In 1764, the Russian empress Catherine the Great purchased a major collection of 225 western European paintings, laying the foundation for today's State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. Catherine's extensive collection, which included paintings, gemstones, coins, minerals, and books, was expanded by her successors who acquired more artworks and entire private collections, including that of France's empress Josephine in 1815. Although an 1837 fire devastated much of the building and the art within it, the later 19th century saw the continued growth of the Imperial collection. In 1852, a major new museum building was completed and opened to the public, and development of the collections of Renaissance, Byzantine, medieval, and Oriental art continued.

After the 1917 fall of the Russian Empire, the Hermitage became a public institution, and portions of its holdings were distributed to other Soviet museums. In turn, the Hermitage eventually received artworks from other institutions, including fine examples of late-19th- and early-20th-century painting originally from the collections of Sergei Shchukin and Ivan Morozov. These collections form part of the enormous holdings of the Hermitage, which is now one of the largest museums in the world. Its outstanding collection is composed of close to three million objects from virtually every culture ever known, from Neolithic sculptures and Greek and Roman antiquities; to old master paintings by Leonardo, Raphael, Rembrandt, and Rubens; to milestones of Modernism by Monet, Matisse, and Picasso. This encyclopedic collection is housed in an extensive museum complex. Situated on the river Neva in the center of St. Petersburg, the Hermitage Museum consists of five historic buildings, including the Winter Palace, the former residence of Russian emperors. It is in this opulent setting that the Hermitage Museum, whose name means “retreat,” or place of seclusion, has preserved its treasures. The unsurpassed location, combined with a truly comprehensive collection, make the Hermitage one of the world's greatest art institutions.