Fedot Shubin

Covering a broad range of genres - portrait, monumental and decorative sculpture, bas-relief - Shubin achieved such psychological depth and plastic perfection that he can be considered one of the great masters of the world art. A bust of Prince Alexander Golitsyn, a diplomat during Catherine's reign, is an impressive image of an educated nobleman, in whom a sensitive mind merged with refinement, and a sense of superiority with tiredness of an ageing man. The folds of his garment, which underline the turn of his head and sholders, are marvelously fashioned.

Bartoloeo Carlo Rastrelli

Rastrelli was one of the several artists whose talent fourished in Russia. The sculptor's extraordinary gifts found fecund soil for development and proliferation. They were enriched by the fine traditions fo the Russian art and at the same time left an appreciable mark on its future course of development. In 1716 Rastrelli was invited to work in the service of His Majesty the Tsar in all arts and handicrafts of which he is capable. So, Rastrelli arrived in St. Petersburg and at first worked principally as an architect. But later he was able to display his talent as a sculptor and portraitist. In his scultpural portraits he managed to combine baroque splendor with thoughtful insight into the human soul. Rastrelli's greatest success was his bronze bust of Peter the Great, a life-like portrait, dynamic in form and full of vigour. It reflects not only the model's individual features but also the character of the whole epoch.

Ivan Nikitin, The Portrait of Peter the Great

The work of Ivan Nikitin played an important role in the establishment of 18th century Russian portraiture as an artistic phenomenon. Although Nikitin's life is poorly documented, we know that he was born in the family of priest and received a good education. When his passion for paiting reached the ears of Peter the Great, tsar arranged for him to study abroad. The artist was able to pay back his majesty by creating one of the best portrayals of tsar made in his lifetime. But soon after Peter's death, as a result of the changes in political situation, Nikitin's outlook underwent substantial modification: the artist grew closer to the Moscow Old Russian Opposition, as a result of which he was arrested, convicted and sent to Siberia to live under perpetual surveillance. It should be mentioned that the authentification of Nikitin's works is a tricky business, for only three of them are signed. So the works known to us represent a mere fraction of all that was painted by this founder of Russian portraiture.

Dionysius

He was well-known in even in his youth and worked all over Moscovy. Other than this little is known about his life. As all masters of his time: Theophanes the Greek and Andrei Rublyov, he painted icons for monasteries, churches and cathedrals of Russia. You can find Dionysius' works in Tretyakov Gallery. One of them is Crucification. You can see that the figures of saints are elegantly outlined and rather elongated - which together with bright colours creates an impression of great lightness and the tragic scene acquires a calm, serene undertone. Crucification is similar in style to the frescos in the Churn of Nativity of the Holy Virgin in Ferapont Monastery, which are among the most remarable art treasures of Ancient Rus and Dionysius' greatest achievement. The Last Supper and The Archangel Gabriel show that Dionysius liked complex scenes with figures to appear light and elegant, with natural movements. The artist stressed the dignity of man. The greatest emotional effect, however, derives from the colouring. Dionysius was not fond of bright clours. He toned down his palette a little, making them lighter and adding greater delicacy and softness and shining purity. The depiction of human figures and landscapes, which are entirely surbordinated to the flatness of the walls help to underline the lightness of architectural forms, seemingly pushing the walls of the church apart and making them more spacious and bright.