St. Petersburg Fine Art Museums and Galleries
While St. Petersburg's two most famous museums, the State Hermitage and the State Russian Museum, repositories of myriad masterpieces of international and Russian art, unquestionably lead the pack of art museums and galleries, the city can also boast a number of intriguing smaller museums, including several recently established modern galleries that display the best of contemporary Russian art.
One of the largest museums in the world, the Hermitage is most famous for its European art collection, including works by Michelangelo, Rubens, Rembrandt, Picasso and Matisse. However, that is just one aspect of this multi-faceted museum which stretches over six venues.
Rivaling the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow as the country's finest collection of Russian art, this beautifully displayed collection occupies several historic buildings, centered on the splendid neoclassical Mikhailovsky Palace.
In the historic home of the original Academy of Fine Arts, this museum contains work by many of the great artists who have attended this renowned institution, as well as temporary displays by respected Russian and foreign artists.
Part of the renowned Pushkinskaya 10 Arts Centre, a nexus for underground culture since 1989, this small museum brings together some of the best work of Leningrad's unofficial arts scene from the 1950s to the 1980s, as well as work by younger St. Petersburg artists.
More of a caretaking project, this museum looks after the impressive collection of tombstones in the cemetery of the Alexander Nevsky Monastery, and also has a collection of models of nearly all of St. Petersburg's public monuments.
One of Russia's finest displays of contemporary art, this large private gallery has a permanent collection of over 2500 works produced over the last three decades by Russian artists, and an active program of temporary exhibitions and events.
Based on the private collections of a prominent Russian art lover, this elegant modern gallery on Vasielvskiy Island gives a good broad overview of Soviet and Russian art from the 1960s right up to the present day.
One of St. Petersburg's most popular cultural centres (it also houses a hostel and an inexpensive cafe), ETAGI mounts a variety of art and design exhibitions, mostly with a strong local flavour, including works by current art students.
Housed in an elegant wooden building that was once home to composer and painter Mikhail Matyushin, this museum commemorates the many luminaries who gathered here, including Vladimir Mayakovsky and Kazimir Malevich, and the extraordinary artistic revolution they implemented.
This small museum close to the Mariinsky Theatre specializes in the official art of the Soviet period, with a large collection of realist works by Leningrad painters from the 1930s onwards. The apartment-like space acts as a museum and a private gallery, and occasionally hosts concerts.
