The Peacock Clock
RUSSIAN FEDERATION | Tuesday, 26 May 2015 | Views [108] | Scholarship Entry
A layer of grey clouds covers the sky and spits out numerous rain drops. A steady wind pulls on my jacket and I notice that I am dressed far too lightly. Well, Saint Petersburg is a rough metropolis in the far North and not a seaside resort near the Mediterranean.
Slightly freezing, I roam the streets and quickly decide that it is the perfect day for a stroll through an art museum. And when visiting Saint Petersburg, there is one art museum, you really cannot miss.
The Hermitage Museum is the Louvre of Russia. It is one of the biggest and most meaningful art museums on this planet. It accommodates over 350 rooms in which more than 60.000 objects are on display. Home to pieces by grand masters such as Rembrandt and Picasso, the Hermitage belongs to the Unesco World Heritage. The building complex sits on the banks of the Neva River and is huge. Its sheer size can make you feel dizzy.
After an hour of collective shivering in the cold shared with the patient tourists in front of me, I finally reach the entrance. A marathon is about to begin, it’s unfortunate that I don’t have sneakers on. I enter the museum and walk up the main steps to the first floor to start the tour. I cannot get lost. The rooms are bulging at the seams and the truck loads of visitors are leading the way. They attempt to complete an ambitious mission: Photograph every single object. Arts en masse, arts for the masses.
Past numerous impressive frescos, sculptures and paintings, I wander. Room after room lines up and I walk from one artistic epoch to the next. It is overwhelming. As are the great amounts of visitors. After three hours, I am at the point of losing my concentration, overstrained with impressions. Until I enter yet another room and suddenly see a beautiful piece of craft right in front of me.
As my audio guide tells me, it’s the Peacock Clock, made by the English horologist James Cox. Its brilliant mechanics and its artistic details are mind-blowing. I look at it and suddenly the whole construction of a peacock sitting on a tree, surrounded by a cock, an owl and a squirrel, slowly sets into motion. A mechanical dance, accompanied by the ringing of different shaped bells.
It´s a Wednesday, seven o´clock sharp - the only weekly opportunity for visitors to take a glance at this elegant show is now. It only lasts for a few seconds. But a perfectly timed visit to Saint Petersburg, to the Hermitage and to this special piece of art is definitely an unforgettable experience.
Tags: 2015 Writing Scholarship
Travel Answers about Russian Federation
Do you have a travel question? Ask other World Nomads.