The State Hermitage Museum: Hermitage News

Completion of renovation work on the Picket Hall

On 9 December 2004 the Picket Hall of the Winter Palace re-opened following extensive renovations. From September to December, 2004 a team from the State Hermitage's Special Restoration Studios carried out renovation work on a total surface area of 240 square meters within the hall. In the course of this work the small and large fissures in the facings of artificial marble were filled-in, the surface was polished and the sheen of the marble restored. The ornamental parquet floors made of various types of wood were refinished. This entailed replacement of some elements by rare wood varieties including mahogany, box-tree, amaranth, rosewood, ebony, walnut and sandalwood.

The bronze and gilded chandeliers were also restored and refinished. A new lighting system was installed in the hall.

The painted decoration on the ceiling, which was done in tempera and glue, was found to be in satisfactory condition. Small defects in the painting - cracks and crumbling spots on the background - were eliminated.

The Picket (or New) hall completes the Great Enfilade. It was designed by V. P. Stasov to replace a stairwell and two small rooms. It was the only instance of restoration work following the fire of 1837 where the architect was not obliged to keep to the former volumes and decoration. The hall was intended for mounting of the palace guard (hence its name - picket) and this determined both the austere decoration and the nature of the ornamentation.

In 1985 the severe shortage of space for storage of museum exhibits led to the Picket Hall's being re-equipped to serve as a storeroom for the Oriental Division. In 2004 the decision was taken to re-open it as a display area devoted to the history of the Russian army. Once it is put back into use, the Picket Hall will be the logical culmination of the overall exhibition area formed by the War Gallery of 1812 and the Fieldmarshal's Hall.

The reconstruction of the Picket Hall has been carried out by the Special Restoration Studios of the State Hermitage. The director of the Studios is I.I. Trubnikov and the chief engineer is A. F. Rabko.

At the Picket Hall of the Winter Palace

At the exhibition