![]() For an obscure, small town, German princess her ambition was large - the transformation of a semi-barbaric country into a model of the ideals of the French 18th century Enlightenment. ![]() ![]() This was one of many images that Catherine commissioned that demonstrated her skill at manipulation and reinvention. But menacingly, in the background an eagle crouches, suggesting the means to use brutal power where necessary. Law books and the scales of justice are at her feet, highlighting her respectful promotion of the rule of law. Dimitri Levitsky's 1780 'Portrait of Catherine the Great in the Justice Temple' depicts Catherine in the temple burning poppies at an altar, symbolising her sacrifice of self-interest for Russia. In Moscow's Tretyakov Gallery hangs perhaps the most well-known picture of Russia's most well-known ruler. ![]()
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