The Winter Palace (see exterior photos) in St. Petersburg was the work of the Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli on the commission of Empress Elizabeth II.  Catherine the Great continued expansion of the palace during her reign.  Catherine was also a passionate collector of art and began acquiring collections soon after she assumed the throne.  She had a small building constructed north of the main palace .  This was to be her intimate retreat, and this is where she housed her first art purchases, in this, her own private space.  Over time, the art collection greatly expanded.  After the October Revolution basically the Winter Palace and the Hermitage became one and the same. You can check out the official Hermitage site, with its great images, and some official history, or you can look through these photos taken by visitors (myself) included.  Some photos are better than others, but that is what you get when you are visiting a museum as huge and overwhelming as the Hermitage.

The Jordan Staircase in the entry hall of the Winter Palace.

Typical corridor/hallway lined with art.

Another corridor.

   
Some chandeliers.

Windows and Chandeliers!

Chandelier Mount.

Wall detail. Cornice.

A little bit of sculpture in the hall.

Etienne-Maurice Falconet, Winter, 1763-71.

Paul Gauguin, Canoe; A Tahitian Family (Te vaa), 1896.

Henri Matisse, Dance, 1909-10.

Vincent van Gogh, Cottages, 1890.

Childrens' Art.

Identify artist and work for extra credit.

Identify artist and work for extra credit.

Identify artist and work for extra credit.

The 1812 War Gallery, restored to this magnificence in 2003, contains portraits of all the Russian generals who took part in the war against Napoleon from 1812-1814.
Photo courtesy Bev Blois.