From 13 October 2007 through 5 May 2008 Hermitage Amsterdam presents an exhibition on Art Nouveau from the collection of the Hermitage in St. Petersburg. St Petersburg is often seen as the city of Peter and Catherine the Great, a place full of palaces with art from the 17th and 18th centuries. But the city was also part of the European art movements of the 19th and early 20th century. This was certainly the case with the ‘new styles’ that conquered Europe around 1900: Jugendstil, the Vienna Secession and Art Nouveau found an echo in the city on the Neva. The new art of France was particularly appreciated. The people of St. Petersburg bought the striking French works and had their houses remodelled in the new style, and Russian artists created their own interpretation. The last Tsar and Tsarina, Nicholas and Alexandra, were keen followers of the new fashion. In an unusual exhibition, the Hermitage Amsterdam presents the best of French and Russian Art Nouveau. At the centre of the exhibit is the spectacular glasswork of Emile Gallé and the Daum brothers.