168. St. Petersburg Academy of Arts
The St. Petersburg Academy of Arts is located along the University Embankment on Vasilyevsky Island, to the southwest of the Kunstkamera and Menshikov Palace. This impressive building was constructed between 1765 and 1788. The Egyptian Sphinxes sit along the Neva River directly in front of it, although they did not arrive until 44 years after the building appeared.
The "I. E. Repin St. Petersburg State Academic Institute of Painting, Architecture and Sculpture" occupies most of the building. This art college traces its lineage back to an art academy established by Empress Elizabeth Petrovna in 1757. Inside the building, I saw four or five people practicing their chosen medium: several sketching the building itself on the grand staircase (I am not sure if they were drawing or architecture students), and one in the gallery very skillfully duplicating a painting. Although it was closed during my visit, a shop just inside the main entrance sells art supplies. I imagine they have a busy trade with the students. I also enjoyed a performance by a solo opera singer during my visit, whose beautiful voice carried throughout the Academy.
In addition to the school, the building has long housed the Academy Museum, although it's relatively small by St. Petersburg standards. Six or seven rooms contain paintings, there is a sculpture hall, and several rooms on the top floor display architectural drawings and models (some of which are huge, a couple of centuries old, and quite impressive). The painting and sculpture collections were a bit uneven - some of the works were spectacular, but others were of the less-impressive variety. I would rank this museum lower on the list of tourist destinations in St. Petersburg; it shouldn't make anybody's must-see list. But I've been to each of the world-class museums here multiple times apiece, and I was happy to check out one of the lesser-known institutions.
The "I. E. Repin St. Petersburg State Academic Institute of Painting, Architecture and Sculpture" occupies most of the building. This art college traces its lineage back to an art academy established by Empress Elizabeth Petrovna in 1757. Inside the building, I saw four or five people practicing their chosen medium: several sketching the building itself on the grand staircase (I am not sure if they were drawing or architecture students), and one in the gallery very skillfully duplicating a painting. Although it was closed during my visit, a shop just inside the main entrance sells art supplies. I imagine they have a busy trade with the students. I also enjoyed a performance by a solo opera singer during my visit, whose beautiful voice carried throughout the Academy.
In addition to the school, the building has long housed the Academy Museum, although it's relatively small by St. Petersburg standards. Six or seven rooms contain paintings, there is a sculpture hall, and several rooms on the top floor display architectural drawings and models (some of which are huge, a couple of centuries old, and quite impressive). The painting and sculpture collections were a bit uneven - some of the works were spectacular, but others were of the less-impressive variety. I would rank this museum lower on the list of tourist destinations in St. Petersburg; it shouldn't make anybody's must-see list. But I've been to each of the world-class museums here multiple times apiece, and I was happy to check out one of the lesser-known institutions.
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