飞扬
“如今的艾爾米塔什博物馆,已成为俄罗斯甚至是整个欧洲的文化地标,这是叶卡捷琳娜女皇所未曾料到的。”资深电影批评家托尼·皮皮罗的观点,形象地道出了艾尔米塔什博物馆不仅仅是一座博物馆,更是人类文明的瑰宝。
坐落于俄罗斯圣彼得堡涅瓦河南岸的国立艾尔米塔什博物馆,以拥有丰富的文化艺术收藏而闻名,与伦敦大英博物馆、巴黎卢浮宫、纽约大都会博物馆并称为世界四大博物馆。
艾尔米塔什博物馆的前身是俄罗斯帝国沙皇的皇宫,但说起其真正的创建者,当数叶卡捷琳娜二世女皇。她在彼得大帝建造的皇宫基础上,陆续指挥建造了艾尔米塔什宫殿、小艾尔米塔什、老艾尔米塔什等建筑,庞大且富丽的建筑群在她的指挥下日益成形。“艾尔米塔什”是法语词,有“隐藏、幽居”之意,因此博物馆也被译为“隐庐”。其中,艾尔米塔什宫殿,便是叶卡捷琳娜大帝最早用来收藏和展示艺术品的地方,也是今天艾尔米塔什博物馆的雏形。当时,叶卡捷琳娜派人前往欧洲各地购买艺术品,出价毫不吝啬。在她执政的30多年间,皇室的艺术收藏品从最初的200多件增加到4000多件。
随后,在历代俄国皇室的积累下,艾尔米塔什博物馆收集藏品近300万件,单单是绘画就有1.5万幅之多,雕塑达1.2万尊,考古文物、工艺品、钱币和纪念章更是不可胜数,需以十万为单位计算。这些藏品上至古埃及、古希腊,下至现当代,既有达·芬奇、拉斐尔、伦勃朗、梵高、毕加索等艺术大师的传世之作,也有西徐亚人的古墓葬品、伊朗萨萨尼德王朝的银器,还有中国瓷器、古埃及雕塑和拜占庭圣像等,被誉为“世界文化与艺术百科全书式的博物馆”。
艾尔米塔什博物馆展出的艺术品约占全部收藏的5%,展览线总长30公里,有“世界最长艺廊”之称。这些藏品按地域和年代顺序陈列于350多间展厅中,达·芬奇的两幅《圣母像》、拉斐尔的《圣家族》、伦勃朗的《浪子回头》等绘画作品和米开朗基罗的雕塑《蜷缩成一团的小男孩》等可谓镇馆之宝,极为珍贵。
艾尔米塔什博物馆以丰富华丽的收藏闻名于世,其建筑群也以布局协调、气势雄伟,成为圣彼得堡重要的名胜之一。艾尔米塔什博物馆由涅瓦河边沿着皇宫河堤修建的六座彼此相连的建筑组成,其中五座对公众开放,自西向东分别是冬宫、小艾尔米塔什、老艾尔米塔什、新艾尔米塔什和国立艾尔米塔什剧院。它们既有威尼斯水城的风采,也有意大利建筑的风范,更有俄罗斯长久积淀的文化呈现,欧洲多种建筑风格都得到演绎。
走进其间,大殿小厅个个金碧辉煌、美轮美奂,深邃的长廊、华丽的吊灯、精美的壁画、千姿百态的雕像令人目不暇接、惊叹不已……如今的艾尔米塔什博物馆,作为展示俄罗斯和世界文化遗产的艺术殿堂,正以壮丽的建筑和丰富多样的艺术藏品吸引着世界各地的游客。
编辑/魏伟
Russias “Palace of Seclusion”—Hermitage Museum
Located on the south bank of the Neva River, St. Petersburg, Russia, the State Hermitage Museum with its rich cultural and art collections is known as one of the worlds four major museums (together with the British Museum in London, the Louvre Museum in Paris, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York).
Its real creator was Catherine II (Empress Catherine the Great). Catherine sent people to buy artworks from all parts of Europe with generous offers. In the three decades of her reign, the number of the royal familys collected art pieces increased from over 200 to over 4,000. Later, with the accumulation made by the Russian royal families, the museum has collected nearly 3 million museum pieces.
The museums artworks on display account for only 5% of its entire collection. With a 30 kmlong exhibition line, it is known as the “Worlds Longest Art Gallery”. These museum pieces are displayed in more than 350 exhibition rooms in geographical and chronological order. The paintings, including the two paintings of Madonna by Leonardo da Vinci, The Holy Family by Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio), and The Return of the Prodigal Son by Rembrandt, as well as the sculpture Crouching Boy by Michelangelo are precious centerpieces of the museum.
The museum consists of five interconnected buildings along the Palace Embankment of the Neva River, namely the Winter Palace, the Small Hermitage, the Old Hermitage, the New Hermitage and the Hermitage Theatre from west to east. They contain the elegance of Venice and the style of Italian architecture, while displaying Russias long-accumulated culture and a variety of other European architectural styles.