Pyotr Basin

Painter, engraver, teacher. Attended drawing classes (1811–18) and studied history painting under Vasily Shebuyev (1816–18) at the Imperial Academy of Arts. Awarded minor and major silver medals (1813) and a major gold medal (1818). Fellow of the Imperial Academy of Arts in Italy (1819–30). Returned to St Petersburg (1830) and taught at the Imperial Academy of Arts (1831–69). Academician (1831), second-class professor (1836), first-class professor (1846), professor emeritus (1856). Painted a plafond for the Stepan Pimenov Room (1832–33) and the interior decor of St Catherine’s Chapel (1837) at the Imperial Academy of Arts. Helped to restore the Winter Palace after the fire (1837), contributing to the Grand Chapel (1837) and Pompeii Gallery (1837–39). Painted icons and religious pictures for the Kazan Cathedral (1837–41) and St Isaac’s Cathedral (1843–46, 1853–56) in St Petersburg, designed frescoes for the Church of Christ the Saviour in Moscow (1867–68). Forced to give up work after losing his eyesight (1870s). Died in St Petersburg and buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery (1877).