Imperial Hermitage. Collection of Paintings

The beginning of the Imperial Hermitage (since 1917 - State Hermitage) was laid by Catherine II in the distant year of 1764. Today it is one of the largest art museums in the world. Its collection cannot be studied in a week. Our album gives you the opportunity not only to get acquainted with the main masterpieces of one of the greatest museums in the world, but also to take an excursion into its past. The basis of the publication is the book "Paintings of the Imperial Hermitage" by the famous art historian Andrei Ivanovich Somov (1830-1909), which has long become a bibliographic rarity. The author, senior curator of the Hermitage for 22 years, compiled the first catalog of the Hermitage with comments on the paintings and biographies of the artists.
Our edition also includes amazing watercolor drawings from the mid-19th century depicting the interiors of the Winter Palace, Small and New Hermitage (many of which are now already lost), created by the masters of architectural watercolor E. Gau, L. Premazzi, K. Ukhtomskiy.