- a former serf, academician, actual state Councilor, the artist. Lived in Vilnius in the spring of 1866 to 5 Feb 1912(the day of his death) and all that time was the Director of the Vilna drawing school. I. Trutnev was born in Kaluga province. After graduating from College in Przemysl father Ivan sent to Moscow drawing school of count Stroganov. In 1851-1858, he continued his studies at the St. Petersburg Academy of fine arts in Studio battle genre with Professor BP Villevalde. In 1852-1854 at the exhibitions of student works painting "Sick soldiers and the French of fire", "Game socks", "the Game of hide and seek" (purchased by Emperor Nicholas I, 1854) he was awarded silver and gold medals. In 1855, the artist finishes the course at St. Petersburg Academy of arts and gets "the title of the class artist." In the same year, Trutnev says the painting "the Blessing of a son in the militia" (the painting is in the collections of the Gatchina Palace Museum) and got a Golden medal.
In 1858, for the painting "the Procession to the blessing of the water in the village" he received a gold medal at the I dignity. This medal gave him the right to a six-year pensionerstvo overseas, and in 1860, the artist goes on a long trip through Europe.
Years of stay abroad (I860-specific chipsets i865) is not in vain, Trutnev there is a lot of and fruitfully worked and studied, as evidenced by the very good reviews about his painting in the letters sent to the pensioner of the Academy. Back Ivan Petrovich in Russia in St Petersburg ahead of time, yearning for the Homeland, "to travel to Russia and study of Russian folk life, which I love as a Russian and as a genre painter and sympathize with him more than any foreign".
On the proposal of the rector of the Academy of arts A. I. Rezanov in March 1866 sent Ivan Trutnev in Vilna, where he opened a drawing school, and was appointed its Director. The school operated in present Vilnius University, there were two departments: drawing and painting, and applied art. Trutnev all of his energy was invested not only in a large organizational and teaching activities, but in the tireless creative work. In August, 1868, for the painting "folk school" and "Portrait", he received the title of academician. Most I. Trutnev made in the field of Church art and iconography. He has written more than 20 of the iconostasis, many icons; they made a portrait of the Vilna and Lithuanian Metropolitan Joseph Semashko, he also wrote almost all the Royal portraits to schools and public places of Vilnius. Trutnev work was exhibited in St. Petersburg, he was the initiator of the art exhibitions in Vilnius. More than 20 years, Ivan Petrovich had been a churchwarden Prechistenskaya Vilnius Cathedral, the iconostasis of which was written by him.
In 1904 Vilna drawing school was recognized as the best in Russia. Students Trutnev, the school's graduates - B. Dijokas, V. Kairyukshtis, J. Zikaras, H. Soutine, Jacques Lipchitz and others. A student was Trutnev and A. Jurkevich. Many artists with the blessing of Ivan Petrovich continued teaching at the Academy of fine arts (St. Petersburg, Berlin, Vienna, Munich and Paris), at the higher school of technical drawing of Baron Stieglitz, the Moscow Stroganov school.
I. Trutnev had a lot of awards, I including granted him in 1896 gold diamond ring with wenzelii a picture of Emperor Nicholas II. Vilna St. Holy spirit fraternity elected him a life member.
He was buried at the I. Trutnev Orthodox Euphrosyne cemetery in Vilnius. At the burial site, enclosed by a low metal fence, stands a majestic monument of black granite.
