The volume presents the catalogue of an exhibition on the less familiar masterpieces of the Hermitage, especially the paintings of the Venetian school much admired in the St. Petersburg of Catherine the Great.
English edition.
An “encyclopedic” museum, the Hermitage also contains a fine collection of Venetian painting, with works by artists like Canaletto, Bellotto, Guardi, Tiepolo, Ricci, Pittoni, Longhi. The art of the Venetians was very popular in the St. Petersburg of Catherine the Great, who created the Hermitage and oriented the first acquisitions for the museum. This volume, the catalogue of the exhibition held in Brussels (October 1998 – January 1999) to give greater visibility to these “hidden” masterpieces of the Hermitage, is introduced by three essays, respectively on the Venetian painters in Europe, the wealth of the Venetian artistic heritage held in the Russian museum, and the artists invited to the Russian court.