Yu. Kuznetsov

The early history of the Department of Western European Art may be said to resemble, in many respects, that of St Petersburg — Leningrad itself. Just as the new Russian capital, founded on the barren, swampy banks of the Neva, came to rival the luxury and splendour of Europe's ancient capitals...

THE PICTURE GALLERY constitutes the museum's principal section, as also the oldest in point of time. It came into being with the acquisition, in 1764, of 225 paintings of West European masters from a Berlin merchant named Gotzkowski. Over the next two centuries the Museum's collection increased...

The early history of the Department of Western European Art may be said to resemble, in some respects, that of St. Petersburg — Leningrad itself. Just as the new Russian capital, founded on the barren, swampy banks of the Neva, came to rival the luxury and splendour of Europe's ancient capitals...