British Art Treasures From Russian Imperial Collections in the Hermitage (Edited by Brian Allen) - Hardcover

Allen, Brian

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0300069464 ISBN 13: 9780300069464

Publisher: Yale University Press, 1996

Synopsis

More than two hundred years ago, Russian Empress Catherine the Great and some of her courtiers developed a taste for British art and collected some spectacular items including paintings, drawings, sculpture, silver, and Wedgwood ceramics. This sumptuously illustrated book tells the story of the acquisition of these treasures and of the cultural relations between Britain and Russia in the eighteenth century. Distinguished critic John Russell provides the introduction for this book, and eminent British and Russian scholars offer chapters on such topics as British gardeners and the vogue of the English Garden, the Houghton sale, British architects in Russia, and English porcelain and the Russian court. The book includes color illustrations of 164 items from the Hermitage collections of British art, including such highlights as full-length portraits by Van Dyck painted in England, assorted pieces of the celebrated Green Frog dinner service commissioned from Josiah Wedgwood for the Chesmensky Palace, Charles Kandler's huge Rococo silver "Jerningham" wine cooler, other silver items by Augustine Courtauld and Paul de Lamerie, and some furniture and important architectural drawings by Charles Cameron. The collection also includes sculpture, jewelry, watches, clocks, medals, cameos, and gems.

About this title

Product Description:

British Art Treasures from the Russian Imperial Collections in the Hermitage In the 18th century, the Russian Empress Catherine the Great and some of her courtiers developed a taste for British art, and collected some spectacular items. This study tells the story of the acquisition of these treasures and of the cultural relations between Russia and Britain at that time. Full description

From the Back Cover:

This sumptuously illustrated book coincides with the bicentenary of the death of the Empress Catherine the Great. It examines the story of the acquisition of these treasures and of the cultural relations between Britain and Russia in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The distinguished art critic John Russell provides an introduction for this book, and eminent British and Russian scholars offer chapters on such topics as British gardeners and the vogue of the English Garden, the sale of Sir Robert Walpole's remarkable collection of Old Master paintings from Houghton Hall to Catherine the Great, British architects at the Imperial court as well as articles on silver, porcelain and engraved gems. This book is the catalogue for the exhibition organised by the Yale Center for British Art and the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg which opens at the Yale Center for British Art in October 1996.

About this edition

• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Publication date: 1996
• ISBN 10: 0300069464
• ISBN 13: 9780300069464
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 328