It marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of the renowned architect, urban planner and leading exponent of the Russian Empire style Carlo (Karl Ivanovich) Rossi (1775–1849). The display is devoted to the story of the creation of and an analysis of the painted decoration in the premises of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Finance, and also touches upon issues related to the conservation of the murals in the building.

In the first third of the 19th century, monumental painting was very widely used in the finishing of state apartments. Frequently the decorators carried out their work following the ideas (and sometimes the direct instructions) of the architects. More than 300 rooms in the civil ministries’ section of the General Staff Building contained murals, which were executed by artists who worked regularly with Rossi – Giovanni Battista Scotti, Antonio Vighi and the brothers Yakov and Vasily Dodonov.

Today the original painting from the 1820s survives in just 23 interiors, but fortunately it is precisely there that the most valuable murals were done – “in imitation of stuccowork with various subjects” and “with colourful figures, garlands, bouquets and various ornaments”. The murals that have come down to the present are of considerable historical and artistic value.

The key exhibits in the display are ten fragments of ceiling paintings from several interiors of the civil ministries that were discovered during the conservation of the eastern wing of the General Staff Building in 2011–12 and restored in the State Hermitage Museum’s Laboratory for the Scientific Conservation of Monumental Painting. The exhibition also includes watercolours, engravings, lithographs, photographs and plans relating to the history of the creation of the murals and their conservation, making it possible to trace the ideas contained in the subject matter and images, and to analyse the stylistic features of the painted decoration. In total, more than 80 exhibits will be on show, the majority of which visitors will be able to see for the first time.

The exhibition will provide printed copies of a route map that visitors can use to view all the halls with 1820s murals that are accessible to the public.

The exhibition curator is Olga Valentinovna Petrova, head of the sector for scholarly research into the history and conservation of architectural monuments within the Hermitage’s Architectural Service.

The exhibition has been arranged by the State Hermitage Museum with the participation of the Committee for State Monitoring, Use and Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments and the Research and Technical Library of the Emperor Alexander I Saint Petersburg State Transport University.

To coincide with the opening of the exhibition, the State Hermitage Publishing House has brought out a scholarly illustrated catalogue with the same title.

The exhibition can be visited until 5 April 2026 by all holders of tickets to the General Staff building.