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| | During the reign of Catherine II (1762-1796) a splendid collection of Rembrandts was formed in the Hermitage. The works of the great Dutch master, acquired as part of celebrated European collections, were gathered in one of the rooms of the Large Hermitage. In the 18th century Rembrandt was considered a brilliant painter, but a mediocre draughtsman. People could not forgive the "strange" taste he showed in depicting models far removed from the Classical ideal. In the mid-19th century, however, a different attitude to the artist's work was forming. The display in the room of the New Hermitage makes it possible to trace the great master's development from early works - Portrait of a Scholar and Flora - to one of the last - The Return of the Prodigal Son. It is interesting to note the return to the museum of Danae, which in Catherine's time had occupied one of the most honoured places in the Hermitage gallery. In the first half of the 19th century the painting was removed due to the "immodesty" of the subject. |
