Semyon Fyodorovich Shchedrin (1745–1804) was a Russian landscape painter, the uncle and mentor of

Sylvester Shchedrin Sylvester Feodosiyevich Shchedrin (; 13 February 17918 November 1830) was a Russian landscape painter. Biography Sylvester Shchedrin was born in St. Petersburg into the family of the famous sculptor Feodosiy Shchedrin, rector of the Imper ...

. Member of the Imperial Academy of Arts.

Biography

He was born in St. Petersburg into the family of a life guard. In 1759, he entered the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg, and in 1765 graduated with a gold medal and grants to study abroad. Shchedrin ventured to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, then to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. In Paris he studied the works of old and contemporary painters. Under the influence of

Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher ('' philosophe''), writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects ...

's idea that beauty exists not only in classic patterns of arts but also in everyday life and nature, Shchedrin worked much en

plein-air ''En plein air'' (; French language, French for 'outdoors'), or plein-air painting, is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein ai ...

, otherwise known as painting in outdoor environments. In Rome, however, he fell under the influence of

classicism Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aesthe ...

, the idea that art should reflect the works of antiquity and thus prolong their successes. Shchedrin returned to St. Petersburg in 1776 and became a professor of landscape painting in the Academy of Arts. One of his students at the Academy was Fyodor Matveyev. Shchedrin was assigned to draw views of the palaces and parks 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 ...

, which brought into existence such works as ''View of the Large Pond Island in the Tsarskoselsky Gardens'' (1777), ''View of the Large Pond in the Tsarskoselsky Gardens'' (1777), ''View of the Farmyard in the

Tsarskoye Selo Tsarskoye Selo (, , ) was the town containing a former residence of the Russian House of Romanov, imperial family and visiting nobility, located south from the center of Saint Petersburg. The residence now forms part of the Pushkin, Saint Peter ...

'' (1777). After 1780, Shchedrin also participated in the restoration of pictures in the Hermitage, and in 1799 he headed a new class of landscape graphics. The pinnacle of his art career came in the 1790s. The most famous of his works of the period are views of parks and palaces in Pavlovsk, Gatchina, and

Petergof Petergof (), known as Petrodvorets () from 1944 to 1997, is a administrative divisions of Saint Petersburg, municipal town in Petrodvortsovy District of the federal cities of Russia, federal city of Saint Petersburg, St. Petersburg, located ...

: ''The Mill and the Peel Tower at Pavlovsk'' (1792), ''View of the Gatchina Palace from the Silver Lake'' (1798), ''View of the Gatchina Palace from Long Island'' (1798), ''The Stone Bridge at Gatchina'' (1799–1801), ''View of the Kamennoostrovsky Palace through Bolshaya Nevka from the Stroganov Seashore'' (1803). The composition of all of his works is the same in accordance with the rules of academic classicism.

Gallery

File:Semion Shchedrin The Stone Bridge in Gatchina near Constable Square.jpg, ''The Stone Bridge at Gatchina'' File:Semen Shchedrin - Пейзаж в окрестностях Петербурга - Google Art Project.jpg, ''View in Petersburg's Environs'' File:Shchedrin kamenny.jpg, ''View of Kamenny Island and the Palace in St. Petersburg'' File:Семен Щедрин. Пейзаж в Царскосельском парке с видом на ферму.jpg, ''Landscape in the park Tsarskoe Selo''

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shchedrin, Semyon Russian neoclassical painters Landscape painters from the Russian Empire 1745 births 1804 deaths Burials at Lazarevskoe Cemetery (Saint Petersburg)