![Art and Industry Academy SPB 02](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/Art_and_Industry_Academy_SPB_02.jpg)
The Stieglitz Museum of Decorative and Applied Arts ranks among the most significant
museum
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...
s in
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 project had its beginnings in 1878 when Baron
Alexander von Stieglitz
Baron Alexander von Stieglitz (russian: link=no, Александр Людвигович Штиглиц; 1814–1884) was a Russian financier. He was the first governor of the State Bank of the Russian Empire, the predecessor organization to toda ...
(1814–84), a millionaire philanthropist, donated funds to build a museum for the benefit of students of the
Central School of Engineering Design, which had been established by him earlier. The new museum was to accommodate Stieglitz's private collection of rare glassware,
porcelain
Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises main ...
s, tapestries, furniture, and tiled stoves.
The museum's first director,
Maximilian Messmacher
Maximilian (von) Messmacher (russian: Максимилиан Егорович Месмахер, ''Maximilian Yegorovich Messmacher''; 1842–1906) was a Russian architect of German ancestry.
He attended the School of Painting of St. Petersburg S ...
, based his design upon a similar museum in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
. Constructed between 1885 and 1896, the building is an example of the
Neo-Renaissance
Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range ...
at its most stylistically forceful. The ground floor with arched windows is heavily
rusticated and the upper storey is turgid with ornate details and statuary. The central hall is set between two-storey Italianate arcades, while interiors of other halls are styled so as to conform with items exhibited therein. A room patterned after the
Terem Palace
Terem Palace or Teremnoy Palace (russian: Теремной дворец) is a historical building in the Moscow Kremlin, Russia, which used to be the main residence of the Russian czars in the 17th century. Its name is derived from the Greek word ...
particularly stands out as "an opulent knockout", in the words of Tom Masters of the ''
Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet is a travel guide book publisher. Founded in Australia in 1973, the company has printed over 150 million books.
History Early years
Lonely Planet was founded by married couple Maureen and Tony Wheeler. In 1972, they embarke ...
''.
Out of some 30,000 items stored in the museum at the time of the
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...
, the Communist authorities handed over the most precious exhibits to 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 ...
. The Stieglitz Museum continued as a branch of the Hermitage until 1926, when it was abolished, only to be restored three years later as a separate institution. During the Soviet years luxurious interiors fell into disrepair, with one hall used as a
gym
A gymnasium, also known as a gym, is an indoor location for athletics. The word is derived from the ancient Greek term " gymnasium". They are commonly found in athletic and fitness centres, and as activity and learning spaces in educational i ...
, its walls painted over. It was not until the fall of the Soviet Union that slow and painstaking restoration began.
Sources
* Музей барона Штиглица: Прошлое и настоящее. СПб., 1994.
File:Большой выставочный зал академии им. А. Л. Штиглица.jpg
File:Halls of Saint Petersburg Art and Industry Academy (16991766200).jpg
File:Академия им. А.Л. Штиглица-8.jpg
File:Tsentralny District, St Petersburg, Russia - panoramio (202).jpg
File:A faunistic dish from the museum of The Academy of Art and Industry (17171730076).jpg
External links
*
{{authority control
Decorative arts museums in Russia
Renaissance Revival architecture in Russia
Art museums established in 1878
Cultural infrastructure completed in 1896
1878 establishments in the Russian Empire
Art museums and galleries in Saint Petersburg