The famous Russian historical painter Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov was born on July 16, 1806 in St. Petersburg into the family of Andrey Ivanovich Ivanov, a professor of painting. At the age of eleven he entered the Imperial Academy of Arts, where he was brought up under the guidance of his father. The official head of Ivanov at the Academy was Professor F. Egorov. Having received two silver medals for his success in drawing, the young artist was awarded a small gold medal in 1824 for the painting Priam asking Achilles for the body of Hector. And in 1827 the boy received a large gold medal for the picture Joseph In The Prison Interprets Dreams Of The Courtiers of Pharaoh and the title of the artist of the XIV class. These paintings belong to the early period of Ivanov’s creativity and possess all the classic features: balanced composition, plans, smooth drawing and local color, emotional expressiveness in the interpretation of traditional mythological and evangelical themes.
The images of the art of the Italian Renaissance had great significance for Ivanov. His painting Apollo, Hyacinth and Cypress, Engaged In Music And Singing (1831-34), created already in Rome, is characterized by an unusually fine composition and color harmony and poetic elevation of the interpretation of the images of the ancient myth. The artist reveals the hidden divine meaning of nature.
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Mstislav Dobuzhinsky was a Russian artist, master of the cityscape (urban landscape), member of the creative association World of Art, art critic, memoirist.
The boy was born on August 2 (14), 1875 in Novgorod. His father served in the St. Petersburg Mikhailovsky Artillery School. After the birth of the son Mstislav’s parents divorced, and his mother, an actress and singer left the family. You know, the father taught his son to illustrate the books he read. Mstislav was fond of history books.
In 1895 the young man entered the Law Faculty of St. Petersburg University. Also he tried to get into the Academy of Arts. In 1899-1901 Mstislav studied in Munich and then in Hungary.
In 1901 in St. Petersburg, he joined the association World of Art. To tell the truth, Dobuzhinsky was the youngest member, but he quickly became popular.
Since 1902 Dobuzhinsky participated in exhibitions. In 1919 he became the first director of the Vitebsk Art School, taught in St. Petersburg private art schools, was a professor at the Academy of Arts. In October 1918, he was elected the scholar curator of the Hermitage.
After 1910 the artist travelled a lot and visited the Scandinavian countries, Germany, Holland and Italy. In Amsterdam he did a study – Peter the Great in Holland (1910) which echoed Serov’s picture Peter the Great.
In 1924, the artist received Lithuanian citizenship and left the USSR.
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Nikolai Ghe was a Russian painter and graphic artist, a master of portraits, historical and religious paintings. The fate of his paintings developed dramatically. The artist destroyed his picture Mercy (1880). The painting Leaving the Last Supper (1889) was one of the best works of Russian painting of that time, but it was criticized by church censorship. And the picture What is truth? Christ and Pilate (1890) was removed from the exhibition for blasphemy in the depiction of Christ. He did not finish the picture Calvary (1892), and the audience saw it only after the death of the artist.
The future artist was born on February 27, 1831 in Voronezh into the family of landowner. Three months after his birth the mother died of cholera. In 1841 the boy was sent to Kiev. Later Nikolai moved to St. Petersburg, where his elder brother lived. To tell the truth, Nikolai first chose the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics. But in 1850 he entered the Imperial Academy of Arts. His favorite artist was Karl Bryullov. The young man studied in the Academy for seven years, and in 1857 for the painting Saul Visits The Witch Of Endor he received a large gold medal and the right to travel abroad.
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Russian painter Roman Lyapin is a multiple winner of regular competitions of Tuscany and Lazio. In 1996 he was a Grand Prix winner at the contest Nature Landscape in Altipiane d’Arcinazzo. By the way, he is primarily a landscape painter. Roman began his career in Leningrad. From the beginning of the 1990s the artist lived and taught in Italy for more than ten years.
It was in Rome, the cradle of the arts, where he became a unique original master of the Leningrad and Roman (Accademia di Belle Art di Roma) schools.
His works are full of the spirit of deep inner unity – expressive, light and energetic paintings.
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Ivan Martos was a prominent Russian sculptor.
The boy was born in 1754 in the Poltava province (now Chernigov region of Ukraine) into the family of a small nobleman. He was admitted to the Imperial Academy in the first year of its establishment (in 1761), began his studies in 1764, and graduated from it in 1773 with a small gold medal. By the way, he was sent to Italy as a pensioner of the Academy. In Rome, he diligently studied art, practicing, in addition, drawing from nature in the studio of P. Battoni and studied under the leadership of R. Mengs.
When Ivan returned to St. Petersburg in 1779 he immediately became a teacher of sculpture in the Academy. Later, in 1814, he became the rector of the Academy.
Emperors Paul I, Alexander I, and Nicholas I ordered him to make sculptural compositions. To tell the truth, Martos became known not only in Russia, but also abroad.
You know, he was one of the artists who decorated the Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg. The sculptor became famous for his monument to Minin and Pozharsky in Moscow.
Moreover, he made a statue of Catherine II in 1812.
Ivan Martos died on April 17, 1835 and was buried at the Smolensk Orthodox cemetery. In the 1930s, his remains were moved to Lazarevskoye cemetery.
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Zinaida Serebryakova, a Russian artist who became famous for her self-portrait in the early 20th century, lived a long and eventful life. To tell the truth, she spent most of her life in Paris.
Pretty girl was born on December 12, 1884 into the famous art family Benoit-Lansere, that became known for several generations of sculptors, artists, architects and composers. Zinaida spent her childhood in a beautiful creative atmosphere in the circle of a large family. The family lived in Petersburg, and for the summer they always moved to the Neskuchnoe estate near Kharkov. The girl studied painting privately at first with Princess Tenishcheva in St. Petersburg, then portraitist Osip Braz became her teacher. Later, she continued her education in Italy and France.
On her return from Paris, the artist joined the World of Art society, uniting artists of those times, later named the Silver Age. The first success came to her in 1910, after showing the self-portrait At the Dressing-Table (1909). You know, the picture was immediately bought by Pavel Tretyakov for the gallery.
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Mikhail Kozlovsky is one of the greatest sculptors of Russian classicism, whose work is imbued with high ideas of enlightenment, vivid emotionality and sublime humanism. In the opinion of art criticism of the early XIX century, each of his works “reveals a lot of imagination, feelings, original look and masterful hand of the author.” The master was interested in characters of ancient myths and Russian history. In them he found ideals, important not only for his contemporaries, but also for descendants.
Mikhail was born on October 26 (November 6), 1753 in St. Petersburg into a family of a military musician. At the age of 11 the boy entered the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. French artist Nicolas Gillet, who trained many talented sculptors of that time, and A. Losenko became his closest mentors. In 1772 Kozlovsky was awarded a first class gold medal for his bas-relief Prince Izyaslav in the Field of Battle. After graduation, he became a pensioner of the Academy and was sent to Rome (from 1774 to 1779) and to Paris (from 1779 to 1780).
By the way, in 1780 the Marseilles Academy of Arts awarded him the title of academician.
In 1782 Kozlovsky returned to Russia with the sculptural group Jupiter and Ganymede made abroad. Also he made a marble statue of Catherine II, represented as Minerva (1785) and became widely known and recognized by his contemporaries.
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