ROSLIN, Alexander
(b. 1718, Malmö, d. 1793, Paris)

Portrait of Catherine II

1776-77
Oil on canvas, 274 x 190 cm
The Hermitage, St. Petersburg

Catherine II, called Catherine the Great (1729-1796), reigned as Empress of Russia from 1762. She took power after a conspiracy deposed her husband, Peter III (1728-1762), and her reign saw the high point of the Russian nobility.