The Military Gallery (russian: Военная галерея) is a gallery of the

Winter Palace The Winter Palace ( rus, Зимний дворец, Zimnij dvorets, p=ˈzʲimnʲɪj dvɐˈrʲɛts) is a palace in Saint Petersburg that served as the official residence of the Russian Emperor from 1732 to 1917. The palace and its precincts now ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

. The gallery is a setting for 332 portraits of

generals A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...

who took part in the

Patriotic War of 1812 The French invasion of Russia, also known as the Russian campaign, the Second Polish War, the Army of Twenty nations, and the Patriotic War of 1812 was launched by Napoleon Bonaparte to force the Russian Empire back into the continental block ...

. The portraits were painted by

George Dawe George Dawe (6 February 1781 – 15 October 1829) was an English portraitist who painted 329 portraits of Russian generals active during Napoleon's invasion of Russia for the Military Gallery of the Winter Palace. He relocated to Saint Pet ...

and his Russian assistants Alexander Polyakov (1801–1835), a serf, and

Wilhelm August Golicke Wilhelm August Golicke (russian: Вильгельм-Август Голике / Василий Александрович Голике; 1802 – 5 July 1848) was a Baltic German painter. Life and paintings He was born in Tallinn or Saint Pet ...

. The top-lit,

barrel-vaulted A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault, wagon vault or wagonhead vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve (or pair of curves, in the case of a pointed barrel vault) along a given distance. The curves are ...

hall in which the gallery is accommodated was designed by architect Carlo Rossi and constructed from June to November 1826. It replaced several small rooms in the middle of the main block of the Winter Palace - between the White Throne Hall and the Greater Throne Hall, just a few steps from the palace church. The gallery was opened in a solemn ceremony on 25 December 1826. 1812Gallerylocation

Less than ten years after its completion, it was destroyed by fire in 1837. The fire burned slowly and Dawe's portraits were saved from the flames. The architect

Vasily Stasov Vasily Petrovich Stasov (Russian: Васи́лий Петро́вич Ста́сов; 4 August 1769 – 5 September 1848) was a famous Russian architect, born into a wealthy noble family: his father, Pyotr Fyodorovich Stasov, came from one o ...

recreated the hall exactly as it had been before. As a cadet of the , Vladimir Littauer was posted in 1912 to stand night-time guard in the Military Gallery. He describes the experience as an eerie one, standing under the rows of portraits in the "huge hall" lit only by a single bulb over a cluster of banners. The isolation of the solitary sentry was emphasized by the two to three minutes that footsteps could be heard down halls and corridors before the replacement guard arrived in the gallery. During the

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

era, the gallery collection was enhanced by four portraits of Palace Grenadiers, the special ceremonial unit created in 1827 from veterans of the Patriotic War of 1812 to guard the entire building. The portraits were also painted by George Dawe, in 1828. More recently, the gallery acquired two paintings by

Peter von Hess Peter Heinrich Lambert von Hess (29 July 1792 – 4 April 1871) was a German painter, known for historic paintings, especially of the Napoleonic Wars and the Greek War of Independence. Life Peter von Hess initially received training from his fat ...

from the 1840s. Today, as part of the

Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is the largest ...

, this room retains its original decoration. File:Alkruger.jpg,

Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death. He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. The son o ...

File:Franz II. (HRR) Eremitage St. Petersburg.JPG,

Francis II of Austria Francis II (german: Franz II.; 12 February 1768 – 2 March 1835) was the last Holy Roman Emperor (from 1792 to 1806) and the founder and Emperor of the Austrian Empire, from 1804 to 1835. He assumed the title of Emperor of Austria in response ...

File:Frid-Wil III Kruger.jpg, Frederick William III of Prussia File:Barclay de Tolly (Dawe).jpg,

Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly Prince Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly (german: Fürst Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly; baptised – ) was an Imperial Russian soldier of Baltic German and Scottish origin, who was commander-in-chief and Minister of War of the Russian Empir ...

File:Konstantin Pavlovich by G.Dawe (1834, Hermitage).jpg,

Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich of Russia Konstantin Pavlovich (russian: Константи́н Па́влович; ) was a grand duke of Russia and the second son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. He was the heir-presumptive for most of his elder brother Alexand ...

File:Kutuzov2 by Daw.jpg,

Mikhail Kutuzov Prince Mikhail Illarionovich Golenishchev-Kutuzov ( rus, Князь Михаи́л Илларио́нович Голени́щев-Куту́зов, Knyaz' Mikhaíl Illariónovich Goleníshchev-Kutúzov; german: Mikhail Illarion Golenishchev-Kut ...

File:Wellington by Daw.jpg,

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish soldier and Tories (British political party), Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of Uni ...

File:George Dawe - Portrait of General Pyotr Bagration (1765-1812) - Google Art Project.jpg,

Pyotr Bagration Prince Pyotr Ivanovich Bagration (10 July 1765 – 24 September 1812) was a Georgian general and prince serving in the Russian Empire, prominent during the Napoleonic Wars. Bagration, a member of the Bagrationi dynasty, was born in Tbilisi. Hi ...

File:Kulnev.jpg,

Yakov Kulnev Yakov Petrovich Kulnev (russian: Яков Петрович Кульнев; 6 August 1763 – 1 August 1812) was, along with Pyotr Bagration and Aleksey Yermolov, one of the most popular Russian military leaders at the time of the Napoleonic Wars. ...

File:Dawe, Mikhail Vorontsov.jpg, Mikhail Vorontsov File:Иван Федорович Паскевич.jpg,

Ivan Paskevich Count Ivan Fyodorovich Paskevich-Erevansky, Serene Prince of Warsaw (russian: Ива́н Фёдорович Паске́вич-Эриванский, светлейший князь Варшавский, tr. ; – ) was an Imperial Russian mi ...

File:Alexei-jermolov.jpg,

Aleksey Yermolov Aleksey Petrovich Yermolov (russian: Алексе́й Петро́вич Ермо́лов, p=jɪrˈmoləf; – ) was a Russian Imperial general of the 19th century who commanded Russian troops in the Caucasian War. He served in all the Ru ...

File:Platov.jpg, Matvey Platov File:Prince Pyotr Mikhailovich Volkonsky.jpg,

Peter Volkonsky Prince Peter Mikhailovich Volkonsky (1861–1948) was a Russian aristocrat. Biography Peter M. Volkonsky was born in 1861 in St. Petersburg. His father was Prince Michael S. Volkonsky, his mother the Serene Princess Elizabeth G. Volkonskaia ( ...

File:Bennigsen.jpg,

Levin August von Bennigsen , native_name_lang = , birth_name = , nickname = , birth_date = , birth_place = Braunschweig, Electorate of Hanover, Holy Roman Empire , death_date = , death_place = Banteln, Kingdom of Hanover, German Confederation , ...

File:Михаил Андреевич Милорадович.jpg,

Mikhail Miloradovich Count Mikhail Andreyevich Miloradovich (russian: Граф Михаи́л Андре́евич Милора́дович, sh-Cyrl, Гроф Михаил Андрејевић Милорадовић ''Grof Mihail Andrejević Miloradović''; – ...

File:Ivan Ivanovitch Dibich by George Dawe - Hermitage.jpg,

Hans Karl von Diebitsch Hans Karl Friedrich Anton Graf von Diebitsch und Narten (russian: Ива́н Ива́нович Ди́бич-Забалка́нский, tr. ; 13 May 1785 – 10 June 1831) was a German-born soldier serving as Russian field marshal. Career ...

File:Rajevskij N N.jpg,

Nikolay Raevsky Nikolay Nikolayevich Raevsky (; — ) was a Russian general and statesman who achieved fame for his feats of arms during the Napoleonic Wars. His family left a lasting legacy in Russian society and culture. Early life Nikolay Raevsky was born i ...

File:Tormasov.jpg, Alexander Tormasov File:Saint-Priest E F.jpg, Guillaume de Saint-Priest File:Adam Petrovich Ozharovsky.jpg,

Adam Ożarowski Count Adam Petrovich Ozharovsky ( pl, Adam Ożarowski) (1776 – 30 November 1855, Warsaw) was a Russian general of Polish descent who distinguished himself during the Napoleonic Wars. His father, hetman Piotr Ożarowski, was seized by the insur ...

File:Madatov.jpg,

Valerian Madatov Prince Valerian Grigoryevich Madatov (, , Rostom Madatyan) (1782 – September 4, 1829) was a Russian-Armenian prince and a lieutenant-general of the Russian Empire. Sarkisyan, G. ''«Մադաթով»'' (Madatov). ''Armenian Soviet Encycloped ...

File:Fabian Wilhelm von Osten-Sacken.jpg, Fabian Wilhelm von Osten-Sacken File:Antoine-Henri Jomini.jpg,

Antoine-Henri Jomini Antoine-Henri Jomini (; 6 March 177922 March 1869) was a Swiss military officer who served as a general in French and later in Russian service, and one of the most celebrated writers on the Napoleonic art of war. Jomini's ideas are a staple at m ...

File:Pjotr-christianowitsch-wittgenstein.jpg, Peter von Wittgenstein File:Saksen-Koburg Leopold-2a.jpeg, Leopold von Saxen-Koburg File:Ostermann-tolstoi.jpg,

Alexander Ivanovich Ostermann-Tolstoy Count Alexander Ivanovich Count Osterman-Tolstoy (Russian: Александр Иванович Остерман-Толстой; 1770 – 12 February 1857) was a Russian nobleman and soldier in the era of the French Revolutionary Wars. He belonged ...

References

External links

* *
Hermitage Museum Website
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Military Gallery Of The Winter Palace Napoleonic Wars Hermitage Museum Carlo Rossi buildings and structures 1826 establishments in the Russian Empire

See also

References

External links