For 255 years, the State Hermitage has been one of Europe's largest and significant museums. The State Hermitage Collection was started in 1764 by Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia, and now encompass more than 3 million works of art and artifacts displayed within a spectacular architectural ensemble, the heart of which is the famed Winter Palace. This new edition captures the masterpieces of European painting from the 14th to the early 20th centuries with brief and thrilling commentaries on every illustration.