Catherine the Great's reign marked a watershed in Russian history, with
vast territorial expansion, town planning, and construction across the
empire, and civic, educational, and social reform. Determined to
position herself as a paragon of the Enlightenment, the empress acquired
celebrated artworks and collections for her Hermitage, while the quest
to promote professional artists led her to champion Russia's young
Academy of Arts. This book reveals the remarkable role that women
artists played in Catherine's pursuit of these ambitions, and the way in
which their commissions from a glittering array of Russian patrons
extended artistic practice and enriched cultural life.