An Imperial Collection: Women Artists from the State Hermitage Museum

The Extraordinary Selection of paintings reproduced in this stunning book -- all by western European women artists -- has been drawn from the unrivaled collection of the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, and is published here as part of the international celebrations to mark the city's 300th anniversary. An Imperial Collection explores how women as patrons, artists, and subjects contributed to the cultural history of Russia. Eminent families formed collections and created artistic commissions that brought women artists to Russia and extended the influence of western European art at the royal court of the tsars. Some women artists were allowed into the inner circles of the court, providing an "insider" view into the private, intimate side of imperial life. Artists whose work is explored in the book include Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Lebrun, who from 1795 to 1801 found refuge in St. Petersburg after the French Revolution forced her to flee her own country; French sculptor Marie-Anne Collot, whose numerous works for Catherine the Great included the monumental head for the sculpture of Peter the Great, now one of the great landmarks of St. Petersburg; and Angelica Kauffman, one of the few eighteenth-century women painters to tackle the challenging field of history painting, often with a heightened sensitivity to female roles. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in women artists, the history of Russian patronage of the arts, and Russian imperial history and culture. Book jacket.