Art writer Jaques (A Love for the Beautiful) portrays Catherine II of Russia (1729–1796), founder of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, as a shrewd investor in this considerate biography of ...

Upwardly noble The future Catherine the Great, Sophie, moved to the ducal castle in Szczecin, Poland, when her father, Prince Christian Augustus of Anhalt-Zerbst, became governor.

WHAT: "Catherine the Great: Art for Empire," at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts WHEN: Feb. 2 through May 7. HOW MUCH: $13 (U.S.) WHY GO: Russian Empress Catherine II, aka Catherine the Great ...

The Great doesn’t pretend to adhere closely to the historical record. Instead, it presents an extravagantly vulgar yet brilliantly humorous portrayal of Catherine II and her era.

For Catherine the Great, jewelry was about much more than adornment. The formidable Russian empress - who reigned from 1762 to 1796 after overthrowing her own husband, Peter III - understood that ...