On Sunday 18 th August 2019, the magnificent portrait of Empress Catherine the Great of Russia on loan from the Grand Master’s Palace in Valletta was inaugurated with much fanfare at the Tsaritsyno Museum-Reserve in Moscow. This painting was the focus of an important one-piece exhibition. The portrait in oils executed in 1787 by Dmitri Grigorevich Levitzky[1735-1822], considered by many to have been Russia’s most important painters of ceremonial portraits, recently underwent conservation and restoration by Amy Sciberras, on behalf of Heritage Malta. It seems that this brilliant portrait by Levitzky from the Maltese national collection, was commissioned by Empress Catherine herself in an exchange of diplomatic gifts with Grandmaster de Rohan. It had travelled by sea all the way from Russia and arrived in Malta in 1790. Two hundred and thirty years after its arrival in Malta, this portrait of Catherine the Great made a brief visit to Moscow (till 12 th January 2020) to celebrate two major anniversaries: 290 years since the birth of Empress Catherine II and 250 years since the establishment of the Imperial Military Order of the Saint George. On the day of the inauguration of this one-piece temporary exhibition, Maltese conservator Amy Sciberras delivered a lecture at the Tsaritsyno Palace Museum on the conservation and restoration treatments employed on this portrait. This was followed by the inauguration of this historical one-piece exhibition, for which were present His Excellency the Ambassador of the Republic of Malta, Mr. Pierre Clive Agius who has supported the project at all stages of its implementation; the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Malta Oleg Zaitsev who has made possible the publication entitled ‘Malta’s Portrait of Catherine the Great’; the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Development, Hon. Carmelo Abela; Curator of the exhibition
Lyudmila Alekseevna Markina; Coordinator Nina Mochalova; Museum CEO Elizaveta Fokina and conservator-restorer of the portrait of Catherine the Great, Amy Sciberras, as well as representatives from Corinthia Hotels who have generously supported the restoration.