The Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden loan the painting "The Empire of Flora" (1631) by Nicolas Poussin to the The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow.
The painting’s loan from the Old Masters Picture Gallery recollects the return of the Dresden collection from Moscow 60 years ago. After the end of World War II the painting "The Empire of Flora" was transported along with 750 other paintings as so-called looted art to Moscow. In March 1955, the Council of Ministers of the Union of the USSR decided on the restitution of the paintings to Dresden.
The painting by Nicolas Poussin depicts the garden of the flower goddess Flora and how she dancingly spreads the world’s colours. Around her are characters from the "Metamorphosis" by the Roman poet Ovid. All of them are transformed into flowers either by violent or tragic death. The painting is counted among the most outstanding works of French painting of the 17th century.
