Catherine the Great
Art for Empire
Masterpieces from The State Hermitage Museum, Saint-Petersburg

	1. State Coach

In partnership with the State Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts presents Catherine the Great: Art for Empire. Masterpieces from the State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg,from February 2 to May 7, 2006. This exhibition features more than 200 of the many treasures collected by the powerful and highly intelligent Empress Catherine II (1729-1796), arguably the eighteenth century’s greatest art collector and patron. Catherine believed in the political dimension of art and was convinced of her fundamental role in Russia’s social and cultural transformation. To illustrate the immense scope of her aspirations, the exhibition displays paintings, sculptures, furniture and decorative art objects. It also reveals her taste for classicism, which was new in Russia at the time. The snuff boxes in gold and precious stones, jewellery, cameos and intaglios that Catherine loved are displayed together, to re-create the Diamond Room, the Empress’s cabinet of precious objects in the Winter Palace. Many of these works of art and objects are being presented in North America for the first time; some have never before left the Hermitage.

Catherine’s dazzling coronation coach, exceptionally on loan from the Hermitage, is a highlight of the exhibition. It has travelled outside Russia only twice before: in 1991-1992 and in 1996. This is the last time it will be displayed abroad because of its fragile condition. The opulent coach was most likely commissioned by Peter the Great for the coronation ceremony of his wife, Catherine I.

Catherine the Great features major works of the eighteenth century commissioned, purchased or received by the Empress, including paintings and sculptures by Jean-Baptiste Siméon Chardin, Jean-Baptiste Greuze, Anton Raphael Mengs, Antoine Houdon, Angelica Kaufmann, Joseph Wright of Derby, Joshua Reynolds and Élisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, among others, as well as superb architectural drawings by Charles De Wailly, Charles-Louis Clérisseau, Jean-Louis Desprez and Charles Cameron. Among the furniture on display is a superb cylinder desk by the famous cabinet-maker David Roentgen. The exhibition also provides an opportunity to discover Russian artists and craftsmen. Various works and texts attest to Catherine’s relationships with some of the leading minds of her era, the Age of Enlightenment, such as Voltaire, Diderot and Grimm.

The exhibition is divided into five sections: Catherine of Russia, Philosopher Empress, Minerva of the North, Enlightened Patroness, Benefactress of the Arts and Manufactories. It delves into Catherine’s personality and legendary destiny and explores the ways in which she forged ties between Europe and Russia, simultaneously importing and encouraging the arts and cultural endeavours.

A Legendary Destiny

Born Princess Sophia von Anhalt-Zerbst, the daughter of a German prince, in 1729, Catherine came to Russia at the age of fourteen to become the bride of the future Peter III. The marriage would prove a failure. Peter became Emperor in 1762, but his eccentricities and policies alienated him from many powerful members of the Court and the Church. Supported by the Imperial Guard, Catherine overthrew Peter in 1762 and acceded to the throne as Catherine II, Empress of All Russia. Her reign, which lasted for more than 34 years, would prove to be one of the most remarkable periods in Russian history.

This German princess who emigrated to far-off Russia had no Russian blood but took to her adopted homeland with a passion. She aspired to continue the work of Peter the Great to elevate the country to the pinnacle of European modernity. She transformed the capital of Saint Petersburg. Supported by her remarkable advisors, she demonstrated her stunning extravagance by buying up entire art collections. The Empress was, without contest, the founder of the Hermitage collections. She assigned commissions to top artists and artisans, and imported not only works of art but European culture and savoir-faire, successfully developing Russian academies and imperial manufactories. Upon her death, she left behind some 4,000 paintings in the imperial residences, as well as 38,000 books, some 10,000 drawings, as many ancient gems, and countless prints, her artistic legacy to Russia.

Catherine II's Classical Ideal

At an early age, turning her back on the Baroque style preferred by her predecessors, Catherine showed a preference for classicism, which was later assimilated to modernity. She enthusiastically indulged her personal taste for nostalgic, decorative and monumental antiquity. Playing on the symbolism of imperial power, Catherine was a modern Minerva in public, a fervent disciple of antiquity in private.

Organizers

The exhibition is organized by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, the Art Gallery of Ontario and the State Hermitage Museum, in collaboration with the Hermitage Museum Foundation of Canada.

The exhibition Catherine the Great: Art for Empire. Masterpieces from the State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg is curated by Nathalie Bondil, Chief Curator and Curator of European Art (1800-1945), the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and Christina Corsiglia, Curator of European Art, Art Gallery of Ontario, with the co-operation of Vyacheslav Fyodorov, Director, Department of Russian Art and Culture; Sergey Androsov, Deputy Director, Department of Western European Art; and Tamara Rappe, Deputy Director, Department of Western European Art, State Hermitage Museum. The exhibition design is by Christiane Michaud.

The exhibition catalogue

Under the general editorship of Nathalie Bondil with the contribution of fifty-five specialists, the 328-page exhibition catalogue, which includes 300 illustrations, has been produced by the Museum’s Publishing Department. Published in separate French and English editions, it provides an instructive overview of the exhibition, nineteen essays on various aspects of the subject and a complete catalogue entry for each work.

Sponsors

In Montreal, the exhibition is presented by Hydro-Québec.

Catherine the Great: Art for Empire has also received major funding from the Volunteer Association of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and assistance from Canadian Heritage through the Canada Travelling Exhibitions Indemnification Program. The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts wishes to thank Air Canada and its media partners La Presse and The Gazette. Its gratitude also extends to Quebec’s Ministère de la Culture et des Communications and to the Conseil des arts de Montréal for their ongoing support.

The international exhibition programme of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts receives financial support from the Exhibition Fund of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Foundation and the Paul G. Desmarais Fund.