Aleksey Petrovich Antropov (; – ) was a Russian

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

active primarily in

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

, where he was born and died. He also worked in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

and frescoed churches in

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

. His preferred medium was oil, but he also painted miniatures and

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic Church, Catholic, and Lutheranism, Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, mother of ...

Life and work

Alexei was born to the family of a government official who worked in the Armory and in the "Канцелярия от строений" (Chancellory of Buildings). Beginning in 1732, Alexei worked at the Chancellory under his relative

Andrey Matveyev Count Andrey Artamonovich Matveev () (1666–1728) was a Russian statesman of the Petrine epoch best remembered as one of the first Russian ambassadors and Peter the Great's agent in London and The Hague. Andrey Matveyev was the son of the more ...

. After 1739 he was a member of the "painting team" of the Chancellory under Ivan Vishnyakov. As a member of the team Alexei took part in the frescoing of the

Summer Palace The Summer Palace () is a vast ensemble of lakes, gardens and palaces in Beijing. It was an imperial garden during the Qing dynasty. Inside includes Longevity Hill () Kunming Lake and Seventeen Hole Bridge. It covers an expanse of , three-quar ...

Winter Palace The Winter Palace is a palace in Saint Petersburg that served as the official residence of the House of Romanov, previous emperors, from 1732 to 1917. The palace and its precincts now house the Hermitage Museum. The floor area is 233,345 square ...

Anichkov Palace The Anichkov Palace, a former imperial palace in Saint Petersburg, stands at the intersection of Nevsky Avenue and the Fontanka River. History 18th century The palace, situated on the plot formerly owned by Antonio de Vieira (1682?-1745), ...

and other buildings of

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. He also studied portrait art from the court painter Louis Caravaque of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. In 1749 Alexei received the rank of the Painter's Apprentice and at the end of the 1750s the rank of the Master Painter. Antropov Unknown

In 1752-1755, he worked on the interiors of the St Andrew's Church in

. He supervised the installation of the

iconostasis In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis () is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a Church (building), church. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand that can be placed anywhere withi ...

and frescoed

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout. The word derives, via Ital ...

s and walls. The most prominent of his frescoes in the church is the

Last Supper Image:The Last Supper - Leonardo Da Vinci - High Resolution 32x16.jpg, 400px, alt=''The Last Supper'' by Leonardo da Vinci - Clickable Image, ''The Last Supper (Leonardo), The Last Supper'' (1495-1498). Mural, tempera on gesso, pitch and mastic ...

in the altar. He started to paint portraits before his Kiev period. The earliest known portraits of his are portraits of

Elizabeth of Russia Elizabeth or Elizaveta Petrovna (; ) was Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death in 1762. She remains one of the most popular List of Russian rulers, Russian monarchs because of her decision not to execute a single person during her reign, ...

. He did not meet his model, but based the paintings on the works of his teacher, Louis Caravaque. From 1755 to 1757 he worked in Moscow frescoing the Golovkin palace. Here he met prince

Ivan Shuvalov Ivan Ivanovich Shuvalov (; 1 November 172726 November 1797) was called the ''Maecenas'' (patron) of the Russian Enlightenment, the first Russian Minister of Education and Active Privy Councillor (1773). Russia's first theatre, university, and ...

who supported Antropov's work for the rest of his life. From 1757 to 1759 Antropov returned to Saint-Petersburg and obtained further instruction from court painter

Pietro Rotari Pietro Antonio Rotari (30 September 1707 – 31 August 1762) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. Born in Verona, he led a peripatetic career, and died in Saint Petersburg, where he had traveled to paint for the Russian court. His portr ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Historians consider his portrait of A.M. Izmaylova to be a sort of a graduation work. The 1760s were probably the most productive period of the artist. He painted many good portraits among the Portrait of Ataman Krasnoschekov, Portrait of Rumyantseva. Ivan Shuvalov planned to move him to Moscow, so Antropov could teach art the

Moscow University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, and six branches. Al ...

. For some reason this plan was cancelled and Antropov instead got the job at the

Synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word '' synod'' comes from the Ancient Greek () ; the term is analogous with the Latin word . Originally, ...

of the

Russian Orthodox Church The Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; ;), also officially known as the Moscow Patriarchate (), is an autocephaly, autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The Primate (bishop), p ...

, there he supervised icon painting, decorated the churches, drew the portraits of church hierarchs and supervised art students. Among his apprentices was

Dmitry Levitzky Dmitry Grigoryevich Levitzky or Levitsky (; ; – ) was a Russian portrait painter and academician. Biography He was born to , a priest, who was also an amateur painter and engraver and served as his first art teacher. In 1758, he moved to S ...

, who actually lived in his teacher's house. In 1762

Peter III of Russia Peter III Fyodorovich (; ) was Emperor of Russia from 5 January 1762 until 9 July of the same year, when he was overthrown by his wife, Catherine II (the Great). He was born in the German city of Kiel as Charles Peter Ulrich of Schleswig-Holst ...

became the new Emperor. Antropov soon became his favorite painter. For the six months of Peter III's rule, Antropov painted at least four of his portraits. After the palace revolt, the new Empress,

Catherine II Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter III ...

had a much lower opinion of Antropov's talents. At that time, artists preferred a soft combinations of colors and some flattering for the ceremonial portraits. Antropov preferred the traditional icon and parsuna portraits, based on a sharp contrast of colors with a dark background. In 1789 Antropov made a personal sacrifice, transferring his only house to the Department of Education for organizing a Free School there. In 1795 Antropov died of a fever and was buried in the Lazarevskoe Cemetery at the

Alexander Nevsky Monastery Saint Alexander Nevsky Lavra or Saint Alexander Nevsky Monastery was founded by Peter I of Russia in 1710 at the eastern end of the Nevsky Prospekt in Saint Petersburg, in the belief that this was the site of the Neva Battle in 1240 when Alex ...

, in Saint Petersburg.

Works

File:Elizabeth of Russia by A.Antropov (18th c, GRM).jpg, Elizabeth Petrovna File:Peter III by Antropov (1753, Russian museum).jpg, Grand Duke Peter (later Peter III) File:Antropov Ek Alex.jpg, Grand Duchess Ekaterina Alekseyevna (future Catherine II) File:F.I.Krasnoschekov by Antropov (1761, Russian museum).jpg,

Ataman Ataman (variants: ''otaman'', ''wataman'', ''vataman''; ; ) was a title of Cossack and haidamak leaders of various kinds. In the Russian Empire, the term was the official title of the supreme military commanders of the Cossack armies. The Ukra ...

Krasnoshchekov, 1761 File:Antropov Buturlina.jpg, A.V. Buturlina, 1763 File:Antropov Rumyantseva.jpg, M.A. Rumyantseva, 1764 File:Catherine II by Alexey Antropov (18th c, Tver gallery).jpg, Catherine II, 1760s File:Antropov Archbishop Gavriil.jpg, Archbishop Gavriil, 1774 File:Portrait of Father Fyodor Dubyansky.jpg, Father Fyodor Dubyansky, 1761 File:Antropov Self.jpg, Self-portrait, 1784

Sources

*
Pelevin Yu A. ''Alexei Petrovich Antropov''

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Antropov, Alexei Portrait painters from the Russian Empire 1716 births 1795 deaths Painters from Saint Petersburg 18th-century painters from the Russian Empire Male painters from the Russian Empire Fresco painters Burials at Lazarevskoe Cemetery (Saint Petersburg)

Life and work

Works

See also

Sources

External links