Art Of The Day Weekly
#436 - from 23 June 2016 to 29 June 2016
Vigilius Eriksen, Portrait of Catherine II in Front of a Mirror, c. 1763. Oil on canvas © State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg.
Catherine the greatest
AMSTERDAM - She was German, did not speak the language properly and she easily brushed her Tsar husband aside. Not many would have betted on her, a Saxon princess who was not really well-rounded, in a Russia that was rather hard. And yet, Catherine II (1729-1796) would become the greatest Tsarina in history: over the 34 years during which she reigned, she conquered territories (Crimea, Poland), carried out reforms, built and accumulated one of the most beautiful art collections in the continent. She surely deserved the word “Great” which was given to her when she was alive. But the Hermitage chose “Greatest” to pay tribute to her. The exhibition unveils certain memorabilia that belonged to the star, brought in from the parent-museum of the Hermitage in Saint-Petersburg (which she herself founded 250 years ago): dresses, jewels, paintings, cameos, books. She was also a great reader, and bought up Voltaire’s library.
Catherine, the Greatest at the Hermitage Amsterdam, from 18 June 2016 to 15 January 2017.