At the State Hermitage, the children’s art competition “Encounters in the Hermitage. The Invincible Heroes of Ancient Greece”, which became the chief event of the Days of Classical Antiquity 2020 festival has come to an end. The competition was held online between 10 April and 20 May.
This year, for the first time in the festival’s history, not only youngsters from across Russia, but also those living abroad had the opportunity to join in. Entries were submitted by budding artists from a range of countries – Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Russia, Finland, France and Ukraine. Within Russia the competition drew interest from more than 50 cities.
It was a remarkable, unusual month, when members of the Hermitage staff, festival participants, their parents and teachers all immersed themselves together in the world of Classical Antiquity. They watched and listened, read and created, inspired by the myths about gods, goddesses and heroes, the wonderful images from Ancient Greece and Rome. The talented, emotional pictures that arrived every day from the most diverse parts of Russia and Europe became a real revelation: the images that the children conjured up from their imagination were so subtle and deep.
The competition jury, made up of research staff from the State Hermitage’s Department of Classical Antiquity, were faced with a difficult task: winners and runners-up had to be selected from the large number of entrants, each of whom had produced a real masterpiece.
In the end the jury unanimously settled on 42 works as winners.
The winners’ pictures are being presented in a virtual exhibition. They appear in albums on the Hermitage’s social media pages in VKontakte, Facebook and Odnoklassniki, as well as on the museum’s official website.
The creators of another 208 pictures became runners-up in one of three categories: “The Twelve Labours of Heracles. The Myths of Ancient Greece. Hero and Battle”; “Portrait of an Exhibit” and “Inspired by the Artists of Antiquity”.
The entries of runners-up in the category “The Twelve Labours of Heracles. The Myths of Ancient Greece. Hero and Battle” can be found on the Hermitage’s social media pages in VKontakte, Facebook and Odnoklassniki.
The entries of runners-up in the category “Inspired by the Artists of Antiquity” can be found on the Hermitage’s social media pages in VKontakte, Facebook and Odnoklassniki.
The runners-up in the category “Portrait of an Exhibit” have their works displayed on the Hermitage’s social media pages in VKontakte, Facebook and Odnoklassniki.
The results of the competition for entries from Italy, Germany and the Netherlands will be decided on 22 May.
All the pictures submitted for the competition can be viewed in the Festival’s group in VKontakte.
Everyone who entered the competition will receive a certificate, while the winners and runners-up will get diplomas. The certificates will be sent out by e-mail. The diplomas will be sent by post, for those who live further away, or handed over in person at the Hermitage, for artists who live in Saint Petersburg and Leningrad Region, after the museum re-opens to visitors.
The Days of Classical Antiquity festival is not over. New adventures lie ahead of us, together with educational videos, games and entertaining contests devoted to the Ancient Greek and Roman world.
