Semen
Afanasievich Zhivago

Bureaucratic officials of the Academy of arts why-that has not fixed the exact date of the birth of his first academician and then Professor semen Afanasevich Zhivago, who was born according to various sources whether in 1805, or 1807 or even in 1812. However, it is known that he was born Living in Ryazan, and that in 1827 by a special Imperial order was accepted into the Academy, where his main mentor was A. G. Varnek. After years of training, two small silver medals, Zhivago S. graduated in 1832 the Academy in the rank of class artist.

In subsequent years (1833-1839) he lived in Italy, where worked hard, wrote copies of paintings by famous artists and performed independent compositions. For a copy of the canvas by Guido Reni "Madonna della Pieta" and for his original painting "the Unbelief of St. Thomas" S. A. Zhivago received on his return to Petersburg the title of academician (1839). In 1842, for his work "the Epiphany" ("Epiphany") painter awarded the title of Professor. About this time, religious themes, or rather the writing of images and compositions for cathedrals and churches is becoming a major case of S. A. Zhivago — a great contribution he made to the painting of St. Isaac's Cathedral in St. Petersburg, Spassky and Epiphany monasteries in Ryazan, Church Commercial school and the Church of the assumption in Moscow. Occasionally the artist paints portraits and household composition, marked by high mastery. Your talent and hard work of S. A. Living demonstrated throughout his life.

The son of a Ryazan merchant, he felt his childhood attraction to art and learned to draw almost without mentors. In 1826, he submitted a sample of his work to the Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich, who took the young man under his wing and contributed to his admission to the students of the St. Petersburg Academy of arts at government expense. His immediate supervisor at the Academy was Professor A. Varnek. Received during the academic course two silver medals (in 1829 and in 1832 - 2 silver medals), Zhivago finished his education with the title of artist XIV class and soon went, at their own expense, to Italy, where he painted copies of paintings: "the Vision of Ezekiel," by Raphael, "Madonna della Pieta" Reni, "Day" Correggio and his own compositions: "eve", "the Flight into Egypt", "the Unbelief of St. Thomas", etc.

For this work, upon his return to St. Petersburg, in 1839, he was recognized as an academician. In 1842 he received the title of Professor for the image of "Epiphany". From 1848 to 1850 he served in the St. Petersburg customs expert to recognize imported from abroad artistic works from industrial. In 1860 moved to Moscow, where he worked until the end of his life. From the pictures, the Living, the noteworthy image in St. Isaac's Cathedral ("the last supper" and "agony in the garden", above the Royal doors, and ten images of the old Testament patriarchs and prophets in the 3rd tier of the main iconostasis) and in some of the Moscow and Ryazan churches. Zhivago also engaged in portrait painting.