Small Hermitage

General view of the interior, showing Pavilion Hall; The new style of Catherine’s reign determined not only the aesthetic features of architecture [the shift from Baroque to Neoclassic] but also the nature of the buildings. One of the first that she commissioned was a ‘hermitage’ in St Petersburg, where, following the fashion of contemporary European monarchs, she could enjoy a somewhat more informal and private existence. This was Vallen de la Motte’s original building, the Small Hermitage (1764-1767). The Small Hermitage demonstrates Vallen de la Motte’s mastery of Neo-classicism. The [southern] sides of the building, which adjoins Rastrelli’s Winter Palace, are articulated so as to complement Rastrelli’s Rococo façades, but the river façade [Northern Pavilion] is a Neo-classical composition, based on the combination of a portico of six free-standing Ionic columns with statues along its sides, a severe entablature and delicate enrichment of the walls. The Pavilion Hall of the Small Hermitage [Northern Pavilion], one of the finest rooms in the Palace complex, was created to a design (1858) by Andrei Stakenschneider. Combining Renaissance, Gothic and Oriental motifs, the architect created a light and airy white-and-gold room. Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.oxfordartonline.com/ (accessed 6/16/2009