Room with Nikitin.

One of the 1^st artist that Peter sent to study abroad was Ivan Nikitin 1690-1741. He was born in Moscow to a family of Orthodox priest. He received his 1^st artistic lessons from a Dutch artist at the engraving shop of the Armory. In 1716-1720 Ivan with his brother Roman were sent to Italy to study. The brothers learnt the art of painting in Florence and Venice and after returning to Russia Nikitin became the favorite court painter of Peter the Great of whom Peter was very proud. Nikitin painted Peter many times including his portrait on his death bed. At that time he was rather young (25 years old). His best work in the Russian Museum is the portrait of field Hetman in 1720s. After Peter’s death in 1725 Nikitin continued to work at the court until in 1732 he and his brothers were arrested for distribution of pamphlets against Pheophan Prokopovich, who was the vice procurator of Synod. Ivan was tortured for 5 years imprisoned in the PPF and whipped and exiled to Siberia. Anna Ioanovna signed the amnesty for the brothers in 1741 and the artist seemed to die on his way back from Tobolsk some time around 1740-1742.

Andrey Matveev 1701-1739. He studied in Holland and Flanders. Upon his returned was appointed a head of the painting department of the construction administration which designed interiors, numerous buildings in Spb and other cities and also educated young artists. His best known works are in the P&P Cathedral. He also painted the walls and ceilings in the Winter Palace and in the churches and cathedrals, most of them didn’t survived. His self-portrait with his wife displays the achievements of Russian portraiture of early 18^th century. He painted the icons for the church of Simon&Anna.

His successor as the head of the painting department was Ivan Vishnyakov. His best works didn’t survived and his best existing painting – portrait of Sara Eleanor Fairmore who was the daughter of general Fairmore, an Englishman employed in Russia. It was painted in late 1740s. The girl is wearing heavy adult brocade dress but the artist managed to create a vivid and realistic image of a teenage girl trying to look and behave older. Vishnyakov studied under Louis Karavak. He painted the Winter Palace, the Anichkov palace, the Peterhof palace, etc and also portraits and icons.

Alexis Antropov 1716 – 1795. He was active primarily in Spb where he was born to a family of a soldier. Since the age of 16 he studied under Matveev and Vishnyakov and being part of the painting department he took part in frescoing the Summer Palace, the Winter Palace, the Anichkov palace and some other buildings in Spb. He studied portraiture under Pietro Rotari. He painted many good portraits including Portrait of Ataman Krasnoschyokov. Later got a job in Synod where he supervised icon-painting and decoration of churches. He also taught art and one of his apprentices was Dmitry Levitsky. Portrait of Peter III. In 1762 Peter III became a new emperor and Antropov became his favorite painter. During the 6 months of Peter’s rule Antropov painted at least 4 his portraits. One of his portraits is displayed here – thought it has all the traditional features of a formal portrait, it lacks idealization typical for state portraits. The artist sacrificed his only house to the department of education for organization of a free school. He is buried in the Tihvin cemetery of Alexander-Nevsky monastery.

Carlo Bartolommeo Rastrelli Sculpture of Anna Ioanovna (1741). This amazing sculpture has few rivals in the world. The artist managed to capture the very spirit of pomposity and despotism of the Empress Anna Ioanovna whose reign is often called the Age of Minions. The statue displays remarkable several years of hard work of chaises. She was the daughter of Peter’s brother Ivan V and the wife of Duke of Kurland who ruled Russia from 1730 to 1740.

Second half of the 18^th century. Fyodor Rokotov. Romanticism. He specialized in portraits. He was born in the family of serfs. He started in Spb Academy of Arts and at the age of 25 became the professor of the Academy. After a brilliant start of his career he moved to Moscow and there he started painting portraits. Most of his portraits are of small size and reflect the desire of enlighten nobility to be portrayed as intellectuals. Portrait of Countess Elisabeth Santi (1785). She was a daughter brigadier Vasily Mahnov. The artist usually focused on the faces of his models who often smile faintly looking directly at the viewer mysteriously.

Anton Losenko. He is Ukrainian neo-classical painter who early lost his parents and at the age of 7 was sent to a court choir in Spb. At the age of 16 he lost his voice and was sent to apprenticeship to the artist Argunov. After he continued to study in the Academy of Arts and upon graduation was sent to France and Italy. Returning in 1769 he became a professor and later a director of the Academy of Arts. His biblical paintings were admired by the public and served as examples for young artists. His classical painting “Vladimir and Rohnida” won him the title of academician and professorship. The episode is taken from the history of Russia by Lomonosov …. Upon ascension to the throne in Novgorod Prince Vladimir sent an embassy to Polotsk to Prince Rohvold requesting the hand of his daughter Rohnida but she refused him. Angry Vladimir attacked the city with his army, killed Rohvold and his 2 sons and forced Rohnida to marry him. The artist depicted the 1^st meeting of Vladimir and Rohnida where Vladimir is trying to please Rohnida and win her heart. Though information about 10^th century costume dress was very scarce the artist did his best. Certain features such as Rohnida’s dress, Vladimir’s high boots and shirt, maid’s dress and the soldiers actually resemble the style of old Russia.

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Dmitry Levitsky. A Russian-Ukrainian portrait painter. 1735-1822. The artist was born in Kiev in a family of clergyman and engraver Gregory Levitsky who became his 1^st art-teacher. Later he became a pupil of Antropov. The artist became popular after displaying 6 portraits. The best one of which was a portrait of architect Alexander Kokorinov for which Levitsky was awarded academician title. The architect ???spended??? in his study a draft of the Academy of fine arts spread on his desk. Between 1772-1776 the artist painted a series of portraits of students of Smolny Institute of fine ladies. He depicted each girl doing something she was particularly good at. For example, Ekaterina Nelidova is dancing, Hrushyova and Havanskaya are acting in the performance, Molchanova is demonstrating physical experiments, and Olymova is playing music. The artist was very successful portraying charming youthful subjects. Рассказать что-нибудь про Смольный институт. State portrait of Catherine II as legislator (1783). This portrait the artist painted in his mature period and it represents idealistic dream of educated nobility of an enlightened monarch who not only issues laws but also follows these laws along with the ordinary citizens. The artist painted a great number of various portraits skillfully portraying complicated inner world of his subjects. He seldom flattered his subjects which we can see very well in the portrait of Lonskoy, favorite of Catherine II, who looks vein and arrogant (1782).

Fedot Shubin (1740 – 1805). The Russian museum has a large number of sculptural portraits. He was born in Holmogory and started his career as carver. In 1759 he arrived to Spb and was soon enrolled in the Academy of Arts which he graduated with honors and was awarded a study trip to Paris and Rome. The artist managed to convey complexity of personality of his subjects. Good example of that – Bust of Paul I (1800). The portrait is very true to life and the negative features combine with generosity of the Emperor’s nature. If to go round the bust the facial expression changes. His key work on display is a portrait of Catherine II (1789). We can see that the artist was very fond of details.

White Column Room. One of the few surviving interiors of the palace. It was designed by Rossi in 1825. In Empire/Neo-classical style. Beautiful marquetry floor of mahogany and birch end ebony. The furniture and the decoration of the ceiling were also designed by Rossi. The walls are faced with artificial marble (high quality plaster polished by hands). Antonio Viggi painted some scenes on the walls - episodes from Илиада. New fashion in interior design – the room is divided into some parts by the columns. In this room the guests were entertained and some music parties took place.

Vladimir Borovikovsky. He is the 3^rd Great Russian portrait painter of 18^th century. 1727 – 1825. He was born in Mirgorod and started under his father who was an amateur icon painter. According to the family tradition all 4 sons were enrolled in the Mirgorod Cossack regiment, from which Vladimir was retired early to the rang of poruchik and devoted his life to art mostly paining icons and local churches. He may have remained amateur painter in the provincial town if not for an unexpected event. His friend was preparing accommodation for Catherine II in Kremenchug which she was intending to visit on her trip to newly conquered Crimea. Borovikovsky was asked to paint 2 allegoric paintings “Peter I and Catherine II sowing seeds” and “Catherine II as Minerva” for her rooms. The paintings were so pleased the empress that she requested that the painter move to Spb. After 1788 Borovikovsky lived in Spb where he changed his Cossack surname Borovik to the more aristocratic sounding Borovikovsky. He was too old to attend the Academy of Arts so he took private lessons from Dmitry Levitsky and later from Austrian painter Lampi. He became a popular portrait painter and created around 500 paintings during his lifetime. He had his own studio where he often relied on his assistants to paint less important parts of a portrait. His sitters included: members of the royal family, courtiers, generals, artists, etc. Most of his paintings are intimate in style. Portrait of Catherine Arseneva (1790s). The young girl looks merry and charming and her simple dress and straw hat speak of aristocracy interest in simple rural life. The museum has more than 30 works, other prominent works – Portrait of Catherine II (1794). The Empress is depicted during a walk with her dog in the park in Tsarskoe Selo. The artist was very fond of painting women whom he usually painted more beautiful. He also painted family portraits in which he showed affection of family members. The artist never taught at the Academy but preferred teaching students in his home. And among his students was Alexis Venetsianov. In 1819 the artist became a free Masson and at that time he painted only icons including some icons for the Kazan Cathedral. The artist died suddenly of a heart attack and was buried in the Alexander Nevsky monastery.

Alexis Venetsianov (1780 – 1847). He’s a Russian painter is known for his paintings devoted to peasant life and ordinary people. He was born to a merchant family on Moscow. He entered state service (he was a surveyor землемер). In 1802 he moved to Spb where he started painting lessons from Borovikovsky. He tried as a freelance portraitist but had few customers. In 1820s he quit portraiture for the sake of genre painting. He bought the house in the village of Safonkovo in the Tver region and settled there. There he painted portraits of peasants and scenes of rural life. From that period we have his painting “The thrashing floor/Гумно”. The painting was a great success and the artist presented it to Alexander I. Since the end of 1810s the artist started attracting young people of common origin and even serfs and taught them painting. In mid 1820s he established the 1^st private art school in Russia. Nicolas I liked to stimulate the national trends and expressed his approval to the artist and appointed him a court painter which provided the means for running the school where tuition was free or almost free. He died in an accident in 1847 when his horses dashed of and his carriage fell down a steep slope. His painted usually simple subjects and he was interested not in unusual or dramatic episodes but in the people themselves. The artist attempted to convey moral purity and sound spirituality of Russian peasants. He was also a master of conveying Russian landscapes. His teaching methods were dramatically different from the methods adopted by the Academy. He never asked his students to copy works of other artists. Instead his students painted still-lives, interiors (including halls of the Winter Palace) and painted on the open air. While the artist himself painted mostly peasants his students painted city dwellers, soldiers, etc. He and his students depicted people in their natural environment.

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Carl Bryulov (1799 – 1852). He was the key figure in transition from Russian neo-classicism to romanticism. His friends called him ‘the Great Carl’. The future artist was born in Spb in a family of academician, wood carver and engraver. Upon graduating Imperial Academy of Arts he left for Rome in 1822 where he worked until 1835 as a portraitist and a genre painter, though his fame as an artist came when he displayed his best-known work “The Last day of Pompeii” (1830 – 1833). Pushkin and Gogol compared this vast composition to the best works of Rubens and Van Dyck. It created the sensation in Italy and established Bryulov as one of the finest European painters of his day. In this painting he depicted the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD when the cities Pompeii and Herculaneum were damaged. In 1834 the painting was displayed at the Louvre, in 1834 in the Hermitage and the artist was awarded the order of St. Ann and the point of the professor of the Academy of Arts. It was the 1^st painting in history of Russian art when people were portraying in the time of disaster. Bryulov tried to depict generosity of human soul where loving parents try to save their children, sons carry elderly father, young artist forgot himself and was fascinated by the beauty of nature. Originally the artist was going to paint a marauder whose snatching jewelry from a lying woman, yet eventually the artist dropped this idea instead painted several families each of which is a manifestation of love and devotion. He also impressed contemporaries by a bold combination of colors – hot red in the background and cold green in the foreground. He also managed to paint human bodies with extreme clarity so that they reach/achieve sculptural monumentality. After such great success the artist decided to paint a heroic episode from Russian history. For some time he was searching for appropriate subject and eventually he chose 2 – The Siege of Pskov (1839 – 1843) and Conquest of Kazan. The artist started working on his new ambitious project with enthusiasm but eventually became disappointed and never managed to repeat his own triumph. While the artist was working with the plafond in the Isaac’s Cathedral he fell ill and left from Russia for Italy (1849) and 3 years later died in a small village in Rome. He’s buried there. “Italian Midday” – commissioned by Nicolas I. “Portrait of Countess Julia Samoilova” with whom the artist had the relationship so close that they were going to get marry (according to some rumors) but it never happened.