The Marble Palace is an outstanding example of the architecture of the early Classicism. This is the first St. Petersburg 's building with facades faced with natural stone. Not only the outdoor walls of the palace are decorated with marble, but also the interiors of some of its official rooms. This explains for the name of the palace. The Marble Palace is the last among the palace buildings adjoining the Winter Palace . It is known that the construction of this building designed by Antonio Rinaldi began on October 10, 1769 . Big marble and granite blocks were used in the process of construction, and it was difficult to deliver and process them, so it took many years to construct the palace. Only in 1780, the construction works requiring considerable supplies of stone were finished, but all the construction works (including the construction of adjoining buildings) were completed only in 1785.

The first owner of the palace was Count Grigory Orlov. But he did not live to see the end of the construction works and never moved into this building. In 1783, Catherine the Great bought the palace from the heirs of the Count, and until the 1917 revolution, the palace remained the property of the Russian Emperors' family.>

The Marble Palace is distinguished among St. Petersburg 's masterpieces of architecture not only by its architectural features. Its facades were never rebuilt, but the interiors were changed by order of each new owner. Originally, it was constructed for Grigory Orlov, so military subjects dominated in the decorations of the building. Then the palace was reserved for some time. Under the Soviets, it housed the Museum of Lenin .

Now the palace houses the permanent exhibition "Foreign Artists in Russia ".

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