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