see this evolution—if you're inclined to look
for it. If not, just switch off your cerebral cortex and simply browse, enjoying room after
room of pretty, colorful, pleasant paintings by these modern masters. I've highlighted a few
paintings that always catch my eye.
• This floor's rooms are smaller—which means they're easier to navigate but more
crowded. Sharpen your elbows and, from the top of the stairs, head straight into room 314,
turn left, and do a loop through rooms 332, 331, 330, 323, and 322. Then turn right into
room 321, where you'll find...
Renoir
Later in life, Renoir—who, along with Monet, was one of the founding fathers of Impres-
sionism—changed his style. He veered from the Impressionist credo of creating objective
studies in color and light to begin painting things that were unabashedly “pretty.” He popu-
lated his canvases with rosy-cheeked, middle-class girls performing happy domestic activ-
ities, rendered in a warm, inviting style. As Renoir himself said, “There are enough ugly
things in life.”
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