Alekseev Fedor Yakovlevich Fedor Yakovlevich Alekseev is a wonderful painter, the founder of Russian landscape painting, in particular, the urban landscape.

The artist was born in 1753 (the exact date of his birth is not known) and was the son of a guard at the Academy of Sciences. From 1766 to 1973 he studied at the Academy of Arts in a class called "painting flowers and fruits", and then moved to the landscape department. In 1773, having received a gold medal for program work, he was sent to Venice, where he spent three years painting for theatrical decorations, although he did not like them.

Alekseev's passion for Piranesi's fantastic engravings was not approved by the authorities of the Art Academy, therefore, upon returning home, a dry, restrained reception awaited him. He was not offered any programs for an academic title. On the contrary, he was simply forced to accept the position of a theater decorator, in which he worked from 1779 to 1786. Alekseev managed to leave his unloved work thanks to the excellent copying of landscapes by J. Bernet, G. Robert and B. Belotto from the Hermitage collection. His copies, skillfully reproducing the picturesque atmosphere of the originals, received incredible success. Thanks to these works, the artist Alekseev Fedor Yakovlevich gained the opportunity to paint original landscapes.

View of the Moscow Kremlin from the Kamenny Bridge

In his landscapes, the artist creates a perfect, sublime and at the same time very lively image of a majestic, large and incomparable city in its sophistication. Ideality in his works is closely intertwined with reality and is in perfect harmony with it.

Cathedral Square of the Moscow Kremlin

In 1794, the paintings of Alekseev Fedor Yakovlevich brought their creator the title of academician of painting.



A year later, the artist was sent to the Crimea and New Russia in order to capture the places visited by Empress Catherine II in 1787.



The artist creates wonderful landscapes of Bakhchisaray, Kherson, Nikolaev.



In 1800, on the instructions of Emperor Paul I, Alekseev created a number of Moscow landscapes.



The artist was deeply carried away by ancient Russian architecture and brought from Moscow, having stayed there for more than a year, not only a series of paintings, but also many watercolors with views of Moscow suburbs, monasteries, streets, and mainly various views of the Kremlin.



These works made a great impression on a number of influential persons and representatives of the imperial house, who became Alekseev's customers.

"Boyarskaya platform or bed porch and the Church of the Savior behind the Golden Lattice in the Moscow Kremlin"

A little later, the artist returns in his work to his beloved theme of St. Petersburg.



But the theme of his works has now changed - the artist has become more interested in ordinary people: their world and life against the backdrop of the luxury of palaces and the majestic Neva.



The main characters occupying the foreground of the paintings are the townspeople with their daily concerns.



More volume and clarity appeared in the paintings, their coloring became much warmer.



These works include "View of the Spit of Vasilyevsky Island from the Peter and Paul Fortress", "View of the Admiralty and Palace Embankment from the First Cadet Corps" and other works.

Before the flood of 1824. "Russian Canaletto", recognized during his lifetime by academicians and connoisseurs of art, Fyodor Alekseev occupies a special place in the history of painting of the 18th century as one of the founders of the national school of urban landscape.

Fedor Alekseev. Venice. View of the Schiavoni embankment (detail). 1775. National Art Museum of the Republic of Belarus, Minsk, Belarus

Fedor Alekseev. Interior view of the yard with a garden. Loggia in Venice (detail). 1776. State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg

Fedor Alekseev. View of the Palace Embankment from the Peter and Paul Fortress (detail). 1810. State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg

Fyodor Alekseev was born in 1753 in St. Petersburg and came from soldiers' children. So in the XVIII century they called a special estate group. The exact date of birth of the artist and detailed information about his parents have not been preserved. It is only known that the father of the future artist, Yakov Alekseev, after his dismissal from the service, worked as a watchman at the Academy of Sciences.

As a child, the future artist went to the garrison school. He studied diligently, especially he liked drawing and geometry. The father dreamed of getting his son into the Academy of Arts - in the 18th century, many of its students came from raznochintsy and lower ranks. In 1766, the younger Alekseev was admitted to the Imperial Academy of Arts, immediately into the third grade.

Professor and director of the Academy of Arts, painter Anton Losenko, noticed that the boy was good at drawing complex figures and architectural structures. Losenko transferred Alekseev from the class of ornamental sculpture of Louis Rolland to the painting class, which was led by Heinrich Fondermint and Antonio Perezinotti. In the classroom, students learned the principles of working with architectural and landscape landscapes. The young man showed himself to be a diligent student: in 1773 he was awarded a small gold medal for one of the educational landscape works. This award gave the title of a class artist of the II degree and a civil rank of the 12th class in the Table of Ranks.

In the same year, the academicians, who noticed Alekseev's talent, sent him to Venice for "greater improvement in painting is promising". The academy needed theater artists, and this skill was best taught in Italy.

Alekseev spent the next four years in Venice. Working in the workshops of mentors - theatrical decorators Giuseppe Moretti and Pietro Gasparri - was not so interesting for him. He liked modern Italian painting - he studied the urban landscapes of famous artists Giovanni Canaletto and Bernardo Bellotto. He was also interested in the history of art: the young man was especially impressed by the paintings of the 16th-century painter Paolo Veronese, which he enthusiastically described in his diary:

This is the most beautiful and most harmonious invention that can be seen. The architecture in this picture is set in such a fair point that between so many people everything is visible without the slightest confusion ...

Fyodor Alekseev about the painting by Paolo Veronese "Marriage in Cana of Galilee"

Inspired by the works of Italian artists, Fyodor Alekseev worked hard on his first urban landscapes: “Venice. View of the Schiavoni embankment”, “Internal view of the courtyard with a garden. Loggia in Venice.

Returning to his homeland, to St. Petersburg, on behalf of the Academy of Arts, Alekseev designed the scenery for the Imperial Theaters. The painter did not like this work, so he devoted all his free time to his favorite work - landscapes. Like other graduates of the Academy, he worked part-time by creating copies of famous paintings by Western European artists. Even Empress Catherine II appreciated the skill of the artist and invited him to work in the Hermitage - to make copies of the museum's masterpieces. Most often, these were landscapes by the famous Italian painter Canaletto, and soon Fyodor Alekseev was nicknamed the “Russian Canaletto”.

In 1786, Alekseev nevertheless left the work of a theater decorator and began to create original landscapes. Eight years later, he received the title of academician for the painting "View of the Palace Embankment from the Peter and Paul Fortress."

“... I found so many wonderful subjects for paintings”: views of St. Petersburg, Moscow and the South

Fedor Alekseev. Red Square in Moscow (detail). 1801. State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

Fedor Alekseev. View of the city of Nikolaev (detail). 1799. State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

Fedor Alekseev. Square in Kherson (detail). 1796. State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

In the 1790s, on behalf of Catherine II, Fyodor Alekseev went to the South of the Russian Empire - to paint landscapes of the places visited by the Empress during her trip to the Crimea in 1787. He lived in the South for two years. There Alekseev made many watercolor sketches and sketches, which he already used in St. Petersburg to create full-fledged paintings - “View of the city of Nikolaev”, “Square in Kherson” and other works.

The picture [“View of the city of Bakhchisarai”] is lively - everything is there, and a moment in nature, correctly grasped, and movement; but do not come closer to the picture - the charm will disappear.

Petr Petrov, art critic and historian, 1860s

Critics often reproached Alekseev for being too monumental. They noticed that the artist uses the principles of decorative art in painting - he pays much attention to the shape of objects. This was especially evident in the composition: he always sought to convey with maximum accuracy all the details of architectural structures. Sometimes Alekseev nevertheless deviated from reality and supplemented urban landscapes with unfinished or never existing buildings - in this he relied on the pictorial tradition of the 18th century. Almost all of the artist's paintings belong to the veduta genre, which was very popular in Venice at that time - a detailed depiction of the city landscape.

Alekseev loved Petersburg and often painted views of it. His paintings resembled those of Italian masters. He took similar colors, mostly light colors, and achieved the effect of "transparency" - it seemed that the artist was using watercolor rather than oil.

In 1800, Fyodor Alekseev watched as the construction of the Mikhailovsky Castle and the residence of Paul I was completed. Soon his "View of the Mikhailovsky Castle and Connable Square in St. Petersburg" appeared. The emperor liked the picture so much that Alekseev was granted the rank of collegiate assessor for it. Soon, on behalf of the sovereign, the artist was ordered a series of urban landscapes of Moscow.

The emperor wanted to see the times of Muscovite Rus' in the paintings. In addition, members of the Academy of Arts instructed Alekseev "take from nature and convey in paintings and drawings all the places that are remarkable in terms of historical and archaeological." The artist enthusiastically set to work. He had to spend a lot of time in the archives to study the old plans for the city. Alekseev approached the order responsibly - it was the cityscapes of Moscow that became the pinnacle of his work. Small watercolor sketches and monumental canvases formed a whole cycle. After that, orders from the most noble people rained down on him.

He painted the first works of the Moscow cycle from nature, among them - the painting "Red Square with St. Basil's Cathedral". However, the artist did not confine himself to depicting Red Square alone. In October 1800 he wrote to Count Alexander Stroganov, president of the Academy of Arts: “At the discretion of Moscow, I found so many beautiful subjects for paintings that I am at a loss with which kind to start: I had to decide, and I have already begun the first sketch of the square with St. Basil’s Church and I will use the winter to paint a picture.”

Over the next year, Fyodor Alekseev and his students - Alexander Kunavin and Illarion Moshkov - created a series of Moscow landscapes. These paintings depict famous architectural structures, many of which have already been lost - churches and monasteries, estates and residences. Among the most significant works of this period are “View of the Church of St. Nicholas the Great Cross on Ilyinka”, “View of Strastnaya Square in Moscow”, “Panoramic view of the village of Kolomenskoye” and others. In 1801, the artist personally presented Emperor Alexander I with the most famous of these works - the painting "Red Square in Moscow".

Fedor Alekseev. View of Ivanovskaya (Tsarskaya) Square (detail). 1810s State Research Museum of Architecture named after A.V. Shchusev, Moscow

Fedor Alekseev. View of the Resurrection and Nikolsky Gates and the Neglinny Bridge from Tverskaya Street in Moscow (detail). 1811. State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow

Fedor Alekseev. Square inside the Moscow Kremlin (detail). 1810s Tsarskoye Selo Museum-Reserve, Pushkin, St. Petersburg

In 1802, Fyodor Alekseev returned from Moscow to St. Petersburg, but for several more years he created Moscow cityscapes - “The Square inside the Moscow Kremlin”, “View of the Resurrection and Nikolsky Gates and the Neglinny Bridge from Tverskaya Street in Moscow”, “View of Ivanovskaya ( Tsarskaya) Square. Views of the "first throne" brought fame to Alekseev both at home and abroad. Young artists learned from his work, and the painter was constantly ordered copies of his most famous paintings. The works of the artist were also appreciated at the Academy - Fyodor Alekseev was invited to teach, and also given a class of "perspective painting", where he taught students the basics of working with landscapes. Later, the artist was awarded the title of adviser.

Views of Alekseev increased interest in the appearance of ancient Russian cities, in architectural monuments of Russian antiquity. They opened a new type of landscapes, dictated by the interest in Russian history and ancient monuments.

Alexey Fedorov-Davydov, art critic, researcher of Fyodor Alekseev's work

In the 1810s, Alekseev again began to create landscapes of St. Petersburg: “View of the Spit of Vasilyevsky Island from the Peter and Paul Fortress”, “View of the English Embankment”. One of the versions of the painting “View of the Admiralty and the Palace Embankment from the First Cadet Corps” was in the collection of the writer Pavel Svinin for a long time.

It is wise what to give priority to in this picture [“View of the Admiralty and the Palace Embankment from the First Cadet Corps”]: everything in it is so correct and natural, everything is touched by such a masterful brush that everywhere there is noise and movement, as in nature itself.

Pavel Svinin, writer

In recent works, as art historians note, Fedor Alekseev began to move away from the Canaletto school and academicism. He added a slight negligence and exquisite decorativeness to his paintings.

When Alekseev is only Canaletto, he is interesting and you sincerely admire him; when he becomes himself - Fedor Alekseev, he immediately transforms into the most significant figure in Russian art, into an artist who had a huge impact on the Russian landscape in the first half of the 19th century.

Igor Grabar, art critic, painter and restorer

Until the last years of his life, Fyodor Alekseev worked at the Academy of Arts, and continued to paint at the same time. On November 19, 1824, the most devastating flood in the history of the city hit St. Petersburg, and Alekseev decided to capture it. A few days after his last sketch, on November 23, 1824, the artist died. He was 71 years old. The painter was buried at the Smolensk Orthodox cemetery in St. Petersburg.

Fedor Alekseev. View of the Admiralty and Palace Embankment from the First Cadet Corps (detail). 1810s State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg

Fedor Alekseev. Petersburg flood of 1824 on the square near the Bolshoi Theater (detail). 1824. State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg

Fedor Alekseev. View of the Promenade des Anglais (detail). 1810s State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg

1. For seven years, Fedor Alekseev created scenery for theaters in St. Petersburg. None of his theatrical work has survived. Scenery in Russia of the 18th century was in great demand: they were repeatedly remade and transported from theater to theater, and the dilapidated ones were written off or destroyed. Only a small sketch of the interior decoration of the fantastic temple has survived - the painting “In the Temple” with the caption “1820”. Researchers believe that the date for the work was set much later than it was created. "In the Temple" is too different from the rest of the artistic heritage of Fyodor Alekseev and by all indications refers to his early works.

2. At the beginning of the 20th century, Russian collectors had a postcard depicting the St. Petersburg flood of 1824. It was signed "Alekseev". Until 1907, it was believed that the artist Alexander Alekseev, a student of Alexei Venetsianov, painted it. Art historian Igor Grabar denied this. He noticed that Alexander Alekseev was only 13 years old in 1824, and the picture was painted by a mature author. “It is difficult to admit that it was he [Alexander Alekseev] who was the author of the picture; meanwhile, in the lists of artistic works of the Tsarskoye Selo Palace, where the picture came from, it appeared that its author was Alekseev. The flood, as you know, was on November 7, while [Fyodor] Alekseev died on November 11. A picture painted, apparently, in one or two sessions, thus could be the last work of an indefatigable artist, made by an already numb hand., - Grabar wrote in an essay about Fedor Alekseev.

An artist who made a name for himself with a new genre in Russian art - the genre of urban landscape. The amazing talent and general style of his paintings is one of the best in the world of painting. The name of the amazing artist is Alekseev Fedor Yakovlevich.

Biography

Alekseev Fedor Yakovlevich was born in 1754 (the exact date of birth is not available in historical sources) in a poor family. In 1766, his father petitioned to enroll his son in the Academy of Arts, and his request was granted. Fyodor Alekseev begins his studies in the class of painting flowers and fruits, after which he is transferred to the landscape class, and in 1773 he successfully graduates from the Academy. For the best writing of the software landscape, he is awarded a gold medal. To continue his education, a talented young man is sent to Venice to specialize in decorative painting. This is a special type of writing scenery for the theater. During his studies, Fedor Alekseev, in addition to his main occupation, was enthusiastically studying Venetian artists depicting the landscape, such as Canale, Guardi, engravings by Piranesi, who at that time lived in Rome. But with his craving for new knowledge, the artist causes dissatisfaction with the academic authorities.

Road to art

After completing his specialization in Venice, the artist Fedor Alekseev returns to St. Petersburg and gets a job as a painter at the theater school. The approximate dates of this period of his life are 1779-1786. Due to his passion for landscapes, in addition to theatrical scenery, Fyodor Alekseev was met rather coolly in his homeland and was denied further education to receive the title of academician. But the artist sets himself the goal of showing the Academy what he is capable of, and along with this work, the artist combines the copying of landscapes by Canaletto, Bellotto, Robert and Berne in the newly opened Hermitage.

Thanks to his successful work in the Hermitage, he leaves the service at the school. His creative reproduction of the originals repeated their pictorial system so beautifully that the work was a great success. Successful activity brought Fyodor Alekseev fame, the nickname "Russian Canaletto", for which the Academy gives the artist the opportunity to write his own paintings. Of course, they were landscapes.

The originality of the works of the artist Fedor Alekseev

Having proved his ability to paint on his own, the artist paints a number of well-known paintings with views of St. Petersburg. Some of the most significant: "View of the Peter and Paul Fortress and the Palace Embankment" (1793) and "View of the Palace Embankment from the Peter and Paul Fortress" (1794).

Using the knowledge he acquired in Venice, Fyodor Alekseev creates his own image of a solemn and at the same time a living city. At the same time, in his paintings, he retains the laws of classicism that were important in the 18th century and combines the ideal and the real. For his work in 1794, the artist Fyodor Alekseev was given the title of academician of perspective painting.

creative way

After receiving the honorary title, Fyodor Alekseev is given the task of painting the places where Empress Catherine II was in 1787. The artist recreates on his canvases the beauty of such southern cities as Nikolaev, Kherson, Bakhchisaray.

And in 1800, Emperor Paul I himself instructed Fyodor Alekseev to paint Moscow. During the time that the artist spent in this city (a little over a year), he brought several paintings and a large number of watercolors, which depict views of Moscow streets, monasteries, and suburbs. But the most important thing is the unique images of the Kremlin. Among them, the most popular "Red Square in Moscow" and "Boyarskaya Square, or the Bed Porch and the Cathedral of Christ the Savior behind a golden lattice in the Moscow Kremlin."

Moscow works are so distinguished by their accuracy and documentary quality that they attract new buyers of paintings to the artist. Among them are famous people and members of the imperial family.

The fame of the artist as a landscape painter

Since the 1800s Fedor Yakovlevich becomes the head of the perspective painting class at the Academy of Arts and again paints on his favorite topic - St. Petersburg. At the same time, the artist travels a lot around Russia and captures views of provincial towns.

More life appears in his paintings, it seems that now the images will come to life. They become like historical documentaries. More and more the artist depicts people. They come to the fore of canvases with palaces, embankments and streets. People with their daily activities, wagons, workers. The details are painted even more clearly, more heavily, the colors look warmer, and the painting takes on a special saturation. The works of that time include "View of the Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg", "View of the English Embankment from the side of Vasilyevsky Island" and others. In warm colors, with fine drawing of the smallest details.

Fyodor Alekseev's paintings are distinguished by a special "warm" light and movement. The sky takes on a delicate azure hue, and the clouds - the pinkness of the setting sun.

The last years of the artist's life

Nobody is eternal, and over time, the fame of Alekseev Fedor Yakovlevich begins to fade, and the public forgets him. The famous landscape painter dies in 1824 in great poverty. After him, his wife and children remain, and the Academy of Arts provides material assistance for organizing the funeral and for the continued existence of the family.

Despite the sad end of his life, the artist Fedor Yakovlevich Alekseev is one of the most famous creators of the urban landscape genre. Queues line up for his paintings at the Tretyakov Gallery, the State Hermitage, and the Russian Museum. His works are studied in educational institutions. He is remembered, and in the world of painting his name is highly valued, and the biography of Fyodor Alekseev is an example of what you need to follow your calling, no matter what.

Alekseev Fedor Yakovlevich is a famous Russian landscape painter of the 18th century. He became one of the first masters of perspective painting and made a great contribution to the development of the landscape in Russian art.

Fedor Yakovlevich was born in 1753 into a poor watchman family. At the age of 11 he entered the Imperial Academy of Arts. He studied ornamental sculpture with Louis Rolland, still life with Heinrich Fonderminte, and landscape painting with Antonio Perezinotti. He graduated in 1773 with a 1st degree certificate and was awarded silver and gold medals.

After graduating from the Academy, Fedor Alekseev received the right to an internship abroad for his academic success. He went to Venice, where he studied the skill of a theater decorator. The Academy insisted on this, since there were no theater artists in Russia at that time. The young man's teachers were Gaspari and Moretti. However, Alekseev was not the most diligent student, he constantly received complaints from the Academy of Arts about frivolous behavior. However, the young man took up his mind in time, and he was not deprived of his pension, but even extended the trip for a year.

During the internship, Alekseev got acquainted with the vedu - a genre of painting that depicts the urban landscape in detail. Veduta was very popular in 18th century Venice. In Italy, the young artist studied creativity, A. Canale, D. Piranesi.

Returning to Alekseev, he entered the service in the workshop of the imperial theaters. However, this was not the main goal of the artist. He dreamed of painting landscapes, which he did in his spare time. Alekseev went to and copied the work of Vernet, Belotto. The copies were so good that Catherine II herself gave orders to the young artist. Fedor Yakovlevich was finally able to leave his job as a decorator and devote his time to painting.

He draws views of St. Petersburg - the Peter and Paul Fortress and the Palace Embankment. The city in the works of Alekseev appears photographically accurately painted, solemn and majestic. In 1794, the artist received the title of academician for these landscapes. In 1795 Alekseev, after the solemn journey of Catherine II to Tauris, received a business trip to the Crimea and Ukraine. He paints views of Kherson, Nikolaev, Bakhchisaray.

In 1800, on behalf of Paul I, Alekseev traveled to with two students. For a year and a half, he painted several paintings and many watercolors. The artist depicted the Moscow Kremlin, Red Square, city churches and streets with amazing authenticity. His "Moscow series" was such a success that Alekseev began to receive orders from the nobility and museums.

From 1803 Fedor Yakovlevich worked as a teacher of perspective painting at the Academy of Arts. The artist continues to paint views of St. Petersburg. Now he pays more attention to the urban life of the inhabitants, depicting people against the backdrop of the solemn classical buildings of the capital. The coloring of the works has become warmer, the graphics have gained "density", the forms have become more distinct. Alekseev depicted the views of the English Embankment, the Admiralty, the Kazan Cathedral, Vasilyevsky Island.

As an old man, the artist often fell ill and suffered from paralysis, but continued to paint. F.Ya. Alekseev died on November 11, 1824. His last work was supposedly a sketch of the flood in St. Petersburg. The Academy of Arts allocated funds for the funeral of the artist and an allowance for his large family.

Alekseev made a great contribution to the development of Russian landscape painting. The artist left us views of Moscow, St. Petersburg and other Russian cities, rendered with amazing accuracy and attention to detail. Looking at his paintings, it is interesting to compare how the cities looked then, and what is happening to them now. Alekseev's works are stored in

Biography of Fedor Yakovlevich Alekseev

Fedor Yakovlevich Alekseev is the first master of the urban landscape in the history of Russian painting.

His father served as a watchman at the Academy of Sciences, which was a leading art center in the mid-18th century. The boy's father, Yakov Alekseev, sends his son to the Academy of Arts.

In the period from 1766 to 1773 Alekseev studied at the Academy of Arts.

In 1767 he was among the students of the class of ornamental sculpture, led by Louis Rolland, then in the "painting class" of G. Fandermint and A. Perezinotti.

In 1773 the artist received a small gold medal with a sword for a programmatic landscape. In honor of this event, he was sent to Venice to paint theatrical scenery.

In Italy, the artist studied with such masters as D. Moretti and P. Gaspari. But he soon abandoned all the teachers and independently turned to the urban landscape common in Venice.

He studies the famous landscape painters A. Canale, F. Guardi, is fond of landscape and fantastic engravings by D. B. Piranesi. Upon returning to his homeland, he was not offered any program for obtaining an academic title. He was sent to work as a decorator at the theater school, where he worked from 1779 to 1786.

While working at the school, he copied landscapes by A. Canale, B. Bellotto, G. Robert and J. Bernet from the Hermitage collection. Thanks to this, he quits a hated job. The copies were very successful and brought great success to the artist. They brought the artist the glory of the "Russian Canaletto" and the long-awaited opportunity to move on to painting original landscapes.

Among his works of the 1790s. especially known are "View of the Peter and Paul Fortress and the Palace Embankment" and "View of the Palace Embankment from the Peter and Paul Fortress". Alekseev created a lofty image of a majestic, beautiful city. The main attention in the paintings is given to the image of the water surface of the Neva, boats gliding along it and the high summer sky with floating clouds.

For the painting “View of the Palace Embankment from the Summer Garden to the Marble Palace” in 1794, the Academy of Arts awarded Alekseev the title of academician and he was sent to the south of Russia “to take pictures of the localities” visited by Catherine II in 1787.

The journey lasted 2 years, and the artist created many watercolors, on which he painted oil paintings already in St. Petersburg: “View of the city of Nikolaev”, “View of the city of Bakhchisarai” and others. The best was "View of the city of Bakhchisaray". This is how the landscapes of the southern cities appear - Nikolaev, Kherson, Bakhchisaray.

In the paintings of the southern cycle there are certain common features that allow us to judge the artist's movement from perspective to the classic organization of the canvas. The composition is organized clearly and logically clear.

And another characteristic feature of southern paintings is the appearance of staffing. All the details are depicted very vividly, forming entertaining genre scenes. They perform the functions of a kind of scale units that allow you to imagine the size of buildings, areas, and the height of trees.

Starting from these works, staffing has become an obligatory detail of all the artist's works. It seems to “populate” the city with people and buildings. These are not just mirages, these are solid structures made of stone, inhabited by many people.

In 1800, at the request of Emperor Paul I, Alekseev painted views of Moscow. Alekseev painted his paintings on the basis of detailed watercolor sketches from nature. The artist enthusiastically studies ancient Russian architecture.

He has been living in Moscow for more than a year. Here he created a number of paintings and many watercolors with views of Moscow streets, monasteries, suburbs, but mainly - various images of the Kremlin.

The image of a fabulous, holy Russian city struck people. Moscow work attracted a huge number of customers to Alekseev, among whom were the noblest nobles and members of the imperial family.

In 1802 Alekseev became the head of the class of perspective painting at the Academy of Arts. Among his students were Sylvester F. Shchedrin and M. N. Vorobyov.

He again returns to his favorite theme of St. Petersburg. Now his predilection for the harmony of the integral space of paintings in the artist has been replaced by a great interest in people, their lives against the backdrop of the luxurious palaces of the Neva. People with their daily activities now occupy the entire foreground of the paintings. These are “View of the English Embankment from Vasilevsky Island”, “View of the Admiralty and Palace Embankment from the First Cadet Corps”, “View of the Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg”, “View of the Spit of Vasilyevsky Island from the Peter and Paul Fortress”.

Gradually, the public begins to forget the aging artist. He was a magnificent artist, who through hard work proved his right to be a landscape painter, in great poverty, leaving a large family.

He died in poverty, in St. Petersburg, on November 11, 1824, leaving a large family without funds. The Academy gave money for his funeral and allowance for the widow and small children.

Alekseev is the first master of the urban landscape in Russian painting. In lyrical paintings executed with great subtlety, he captured the austere appearance of St. Petersburg, the picturesque beauty of Moscow, and the poetry of everyday city life.

He was attracted by the landscape, in which architecture played a huge role. He traveled a lot and already at the beginning of the 19th century painted views of the provincial cities of Russia and Moscow.

The most famous works of the master: “Cathedral Square in the Moscow Kremlin” (1780s), “View of the Palace Embankment from the Peter and Paul Fortress” (1794), “View of the Resurrection and Nikolsky Gates from Tverskaya Street in Moscow” (1811).