Evgraf Semenovich Sorokin, or Yevgraf Semyonovich Sorokin (; 18 December 1821, Nekrasovskoye (Bolshie Soli) – 1892,

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 ...

) was a Russian artist and teacher; known for historical, religious and

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 ...

paintings.

Biography

His first exposure to art came from an

icon painter An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Catholic, and Lutheran churches. The most common subjects include Jesus, Mary, saints, and angels. Although especially ...

Yaroslavl Yaroslavl (; , ) is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historic part of the city is a World Heritage Site, and is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Kotorosl rivers. ...

. After a period of apprenticeship, a local priest who liked his work suggested that he create a painting of

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

discovering the artist,

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 ...

, for an upcoming visit by Tsar Nicholas I.Brief biography
@ RusArtNet. This painting was presented to the Tsar, who was sufficiently impressed to issue an order that Sorokin should study at the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts. In 1841, he entered the Academy under the supervision of

Alexey Tarasovich Markov Alexey Tarasovich Markov (, 24 March 1802 - 12 March 1878) was a Russian painter, best known for his history paintings and church decorations, typical of the Neoclassical style. Biography His father was a watchmaker. He studied at the Impe ...

. The following year, he was already receiving praise from the Academy Council. He won several silver medals and, in 1847, was awarded a gold medal for his rendering of

Daniel in the lions' den Daniel in the lions' den (chapter 6 of the Book of Daniel) tells of how the biblical Daniel is saved from Asiatic lions by the God of Israel "because I was found blameless before him" (Daniel 6:22). It parallels and complements chapter 3, the ...

. Two years later, his painting of the folk hero, Ian Usmovets, won him a gold medal and a stipend to study abroad. He was in Spain from 1851 to 1854 and Italy from 1855 to 1859. In between, he toured Western Europe; visiting Egypt and Syria as well. Some of the works he created in Spain are among his best-known. In 1859, he returned home and was appointed a teacher at the

Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture The Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (), also known by the acronym MUZHVZ, was one of the largest educational institutions in Russia. The school was formed by the 1865 merger of a private art college, established in Moscow ...

, where he remained until his death. In 1861, he was named an "Academician" and created an

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 ...

for the new Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Paris. Later, he worked at the

Cathedral of Christ the Saviour The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour (, ) is a Russian Orthodox Church, Russian Orthodox cathedral in Moscow, Russia, on the northern bank of the Moskva River, a few hundred metres southwest of the Kremlin. With an overall height of , it is the ...

, where he also created an iconostasis and completed some images that had been left unfinished by

Fyodor Bruni Fedele Giovanni Baroffi Bruni,. russified as Fyodor Antonovich Bruni (10 June 1799 – 30 August 1875) was a List of Russian artists, Russian painter and draughtsman of Swiss Italian descent, active during the Romanticism, Romantic period, best kn ...

. For that work, he was promoted to "Professor" in 1878. His exact date of death is apparently unrecorded.

Selected paintings

Laughing Italian girl (1857), by Evgraf Semenovich Sorokin.jpg, ''Laughing Italian girl'' (1857) File:Rendezvous by E.Sorokin (1858, Tretyakov gallery).jpg, ''Rendezvous'' (1858) File:Evgraf Semenovich Sorokin - Crucifixion.jpg, ''

The Crucifixion The crucifixion of Jesus was the death of Jesus by being nailed to a cross.The instrument of crucifixion is taken to be an upright wooden beam to which was added a transverse wooden beam, thus forming a "cruciform" or T-shaped structure. ...

'' (1873) File:Sorokin-Spanish Romani people.jpg, ''Spanish Gypsies'' (1853) File:Evgraf Semenovich Sorokin - Ian Usmovets Stopping an Angry Bull.jpg, ''Folk-hero Ian Usmovets Stopping an Angry Bull'' (1849) File:Beggar-girl Spaniard (Evgraf Sorokin).jpg, ''Spanish Beggar Girl'' (1852)

References

Literary sources

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sorokin, Evgraf Semenovich 19th-century painters from the Russian Empire Russian male painters 1821 births 1892 deaths Russian genre painters Religious artists Icon painters People from Nekrasovsky District 19th-century male artists from the Russian Empire Academic staff of the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture