LEONARDO da VinciMadonna Litta (detail)c. 1490-91Tempera on canvas, transferred from panelThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

LEONARDO da VinciMadonna Littac. 1490-91Tempera on canvas, transferred from panel, 42 x 33 cmThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

The Hermitage, St Petersburg

Picture Gallery, The Masterpieces

ANGELICO, FraVirgin and Child with Sts Dominic and Thomas Aquinasc. 1445Detached fresco transferred to canvas, 196 x 184 cmThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

ANGELICO, FraVirgin and Child with Sts Dominic and Thomas Aquinas (detail)c. 1445Detached fresco transferred to canvasThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

ANGUISSOLA, SofonisbaProfile Portrait of a Young Woman1531Oil on canvas, 68,5 x 52,5 cmThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

BOTTICELLI, SandroSt Dominic1490sTempera and oil on canvas transferred from panel, 45 x 26 cmThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

BRONZINO, AgnoloPortrait of Cosimo I de' Medici1537Oil on canvas, 118 x 88 cmThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

CARAVAGGIOLute Playerc. 1596Oil on canvas, 94 x 119 cmThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

CARAVAGGIOLute Player (detail)c. 1596Oil on canvasThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

CRANACH, Lucas the ElderPortrait of a Woman1526Oil on wood, 89 x 59 cmThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

CRANACH, Lucas the ElderPortrait of a Woman (detail)1526Oil on woodThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

CRANACH, Lucas the ElderPortrait of a Woman (detail)1526Oil on woodThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

CRANACH, Lucas the ElderVirgin and Child under an Apple Tree1525-30Oil on canvas transferred from panel, 87 x 59 cmThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

CRANACH, Lucas the ElderVirgin and Child under an Apple Tree (detail)1525-30Oil on canvas transferred from panel, 87 x 59 cmThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

GIORGIONEJudithc. 1504Oil on canvas, trasferred from panel, 144 x 68 cmThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

GIORGIONEJudith (detail)c. 1504Oil on canvas, trasferred from panelThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

GOYA Y LUCIENTES, Francisco dePortrait of Antonia Sarate1810-11Oil on canvas, 71 x 58 cmThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

LOTTO, LorenzoPortrait of a Married Couple1523-24Oil on canvas, 96 x 116 cmThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

CAMPIN, Robert, Master of FlémalleMadonna with the Child by a Fireplace1433-35Oil on panel, 34 x 24 cmThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

CAMPIN, Robert, Master of FlémalleMadonna with the Child by a Fireplace (detail)1433-35Oil on panel, 34 x 24 cmThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

MURILLO, Bartolomé EstebanAdoration of the Shepherds1646-50Oil on canvas, 197 x 147 cmThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

NATTIER, Jean-MarcPortrait of Catherine I1717Oil on canvas, 143 x 110 cmThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

GAUGUIN, PaulEa haere ia oe? (Where Are You Going?)1893Oil on canvas, 91 x 71 cmThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

GAUGUIN, PaulTe avae no Maria (The Month of Mary)1899Oil on canvas, 96 x 75 cmThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

GAUGUIN, PaulWomen on the Seashore (Motherhood)1899Oil on canvas, 96 x 74 cmThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

GOGH, Vincent vanLadies of Arles (Memory of the Garden at Etten)November 1888, ArlesOil on canvas, 73 x 92 cmThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

GOGH, Vincent vanSpectators in the Arena at ArlesDecember 1888, ArlesOil on canvas, 75 x 94 cm cmThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

GOGH, Vincent vanSpectators in the Arena at Arles (detail)December 1888, ArlesOil on canvas, 75 x 94 cm cmThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

CÉZANNE, PaulBlue Landscape1904-06Oil on canvas, 101 x 81 cmThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

CÉZANNE, PaulLady in Bluec. 1900Oil on canvas, 90 x 74 cmThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

DEGAS, EdgarWoman Combing Her Hairc. 1885Pastel on gray-brown paper pasted onto card, 53 x 52 cmThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

RENOIR, Pierre-AugusteChild with a Whip1885Oil on canvas, 105 x 75 cmThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

RENOIR, Pierre-AugusteChild with a Whip (detail)1885Oil on canvasThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

RENOIR, Pierre-AugusteGirl with a Fan1880Oil on canvas, 65 x 50 cmThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

RAFFAELLO SanzioMadonna with the Book (Conestabile Madonna)1504Tempera on canvas transferred from wood, diameter 17,9 cmThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

RAFFAELLO SanzioMadonna with the Book (Conestabile Madonna) (detail)1504Tempera on canvas transferred from wood, diameter 17,9 cmThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

REMBRANDT Harmenszoon van RijnSaskia as Flora1634Oil on canvas, 125 x 101 cm (transferred to new canvas)The Hermitage, St. Petersburg

REMBRANDT Harmenszoon van RijnDanaë1636Oil on canvas, 165 x 203 cmThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

REMBRANDT Harmenszoon van RijnDanaë (detail)1636Oil on canvasThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

REMBRANDT Harmenszoon van RijnThe Return of the Prodigal Sonc. 1669Oil on canvas, 262 x 206 cmThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

REMBRANDT Harmenszoon van RijnThe Return of the Prodigal Son (detail)c. 1669Oil on canvasThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

REMBRANDT Harmenszoon van RijnThe Return of the Prodigal Son (detail)c. 1669Oil on canvasThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

RUBENS, Peter PaulPerseus and Andromeda1620-21Oil on canvas transferred from panel, 99,5 x 139 cmThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

RUBENS, Peter PaulPortrait of King Philip IV of Spain circa 1628-1629 oil on canvas 114 × 82 cm The Hermitage, St. Petersburg

TINTORETTOThe Birth of John the Baptistc. 1554Oil on canvas, 181 x 266 cmThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

TIZIANO VecellioPortrait of a Young Womanc. 1536Oil on canvas, 96 x 75 cmThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

TIZIANO VecellioDanaec. 1554Oil on canvas, 120x187 cmThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

VELÁZQUEZ, Diego Rodriguez de Silva yHead of a Manc. 1616Oil on canvas, 40 x 36 cmThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

VELÁZQUEZ, Diego Rodriguez de Silva yPortrait of Philip IV, King of Spainc. 1638Oil on canvas, 203x122 cm The Hermitage, St. Petersburg

WATTEAU, Jean-AntoineAn Embarrassing Proposalc. 1716Oil on canvas, 65 x 85 cmThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

WATTEAU, Jean-AntoineLa Boudeuse (A Capricious Woman)c. 1718Oil on canvas, 42 x 34 cmThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

Zurbarán, Francisco deChildhood of the Virgin1658-60Oil on canvas, 74 x 54 cmThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

WEYDEN, Rogier van derSt Luke Drawing a Portrait of the Madonna-Oil on canvas transferred from wood, 103 x 109 cmThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

WEYDEN, Rogier van derSt Luke Drawing a Portrait of the Madonna (detail)-Oil on canvas transferred from woodThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

WEYDEN, Rogier van derSt Luke Drawing a Portrait of the Madonna (detail)-Oil on canvas transferred from woodThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

ROUSSEAU, HenriIn a Tropical Forest1908-09Oil on canvas, 46 x 55 cmThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

ROUSSEAU, HenriThe Jardin du Luxembourg1909Oil on canvas, 38 x 47 cmThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

MONET, ClaudeWoman in the Garden1866Oil on canvas, 82 x 101 cmThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

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MONET, ClaudeWoman in the Garden (detall)1866Oil on canvas, 82 x 101 cmThe Hermitage, St. Petersburg

MONET, ClaudeWoman in the Garden (detall)1866The Hermitage, St. Petersburg

oes

This is the largest public museum and art gallery in Russia and one of the most important in the world. It takes its name from a pleasure pavilion

adjoining the Winter Palace, built to the order of Catherine the Great in 1764-67 (the 'Little Hermitage') for the display of her treasures. In 1787 it was

incorporated in a new building (the Old Hermitage).

Catherine was one of the most voracious collectors of all time and at her death in 1796 the imperial collections were estimated to total nearly 4.000 pictures. From 1802 pictures by Russian artists began to be added to the

imperial collections. In 1837 the Winter Palace was ravaged by fire and the New Hermitage was built by the German architect Leo von Klenze, 1840-49. It

was opened to the public by Nicholas I in 1852.

In the following year the Czar sold over 1.200 pictures, but the collection continued to grow, doubling the number of its pictures between 1910 and

1932 despite extensive sales by the Soviets (after the Russian Revolution in 1917 the imperial collections came into public ownership).

The representation of Western painting is rich in virtually every period and school, but perhaps most notably in 17th century Dutch painting (the

largest collection in the world) and in French painting of the late 19th and early 20th centuries (almost all the great figures of Impressionism and Post-

Impressionism are well represented).

Many of the French paintings come from the collections of two Moscow businessmen who were among the outstanding collectors and patrons of

their time: Ivan Morozov (1871-1921) and Sergei Shchukin (1851-1936). They commissioned new works as well as buying through dealers. Matisse was a particular favourite of both men, and Shchukin's interest also extended to

Cubism.

After the Revolution their collections were nationalized and later distributed between the Hermitage and the Pushkin Museum in Moscow. The

collections of the Hermitage include much in addition to painting, notably extensive holdings of Central Asian and Oriental Art.