Background
He grew up in the German community of Tallinn ("Reval", in German), and studied in Saint St. Petersburg at the studios of the English painter George Dawe.
He grew up in the German community of Tallinn ("Reval", in German), and studied in Saint St. Petersburg at the studios of the English painter George Dawe.
Between 1822 and 1828 Dawe, together with Golicke and another of his students, Alexander Polyakov (1801-1835), a serf, painted 332 portraits of Tsarist Generals who had distinguished themselves in the war against Napoleon. The paintings were placed in the Military Gallery of the Winter Palace. After Dawes" death, Golicke studied at the Imperial Academy of Arts.
He graduated in 1832 and was named an "Independent Artist" (Cвободный Xудожник), a sign of official recognition.
In 1837, he visited England and Italy. He died in Saint St. Petersburg, of cholera, in 1848.
His post-Dawe work consisted largely of genre paintings, still-lifes and scenes from history.