There is another book of Emmanuel Ducamp by Madame Korshunova on The Winter Palace that is at US $195! I think it was Daniel who posted of the Hermitage's Virtual Academy that has E. Hau's and other artiests c1860's watercolors of some of the rooms.
i have this book. it's large and very thick & heavy. and boxed.
and absolutely wonderful!
300 pages; hundreds of Hau's watercolors (some of them are so skillfully done, you'd SWEAR they were photographs!); also contains
watercolors by Premazzi & Ukhtomsky; but what i love most, is how extensive & thorough it is. there is a view for most of the main rooms (& in some cases, several views, in order to show it's transformation over time); the images cover the state apartments, the private apartments of the imperial family & the various rooms in the 4 reserve apartments (each reserve apartment consists of several rooms).
of course, in the book, each watercolor occupies an entire page, with the description, & where the room represented is situated, occupying the page opposite.
as i said,
it's absolutely wonderful. i would have done just about anything in order to buy it. i spent about 4 hours a day for 3 days thumbing through it, much to the dismay & irritation of the staff in the upscale bookstore. it was "suggested" to me that i either buy it or forget about it --- but, in either case, that i not come back. i left.
then, i actually dreamt about the book.
i took it as a sign, albeit, a very CONVENIENT sign! <wink>. though i could ill afford to, i used part of the rent money to buy it.
it was worth it.
it was SO worth it.
