Janus Sculpture, The Hermitage, Russia Playing Cards

"Janus Sculpture, The Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia" by Catherine Sherman. A sculpture of Janus is on display in The Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, in an area where many visitors to the massive museum begin their tours or sit on benches to rest at the end. This Janus bust is an Italian marble sculpture from the late 18th century. It became a part of The Hermitage collection before 1859. In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus was the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, passages and endings. He is usually depicted, as shown here, as having two faces -- looking to the future and to the past. The month of January is thought to be named for Janus. The State Hermitage Museum is a museum of art and culture and is one of the largest and oldest museums in the world. It was founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great and has been open to the public since 1852. The museum's collections, of which only a small part is on permanent display, comprise over three million items, including the largest collection of paintings in the world. The collections occupy a large complex of six historic buildings along Palace Embankment, including the Winter Palace, a former residence of Russian emperors. The Hermitage Museum is part of the Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.