Assumption of the Virgin

Assumption of the Virgin

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Portrait of an Old Jew

Portrait of an Old Jew

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White House at Night

White House at Night

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Sappho and Phaon

Sappho and Phaon

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Swans in the Reeds

Swans in the Reeds

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Woman in Blue (Madame Cezanne)

Woman in Blue (Madame Cezanne)

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Boulevard Montmartre in Paris

Boulevard Montmartre in Paris

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Portrait of Ladies-in-Waiting to Queen Henrietta Maria

Portrait of Ladies-in-Waiting to Queen Henrietta Maria

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Tropical Forest: Battling Tiger and Buffalo

Tropical Forest: Battling Tiger and Buffalo

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Vulcan's Forge

Vulcan's Forge

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playlist

The Hermitage Museum: Curated Picks

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Saint Petersburg’s Hermitage Museum is the world’s second-largest art museum (after the Louvre), boasting a collection of three million objects and the largest collection of paintings in the world. Comprising six historic buildings (five of which are open to the public) and boasting a diverse geographic and historic range of works, it’s difficult to identify the museum’s most prized collection. The Winter Palace, which used to be the Romanov Tsars’ residence, holds most of the works on view. The museum stems from Catherine the Great’s art collection in the 18th century, which began with mostly Northern Renaissance and some Italian Renaissance works by Rembrandt, Rubens, Anthony van Dyck, Frans Hals, Raphael, and Titian. Catherine quickly grew her collection and started expanding her palace’s galleries, which were only open to Russian nobles and elites. What is now the museum once housed thousands of workers as well as party rooms for Catherine’s festivities. Catherine’s collection soon rivaled those of Western Europe’s most prestigious museums—a fact Catherine was very proud of up until her death. As both the museum’s collection and expansions grew, a building for public viewing was eventually erected in 1838, but the entire museum would not become completely open to the public until immediately after the October Revolution of 1917. Today, Russian citizens can enter the museum for a reduced rate.

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Works

Assumption of the Virgin

Assumption of the Virgin

Click to More
Portrait of an Old Jew

Portrait of an Old Jew

Click to More
White House at Night

White House at Night

Click to More
Sappho and Phaon

Sappho and Phaon

Click to More
Swans in the Reeds

Swans in the Reeds

Click to More
Woman in Blue (Madame Cezanne)

Woman in Blue (Madame Cezanne)

Click to More
Boulevard Montmartre in Paris

Boulevard Montmartre in Paris

Click to More
Portrait of Ladies-in-Waiting to Queen Henrietta Maria

Portrait of Ladies-in-Waiting to Queen Henrietta Maria

Click to More
Tropical Forest: Battling Tiger and Buffalo

Tropical Forest: Battling Tiger and Buffalo

Click to More
Vulcan's Forge

Vulcan's Forge

Click to More