DDESTINATION ART

Truly a Voyage to RememberBy PETER TRIPPI

GH

A lthough its official name was theRussian Art Cruise, Fine Art Con-

noisseur’s first adventure abroad (August 7-14) actually delivered even more by intro-ducing our guests to the cultural riches of St.Petersburg in the context of the Baltic regionas a whole. Conceived by FAC publisher EricRhoads, this voyage proved an ideal way tomix world-class art and architecture with five-star comforts and a delightfully cohesivegroup of passengers who eagerly shared witheach other their passion for artistic beautyand quality. (Our group’s camaraderie wasparticularly noteworthy considering its di-versity: We came from the U.S., Canada, andChina, and ranged in age from the early 20sto mid-80s.)

On August 7, this merry band of collec-tors, artists, and enthusiasts met for the firsttime over cocktails on the Lido deck of the922-passenger Crystal Symphony as it glidedout of Copenhagen’s harbor at sunset on abalmy evening. After changing into more for-mal attire, the guests reassembled in the ship’smain dining room for the first of five dinnerstogether; the seating plans changed eachevening so that, by the end of the week, allparticipants had found an opportunity to con-verse with everyone else. The Crystal Sym-phony is itself a work of art, encompassing aspa, gym, casino, boutiques, and several barsand performance spaces, not to mention twospecialty restaurants operated by chefs NobuMatsuhisa and Piero Selvaggio.

GETTING ORIENTEDOn our first morning cruising the re-

markably calm Baltic, we gathered in the ship’splush cinema for a formal welcome by EricRhoads and the first of my three illustrated lec-tures on-board, “The Baltic World: What EveryArt Lover Needs to Know.” Offering detailedmaps and thumbnail portraits of this region’shistorical movers and shakers, these one-hourtalks were intended to prepare guests for whatthey would encounter on shore. Also intro-duced was Gabriel Haigazian of Creative Travel

LAURIE AND ERIC RHOADS

WITH CINTHIA JOYCE

BARBARA AND CHARLES ROBINSON WITH JUDITH POND KUDLOW

SCOTT CHRISTENSEN AND KRISTIE GRIGG

JEANINE JACKSON

AND ROGER ROSSI

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Planners, who coordinated every detail of the voyage — in advance andon site — with both rigor and a contagious sense of humor.

The next morning we awakened to find Tallinn, the capital ofthe Baltic republic of Estonia, beckoning outside our windows. Allguests were shuttled to the city center and enjoyed six sunny hours ex-ploring its hilly, cobblestoned streets. Once a rich trading post inter-connected with other Baltic and North Sea ports operated by the Ger-man-led Hanseatic League, Tallinn’s well-restored core features an un-expected range of architectural styles, from medieval half-timberingto Art Nouveau whiplash curves.

Back aboard the Symphony that evening, I lectured on the history of“St. Petersburg: A Cultural Capital, Against All Odds.” Our group disem-barked early the next morning for the first of three busy days in Russia’sformer capital, led by three charming Russian women fluent in both Eng-lish and the vocabulary of art history. Our first destination was a rare pri-vate visit (sans touristes) to St. Isaac’s Cathedral, the gigantic gold-domedstructure that kept the French architect Auguste Montferrand occupiedfor 40 years (1818-58). Next came the Fortress and Cathedral of SaintsPeter and Paul, on the small island from which Peter the Great’s imperialcapital emanated during the first quarter of the 18th century. Taking ad-

vantage of the sunny weather, we nextenjoyed an open-air boat tour of thecity’s canals. Although I had visited St.Petersburg before, I had not seen it fromthis unique vantage, truly the best wayto appreciate the refinement and vari-ety of its facades and towers. We dis-embarked at the Church of Our Savioron Spilled Blood, the fantasia of col-orful “onion domes” erected on the spotwhere Tsar Alexander II was assassi-nated in 1881. After ogling its Russo-Byzantine interior, we relaxed overlunch at Lumière, a glass pavilionperched atop a building overlookingArts Square, which focuses on a mon-ument to the poet Alexander Pushkin.

Having enjoyed two free hoursshopping and sightseeing alongbustling Nevsky Prospekt, we re-assembled for tea and cakes at the el-egant Hotel Astoria before strolling tothe State Hermitage Museum. One ofthe largest museums on earth, the Her-mitage is a familiar name to all read-ers of Fine Art Connoisseur, yet fewpeople have experienced its grand gal-leries and halls after public hours. In-deed, our first glimpse of its exteriorwas marred by the sight of thousandsof tourists exiting the building at clos-ing time… ugh! Thus our group trulysavored the privilege of entering after6 p.m., and we particularly enjoyed arare demonstration of the huge Pea-cock Clock, sent in 1781 by the Lon-don goldsmith James Cox to amuseCatherine the Great. We also relisheda detailed introduction to the Her-mitage’s collection of British paint-ings, provided by its curator (and myone-time classmate) Elizaveta Renne,whose comprehensive catalogue of thisholding will be published in Englishnext year.

JOHN AND GAIL O’BRIEN SUSAN AND LINDA PERRY

BUD LESLIE AND

DAVID ORCUTT

THE TOUR’S MUST-HAVE ACCESSORY

PETER TRIPPI DELIVERS A LECTURE

KAY HOOPER, PEG AREY,JOYCE VARGA

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THE ACADEMY, RUSSIAN MUSEUM, AND PALACESAfter a night’s rest, we departed the next morning for the

Academy of Fine Arts (also known as the Repin Institute),which covers a full block of prime real estate overlooking theNeva river. Here we were greeted and oriented by the Acad-emy’s ebullient rector, Semyon Mikhailovsky. Having shownus the proverbial red-colored telephone that once linked hisoffice to the Kremlin, Mikhailovsky guided us through everyinterior space worth seeing, including a spectacular suite ofgalleries filled with plaster casts of classical sculpture, as wellas the original amphitheatre where students still learn to drawfrom live models and skeletons. After viewing the impressive exhibi-tion of artworks by graduating students, we enjoyed an al fresco lunchin the Academy’s circular courtyard, then inspected two dozen can-vases delivered for our enjoyment by recent graduates and current fac-ulty. This was the first such show-sale in the institution’s history, andmany of these works were promptly purchased by our guests, whoare now admiring them at home in North America.

The afternoon was spent at the State Russian Museum, which of-fers a comprehensive survey of Russian artmaking — from icons to con-

temporary, and with particular strength in the 19th century. Here weenjoyed a tour of paintings by the great academician Ilya Repin (1844-1930), plus sufficient time to buy hard-to-find catalogues in the mu-seum shop. Approximately half the group attended an evening perfor-mance of the ballet Swan Lake at the Mikhailovsky Theatre, while therest of us relaxed aboard the Crystal Symphony or returned downtownto paint. (Five guests spent this entire day in Moscow, traveling by thenew high-speed railway that links it with St. Petersburg and enjoyingtours of such sites as the Kremlin and Red Square.)

EXPLORING ST. PETERSBURG’S CANALS DUNCAN AND CAROLYN POND

FISHER, BURRITT POND,JUDITH POND KUDLOW, AND

CORNELIA POND AT ST.ISAAC’S CATHEDRAL

ERIC RHOADS AND PETER TRIPPI AT THE CHURCH OF OUR SAVIOR ON SPILLED BLOOD

THE CHURCH OF OUR SAVIOR ON SPILLED BLOOD

PARTICIPANTS IN ARTS SQUARE

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The group’s final day in St. Petersburg began with a tour of theCatherine Palace, located in the resort town of Tsarskoe Selo (Pushkin),16 miles southeast of the city. This enormous 18th-century Rocococonfection is best known for the decorative panels of its Amber Room,the originals of which disappeared during World War II and have beenreplaced by hand-crafted replicas that sparkled in the sunlight stream-ing through the windows. Dazzled by all the gold leaf surrounding us,we rested our eyes at Podvorie, a charming restaurant constructed oflogs in the vernacular style and famous for its peasant cooking and

jolly sing-along performances of folk music. Completely recharged,we finished the day at Peterhof, the suburban summer palace initiatedby Peter the Great and expanded by subsequent tsars. Essentially Rus-sia’s version of Versailles, this complex is well known for its many foun-tains, which cascade down a hill toward the Gulf of Finland. It wason the pier here that we boarded the hydrofoil that sped us back toSt. Petersburg for a final glimpse before we departed Russia. (Thatnight a cocktail reception in the ship’s nightclub helped lift our newlyRussophilic spirits.)

SEMYON MIKHAILOVSKY WITH ERIC RHOADS

LIBBY WHIPPLE, SEMYON

MIKHAILOVSKY, KATIE WHIPPLE

LUNCH IN THE ACADEMY’S COURTYARD

THE ACADEMY'S GALLERIES OF PLASTER CASTS

THE ACADEMY’S EXHIBITION OF

WORK BY GRADUATING STUDENTS

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SWEDEN AND BEYONDThe next day was our final one together. After my illustrated lec-

ture on “Stockholm: Medieval and Modern,” most of us sat riveted atthe ship’s railings and windows admiring the sunlit scenery of the24,000-island archipelago that connects the Baltic with Sweden’s cap-ital, which is itself built on a network of islands. Once moored in Stock-holm, we explored this impressive city independently, then convenedfor a farewell dinner on board.

After seven days together, united in awe of so much superb artand architecture, most passengers regretted having to part. Fortu-nately, we are now in regular e-mail contact and sharing photos onShutterfly.com, so our journey of aesthetic discovery is not actuallyover. Moreover, the Russian Art Cruise proved such a success that a2011 edition (in a different region of the world) is now being planned.Please watch this space for details; we certainly hope that you will beable to join us next year. n

PETER TRIPPI is editor of Fine Art Connoisseurmagazine.

THE ENTRANCE TO THE WINTER PALACE AT THE HERMITAGE

THE PEACOCK CLOCK AT THE HERMITAGE

A HERMITAGE PICTURE GALLERY

HERMITAGE CURATOR

ELIZAVETA RENNE

WENDY CHUANG

WITH CARAVAGGIO’SLUTE PLAYER AT THE

HERMITAGE

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REPIN’S ENORMOUS PAINTING, THE

CEREMONIAL SITTING OF THE STATE

COUNCIL, AT THE STATE RUSSIAN MUSEUM

A BALLROOM AT THE CATHERINE PALACE

THE SPIRES OF THE CATHERINE PALACE’S CHAPEL

STOCKHOLM'S ROYAL

DRAMATIC THEATRE

A FOUNTAIN AT PETERHOF

A HYDROFOIL ON THE NEVA RIVER

TALLINN’S MAIN SQUARE

PERFORMERS AT THE PODVORIE RESTAURANTTHERE’S GOLD LEAF AT EVERY

TURN IN ST. PETERSBURG.

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