Mikhailovsky Castle Collections
Since it became part of the Russian Museum in 1994, the Mikhailovsky Castle has become home to an increasing number of permanent collections, mostly containing art of the 18th and 19th centuries.
As restoration work on the castle nears completion, the space is increasingly used to house sculpture. The main collection is the Sculpture Open Fund, which displays hundreds of works by Russian sculptors from the 18th to the 20th centuries. Recently enriched with the addition of over one hundred works from the early 20th century, the exhibition has a well organized computer guides, and highlights include a large collection of elegant works by Paolo Trubetskoy.
Elsewhere in the castle is the Foreign Artists in Russia collection, which gathers together the work of the many artists, many of whom were employed by the Imperial court, who came to St. Petersburg in the 18th and 19th centuries.
While some of the artists featured had already built a reputation in their native countries - such as the English portrait-painter, George Dawe, and Elizabeth-Louise Vigee-Le Brun, the most famous female artist of the 18th century, who fled to Russia after the French Revolution - many came to Russia at a young age and stayed for good, attracted and held by the substantial commissions offered by the Russian aristocracy, amongst whom it was considered more modish to be painted by Western European artists.
| Address: | 2, Sadovaya Ulitsa |
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| Metro: | Nevsky Prospekt / Gostiny Dvor |
| Open: | Wednesday to Sunday 10am to 6pm. Last admission is at 5pm. Mondays, 10am to 5pm. Last admission is at 4pm. |
| Closed: | Tuesday |
| Telephone: | +7 (812) 595-4248, +7 (812) 318-1608 |
| Website: | http://en.rusmuseum.ru |
| Admission: | Adult: RUB 300.00. Students: RUB 150.00 |
| Photo and video: | RUB 250.00 |
| Accessibility note: | Full wheelchair access. Free wheelchair rentals. Please call in advance +7 (812) 570-5112 as staff assistance may be required. |
