THE HERMITAGE EARTHLY AND CELESTIAL
Selected Essays
Short description:
This bibliophilic publication prepared to mark the 80th birthday of Hermitage Director Mikhail Borisovich Piotrovsky contains selected essays that he wrote for his regular column, “The View from the Hermitage”, in the city’s oldest newspaper – the Sankt-Petersburgskie Vedomosti, accompanied by photographs taken by Yury Molodkovets printed in the extremely rare photogravure technique.
Artists:
Edition:
80 copies numbered and signed by the photoartist and the publisher. Copy № 1 is in the collection of the State Hermitage.
Additional information
Details of the creation of this masterpiece
-
Year of publication:2025
-
Number of pages:80
-
Dimensions:380 х 290 mm
-
Paper:Fabriano (Italy), 285 g/m², handmade
Language:
Russian
We live in an amazing time — a time of revolutionary changes in the world of classic art. The title of this unique bibliophilic publication reflects a conception of the State Hermitage’s existence. Today two Hermitages exist in parallel — the real-life or “earthly” one and the virtual or “celestial” one.
This book has been prepared by the Rare Book from Saint Petersburg publishing house specially for the 80th birthday of Mikhail Borisovich Piotrovsky — Director of the State Hermitage Museum, Doctor of Historical Sciences, professor, Dean of the Oriental Faculty of Saint Petersburg State University, member of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Russian Academy of Arts, President of the Union of Museums of Russia and of the Worldwide Club of Petersburgers, Honorary Citizen of Saint Petersburg, recipient of the State Prize of the Russian Federation and the Presidential Prize of the Russian Federation.
This book has been prepared by the Rare Book from Saint Petersburg publishing house specially for the 80th birthday of Mikhail Borisovich Piotrovsky — Director of the State Hermitage Museum, Doctor of Historical Sciences, professor, Dean of the Oriental Faculty of Saint Petersburg State University, member of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Russian Academy of Arts, President of the Union of Museums of Russia and of the Worldwide Club of Petersburgers, Honorary Citizen of Saint Petersburg, recipient of the State Prize of the Russian Federation and the Presidential Prize of the Russian Federation.
The textual component of the book consists of selected essays by Mikhail Piotrovsky. They are illustrated with original pictures taken by the artist-photographer Yury Molodkovets.
Other participants in the creation of the book:
Author of the idea for the book — Piotr Suspitsyn
Design and layout — Yevgeny Grigoriev
Photogravure printing — Arkady Andreyev; PiranesiLAB experimental print laboratory
Printing of the text — Ruslan Kniazev
Marbling of the paper for the fly-leaves — Natalia Vaniushkina
Binding work — Andrei Kulikov, Alexander Trait
Compiler and editor — Liudmila Leusskaya
Proofreader — Natalia Nesterova
Other participants in the creation of the book:
Author of the idea for the book — Piotr Suspitsyn
Design and layout — Yevgeny Grigoriev
Photogravure printing — Arkady Andreyev; PiranesiLAB experimental print laboratory
Printing of the text — Ruslan Kniazev
Marbling of the paper for the fly-leaves — Natalia Vaniushkina
Binding work — Andrei Kulikov, Alexander Trait
Compiler and editor — Liudmila Leusskaya
Proofreader — Natalia Nesterova
The book contains texts written by Mikhail Piotrovsky for his regular authorial column, “The View from the Hermitage”, published in the city’s oldest newspaper the Sankt-Petersburgskie Vedomosti. In the 20 years of its existence, “The View from the Hermitage” has gained a broad readership and enduring popularity. The texts are a vivid example of Piotrovsky’s talent as a story-teller. Their topicality and emotionality, the relaxed, unforced presentation in straightforward, readily understandable language engage readers and draw them into the author’s train of thought from the very first phrases, turning them into partners in a conversation.
For the work of compiling and editing the book, the publishing house invited Liudmila Leusskaya, a commentator from the culture department of the Sankt-Petersburgskie Vedomosti, a journalist who has been among the winners of the Museum Olympus prize (2010) and a laureate of the Union of Museums of Russia’s Autograph competition for journalists (2017). She has been working with Mikhail Piotrovsky for twenty years now.
The text of the book has been printed on hand-made Fabriano paper from Italy on a 19th-century Dingler hand press.
For the work of compiling and editing the book, the publishing house invited Liudmila Leusskaya, a commentator from the culture department of the Sankt-Petersburgskie Vedomosti, a journalist who has been among the winners of the Museum Olympus prize (2010) and a laureate of the Union of Museums of Russia’s Autograph competition for journalists (2017). She has been working with Mikhail Piotrovsky for twenty years now.
The text of the book has been printed on hand-made Fabriano paper from Italy on a 19th-century Dingler hand press.
The publication is illustrated with photogravures made from pictures taken by the well-known Saint Petersburg artist-photographer Yury Molodkovets, who has been working in the Hermitage for 30 years and was the first to take night-time shots of the museum and its exhibits.
His project “L’Ermitage la nuit. Lieu de retraite” [The Hermitage by Night. A Place of Retreat] is an attempt “to present the state of the world post-humanity”, a visual account of the life of the Hermitage exhibits free from prying gazes, about a special time in the daily cycle when space is transformed beyond recognition, reflections in glass and shadows seem to possess a soul, while the camera capturing such moments becomes a medium capable of establishing contact with an unreal world.
His project “L’Ermitage la nuit. Lieu de retraite” [The Hermitage by Night. A Place of Retreat] is an attempt “to present the state of the world post-humanity”, a visual account of the life of the Hermitage exhibits free from prying gazes, about a special time in the daily cycle when space is transformed beyond recognition, reflections in glass and shadows seem to possess a soul, while the camera capturing such moments becomes a medium capable of establishing contact with an unreal world.
The binding has been made by hand by the publishing house’s craftspeople. The front cover carries a photogravure print from one of Yury Molodkovets’s photographs and the title of the book embossed in gold. The spine also bears the title embossed in gold.
The marbled paper for the endpapers was produced by hand specially for this publication. The volume, as a real precious treasure, has been placed in a case, also made by hand, which is covered in a linen fabric with a pattern reminiscent of the night sky with light clouds floating across it.
The marbled paper for the endpapers was produced by hand specially for this publication. The volume, as a real precious treasure, has been placed in a case, also made by hand, which is covered in a linen fabric with a pattern reminiscent of the night sky with light clouds floating across it.
Additional information
Details of the creation of this masterpiece
About this edition
About this edition:
-
Year of publication:2025
-
Number of pages:80
-
Dimensions:380 х 290 mm
-
Paper:Fabriano (Italy), 285 g/m², handmade
Language:
Russian
We live in an amazing time — a time of revolutionary changes in the world of classic art. The title of this unique bibliophilic publication reflects a conception of the State Hermitage’s existence. Today two Hermitages exist in parallel — the real-life or “earthly” one and the virtual or “celestial” one.
This book has been prepared by the Rare Book from Saint Petersburg publishing house specially for the 80th birthday of Mikhail Borisovich Piotrovsky — Director of the State Hermitage Museum, Doctor of Historical Sciences, professor, Dean of the Oriental Faculty of Saint Petersburg State University, member of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Russian Academy of Arts, President of the Union of Museums of Russia and of the Worldwide Club of Petersburgers, Honorary Citizen of Saint Petersburg, recipient of the State Prize of the Russian Federation and the Presidential Prize of the Russian Federation.
This book has been prepared by the Rare Book from Saint Petersburg publishing house specially for the 80th birthday of Mikhail Borisovich Piotrovsky — Director of the State Hermitage Museum, Doctor of Historical Sciences, professor, Dean of the Oriental Faculty of Saint Petersburg State University, member of the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Russian Academy of Arts, President of the Union of Museums of Russia and of the Worldwide Club of Petersburgers, Honorary Citizen of Saint Petersburg, recipient of the State Prize of the Russian Federation and the Presidential Prize of the Russian Federation.
The textual component of the book consists of selected essays by Mikhail Piotrovsky. They are illustrated with original pictures taken by the artist-photographer Yury Molodkovets.
Other participants in the creation of the book:
Author of the idea for the book — Piotr Suspitsyn
Design and layout — Yevgeny Grigoriev
Photogravure printing — Arkady Andreyev; PiranesiLAB experimental print laboratory
Printing of the text — Ruslan Kniazev
Marbling of the paper for the fly-leaves — Natalia Vaniushkina
Binding work — Andrei Kulikov, Alexander Trait
Compiler and editor — Liudmila Leusskaya
Proofreader — Natalia Nesterova
Other participants in the creation of the book:
Author of the idea for the book — Piotr Suspitsyn
Design and layout — Yevgeny Grigoriev
Photogravure printing — Arkady Andreyev; PiranesiLAB experimental print laboratory
Printing of the text — Ruslan Kniazev
Marbling of the paper for the fly-leaves — Natalia Vaniushkina
Binding work — Andrei Kulikov, Alexander Trait
Compiler and editor — Liudmila Leusskaya
Proofreader — Natalia Nesterova
Text
The book contains texts written by Mikhail Piotrovsky for his regular authorial column, “The View from the Hermitage”, published in the city’s oldest newspaper the Sankt-Petersburgskie Vedomosti. In the 20 years of its existence, “The View from the Hermitage” has gained a broad readership and enduring popularity. The texts are a vivid example of Piotrovsky’s talent as a story-teller. Their topicality and emotionality, the relaxed, unforced presentation in straightforward, readily understandable language engage readers and draw them into the author’s train of thought from the very first phrases, turning them into partners in a conversation.
For the work of compiling and editing the book, the publishing house invited Liudmila Leusskaya, a commentator from the culture department of the Sankt-Petersburgskie Vedomosti, a journalist who has been among the winners of the Museum Olympus prize (2010) and a laureate of the Union of Museums of Russia’s Autograph competition for journalists (2017). She has been working with Mikhail Piotrovsky for twenty years now.
The text of the book has been printed on hand-made Fabriano paper from Italy on a 19th-century Dingler hand press.
For the work of compiling and editing the book, the publishing house invited Liudmila Leusskaya, a commentator from the culture department of the Sankt-Petersburgskie Vedomosti, a journalist who has been among the winners of the Museum Olympus prize (2010) and a laureate of the Union of Museums of Russia’s Autograph competition for journalists (2017). She has been working with Mikhail Piotrovsky for twenty years now.
The text of the book has been printed on hand-made Fabriano paper from Italy on a 19th-century Dingler hand press.
Illustrations
The publication is illustrated with photogravures made from pictures taken by the well-known Saint Petersburg artist-photographer Yury Molodkovets, who has been working in the Hermitage for 30 years and was the first to take night-time shots of the museum and its exhibits.
His project “L’Ermitage la nuit. Lieu de retraite” [The Hermitage by Night. A Place of Retreat] is an attempt “to present the state of the world post-humanity”, a visual account of the life of the Hermitage exhibits free from prying gazes, about a special time in the daily cycle when space is transformed beyond recognition, reflections in glass and shadows seem to possess a soul, while the camera capturing such moments becomes a medium capable of establishing contact with an unreal world.
His project “L’Ermitage la nuit. Lieu de retraite” [The Hermitage by Night. A Place of Retreat] is an attempt “to present the state of the world post-humanity”, a visual account of the life of the Hermitage exhibits free from prying gazes, about a special time in the daily cycle when space is transformed beyond recognition, reflections in glass and shadows seem to possess a soul, while the camera capturing such moments becomes a medium capable of establishing contact with an unreal world.
Binding
The binding has been made by hand by the publishing house’s craftspeople. The front cover carries a photogravure print from one of Yury Molodkovets’s photographs and the title of the book embossed in gold. The spine also bears the title embossed in gold.
The marbled paper for the endpapers was produced by hand specially for this publication. The volume, as a real precious treasure, has been placed in a case, also made by hand, which is covered in a linen fabric with a pattern reminiscent of the night sky with light clouds floating across it.
The marbled paper for the endpapers was produced by hand specially for this publication. The volume, as a real precious treasure, has been placed in a case, also made by hand, which is covered in a linen fabric with a pattern reminiscent of the night sky with light clouds floating across it.
Mikhail Piotrovsky
THE HERMITAGE EARTHLY AND CELESTIAL
Selected Essays
Selected essays by Mikhail Piotrovsky about the Hermitage