If in Athens until February 26th, 2017, you still have the opportunity to visit the “Gateway to History” exhibition of the State Hermitage Museum, at the Byzantine and Christian Museum, off Vasilisis Sofia’s avenue. The Museum, which was a very pleasant discovery, is somewhat “hidden” and in spite of passing right in front of it several times a week, I really had to look for it! With lovely gardens and a coffee shop, you can enjoy drinks & snacks following your visit. It is located a short walk from Syntagma & Kolonaki and has close access to a metro station.
The exhibition which the Byzantine and Christian Museum designed, should really not be missed, as it offers a rare glimpse of exhibits from the very famous Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. It is centered on selected archaeological artefacts, works of art, objects and paintings, that come from its main collections and simultaneously introduces the visitor to the way art and its aesthetics were perceived and construed in Europe, and to life in the Russian court.
Objects of superb aesthetic and artistic value, which the Czars of the Romanov dynasty collected incessantly for two centuries, initiated by Peter the Great (1672–1725), established, since the late 17th century, the immensely rich collections of the Hermitage, thereby turning it from 1805 onwards into one of the largest and most significant Museums in the world.
August Rodin, Cupid & Psyche, Marble, 1905
A cultural beginning to the New Year!