Dome

View looking north towards the Neva River along a canal with the theater at right and the canal bridge in view; Quarenghi went to the imperial court at St Petersburg in 1779, at the invitation of Melchior Grimm. Intending to stay only three years, he in fact spent the rest of his life there, with occasional visits home to Italy. His first major work was the Hermitage Theatre (1783-1787), with a façade articulated by the regular rhythm of engaged Corinthian columns and plain walls punctuated by sculptures set in recesses and niches. Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.oxfordartonline.com/ (accessed 6/16/2009)