31/8/24. Collectors in St.Petersburg. In 1703 Peter the Great founded his new capital and required that all the wealthy Russians build residences in the city. In the course of the eighteenth century, and particularly during the reign of Catherine the Great, the many prestigious city palaces were filled with extensive collections of Western European art. The private owners proudly showed off their paintings and other works to anyone who wanted to see them. Students from the Academy of Fine Arts came to view the Old Masters and to copy them; other collectors came to admire their 'rival's' collection. In the nineteenth century the number of private collections and painting galleries open to the public increased sharply.