Nicholas Lokhoff or Nikolai Nikolaevich Lokhoff (; ; 20 October 1872 – 7 July 1948) was a Russian painter-copyist and restorer.

Biography

Lokhoff was born into a merchant family. His father, Nikolai Nikolaevich Lokhov (; ? — 1902.02.25,

Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=Ru-Псков.oga, p=psˈkof; see also Names of Pskov in different languages, names in other languages) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov O ...

, Mironositskoe cemetery), was a hereditary honorary citizen of the city of Pskov who traded in iron. In 1882 he entered the preparatory class of the Pskov Provincial Gymnasium, where, with interruptions due to illness, he studied until 1891. Then he transferred to the 8th Gymnasium of the Imperial Philanthropic Society 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, ...

, from which he graduated in 1893. In the same year he entered the Law Faculty of

St. Petersburg University Saint Petersburg State University (SPBGU; ) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the Great, the university from the be ...

. In subsequent years, for various reasons, he was dismissed several times and was reinstated at the university. In March 1899 he was finally dismissed for participating in student unrest. After expulsion from the university, Lokhov lived in Pskov, where he met

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

who was exiled there in 1900 (Lenin had no right to return to the capital after exile in Shushenskoye). On 13 October 1900 Lokhoff was sentenced to expulsion to the Astrakhan Governorate under police supervision for four years, but fled abroad. He lived in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, where he met again with

Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

. From 1899 to 1905 he was a member of the RSDLP, adjoined the wing of the

Economists An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this field there are ...

, and headed the foreign editorial office of the newspaper ''

Rabochaya Mysl ''Rabochaya Mysl'' (, ''Workers' Thought'') was a Russian social-democrat newspaper and bearer of the Economism, Economist current. Sixteen numbers were published in total. The first two numbers were released in Saint Petersburg in October and D ...

'', which argued with Lenin's ''

Iskra ''Iskra'' (, , ''the Spark'') was a fortnightly political newspaper of Russian socialist emigrants established as the official organ of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP). History ''Iskra'' was published in exile and then smuggl ...

''. In the newspaper he wrote articles under the pseudonym "Olkhin" (). In 1901, he painted the famous drawing ''Social Pyramid''. This image was repeated several times in print and became the basis for creating numerous images under the general title ''

Pyramid of Capitalist System The Pyramid of Capitalist System is a common name of a 1911 American cartoon caricature critical of capitalism, copied from a Russian flyer of 1901. The graphic focus is on stratification by social class and economic inequality. The work has ...

''.

After the

2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party The 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party was held from July 30 to August 23 (July 17 – August 10, O.S.) 1903, starting in Brussels, Belgium (until August 6) and ending in London, England. Probably as a result of diplomat ...

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

(1903), together with other Russian revolutionaries, he was expelled from Belgium, moved to London, and from there to Paris. He earned his living selling his paintings. In 1906 he returned to Russia. By that time, he became disillusioned with revolutionary ideas, withdrew from political activities and devoted himself to art. The main goal of life was the creation for Russia of a gallery of copies of

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

es and paintings by masters of the

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( ) was a period in History of Italy, Italian history between the 14th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Western Europe and marked t ...

. The idea was supported by the director of the Moscow Museum of Fine Arts named after Alexander III, Ivan Vladimirovich Tsvetaev (the father of

Marina Tsvetaeva Marina Ivanovna Tsvetaeva ( rus, Марина Ивановна Цветаева, p=mɐˈrʲinə ɪˈvanəvnə tsvʲɪˈta(j)ɪvə, links=yes; 31 August 1941) was a Russian poet. Her work is some of the most well-known in twentieth-century Russ ...

). The financial support was provided by Vladimir Vasilievich Yakunchikov (the son of Vasily Ivanovich Yakunchikov) and the Society of Friends of the Idea of Lokhoff. The artist was given an advance payment for writing 70 copies and a manual for living abroad. In 1907, he left for Italy with his family and settled in Florence. By this time he was married to Maria Mitrofanovna Sizareva (). The future spouses met in St. Petersburg as students, and became inseparable for their whole long life together. In the Florentine Russian colony, Maria Lokhoff took a prominent place, she was a

churchwarden A churchwarden is a lay official in a parish or congregation of the Anglican Communion, Lutheran Churches or Catholic Church, usually working as a part-time volunteer. In the Anglican tradition, holders of these positions are ''ex officio'' mem ...

. In 1905, their son Boris was born in Paris; in 1915, their daughter Lydia was born in Florence. Lydia Nikolaevna Lokhoff, in her marriage as Cruciani, was engaged in translations from Russian into Italian. According to her texts, for example, the Florentine Opera and Ballet Theater ''Comunale'' staged the operas ''Mazeppa'' by

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular ...

and ''War and Peace'' by

Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''. , group=n ( – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who l ...

. Having no artistic education, Lokhoff was self-taught, intuitively learning the secrets of art and personally experiencing them. His copies were notable for perfect accuracy, absolute fidelity to the original. He himself made the primer and paint according to old recipes, repeated the texture of the works, the nature of the stroke, the sequence of the layer and glazes, the personal techniques of the

old masters In art history, "Old Master" (or "old master")Old Masters De ...

. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, he was cut off from Russia, stopped receiving benefits, was in poverty, but continued to work, not forsaking the dream to send home a collection of his "works". In the 1920s, he began to work on restoration professionally and received orders from the Italian government. In particular, he restored the frescoes of

Fra Angelico Fra Angelico, O.P. (; ; born Guido di Pietro; 18 February 1455) was a Dominican friar and Italian Renaissance painter of the Early Renaissance, described by Giorgio Vasari in his ''Lives of the Artists'' as having "a rare and perfect talent" ...

in the courtyard of the monastery of San Marco. In 1924–1925, as an expert on old Italian painting, he visited Paris several times. In 1927–1928 he sold several reproductions to museums and private collectors, but the paintings sold were necessarily repeated, taking care of the integrity of the collection. In the 1930s he painted landscapes of central Italy (about ten remained). LochoffFrickFineArts2

In the early 1920s Lokhoff established a relationship with the staff of the Fogg Art Museum at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. In several stages, the museum acquired three Florentine scenes from the maestro: Expulsion from the Garden of Eden by

Masaccio Masaccio (, ; ; December 21, 1401 – summer 1428), born Tommaso di Ser Giovanni di Simone, was a Florentine artist who is regarded as the first great List of Italian painters, Italian painter of the Quattrocento period of the Italian Renaiss ...

, from the church del Carmine; ''Procession of the Magi'' (

Benozzo Gozzoli Benozzo Gozzoli (; born Benozzo di Lese; 4 October 1497) was an Italian Renaissance painter from Florence. A pupil of Fra Angelico, Gozzoli is best known for a series of murals in the Magi Chapel of the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, depicting festi ...

), from the

Palazzo Medici Riccardi The Palazzo Medici, also called the Palazzo Medici Riccardi after the later family that acquired and expanded it, is a 15th-century Renaissance palace in Florence, Italy. It was built for the Medici family, who dominated the politics of the Repu ...

; and

Concert A concert, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...

Giorgione Giorgio Barbarelli da Castelfranco (; 1470s – 17 September 1510), known as Giorgione, was an Italian painter of the Venetian school during the High Renaissance, who died in his thirties. He is known for the elusive poetic quality of his work, ...

, from the

Palazzo Pitti The Palazzo Pitti (), in English sometimes called the Pitti Palace, is a vast, mainly Renaissance, palace in Florence, Italy. It is situated on the south side of the River Arno, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio. The core of the present ...

. Other American institutions that acquired works of Lokhoff included the Portland Art Museum in

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

(portraits of the Duke and Duchess of Urbino by

Piero della Francesca Piero della Francesca ( , ; ; ; – 12 October 1492) was an Italian Renaissance painter, Italian painter, mathematician and List of geometers, geometer of the Early Renaissance, nowadays chiefly appreciated for his art. His painting is charact ...

, from the

Uffizi The Uffizi Gallery ( ; , ) is a prominent art museum adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian museums and the most visited, it is also one of th ...

); St. Mark's School in Southborough (

Triptych A triptych ( ) is a work of art (usually a panel painting) that is divided into three sections, or three carved panels that are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all m ...

Giovanni Bellini Giovanni Bellini (; c. 1430 – 29 November 1516) was an Italian Renaissance painter, probably the best known of the Bellini family of Venetian painters. He was raised in the household of Jacopo Bellini, formerly thought to have been his father, ...

, from the Venetian dei Frari church); St. Paul's School in

Concord, New Hampshire Concord () is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Hampshire and the county seat, seat of Merrimack County, New Hampshire, Merrimack County. As of the 2020 United States census the population was 43,976, making it the List of municipalities ...

( Madonna and Two Saints by

Pietro Lorenzetti Pietro Lorenzetti (; – 1348) or Pietro Laurati was an Italian painter, active between and 1345. Together with his younger brother Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Ambrogio, he introduced Realism (arts), naturalism into Sienese School, Sienese art. In the ...

, from the Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi), and others. Nicholas Lokhoff died on 7 July 1948 and was buried in the so-called non-Catholic cemetery ''Allori''. The heirs of the artist through the embassy in Rome offered the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

to purchase a collection of copies, but the Soviets refused. Then, with the assistance of art historian Bernard Berenson, 22 copies were purchased by Helen Frick, daughter of American collector

Henry Clay Frick Henry Clay Frick (December 19, 1849 – December 2, 1919) was an American industrialist, financier, and art patron. He founded the H. C. Frick & Company coke manufacturing company, was chairman of the Carnegie Steel Company and played a major ...

, who eventually donated them to the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The university is composed of seventeen undergraduate and graduate schools and colle ...

where they are currently displayed in the Nicholas Lochoff Cloister of the university's

Frick Fine Arts Building The Henry Clay Frick Fine Arts Building is a landmark Renaissance villa and a contributing property to the Schenley Farms-Oakland Civic Historic District on the campus of the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. ...

. On 21 December 2017 a memorial plaque in his honor was erected on the building of the Pskov gymnasium, where the artist had studied.В Пскове торжественно открыли памятную доску художнику и копиисту-реставратору Николаю Лохову
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Gallery

File:Nicolas Lokhoff. Copy of the picture. Crucifixion with St Dominic by Fra Angelico.jpg, Nicolas Lokhoff. Copy of the picture. Crucifixion with

Saint Dominic Saint Dominic, (; 8 August 1170 – 6 August 1221), also known as Dominic de Guzmán (), was a Castilians, Castilian Catholic priest and the founder of the Dominican Order. He is the patron saint of astronomers and natural scientists, and he a ...

File:Nicolas Lokhoff. Copy of the picture. Apparition of Christ and Angels in St. Martin's Dream Simone Martini by Simone Martini.jpg, Nicolas Lokhoff. Copy of the picture: Apparition of Christ and Angels in Saint Martin's Dream by

Simone Martini Simone Martini ( – July 1344) was an Italian painter born in Siena. He was a major figure in the development of early Italian painting and greatly influenced the development of the International Gothic style. It is thought that Martini was a p ...

File:Nicolas Lokhoff. Copy of the picture. Saint Clare by Simone Martini.jpg, Nicolas Lokhoff. Copy of the picture: Saint Clare by Simone Martini File:Nicolas Lokhoff. Copy of the picture. Queen Esther by Andrea del Castagno.jpg, Nicolas Lokhoff. Copy of the picture: Queen

Esther Esther (; ), originally Hadassah (; ), is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible. According to the biblical narrative, which is set in the Achaemenid Empire, the Persian king Ahasuerus falls in love with Esther and ma ...

Andrea del Castagno Andrea del Castagno () or Andrea di Bartolo di Bargilla (; – 19 August 1457) was an Italian Renaissance painting, Italian Renaissance painter in Florence, influenced chiefly by Masaccio and Giotto, Giotto di Bondone. His works include fresc ...

File:Nicolas Lokhoff. Copy of the picture. Peter Martyr Enjoins Silence by Fra Angelico.jpg, Nicolas Lokhoff. Copy of the picture: Peter Martyr Enjoins Silence by Fra Angelico File:Nicolas Lokhoff. Copy of the picture. Christ as Pilgrim is Received by Two Dominicans by Fra Angelico.jpg, Nicolas Lokhoff. Copy of the picture: Christ as Pilgrim is Received by Two

Dominicans Dominicans () also known as Quisqueyans () are an ethnic group, ethno-nationality, national people, a people of shared ancestry and culture, who have ancestral roots in the Dominican Republic. The Dominican ethnic group was born out of a fusio ...

by Fra Angelico File:Nicolas Lokhoff. Copy of the picture. Madonna and Two Saints by Pietro Lorenzetti.jpg, Nicolas Lokhoff. Copy of the picture: Madonna and Two Saints by

File:Nicolas Lokhoff. Copy of the picture. The Annunciation by Simone Martini.jpg, Nicolas Lokhoff. Copy of the picture: The Annunciation by

File:Nicolas Lokhoff. Copy of the picture, Saint Clare by Simone Martini 1.jpg, Nicolas Lokhoff. Copy of the picture: Saint Clare by Simone Martini File:Nicolas Lokhoff. Copy of the picture. Madonna of the Pomegranate by Sandro Botticelli.jpg, Nicolas Lokhoff. Copy of the picture: Madonna of the Pomegranate by

Sandro Botticelli Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi ( – May 17, 1510), better known as Sandro Botticelli ( ; ) or simply known as Botticelli, was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. Botticelli's posthumous reputation suffered until the late 1 ...

File:Nicolas Lokhoff. Copy of the picture, The Resurrection of Christ by Piero della Francesca.jpg, Nicolas Lokhoff. Copy of the picture: The Resurrection of Christ by

File:Nicolas Lokhoff. Copy of the picture. The Road to Emmaus by Duccio di Buoninsegna.jpg, Nicolas Lokhoff. Copy of the picture: The Road to Emmaus by

Duccio di Buoninsegna Duccio di Buoninsegna ( , ; – ), commonly known as just Duccio, was an Italian painter active in Siena, Tuscany, in the late 13th and early 14th century. He was hired throughout his life to complete many important works in government and religi ...

File:Nicolas Lokhoff. Copy of the picture. The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli.jpg, Nicolas Lokhoff. Copy of the picture:

The Birth of Venus ''The Birth of Venus'' ( ) is a painting by the Italian artist Sandro Botticelli, probably executed in the mid-1480s. It depicts the goddess Venus (mythology), Venus arriving at the shore after her birth, when she had emerged from the sea ful ...

File:Nicolas Lokhoff. Copy of the picture. Saint Francis of Assisi Preaching to the Birds by Giotto di Bondone.jpg, Nicolas Lokhoff. Copy of the picture. Saint Francis of Assisi Preaching to the Birds by

Giotto di Bondone Giotto di Bondone (; – January 8, 1337), known mononymously as Giotto, was an Italian painter and architect from Florence during the Late Middle Ages. He worked during the Gothic and Proto-Renaissance period. Giotto's contemporary, the ba ...

File:Nicolas Lokhoff. Copy of the picture. Frederico Da Montefeltro by Piero della Francesca.png, Nicolas Lokhoff. Copy of the picture:

Federico da Montefeltro Federico da Montefeltro, also known as Federico III da Montefeltro Order of the Garter, KG (7 June 1422 – 10 September 1482), was one of the most successful mercenary captains (''condottiero, condottieri'') of the Italian Renaissance, and Duk ...

by Piero della Francesca File:Nicolas Lokhoff. Copy of the picture. Battista Sforza by Piero della Francesca.png, Nicolas Lokhoff. Copy of the picture: Battista Sforza by Piero della Francesca

References

External links

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a media organization broadcasting news and analyses in 27 languages to 23 countries across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Middle East. Headquartered in Prague since 1995, RFE/RL ...

Реконструктор великого прошлого

Люди и судьбы / (Материалы к «Псковскому биографическому словарю) М.Талалай. Человек Возрождения

Вересова Т.В., Талалай М.Г. Человек Ренессанса. Художник Николай Лохов и его окружение/ М., 2017. - 376 с.: ил.
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Echo of Moscow Echo of Moscow () was a 24/7 commercial Russian radio station based in Moscow. It broadcast in many Russian cities, some of the former Soviet republics (through partnerships with local radio stations), and via the Internet. From 1996 its editor- ...

Человек Ренессанса из Пскова уже в Америке, Англии и Италии...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lokhoff, Nicolas 1872 births 1948 deaths Painters from the Russian Empire Russian Social Democratic Labour Party members Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Italy