Empress of Art: Catherine the Great and the Transformation of Russia

In this revealing reportage, Susan Jacques tells of the intelligent and determined Empress Catherine the Great, who modeled her reign off the great modernizing legacies of her grandfather, Peter the Great, seeking to further modernize and westernize Russia. She believed that the best way to do this was through a ravenous acquisition of art, which Catherine often used as a form of diplomacy with other powers throughout Europe. She was a self-proclaimed "glutton for art" and she would be responsible for the creation of the Hermitage -- one of the largest museums in the world, second only to the Louvre. Catherine also spearheaded the further expansion of St. Petersburg, and the magnificent architectural wonder the city became is largely her doing.