1. Fedor Solntsev's artwork was a major contribution in recording and preserving medieval Russian culture, which was a common subject of his paintings.
15 Facts About Fedor Solntsev
1. 2.
Fedor Solntsev was the main author of the fundamental work Antiquities of the Russian State, the main decorator of interiors of the Grand Kremlin Palace in Moscow.
3.
Fedor Solntsev discovered and restored mosaics and frescoes of Saint Sophia Cathedral, Kyiv and Cathedral of the Dormition of Kyiv Pechersk Lavra in Kyiv, and of Cathedral of Saint Demetrius in Vladimir.
4.
Fedor Solntsev was born in Verkhne-Nikulskoye a village near Rybinsk in the Yaroslavl Governorate.
5.
Fedor Solntsev's father, Grigory Konstantinovich Solntsev, worked as a box-office attendant for the Imperial theaters in Saint Petersburg and travelled to the village very infrequently while his mother, Elizaveta Frolovna Solntseva, was a peasant and lived all her life in the village.
6.
Later, Fedor's younger brother, Yegor Solntsev graduated from the Imperial Academy of Art and became a notable painter.
7.
Fedor Solntsev graduated from the Academy in 1824 receiving a "Lesser Gold Medal" for his painting A Peasant Family.
8.
Fedor Solntsev's work was supported by the President of Imperial Academy of Arts Alexey Olenin and Emperor Nicholas I The Emperor commissioned Solntsev to decorate dinner parties and embellish his private apartments in the Kremlin.
9.
Fedor Solntsev painted Cathedral of Christ the Saviour and other churches in Moscow.
10.
Fedor Solntsev worked in Kyiv with restoration and describing artefacts of Kyiv Pechersk Lavra.
11.
Fedor Solntsev painted the interiors of the Krestovozdvizhenskaya Church there.
12.
Olenin commissioned Fedor Solntsev to describe archaeological and historical artifacts of Russian state.
13.
Fedor Solntsev made more than 3000 highly detailed drawing of different artifacts including the record of all the Kremlin's riches.
14.
The encyclopedia was published after Olenin's death using the funds provided by Nicholas I Solntsev provided a detailed chronicle of Old Russian style in his book Clothing of Russia.
15.
Fedor Solntsev died in St Petersburg on 3 March 1892, aged 90; he's interred into the Volkovo Cemetery, south of the Literatorskie Mostki.