The study of French art by Russian art historians was based on both French and Russian research traditions, as can be seen on several levels: practical, educational and (particularly important) methodological. The scientific career of the doctor of art history and honorary professor of St. Petersburg University, Nina Nikolaevna Kalitina (1926-1918), was a fine example of this process. Kalitina always combined an interest in foreign science with a search for specifically Russian approaches. Hence the special interest of her scientific works to readers both in Russia and abroad.