6a. Hermitage and Russian Museum

              Hermitage

Lovers of the renaissance swoon over the Da Vincis, Michaelangelos, Raphaels and Titians. The Rembrandt room, the El Grecos and Impressionists like Van Gogh, Matisse, Picasso and the gang keep company with Oriental and Middle Eastern art.

Russian Ark is a memorable film set in the Hermitage with a flamboyant unnamed narrator played by the director of the film, Alexander Sokurov, in 2003. Filmed in a single 96 minute shot using the fourth wall device, our host takes us ( the audience) through the rooms of the museum, representing stages of Russian history and concludes lusciously with a grand ball backed by Mikhail Glinka's music.

The symbol of the ark is the preservation of Russian culture as the Ark (Hermitage) floats in the sea of time.

               Russian Museum

13th century icons to the cream of Russian avant-garde are housed in the Russian Museum comprising the Mikhailovsky Palace, Stroganov Palace and Marble Palace.