Alekseev Fedor Yakovlevich. Artist Alekseev

» Alekseev Fedor Yakovlevich

Creativity and biography - Alekseev Fedor Yakovlevich

Alekseev Fedor Yakovlevich (1753/1755-1824) - Russian painter, one of the founders of the national urban landscape. Born in St. Petersburg. The son of a watchman at the Academy of Sciences. Alekseev’s great talent manifested itself already in early childhood. In 1766-73. studied at the Academy of Arts, first in the “painting of flowers and fruits” class, and only then in the landscape class, which was much more in line with his inclinations. In 1773, he received a gold medal for one of his landscapes, which gave him the right to travel to Italy. For three years in Venice, the artist worked on theatrical scenery and painted landscapes (“Schiavoni Embankment in Venice,” 1775). Returning to St. Petersburg, Alekseev worked as a decorator at a theater school (1779-1786), but this occupation did not interest him. He devotes all his free time to copying the works of G. A. Canaletto, B. Bellotto, C. J. Berne in the Hermitage. These copies brought success to the painter, thanks to which he was able to leave his job as a decorator and take up landscape painting. The artist writes watercolor sketches from life, and uses them to create views of cities. One of his most famous works is “View of the Palace Embankment from the Peter and Paul Fortress” (1794, Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow). The mirror surface of the Neva, encased in granite; boats floating on the river; majestic buildings on the opposite shore, reflected in the mirror of the water; the high sky with light snow-white clouds - everything gives the landscape a majestic and monumental look. And at the same time, it is a living and emotional image of a beautiful northern city, unique in its individuality. Alekseev’s landscapes embodied the poetry of everyday city life, its real and ideal features. For his work “View of the Palace Embankment from the Peter and Paul Fortress,” the painter received the title of academician.

In 1795 he was sent by the Academy “to take pictures” to the Crimea (Bakhchisarai), Nikolaev and Kherson. Watercolor sketches made there became the basis for large paintings. During a year and a half business trip to Moscow and around the provinces (1800-01), based on many watercolor sketches, he created a number of large canvases (“View of Red Square”, “View of the Military Hospital”, “Kremlin at the Stone Bridge”, “Iveron Gate”, etc.) . Since 1812, the artist depicted only St. Petersburg. In 1800, by order of Paul I, the artist painted views of Moscow. Alekseev's cityscapes represent the picturesque beauty of the ancient Russian city (Parade in the Moscow Kremlin. Cathedral Square, c. 1800, State Historical Museum, Moscow). The artist stayed in Moscow for about a year. At this time, he painted many watercolors and paintings depicting the streets of Moscow and its environs, monasteries and churches. Executed with almost documentary precision, these works brought the master extraordinary popularity, which led to orders from the Russian nobility. Among the customers were members of the royal family.

From 1803 until the end of his life, Alekseev taught “perspective” painting (landscape) at the Academy of Arts, being a member of its council. Despite his serious illness, he worked until the end of his days. In one of his last works, he emotionally and authentically depicted the flood in St. Petersburg on November 7, 1824. Since 1802, he again turned to the theme of St. Petersburg. The artist paints the majestic and beautiful architecture of the city, the wide expanses of the Neva, but now in his landscapes more and more space is given to man. Painting of this period is distinguished by a clearer pattern, warm shades of paint and dense texture (“View of the Spit of Vasilyevsky Island from the Peter and Paul Fortress”, 1810).

Over time, interest in the aging landscape painter from his contemporaries waned. The forgotten artist died in poverty. Alekseev’s works are not only aesthetic discoveries of the “pioneer” of the genre of Russian urban landscape in painting, but also the most valuable historical documents. The famous Russian painters S. Shchedrin and M. Vorobyov were students of the outstanding master.

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Before the flood of 1824. “Russian Canaletto”, recognized during his lifetime by academicians and art connoisseurs, Fyodor Alekseev occupies a special place in the history of painting of the 18th century as one of the founders of the national school of urban landscape.

Fedor Alekseev. Venice. View of the Schiavoni embankment (fragment). 1775. National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus, Minsk, Belarus

Fedor Alekseev. Interior view of the courtyard with garden. Loggia in Venice (fragment). 1776. State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg

Fedor Alekseev. View of the Palace Embankment from the Peter and Paul Fortress (fragment). 1810. State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg

Fyodor Alekseev was born in 1753 in St. Petersburg and came from the children of soldiers. This is how a special class group was called in the 18th century. The exact date of birth of the artist and detailed information about his parents have not been preserved. It is only known that the father of the future artist, Yakov Alekseev, after leaving service, worked as a watchman at the Academy of Sciences.

As a child, the future artist went to a garrison school. He studied diligently, and especially liked drawing and geometry. The father dreamed of enrolling his son in the Academy of Arts - in the 18th century, many of its students came from commoners and lower ranks. In 1766, the younger Alekseev was accepted into the Imperial Academy of Arts, straight into the third grade.

Professor and director of the Academy of Arts, painter Anton Losenko, noticed that the boy was good at drawing complex figures and architectural structures. Losenko transferred Alekseev from the ornamental sculpture class of Louis Rolland to the painting class, which was led by Heinrich Fondermint and Antonio Perezinotti. During the classes, students studied the principles of working with architectural and landscape landscapes. The young man showed himself to be a diligent student: in 1773 he was awarded a small gold medal for one of his educational landscape works. This award gave the title of class artist of the 2nd degree and the civil rank of 12th grade in the Table of Ranks.

In the same year, academicians who noticed Alekseev’s talent sent him to Venice for “greater improvement in painting is promising.” The Academy needed theater artists, and this skill was best taught in Italy.

Alekseev spent the next four years in Venice. Working in the workshops of his mentors - theater decorators Giuseppe Moretti and Pietro Gasparri - was not so interesting for him. He liked modern Italian painting - he studied the city landscapes of famous artists Giovanni Canaletto and Bernardo Bellotto. He was also interested in the history of art: the young man was especially impressed by the paintings of the 16th century painter Paolo Veronese, which he enthusiastically described in his diary:

This is the most beautiful and harmonious invention that you can see. The architecture in this picture is placed at such a fair point that among so many people everything can be seen without the slightest confusion...

Fyodor Alekseev about Paolo Veronese’s painting “Marriage in Cana of Galilee”

Inspired by the works of Italian artists, Fyodor Alekseev worked hard on his first city landscapes: “Venice. View of the Schiavoni embankment", "Interior view of the courtyard with a garden. Loggia in Venice."

Returning to his homeland, St. Petersburg, on behalf of the Academy of Arts, Alekseev designed sets for the Imperial Theaters. The painter did not like this work, so he devoted all his free time to his favorite work - landscapes. Like other Academy graduates, he earned money by creating copies of famous paintings by Western European artists. Even Empress Catherine II appreciated the artist’s skill and invited him to work at the Hermitage to make copies of the museum’s masterpieces. Most often these were landscapes of the famous Italian painter Canaletto, and soon Fyodor Alekseev was nicknamed the “Russian Canaletto”.

In 1786, Alekseev finally left his job as a theater decorator and began creating original landscapes. Eight years later, he received the title of academician for the painting “View of the Palace Embankment from the Peter and Paul Fortress.”

“...I found so many beautiful objects for paintings”: views of St. Petersburg, Moscow and the South

Fedor Alekseev. Red Square in Moscow (fragment). 1801. State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

Fedor Alekseev. View of the city of Nikolaev (fragment). 1799. State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

Fedor Alekseev. Square in Kherson (fragment). 1796. State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

In the 1790s, on behalf of Catherine II, Fyodor Alekseev went to the South of the Russian Empire to paint landscapes of the places where the Empress visited during her trip to Crimea in 1787. He lived in the South for two years. There Alekseev made many watercolor sketches and sketches, which he used in St. Petersburg to create full-fledged paintings - “View of the city of Nikolaev”, “Square in Kherson” and other works.

The picture ["View of the city of Bakhchisarai"] is lively - everything is there, a correctly captured moment in nature, and movement; but don't come closer to the picture - the charm will disappear.

Pyotr Petrov, art critic and historian, 1860s

Critics often reproached Alekseev for being too monumental. They noticed that the artist uses the principles of decorative art in painting - he pays a lot of attention to the shape of objects. This was especially evident in the composition: he always strived to convey all the details of architectural structures with maximum accuracy. Sometimes Alekseev nevertheless departed from reality and supplemented city landscapes with unfinished or never existed buildings - in this he relied on the pictorial tradition of the 18th century. Almost all of the artist’s paintings belong to the veduta genre, which was very popular in Venice at that time - a detailed depiction of the city landscape.

Alekseev loved St. Petersburg and often painted its views. His paintings resembled the paintings of Italian masters. He used a similar color scheme, mostly light tones, and achieved the effect of “transparency” - it seemed that the artist was using watercolor rather than oil.

In 1800, Fyodor Alekseev watched as the construction of the Mikhailovsky Castle and the residence of Paul I was completed. Soon his “View of the Mikhailovsky Castle and Constable Square in St. Petersburg” appeared. The Emperor liked the painting so much that Alekseev was awarded the rank of collegiate assessor for it. Soon, on behalf of the sovereign, the artist was commissioned to create a series of city landscapes of Moscow.

The Emperor wanted to see the times of Muscovite Rus' in the paintings. In addition, members of the Academy of Arts instructed Alekseev “to capture from nature and convey in paintings and drawings all the areas that are remarkable in terms of historical and archaeological.” The artist set to work with enthusiasm. He had to spend a lot of time in the archives to study the old plans of the city. Alekseev approached the order responsibly - it was the city landscapes of Moscow that became the pinnacle of his creativity. Small watercolor sketches and monumental paintings formed a whole cycle. After that, he received orders from the most distinguished people.

He painted the first works of the Moscow cycle from life, among them the painting “Red Square with St. Basil’s Cathedral.” However, the artist did not limit himself to depicting Red Square alone. In October 1800 he wrote to Count Alexander Stroganov, president of the Academy of Arts: “At the discretion of Moscow, I found so many beautiful objects for paintings that I am at a loss as to which type to start with: it had to be decided, and I have already begun the first sketch of the square with St. Basil’s Church and will use the winter to paint the picture.”

Over the next year, Fyodor Alekseev and his students - Alexander Kunavin and Illarion Moshkov - created a series of Moscow landscapes. These paintings depict famous architectural structures, many of which have already been lost - churches and monasteries, estates and residences. Among the most significant works of this period are “View of the Church of St. Nicholas the Great Cross on Ilyinka”, “View of Strastnaya Square in Moscow”, “Panoramic view of the village of Kolomenskoye” and others. In 1801, the artist personally presented the most famous of these works to Emperor Alexander I - the painting “Red Square in Moscow”.

Fedor Alekseev. View of Ivanovskaya (Tsarskaya) Square (fragment). 1810s. State Research Museum of Architecture named after A.V. Shchuseva, Moscow

Fedor Alekseev. View of the Resurrection and Nikolsky Gates and Neglinny Bridge from Tverskaya Street in Moscow (fragment). 1811. State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

Fedor Alekseev. The square inside the Moscow Kremlin (fragment). 1810s. Museum-reserve "Tsarskoe Selo", Pushkin, St. Petersburg

In 1802, Fyodor Alekseev returned from Moscow to St. Petersburg, but for several more years he created Moscow city landscapes - “The Square Inside the Moscow Kremlin”, “View of the Resurrection and Nikolsky Gates and the Neglinny Bridge from Tverskaya Street in Moscow”, “View of Ivanovskaya ( Tsarskaya) Square". The views of the “first throne” brought Alekseev fame both at home and abroad. Young artists studied from his works, and the painter was constantly ordered copies of his most famous paintings. The artist’s works were also appreciated at the Academy - Fyodor Alekseev was invited to teach, and was also given the opportunity to teach a “perspective painting” class, where he taught students the basics of working with landscapes. Later, the artist was awarded the title of advisor.

Alekseev’s views increased interest in the appearance of ancient Russian cities and in the architectural monuments of Russian antiquity. They discovered a new type of landscapes, dictated by an interest in Russian history and ancient monuments.

Alexey Fedorov-Davydov, art critic, researcher of the work of Fedor Alekseev

In the 1810s, Alekseev again began to create landscapes of St. Petersburg: “View of the Spit of Vasilievsky Island from the Peter and Paul Fortress”, “View of the English Embankment”. One version of the painting “View of the Admiralty and Palace Embankment from the First Cadet Corps” was in the collection of the writer Pavel Svinin for a long time.

It’s hard to give preference to this picture [“View of the Admiralty and Palace Embankment from the First Cadet Corps”]: everything in it is so correct and natural, everything is touched with such a masterful brush that noise and movement appear everywhere, as in nature itself.

Pavel Svinin, writer

In recent works, as art historians note, Fyodor Alekseev began to move away from the Canaletto school and academicism. He added a slight negligence and exquisite decorativeness to his paintings.

When Alekseev is only Canaletto, he is interesting and you sincerely admire him; when he becomes himself - Fyodor Alekseev, he immediately transforms into the most significant figure in Russian art, into an artist who had a huge influence on the Russian landscape of the first half of the 19th century.

Igor Grabar, art critic, painter and restorer

Until the last years of his life, Fyodor Alekseev worked at the Academy of Arts, and at the same time continued to paint. On November 19, 1824, the most destructive flood in the entire history of the city hit St. Petersburg, and Alekseev decided to capture it. A few days after his last sketch, on November 23, 1824, the artist died. He was 71 years old. The painter was buried at the Smolensk Orthodox cemetery in St. Petersburg.

Fedor Alekseev. View of the Admiralty and Palace Embankment from the First Cadet Corps (fragment). 1810s. State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg

Fedor Alekseev. St. Petersburg flood of 1824 on the square near the Bolshoi Theater (fragment). 1824. State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg

Fedor Alekseev. View of the Promenade des Anglais (fragment). 1810s. State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg

1. For seven years, Fyodor Alekseev created scenery for theaters in St. Petersburg. None of his theatrical works have survived. Stage decorations were in great demand in Russia in the 18th century: they were remade many times and transported from theater to theater, and dilapidated ones were written off or destroyed. Only a small sketch of the interior decoration of the fantastic temple has survived - the painting “In the Temple” with the caption “1820”. Researchers believe that the date for the work was set much later than it was created. “In the Temple” is too different from the rest of the artistic heritage of Fyodor Alekseev and, by all indications, belongs to his early works.

2. At the beginning of the 20th century, Russian collectors came into possession of a postcard depicting the St. Petersburg flood of 1824. It was signed “Alekseev”. Until 1907, it was believed that it was painted by the artist Alexander Alekseev, a student of Alexei Venetsianov. Art critic Igor Grabar denied this. He noticed that Alexander Alekseev was only 13 years old in 1824, and the picture was painted by a mature author. “It is difficult to admit that it was he [Alexander Alekseev] who was the author of the picture; Meanwhile, in the lists of artistic works of the Tsarskoye Selo Palace, where the painting came from, it was stated that its author was Alekseev. The flood, as you know, happened on November 7, [Fyodor] Alekseev died on November 11. The painting, apparently painted in one or two sessions, could thus be the last work of a tireless artist, made by an already numb hand.”, - wrote Grabar in an essay about Fyodor Alekseev.

Alekseev Fedor Yakovlevich is a famous Russian landscape artist of the 18th century. He became one of the first masters of perspective painting and made a great contribution to the development of landscape in Russian art.

Fyodor Yakovlevich was born in 1753 into a poor family of a watchman. At the age of 11 he entered the Imperial Academy of Arts. He studied ornamental sculpture with Louis Rolland, still life with Heinrich Fonderminte, landscape painting with Antonio Perezinotti. He graduated from his studies in 1773 with a 1st degree certificate and was awarded silver and gold medals.

After graduating from the Academy, Fyodor Alekseev received the right to an internship abroad for his academic success. He went to Venice, where he studied the craft of a theater decorator. The Academy insisted on this, since there were no theatrical artists in Russia at that time. The young man's teachers were Gaspari and Moretti. However, Alekseev was not the most diligent student; he constantly received complaints to the Academy of Arts about his frivolous behavior. However, the young man came to his senses in time, and he was not deprived of his pension, but even extended his trip for a year.

During the internship, Alekseev became acquainted with veduta, a genre of painting that depicts the city landscape in detail. Veduta was very popular in 18th century Venice. In Italy, the young artist studied creativity, A. Canale, D. Piranesi.

Returning to Alekseev, he entered the service in the workshop of the imperial theaters. However, this was not the main goal of the artist. He dreamed of painting landscapes, which he did in his free time. Alekseev went to and copied the works of Vernet, Belotto. The copies were so good that Catherine II herself gave orders to the young artist. Fyodor Yakovlevich was finally able to leave his job as a decorator and devote his time entirely to painting.

He draws views of St. Petersburg - the Peter and Paul Fortress and the Palace Embankment. The city in Alekseev’s works appears photographically accurately written, solemn and majestic. In 1794, the artist received the title of academician for these landscapes. In 1795, Alekseev, after the solemn trip of Catherine II to Taurida, received a business trip to Crimea and Ukraine. He paints views of Kherson, Nikolaev, Bakhchisarai.

In 1800, on behalf of Paul I, Alekseev and two students traveled to. Over the course of a year and a half, he painted several paintings and many watercolors. The artist depicted the Moscow Kremlin, Red Square, city churches and streets with amazing authenticity. His “Moscow series” was such a success that nobles and museums began to place orders for Alekseev.

Since 1803, Fyodor Yakovlevich has been working as a teacher of perspective painting at the Academy of Arts. The artist continues to paint views of St. Petersburg. Now he pays more attention to the city life of ordinary people, depicting people against the backdrop of the solemn classical buildings of the capital. The coloring of the works became warmer, the graphics acquired “density,” and the shapes became more distinct. Alekseev depicted views of the Promenade des Anglais, the Admiralty, the Kazan Cathedral, and Vasilyevsky Island.

Being an old man, the artist was often ill and suffered from paralysis, but continued to paint. F.Ya. Alekseev died on November 11, 1824. His last work was supposedly a sketch of a flood in St. Petersburg. The Academy of Arts allocated funds for the artist's funeral and benefits for his large family.

Alekseev made a great contribution to the development of Russian landscape painting. The artist left us views of Moscow, St. Petersburg and other Russian cities, conveyed with amazing accuracy and attention to detail. Looking at his paintings, it is interesting to compare how cities looked then and what is happening to them now. Alekseev's works are stored in

Alekseev Fedor YakovlevichFedor Yakovlevich Alekseev is a wonderful painter, the founder of Russian landscape painting, in particular, the urban landscape.

The artist was born in 1753 (the exact date of his birth is not known) and was the son of a watchman at the Academy of Sciences. From 1766 to 1973 he studied at the Academy of Arts in a class called “painting of flowers and fruits,” and then moved to the landscape department. In 1773, having received a gold medal for program work, he was sent to Venice, where he spent three years studying painting for theatrical designs, although he did not like them.

Alekseev’s passion for the fantastic engravings of Piranesi was not approved by the authorities of the Art Academy, so upon returning home he received a dry, restrained reception. He was not offered any programs to obtain an academic title. On the contrary, he was simply forced to accept the position of theater decorator, in which he worked from 1779 to 1786. Alekseev managed to leave his unloved job thanks to his excellent copying of landscapes by J. Bernet, G. Robert and B. Belotto from the Hermitage collection. His copies, skillfully reproducing the picturesque atmosphere of the originals, received incredible success. Thanks to these works, the artist Fedor Yakovlevich Alekseev gained the opportunity to paint original landscapes.

View of the Moscow Kremlin from the Kamenny Bridge

In his landscapes, the artist creates a perfect, sublime and at the same time very vivid image of a majestic, large and incomparable city in its sophistication. Ideality in his works is closely intertwined with reality and is in complete harmony with it.

Cathedral Square of the Moscow Kremlin

In 1794, the paintings of Fyodor Yakovlevich Alekseev brought their creator the title of academician of painting.



A year later, the artist was sent to Crimea and Novorossiya in order to capture the places visited by Empress Catherine II in 1787.



The artist creates wonderful landscapes of Bakhchisaray, Kherson, Nikolaev.



In 1800, on the instructions of Emperor Paul I, Alekseev created a number of Moscow landscapes.



The artist became deeply interested in ancient Russian architecture and brought from Moscow, after staying there for more than a year, not only a series of paintings, but also many watercolor works with views of Moscow suburbs, monasteries, streets, and mainly various views of the Kremlin.



These works made a great impression on a number of influential people and representatives of the imperial house, who became Alekseev’s customers.

"The Boyar's Playground or the Bed Porch and the Church of the Savior Behind the Golden Lattice in the Moscow Kremlin"

A little later, the artist returns in his work to his beloved theme of St. Petersburg.



But the theme of his works has now changed - the artist became more interested in ordinary people: their world and life against the background of the luxury of palaces and the majestic Neva.



The main characters occupying the foreground of the paintings were the townspeople with their everyday worries.



The paintings now have more volume and clarity, and their coloring has become much warmer.

Alekseev Fedor Yakovlevich (1753-1824). Russian artist Alekseev Fyodor Yakovlevich Alekseev Fyodor Yakovlevich was the first Russian artist who became known as a master of painting, talentedly and realistically depicting the city landscape. He was born and raised in a poor family of a watchman at the Academy of Sciences. In 1766, the father applied for admission of his son to the Academy of Arts, after which in 1773 Fyodor received a small gold medal for a masterfully executed program landscape. For his demonstrated success, he was sent to improve his artistic skills in Venice, where he studied with such famous masters as D. Moretti and P. Gaspari, and later became interested in the city landscape of Venice. This occupation was not approved by the Academy of Arts, as a result of which Alekseev, upon returning to his homeland, did not receive any program for nomination for an academic title, but was sent as a set designer to a theater school.

While doing this unloved work, at the same time he creates very talented copies of paintings by famous urban landscape painters A. Canale, B. Bellotto, G. Robert and J. Bernet, which brought him great fame. This gave Fyodor Alekseev the opportunity to finally leave his job as a decorator and work directly on the city landscape. For successfully created paintings with landscapes of St. Petersburg, Alekseev was finally awarded the title of academician by the Academy of Arts.

The best works of Fedor Alekseev

View of the Mikhailovsky Castle in St. Petersburg from the Fontanka

Mikhailovsky Castle St. Petersburg

After that, he was sent to the south of Russia, where he stayed for two years and wrote such famous works as “View of the city of Nikolaev”, “View of the city of Bakhchisarai” and others.

View of the city of Nikolaev

Later, on behalf of Emperor Paul I, Fyodor Alekseev went to Moscow and created a number of well-known works there, after which he returned to St. Petersburg and continued his work there until the end of his days.

Boyar Square in the Moscow Kremlin

View of St. Basil's Cathedral from Moskvoretskaya Street

Illumination on Cathedral Square in honor of the coronation of Emperor Alexander I.

Red Square in Moscow

A distinctive feature of the artist Fyodor Alekseev is that not many works depicting landscapes of Moscow and St. Petersburg can be found created in the 18th century.

Panoramic view of Tsaritsyno

Square in front of the Assumption Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin

Cathedral Square in the Moscow Kremlin

Trinity-Sergius Lavra

In 1802, Fyodor Yakovlevich Alekseev began teaching at the Academy of Arts. At this time, his students were S.F. Shchedrin and M.N. Vorobyov, who later became famous artists.

Unfortunately, Fedor Yakovlevich Alekseev died as a poor man and was buried at the Smolensk Orthodox Cemetery in St. Petersburg. True, the Academy of Arts allocated some funds for the funeral of a talented painter and to help a large family.