Longitudinal Section of Great Throne Room (Saint George's Hall), Winter Palace, Saint Petersburg
Attributed to Giacomo Quarenghi Italian
Not on view
Prominent among Jayne Wrightsman’s later donations are architectural designs connected to the glory days of the Russian Empire under Peter the Great (1672–1725) and Catherine the Great (1729–1796). Notably, both rulers installed a Westernized court culture in Russia, modeled after French, German, and Italian examples. The grandeur of their cultural enterprises must have interested the Wrightsmans, who visited Russia several times during the Cold War period. Among the designs they donated to the Museum are various drawings by the celebrated Italian architect Quarenghi, who spent most of his career in Russia and left a distinctive mark on the architecture of the empire.