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1771-1787: The construction of the Large Hermitage
In 1774, Empress Catherine II ordered construction of a new building next to the Small Hermitage, which was to become known as the Large Hermitage. Yuri Velten, the architect, was instructed to create a building which could accommodate the Empress's ever-expanding library and collections of works of art. Although it was in the austere 18th-century Neoclassical style, the three-storey structure was nonetheless in keeping with the overall palace ensemble. Decoration of the facade is based on a combination of vertical and horizontal lines.
In 1792, Giacomo Quarenghi built an extension to the Large Hermitage to house the Raphael Loggias, 18th-century copies of the original frescoes in the Vatican, Rome. In turn, a gallery was strung on a bridge connecting the new building and the Theatre, which stood on the opposite side of the Winter Canal.
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View of the Large Hermitage |