The Atlantes of the Hermitage are one of the symbols of Saint Petersburg; it was they who inspired Alexander Gorodnitsky to write the song "Atlantes":

… Where without drink and bread, forgotten through the ages,

The Atlantes hold the sky on stone arms.

From 1783 to 1792, along the Winter Canal at a right angle to the Old Hermitage, the Loggias of Raphael building was erected according to the design of J. Quarenghi. The long gallery on the second floor is a copy of the gallery in the Vatican, created based on Raphael’s sketches. This building became part of the New Hermitage.

In December 1837, a grand fire lasting more than a day destroyed the Winter Palace. After the fire, Nicholas I ordered the Winter Palace to be restored as quickly as possible — by the Easter holidays of 1839. In March 1839, celebrations were held for the restoration of the state rooms, and in November the royal family returned to the Winter Palace. Immediately after the palace was restored, the question arose about the new construction of a building for the Hermitage and the reconstruction of the interiors of the Felten building.

Nicholas I was presented with two artistic projects for the museum’s gallery porch. According to the first, the portico was to be supported by caryatids; according to the second — by atlantes. After the second project was approved, the European sculptor Johann Halbig presented a reduced model of figures of Egyptian pharaohs, which were supposed to become those very atlantes, but this idea did not appeal to anyone.

The author of the New Hermitage building project, Munich architect Leo von Klenze, in 1843 submitted two drawings of the portico for the Commission for the Restoration of the Winter Palace — one with caryatids and one with atlantes. “Questions and proposals addressed to Klenze and agreed with him were submitted for the highest approval,” where item 2 states: “For the granite caryatids in the entrance portico, two drawings were submitted: one with female figures, and the other with male. Would it not be more appropriate to take the latter drawing as a guide…”.

According to the project, the Shepelevsky house on Millionnaya Street was demolished, in the extension of which the workshop of the artist J. Dow, who painted portraits for the 1812 gallery, was arranged, as well as stables with a riding hall. The new building was to form a closed rectangle with the Felten building. In 1842, the project was approved by the emperor. Construction began under the supervision of a commission headed by V. P. Stasov with the participation of architect N. E. Yefimov.

According to Klenze’s original project, it was planned to demolish the Small Hermitage and arrange a square between the Winter Palace and the Hermitage under construction. This project was rejected, and the architect was forced to turn the main facade of the building toward Millionnaya Street. The entrance he built, intended for the public, made a strong impression. Klenze had many commitments in Munich and could not stay in Petersburg to oversee the construction work. Therefore, Vasily Stasov, who was already managing the reconstruction of the Winter Palace, received new responsibilities and headed a special construction commission.

This commission improved Klenze’s project and included its own developments, especially in the interior design.

Sculptor A. I. Terebenev won the competition to create the entrance ensemble. It is worth noting that initially the project cost was 118,900 rubles, but Terebenev said the work would cost only 87,125 rubles. The atlantes appeared at the museum in 1848, and their creation took three years. Sculptor Alexander Terebenev used stone from the shores of Lake Ladoga — Serdobol granite — for the figures. However, there were unforeseen situations. One stone had a crack, so another had to be ordered. Because of this, the deadlines were extended.

The prototype was the figures from the ancient Greek temple of Zeus Olympios in Akragas in Sicily (now Agrigento; around 480 BC). According to Klenze’s idea, sculptor Johann Halbig made a reduced model in the form of a male atlante figure; the model from Munich was sent to Saint Petersburg. In 1846, Terebenev made a life-size model of the atlante, which was ultimately accepted. Commission member and architect V. P. Stasov insisted that the surface of the sculptures be polished to a shine.

The figures were made under Terebenev’s supervision for two years. About 150 stonemasons helped him, each working on their part — hands, legs, torso…; Terebenev personally finished the faces. The figures were installed by September 1, 1848. Each was 7 arshins (5 meters) tall.

The portico composition is so convincing that not everyone notices the curiosity: huge granite figures with incredible tension support a light balcony. Contrary to popular belief, Klenze planned to use the motif of Sicilian telamons (as atlante figures were called in antiquity) not outside, but inside the Hall of Cameos and the Second Medal Hall of the New Hermitage. They can still be seen there today. In these halls, the outline of the figures, unlike the outdoor statues, almost exactly repeats the antique original. However, the more original and famous became the atlantes of the outer portico.

Klenze wrote in his 1850 publication upon completion of the New Hermitage construction: “The beauty and noble style of these sculptures, the purity and delicacy of the work, and the brilliance of the polish leave nothing to be desired and allow us to state that if the Egyptian pharaohs made their monolithic colossi, then these telamons for the Far North are in no way inferior to them.”

The first cracks in the walls and ceilings of the New Hermitage were noted in the 1880s–1890s; soon it was assumed that they were related to the appearance of inclined foundation settlement due to the subsidence of the right part of the building (the side facing the Winter Canal). The portico suffered the most from this settlement. Cracks on the atlantes sculptures were first noticed in 1909; new cracks appeared in 1914, 1921, 1948, 1976, 1987, 1997, and 2000. On the right side of the portico, a through crack formed, continuing into the upper part of the building; during restoration, this crack was designed as an artificially created settlement joint.

In 1997, an engineering assessment of the condition and stability of the portico’s structural elements, including the atlantes, was conducted; measurements were made using highly sensitive sensors — piezoaccelerometers.

The portico is rigidly connected to the building’s facade wall: at the floor slab level (above the 1st floor) and at the foundation level (in the basement). As a result, the main part of the building, which is more heavily loaded, settles and pulls the portico along with it. Uneven settlement — tilting toward the building — causes deformations: in the 1997 measurements, the maximum horizontal displacement (up to 4 centimeters) was noted at the upper level of the four atlantes located along the transverse axes of the portico.

The atlantes were installed on granite pedestals and support the portico’s beams with their heads and hands. The project assumed that these beams would rest only on columns, and the atlantes would not be load-bearing elements. However, even with slight deformation of the structure, the sculptures themselves deform, experiencing additional stresses (especially in the upper and lower parts); this leads to the formation of cracks.

Based on the research results, recommendations were made: to somehow remove the rigid connection between the portico and the building (for example, by making a flexible hinged joint). It was also proposed to change the connection of the sculptures with the beams, excluding the beams’ resting on them — meanwhile, to ensure the atlantes’ stability, special horizontal ties need to be created. However, so far, none of these recommendations have been practically implemented.

There are several superstitions and legends associated with the atlantes:

·       On the wedding day, the bride must rub the big toe of the right giant looking toward Mars Field; then the couple’s life will be long and happy.

·       People come to the atlantes for inspiration. To do this, you need to touch the giants’ feet.

·       Tourists come to the atlantes to make a wish. And if you manage to catch a bride making a wish and touch her dress, the wish will definitely come true.

During the Leningrad blockade, on December 29, 1941, a shell hit the portico of the New Hermitage (one of 30 shells from long-range guns that hit the Hermitage buildings). One of the atlantes was especially seriously damaged — a ragged “wound” appeared on its torso.

Sources:

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portico_of_the_New_Hermitage

https://www.citywalls.ru/house816.html

https://dzen.ru/a/Y0iB6BnE6kgq9DpY

https://dzen.ru/a/YpnvplseAzabOqmK