The Academy of Arts

The building of the Academy of Arts, one of the first examples of Russian Classicism, was put up between 1764 and 1788 by Alexander Kokorinov and Jean-Baptiste Vallin de la Mothe. The raised ground floor is decorated with rustication to look like a socle and is interspaced with arched windows; the first and second stories are unified by pilasters. The façade overlooking the Neva is articulated by main and side jutties decorated with Doric columns. The conference hall with two tiers of windows is crowned by a dome that lends an air of solemnity to the main façade. The suite of rooms on the first floor is the most imposing feature of the interior.
Several generations of painters, sculptors and architects studied and taught at the academy: Kramskoi, Kuinji, Repin, kozlovsky, Bazhenov, Starov anf many others.
The Museum of Art History, organized almost concurrently with the Academy of Art , has large collection of works of arts which reflects different styles of Russian academic and Soviet Art Schools.
The landing-stage in front of the Academy is adorned with two sphinxes carved in Egypt in the 13th century B.C. and brought to Russia in 1832. The sphinxes rest on granite monoliths flanking the steps leading down to the Neva.