Background
His father was the upholsterer for the Imperial Court.
engraver head professor rector
His father was the upholsterer for the Imperial Court.
He was best-known for portraits and reproductions of the Old Masters. He was enrolled in the primary school courses at the Imperial Academy of Arts and, in 1819, entered the engraving class, serving as an apprentice of Nikolai Utkin. In 1829, he went to Paris, where he studied with Théodore Richomme.
When the July Revolution began, he moved to London, continuing his studies with Abraham Raimbach and John Henry Robinson.
In 1834, he settled in Rome where, at the urging of Karl Briullov, he produced a huge engraving of the "Transfiguration" by Raphael, which took him twelve (some sources say fifteen) years to complete. He was named an Academician by the Imperial Academy in 1844 and was awarded the title of Professor in 1850, when he returned to Saint St. Petersburg.
After the death of Stepan Galaktionov in 1854, he became head of the engraving department at the Academy and was appointed an assistant curator for prints and drawings at the Hermitage. In 1861, he gave private engraving lessons to Taras Shevchenko.
He was promoted to head curator of prints after the death of Nikolai Utkin in 1863.
Eight years later, he became a Rector in the painting and sculpture departments (the only time this position has been held by an engraver) and, in 1876, was named a superintendent in the mosaic division. Towards the end of his life, he was appointed Privy Councilor.
As a result of this work, he became an honorary member of the Academy of Arts, Berlin and the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno in Florence.