The State Hermitage Museum

History of the museum

Catherine the Great began the Hermitage in 1764 by buying a collection of 225 paintings from Berlin, and she kept adding to it, buying whole collections of European masters. It became a public museum only in 1852. After the revolution in 1917 the Winter Palace became part of the museum, and the Soviet government added art taken from private collectors, such as the Impressionists of Shchukin and Morozov. During the siege of Leningrad of 1941 to 1944 the staff hid the art and stayed in the basement.

Top pieces

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  The Return of the Prodigal Son Rembrandt, 1669
• 
  The Dance Henri Matisse, 1910
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  Benois Madonna Leonardo da Vinci, 1480

In our gallery from here (45)

Benois MadonnaLeonardo da Vinci · 1480 Madonna LittaLeonardo da Vinci · 1490 The Return of the Prodigal SonRembrandt · 1668 Alba MadonnaRaphael · 1510 White House at NightVincent van Gogh · 1890 The LunchDiego Velázquez · 1617 Woman in the GardenClaude Monet · 1867 JudithGiorgione · 1504 Penitent MagdaleneTitian · 1563 FloraRembrandt · 1634 The Stolen KissJean-Honoré Fragonard · 1787 Memory of the Garden at EttenVincent van Gogh · 1888 Lilac BushVincent van Gogh · 1889 Arena in ArlesVincent van Gogh · 1888 Thatched Cottages and HousesVincent van Gogh · 1890 MusicHenri Matisse · 1910 SunsetCaspar David Friedrich · 1837 Jeune Fille au piano (Girl at the Piano - The Overture to Tannhauser)Paul Cézanne · 1869 Lady in BluePaul Cézanne · 1904 Saints Peter and PaulEl Greco · 1587 Boy with a dogBartolomé Esteban Murillo · 1655 Madonna and ChildFra Angelico · 1430 Madonna and Child with CherubsRosso Fiorentino · 1517 Sappho and PhaonJacques-Louis David · 1809 Portrait of the Actress Antonia ZarateFrancisco Goya · 1810 Landscape. Seine at AsnieresClaude Monet · 1873 Place de la ConcordeEdgar Degas · 1875 Girl with a FanPierre-Auguste Renoir · 1885 Composition VIWassily Kandinsky · 1913 The Virgin and Child with St Joseph and St John the BaptistPontormo · 1522 Landscape with PolyphemusNicolas Poussin · 1649 A Wooded MarshJacob van Ruisdael · 1660 Rest on the Flight into EgyptBartolomé Esteban Murillo · 1665 Ruins of the OybinCaspar David Friedrich · 1835 Still Life with ApplesPaul Cézanne · 1890 Self-Portrait with Parents, Brothers and SistersJacob Jordaens · 1615 Actors of the Comedie-FrancaiseJean-Antoine Watteau · 1710 Coronation and Assumption of the VirginPeter Paul Rubens · 1700 Walpole Immaculate ConceptionBartolomé Esteban Murillo · 1680 La BoudeuseJean-Antoine Watteau · 1718 Portrait of John LockeGodfrey Kneller · 1697 An Embarrasing ProposalJean-Antoine Watteau · 1715 Savoyard with a MarmotJean-Antoine Watteau · 1716 Portrait of a Lady in BlueThomas Gainsborough · 1780 Woman in BlackPierre-Auguste Renoir · 1876