Russian Museum

Welcome to the State Russian Museum, the first and largest national gallery of Russian fine art in the world. As we stand before the magnificent Mikhailovsky Palace, you are looking at an architectural masterpiece designed by the…

As you begin your ascent of the Grand Staircase, you are experiencing the 'visit card' of the Mikhailovsky Palace. The architect Karl Rossi designed this entrance to create a gradual sense of volume and awe. …

We enter the oldest part of the collection, where Russian art began: the world of icons. The most famous piece here is the 'Angel with Golden Hair' (Archangel Gabriel), an icon nearly 800 years old. …

We now come to one of the most famous rooms in the museum, dominated by Karl Brullov’s epic masterpiece, 'The Last Day of Pompeii.' Completed in 1833, this colossal canvas (over 30 square meters) took the European art world by…

From the fire of Vesuvius, we move to the water of the Black Sea with Ivan Aivazovsky’s 'The Ninth Wave.' Aivazovsky, a master of marine painting who produced over 6,000 works, was so in love with the sea that he claimed he could…

Our journey through the 19th century continues with Alexander Ivanov’s 'The Appearance of Christ to the People.' While the primary, massive version is in Moscow’s Tretyakov Gallery, the Russian Museum houses a magnificent…

Before we conclude, we must step into the White Room, the only interior of the Mikhailovsky Palace that has been preserved exactly as Karl Rossi designed it in 1825. This was the musical heart of the palace, where Grand Duchess…

As we conclude our journey through the State Russian Museum, we return to the grand facade of the Mikhailovsky Palace. We have traversed a thousand years of Russian history, from the silent, golden eyes of the medieval angels to…