The Atlantes of the Hermitage

Walking along Millionnaya Street you will notice great sculptures, because it is the main decoration of the New Hermitage building. These figures are Atlantes. As you remember Atlantes are male figures used as columns to support entablatures or ceilings. The atlantes were forced to hold the earth on their shoulders for eternity.

The most famous atlantes today are placed at the entrance of the Hermitage State Museum in Russia. The construction of the New Hermitage building was initiated in 1837 after the fire in Winter Palace. It was planned to decorate the portico of the new building with sphinxes. However, that project was denied by the main architect L. Klenze, as well as the second one - with Egyptian pharaohs. The main architect remembered that he had his own project of the Royal Palace in Athens, which was not realized several years ago and was supposed to be the main museum in Greece. That is how the fate of the portico of the New Hermitage building was sealed. Sculptor A. Trebenev, who created the design of the atlantes by the drawing of J. Halbig, worked on the figures for almost five years.

Alexander Terebenev only worked on the faces of the Atlantes leaving the 150 assistants and masons to finish the specific parts assigned to them.

The figures themselves are standing straight and proud, with their backs arched forward and arms holding the ceiling at head level. The heads touch the ceiling and bend down. The bodies of the atlantes are thin but very strong, with clearly visible muscles.

Emperor Nicholas I was so pleased with the end result of the Atlantes he presented Alexander Terebenev with a diamond ring. The Hermitage also awarded him the Order of St. Anne's III and a substantial bonus.

A Russian bard song by Alexander Gorodnitsky under this title was written in 1965, about the Atlantes of the Hermitage.

When your heart is not light
And your chest is cold
Come to Hermitage at night
And watch the stars unfold
Where without food supply
Forgotten and alone
The atlantes hold the sky
On their hands of stone.

The Atlantes has a magical power, and a lot of citizens believe in it, as well as tourists. Everybody has a mystical desire to touch them and make a wish. Newlyweds come there after their wedding to hold the big toes of the atlantes. There is a legend that it will bring happiness in marriage.