From mid-1950-ies G. J. Dlugach began to copy in the Hermitage works of the old masters, developing the original principles of the analytical interpretation of the classics. Around him gradually began to appear the students and graduates of art institutes and schools. They were attracted by the method Dlugach, which was the cult of plastic values. Thus, began to develop an informal "school of the Hermitage" (1950-1980).