Background

Fyodor Solntsev was born on April 14, 1801, in Mologa, Russian Federation. His parents were serfs of Count Ivan Alekseyevich Musin-Pushkin. His father, Grigory Konstantinovich Solntsev, worked as a box-office attendant for the Imperial theaters in Saint Petersburg and traveled to the village very infrequently while his mother, Elizaveta Frolovna Solntseva, was a peasant and lived all her life in the village.

Fedor spent his early life with his mother and siblings. His younger brother, Yegor Solntsev, was also a notable painter.

Education

Solntsev entered the Imperial Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg in 1815 and became a pupil of Alexei Yegorov and Stepan Shchukin. He graduated from the Academy in 1824.

Career

Fedor Solntsev's work was supported by the President of Imperial Academy of Arts Alexey Olenin and Emperor Nicholas. The Emperor commissioned Solntsev to decorate dinner parties and embellish his private apartments in the Kremlin.

Through his life, Solntsev worked on the restoration of many Moscow Kremlin buildings including the Grand Kremlin Palace and Kremlin Armoury. He painted Cathedral of Christ the Saviour and other churches in Moscow.

Solntsev also worked in Kiev with restoration and describing artifacts of Kiev Pechersk Lavra. He painted the interiors of the Krestovozdvizhenskaya Church there.

Besides, Olenin commissioned Solntsev to describe archaeological and historical artifacts of Russian state. He started to work in 1830 and made more than 3000 highly detailed drawing of different artifacts including the record of all the Kremlin's riches.

In 1876 Solntsev was appointed Professor of the Imperial Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg.

Fedor Solntsev died on March 3, 1892, and was buried in Volkovo Cemetery in Saint Petersburg.

Achievements

• Fedor Solntsev was best known as a painter and historian of art. He was the main author of the fundamental work "Antiquities of the Russian State" and the main decorator of interiors of the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow. Besides, he was noted for discovering and restoring mosaics and frescoes of Saint Sophia's Cathedral and Cathedral of the Dormition of Kiev Pechersk Lavra in Kiev, and of Cathedral of Saint Demetrius in Vladimir.
  
  Moreover, Fedor Solntsev was considered one of the founders of modern Russian icon painting canon synthesizing ancient Russian traditions, post-Petrine efforts and modern art discoveries.
  
  He received a "Lesser Gold Medal" for his painting "A Peasant Family" in 1824 and the "Greater Gold Medal" from the Academy for his painting Render unto Caesar in 1827.

Works

More photos

• painting

  • From portrait of the nun Martha Ivanovna

  • St George

  • People clothes the province of Kiev

  • Burgher from Zhitomir in the cloak

  • Clothing woman from Kiev Province

  • Silk robe of Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich IV

  • Polish coat of Peter the Great

  • The Fun Palace

  • Mobleman Clothing of the XVII century. Morning silk kaftan

  • Chernigov region from Kaliatinskiy farm

  • Kiev province from village Kurenevka

  • On the iconographic image of the Saviour, the Nereditskaya church

  • Clothing of queens. With portraits of queens Evdokia Lukianovny and Natalia Kirilovna

  • People clothes the province of Kiev

  • People clothes the province of Kiev

  • Clothing of the Russian state

  • Clothing woman from Kiev Province

  • Royal Clothing of the XVII century. The image of Tsar Fedor Alekseevich

  • Kiev Philistine

  • From portrait of the Naryshkin. Royal Clothing

  • From Svyatoslav's snornik

  • From portrait of Margaret Alekseevny

  • From Svyatoslav's snornik

  • Dress of the Kiev girls

  • Dress of the Kiev girls

  • Little Russian bride

  • Images of the VC. Vasily Dmitrievich and VC. Sofia Vitovtovna

  • The coat from armoury

  • Skipper dress of Peter the Great

  • Royal Clothing of the XVII century

  • From Nereditskaya Church

  • Patriarchal ognennik.Clothes of Archer.

  • Royal and nobleman clothing of the XVII century

  • Man in armour of Tsar Alex

  • From the wedding of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich

  • People clothes the province of Kiev

  • Kiev province

Membership

In 1836 Solntsev became a member of the Imperial Academy of Arts.

Connections

Father:

Grigory Konstantinovich Solntsev

Mother:

Elizaveta Frolovna Solntsev

Brother:

Yegor Solntsev

Yegor Solntsev graduated from the Imperial Academy of Art.

teacher:

Alexei Yegorov

teacher:

Stepan Shchukin