Legashov Anton Portrait of an Elderly Chinese

Anton Mikhailovich Legashov, also Legashev or Legashyov (Russian: Антон Михайлович Легашов, or Легашёв; 1798 in Lipovka,

Luninsky District Luninsky District () is an administrativeLaw #774-ZPO and municipalLaw #690-ZPO district (raion), one of the twenty-seven in Penza Oblast, Russia. It is located in the north of the oblast. The area of the district is . Its administrative center is ...

– 1865 in

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 ...

) was a Russian landscape and portrait painter.

Biography

He was born to family of

serf Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery. It developed du ...

s. At first, he studied music, then later switched to

joinery Joinery is a part of woodworking that involves joining pieces of wood, engineered lumber, or synthetic substitutes (such as laminate), to produce more complex items. Some woodworking joints employ mechanical fasteners, bindings, or adhesives ...

. In 1818, he was given his freedom and, in 1820, went to Saint Petersburg, where he audited classes 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 ...

.Brief biography
@ RusArtNet. He first displayed special skills as a portrait painter when he studied with

Alexander Varnek Alexander Grigoryevich Varnek (; February 15, 1782 – March 19, 1843) was a Russian painter. He was known for his portraits of figures in Russian society. Biography He was a pupil of Dmitry Levitzky and Stepan Shchukin at the Imperial Acade ...

. His works were awarded a silver medal in 1824. The following year, the Academy's steering committee was prepared to name him an "Artist", 14th-class, but the proposal was rejected by Tsar Nicholas I (a self-styled art connoisseur), who had seen his work and felt that it was premature to give him the title; suggesting that at least one more year of works be evaluated first.Brief biography
@ Russian Paintings, In 1829, at the suggestion of the Academy's President, Legashov presented the Tsar with a portrait of Major General . It was, however, found unsatisfactory (the Tsar was especially displeased with the hands, apparently) and Legashov's application was once again rejected.Brief biography
from the

Russian Biographical Dictionary The ''Russian Biographical Dictionary'' (''RBD''; ) is a Russian-language biographical dictionary published by the Imperial Russian Historical Society and edited by a collective with Alexander Polovtsov as the editor-in-chief An editor-in-c ...

@ Russian WikiSource. Legashev A

At the end of that year, he finally received his title and joined the Eleventh Russian Spiritual Mission to

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

(1830-1840) as the mission's official artist. After he had been there for several months, it is said that crowds were flocking to the Russian compound, demanding portraits. Based on a report by Legashov, he completed 26 historical scenes and 24 portraits of various Chinese dignitaries, now in Russia, as well as a number of religious scenes for use in Beijing. He also helped restore murals at the and was awarded the

Order of Saint Stanislaus The Order of Saint Stanislaus (, ), also spelled Stanislas, was a Polish order of knighthood founded in 1765 by King Stanisław August Poniatowski of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. It remained under the Congress Poland, Kingdom of Pola ...

for his overall contributions to the mission. Upon his return in 1841, he suggested that the Academy allow him to teach

Chinese ink painting Ink wash painting ( zh, t=水墨畫, s=水墨画, p=shuǐmòhuà) is a type of Chinese ink brush painting which uses washes of black ink, such as that used in East Asian calligraphy, in different concentrations. It emerged during the Tang dynasty ...

there, but his proposal was rejected on the grounds that it was considered inferior to European art and he was not knowledgeable enough to be an instructor. Instead, he became a drawing teacher at the

Saint Petersburg State Institute of Technology Saint Petersburg State Institute of Technology (Technical University) () was founded in 1828. It is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in Russia, and currently trains around 5,000 students. History In the past, the institute w ...

; a position he held until 1852. He continued to create paintings with Chinese motifs and themes; including landscapes,

genre Genre () is any style or form of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other fo ...

scenes and

still-life A still life (: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or human-made (drinking glasses, books, ...

s. His works are in several museums in Moscow, as well as in

Vladivostok Vladivostok ( ; , ) is the largest city and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai and the capital of the Far Eastern Federal District of Russia. It is located around the Zolotoy Rog, Golden Horn Bay on the Sea of Japan, covering an area o ...

and private collections.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Legashov, Anton 1798 births 1865 deaths 19th-century painters from the Russian Empire Male painters from the Russian Empire Portrait painters from the Russian Empire Landscape painters from the Russian Empire People from Penza Oblast Recipients of the Order of Saint Stanislaus (House of Romanov)