The exhibition "The Subject World of Art Nouveau" is one of the museums in the Peter and Paul Fortress (Zayachy Ostrov) St. Petersburg.
The exhibition is located in a historical building on the territory of the fortress-the Nikolskaya Curtain, which is part of the fortress wall and the former defensive structure of the Peter and Paul Fortress.
In the Nikolskaya Curtin there is the eponymous Nikolsky Gate. Learn more about Nikolskaya Curtin and the gates…
This exhibition is also known as the exhibition "Collection of furniture of the 18th-early 20th centuries".
Art Nouveau is an artistic style that came to Russia from Europe and was widely used in various fields of artistic creativity. The Art Nouveau style was characterized by a combination of beauty and functionality, as well as a refusal to imitate the past and focus on the aesthetics of natural forms and motifs. In the new style, projects of buildings and interiors in St. Petersburg were carried out, furniture and lighting devices, costumes and jewelry, as well as household items for various purposes were produced.
The art Nouveau exhibition in the Peter and Paul Fortress, which unites more than 200 items, is dedicated to the Art Nouveau era in St. Petersburg (the turn of the 19th-the beginning of the 20th centuries) and presents collections of decorative and applied art made in this style: furniture, lighting devices, porcelain and glass products (vases, figurines, dishes, decorative items), household items made of metal, stained glass windows.
The basis of the exhibition and its central place is the collection of furniture, because in the Art Nouveau era, heavy and heavy furniture of the eclectic period was replaced by practical sets of light construction. Art Nouveau furniture was often made of light wood and decorated with carved floral ornaments. At that time, multifunctional and combined furniture appeared in St. Petersburg; sofas became fashionable, forming a single whole with side cabinets and with an upper superstructure in the form of a mirror with a shelf for various small items. Small tables and bookcases are widely used in interiors.
The furniture of the famous St. Petersburg factory "F. Melzer & Co." deserves special attention in the collection. The exhibition presents furniture sets made of pine, pear wood, and maple, presumably made by this company.
Table clocks, mantel clocks, and picture frames decorated in the Art Nouveau style are displayed next to the pieces of furniture.
Hours on display
Also in the exhibition are widely presented lighting devices of the turn of the 19-20 centuries, when they began to use electricity.
Chandeliers, table lamps, floor lamps and candelabra were made of: metal, multicolored glass, porcelain and earthenware, beads and glass beads.
The exhibition presents the products of Russian and Western European porcelain and glass enterprises: vases made of multi-layered multi-colored glass with plant, landscape and marine motifs; small porcelain figurines of animals and birds, which were an attribute of many interiors of the early 20th century; sculptural compositions made of porcelain, etc.
The attention of the new style to simple, everyday things is demonstrated by household metal products: candlesticks, writing and smoking accessories, various coasters, trays and cutlery.
A striking addition to the exhibition is the window and door stained glass windows of the early 20th century, which once decorated St. Petersburg houses.
Entrance to the exhibition "The Subject World of Art Nouveau" is paid. You can buy a ticket only for the exhibition or a complex ticket to visit other museums of the Peter and Paul Fortress, including Peter and Paul Cathedral with the Grand Ducal Tomb, Trubetskoy Bastion Prison, Museum of Science and Technology, etc.
The opening hours of the exhibition, the cost and conditions of the visit, as well as other information, are recommended to check on the official website of the State Museum of the History of St. Petersburg, which includes most of the museums on the territory of the Peter and Paul Fortress, including the exhibition The Subject World of Art Nouveau.
Museum website: spbmuseum.
The entrance to the territory of the Peter and Paul Fortress is free (free of charge).
You can also visit the Peter and Paul Fortress with one of the excursions
The exhibition is located in the Nikolskaya Curtin, in the north-western part of the Peter and Paul Fortress, near the main square of the fortress - Cathedral Square.
Nearest metro stations: "Gorkovskaya" and "Sportivnaya".
All accommodation facilities in Saint Petersburg, including in the city center and near the Peter and Paul Fortress, can be viewed and booked here
