"...You are not Aurora Borealis, you are the brightest star of the North, and there never has been any other luminary so beneficial" - these were the words used by Voltaire to characterize Catherine the Great. Her personality illuminated the period which history has named the "Magnificent Age". In the reign of Catherine II a grand palace ensemble was created that served as an official state residence, a storehouse of art treasures, and also as a home where the Russian Empress spent her private life.

On 7 February 1852 the first Russian public museum was opened to visitors in the building of the New Hermitage. The tradition of collecting works of art which began in Catherine's time had now become an element of state policy. The 19th century brought changes in the life of the royal residence as well. The interiors of the palace ensemble received a new look in keeping with the altered tastes of the age. The official and private life of the imperial family took place within these walls, and they are linked with the final chapter in the rule of the Romanov dynasty.