Alexei Ivanovich Belsky (Russian: Алексе́й Ива́нович Бе́льский; 1726,

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 ...

- 21 May 1796, Saint Petersburg) was a Russian painter. He was part of the "Belsky Dynasty" of painters of the Eighteenth Century and a teacher at the

Imperial Academy of Arts The Imperial Academy of Arts, informally known as the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts, was an art academy in Saint Petersburg, founded in 1757 by Ivan Shuvalov, the founder of the Imperial Moscow University, under the name ''Academy of th ...

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@ Russian Wikisource He specialized in landscapes, allegories and historical subjects.

Biography

In the mid 1740s, he and his brother Ivan Ivanovich were enrolled at the "Канцелярия от строений" (Chancellory of Buildings), where they studied with Ivan Vishnyakov, among others. He painted murals, fresco panels and theatrical scenery for several Imperial Palaces, as well as icons for St Andrew's Church, Kiev. In 1762, together with Ivan, he provided some paintings for the "Triumphal Arch", celebrating the coronation of

Catherine the Great 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 I ...

. In 1764, he was elected to the Academy. In 1771, a series of didactic murals he executed for the

Smolny Institute The Smolny Institute () is a Palladian edifice in Saint Petersburg that has played a major part in the history of Russia, notably as a center of women's education, and the headquarters of the Bolsheviks during the early stages of the October Re ...

(one of the Institutes for Noble Maidens) resulted in an award of what was then the immense sum of 70 Rubles. The following year, he achieved the rank of Master Painter. In 1773, he was presented with a charter of liberty from the Academy, granting him and his progeny freedom from the poll-tax, conscription, enserfment and other possible obligations.

Four of the didactic murals

Image:Алексей Бельский 3.jpg, "Do not be a ne'er do well" Image:Алексей Бельский 4.jpg, "Do not harm any animal" Image:Алексей Бельский 5.jpg, "Do not do evil and do not annoy anyone" Image:Алексей Бельский 6.jpg, "Do not lie"

References

External links

1726 births 1796 deaths Painters from the Russian Empire Male painters from the Russian Empire {{Russia-painter-stub

Biography

Four of the didactic murals

References

Further reading

External links