Vasily Perov

Born: 1834, Tobolsk
Died: 1882, Kuzminki (near Moscow)

Painter, draughtsman, teacher. Illegitimate son of the provincial procurator Baron Grigory von Krüdener. Given the surname Perov from the Russian word for quill (pero) on account of his beautiful handwriting. Studied under Alexander Stupin at the Arzamas School of Art (1846–49) and under Michele Scotti, Apollon Mokritsky and Sergei Zaryanko at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (1852–61). Awarded a major gold medal and a foreign fellowship (1861). Married Elena von Scheinitz, niece of Professor Ryazanov (1862). Visited picture galleries in Berlin, Dresden and Düsseldorf (1862) and lived in Paris (1863–64). Continued his fellowship in Russia, where he painted Critical Realist works (1860s). Academician (1866), professor (1870). Contracted tuberculosis after the death of his wife and two eldest children, Nikolai and Nadezhda (1867), leaving him alone with one son Vladimir, who later became an artist. Founding member of the Society of Travelling Art Exhibitions (1870–77). Taught at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (1871–82). Married Elizaveta Druganova (1872) and travelled across the Urals and Volga (1873). Died of tuberculosis in the village of Kuzminki and buried at the Don Cemetery in Moscow (1882). Contributed to the World Exhibitions in Paris (1867, 1878), London (1872) and Vienna (1873).

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