National Cheng Kung University
Tainan
15/12/2014

Outline 1. Introduction 2. The Peacock Clock 3. Kolyvan Vase 4. Madonna Litta 5. Search of the materials 6. References

Introduction
The Winter Palace (inner view)
The Winter Palace (inner view)
The Winter Palace (view from the Neva river)
The Winter Palace (view from the Neva river)
The State Hermitage, the largest museum in Russia, is located in the center of St. Petersburg, on the Neva River. To be specific, it’s right on the Palace Square, which is named like this because of the museum. It’s the heart of historic St. Petersburg. Most of the main city events, like fireworks and New Year celebrations, take place on this square.
More than three million items are stored in Hermitage collections - paintings, sculptures, works of applied art, coins, medals, weapons, archaeological sites and other wealth created by many nations of the world from ancient times to present days. Its collection is just as big and valuable as collections of British museum in London and Louvre museum in Paris.
The Hermitage is an amazing world which is full of wonders. It has been always attracting thousands of people of different ages and backgrounds, from different countries and continents. And everyone has found there something to remember and to delight. In my final report I suggest a list of exhibits which may blow your mind and at first you won’t even believe that they are true. But they are true, they are worldwide famous and they are in the halls of The State Hermitage.

The Peacock clock
There is a quite interesting exhibit in the Pavilion Hall of Hermitage – the Peacock clock. The clock is made by English master James Cox in the XVIII century, when outlandish and unusual clock mechanisms were especially popular. Materials are bronze, silver, crystals and gilding. Besides a peacock there are an oak tree and several figures of birds and squirrels in a glass cell. The peacock is located in the center of composition and when the clock is striking it spreads its tail and moves its head.

The Peacock Clock. The State Hermitage, St. Petersburg
Peacock’s neighbors also “come to life”: an owl turns its head and blinks and a chicken open its beak and starts crowing. A mushroom which is under the tree shows what time it is now. Uniqueness of this clock is that they are still in working conditions, and it’s the only world’s large mechanism of the XVIII century, that reached our time without any changes.

Kolyvan vase
Kolyvan vase. The State Hermitage, St. Petersburg
Kolyvan vase. The State Hermitage, St. Petersburg
The Kolyvan vase is one of the most remarkable works of Russian stonecutters. It’s made of beautiful green jasper and impresses visitors with its big size, perfect shape and flawless material processing. The height of the vase is more than two and a half meters, the diameter of a large bowl is five meters and diameter of a small bowl is around tree meters. Although it weighs nineteen tons it doesn’t look bulky. Its thin leg, long oval shape and harmony of parts make it look elegant and light.
Kolyvan vase is made of a lump of stone which was found in Russia in 1815. It was treated for two years at the place of discovery and then moved by thousands of workers to the Kolyvan factory. An architect Melnikov created a unique design and prepared a project.
In 1843 the world’s largest Kolyvan vase, called “the Queen of vases”, was finished, delivered and mounted for display in the New Hermitage in St. Petersburg. For this purpose a wall of the palace had to be partly demolished.
Madonna Litta
Madonna Litta, Leonardo da Vinci, 1490, oil on canvas (42*33). The State Hermitage.
Madonna Litta, Leonardo da Vinci, 1490, oil on canvas (42*33). The State Hermitage.
Leonardo da Vinci created a lot of masterpieces. One of them is “Madonna Litta”, a late 15th-century painting of the Madonna nursing the infant Jesus which is displayed in the Hermitage Museum, in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
In this painting Leonardo tried to embody the ideal characteristics of a wonderful person, to show us her inner harmony and beauty. The head of Madonna turned almost in profile. Clear and pure facial contours and shapes contrast with the dark background wall. Her face is lighten up with a soft glow. The artist expressively conveys depth and tenderness of mother feelings. We barely can the eyes of Madonna, but we feel her gentle gaze, facing a baby. The baby, as if he is disturbed by the presence of strangers, turns curly head and looks at us. His figure is illustrated in Madonna’s arms so that we feel the weight of his body. Leonardo brilliantly portrayed the volumes in this painting by using light and shade modeling. It is simple and laconic and there are no elements of ordinariness. Red, blue, black dominate in this painting. The whole composition of the painting is very balanced and harmonious because of the figures, exactly inscribed in the triangle, which enhances an impression of stability, and symmetrically placed windows, which emphasize balance, harmony and tranquility.
For centuries the painting was in the possession of the Litta family. In 1865 it was acquired by the Russian czar, Alexander II, who put it in the Hermitage Museum.

Search of the materials
My midterm report was about Hermitage Museum buildings, their creators, locations and the circumstances of their foundation. I was hard at work and was glad to know so many interesting facts about the greatest museum in my country. This time I decided to research about exhibits themselves, because they have a great cultural and historical value for Russian and for global community as well. It is always fascinating to learn something while doing reports. In order to get enough materials I used several sources. This is a list of them: 1. Friend’s experience. My best friend, who studies in St. Petersburg, told me a lot of wonderful stories about the Hermitage. She was the one who told me about the Palace Square too and it was really helpful because I’ve never been in Petersburg and have no idea how the museum looks like from outside and inside. An exhibit, she liked the most, was a Peacock clock, which is also in my final report. She said she was very excited to see it in the Hermitage. 2. An official Hermitage website. This one was very helpful as well, because it provides information about exhibitions and has pictures of most items. It’s very colorful and well-designed, although I could not visit the museum online, meaning that I could not “walk” in it, like in some other online museums. 3. Wikipedia. Normally I copy pictures and paintings from there. It’s very convenient to use because all information about the painting, including size, an artist and year of creation, is on the same page. 4. Russian websites about art and culture. One of them, for example, provided a virtual tour in the Hermitage.
References
http://www.hermitagemuseum.org/wps/portal/hermitage/ - an official Hermitage website. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leonardo_da_Vinci_attributed_-_Madonna_Litta.jpg – “Madonna Litta” painting. http://culture.ru/atlas/object/523 - Russian website about culture http://www.panoramas.classic-ru.org/russian/museum/hermitage1.html - a virtual tour in the Hermitage