Catherine the Great : Art for Empire

by SNOECK PUBLISHERS

• ISBN13: 9789053495551
• ISBN10: 905349555X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-12-30
• Publisher: Distributed Art Pub Inc

Summary

History has long recognized Catherine the Great's lavish reign (1762-96), exceptional accomplishments and political savvy. This immigrant German princess, who came to Russia at the age of fourteen, took to her adopted nation with a passion and became one of history's most important monarchs. The Empress was also an avid collector and enlightened patron who understood the political power of art and grasped the role it could play in the modernization of Russia begun by her predecessor, Peter the Great.

Table of Contents

Chapters
Catherine of Russia	p. 11
Philosopher-Empress	p. 21
Minerva of the North	p. 41
Enlightened Patroness	p. 63
Lover of Antiquity	p. 89
Benefactress of the Arts and Manufactories	p. 109
Essays
Catherine the Great	p. 139
"They Liked me at the First Glance" Painted Portraits of Catherine II	p. 149
Quaerebat Minervam Sculptor, Catharina Invenit Catherine the Great in Sculpture	p. 157
"Gluttony" in the Fine Arts: Did Catherine II Have Taste?	p. 169
The Empress, the Philosophes, and the Fine Arts	p. 179
The Art of Governing the Arts: The Roman Patronage of Catherine the Great	p. 183
Catherine II's Taste for Classicism	p. 193
Imaginary Travels to Italy	p. 201
The Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts: The Cradle of Russian Classicism	p. 209
The "Hermitages" of Catherine the Great	p. 217
The Empress's Paintings. Old and Modern Masters	p. 225
Vigee Le Brun at the Court of the Romanovs	p. 231
Catherine II and European Decorative Arts	p. 239
Catherine's Porcelain and the Triumph of the "Russian Minerva"	p. 245
The Saint Petersburg Imperial Tapestry Factory	p. 251
The Tula Armourers	p. 255
Bronze Art in the Age of Catherine II	p. 260
Russian Lapidary Factories	p. 262
Potemkin and the Imperial Glassworks	p. 264
Appendices
Catalogue of exhibited works	p. 266
Exhibitions and catalogues cited	p. 309
Publications and articles cited	p. 312
Timeline	p. 319
Order of imperial succession	p. 325
Photo credits and copyrights	p. 326
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