There are two small paintings by Leonardo da Vinci and they draw quite a crowd. They're both covered in glass so it's tough to get a good picture even when you've fought your way to the front.
By contrast, this room wasn't quite as popular. There are only two paintings. A recently restored Rubens, and another which is currently being restored. Every room in the museum has an attendant. I felt sorry for the poor lonely babushka in the back corner.
I suppose I should show some pictures of the artwork, too. This is "Bush" by Vincent Van Gogh:
"Crouching Boy" by Michelango:
"Young Women in the Garden" by Louis Valtat:
A couple more rooms. It's hard to believe that this was actually built to be someone's house. It's good to be the king! (Or tsar, in this case.)
In this last shot you can see how crowded the place gets. This next picture was taken at at 3 p.m.
This is the queue to get in. It goes all the way through the archway in the back and about 100 feet out the other side. The first day I went to the museum I waited in a line about 1/4 this long and it took an hour. So I don't think most of these people will even get in, let alone see anything.
I bought a ticket online for my second trip. For whatever reason it took several days for me to get it, but it was worth it. If you buy your ticket online, you don't have to wait in line. I went in through the exit door and went up to the information desk to ask where to redeem my voucher. The woman came out from behind the desk and personally escorted me to the front of the queue and handed my paperwork to the cashier! And yes, the people in line seemed pretty pissed.
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