Fedor
Grigorievich Solntsev

His father, a serf gr. Musin-Pushkin , placed the son in idiorrhythmic students of the Academy of Arts (1815). Here, practicing under the guidance of S. Shchukin and A. Egorova , the sun quickly showed successes in painting. At the end of the academic year in 1824 for the painting "Peasant family", he received a small gold medal, and in 1827 for his film "will Render to Caesar what is Caesar's and God what is gods" - a gold medal. After that, the sun left the Academy and for some time procured the means to life drawing lessons, Scripture portraits, etc., Then President of the Academy Olenin sent Solntseva on the road, where the sun then was known. Thanks Venison, the young artist became an archaeologist-draftsman and lifelong prikololsya to the study and images of various monuments. In 1830 by Imperial order he was sent to Moscow and other places of the Empire "for srisovyvaniya ancient of our customs, garments, weapons, Church and Royal utensils, goods, horse harness and other items". Solntsev carefully reproduced watercolor any old thing that has any historical value, and all his drawings were forwarded to the Venison, which is constantly supervised these works (especially first years) and gave him detailed instructions. For his work Solntsev listed in 1833 to the Academy and to the office of His Majesty. From that time begins a series of visits Anderson at the ancient cities of Russia for srisovyvaniya domestic antiquities. Until 1836 he worked in Novgorod, Ryazan, Moscow, Torzhok and other cities; in Moscow, worked in the Armoury chamber, the assumption and the Archangel cathedrals and in other places. Copying and examining in detail the Royal utensil in the Armory, he made the discovery that the so-called crown and the bartender Monomakh made during the reign of Mikhail Feodorovich , in Greece. In addition, he did assaults in Ryazan, Yuriev-Polsky, Smolensk and other cities. At the end of 1835 he received from the Academy programme to receive the title of academician to write a painting "the Meeting of Grand Prince Sviatoslav and John Tzimiskes". A year later, this painting (in the Museum of Emperor Alexander III ) was over, and the sun made an academician. Almost simultaneously, the sun was involved in the restoration of ancient Imperial palaces in the Kremlin, wrote the projects for its restoration and it towers by the end of 1836 was renewed completely. The Emperor Nicholas , who believed unconditionally in the knowledge Solntseva, instructed him to copy many of the things in the Armory and the Annunciation Cathedral. Of the vast number of solntsevskaya drawings depicting ancient times - and they are all typed over 3000 no one did not escape the eyes of the Emperor. Fulfilling his Commission, Solntsev determined, among other things, that the so-called crown of the Kingdom of Astrakhan is made under Mikhail Fyodorovich, and the Siberian crown - with Alexis . From 1837 to 1843 Solntsev worked primarily in Moscow, although he visited other ancient city. At the same time he took part in the construction of the Moscow Grand Palace, built on the site of the former burnt down in 1812, When, in 1843, Venison did not, took the Emperor himself to lead Solntsev and sent it to Kiev for srisovyvaniya and restoration of local antiquities. Here begins a new era Solntseva career, which lasted ten years. In the summer he worked commonly in Kiev, and in the winter moved to St. Petersburg, where he brought with him every time from 80 to 100 drawings that were presented to them to the Emperor. Examining the Kiev-Sofia Cathedral, he opened a wall of frescoes of the XI century. Not limited to discovery, which can be considered one of the most important contributions Solntseva, he started on the Highest command to restore the inside of the said Cathedral in the way she had, and ended this work in 1851, moreover, the sun shot types and some of the temples, made drawings of the inside of the Cathedral of the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, participated in the temporary Committee for the study of ancient documents the South-West of Russia, established in 1844, and was appointed to membership Committee for publication of pictures taken with them. This edition lasted from 1846 to 1853 and built six huge volumes of the "Antiquities of the Russian State" in which most of the paintings (up to 700) belongs to Solntsev, the Crimean war, the death of Emperor Nicholas I and the advent of reforms in the reign of his successor on the throne - all this has pushed Anderson into the background. However, from 1853 he worked for the St. Petersburg St. Isaac's Cathedral, performed the orders of the Holy Synod what, for example, drawings corporal, images of saints to be placed in the prayer books, the calendar, etc.; for eight years he headed the work on making iconostases for the churches of the Western provinces. Since 1859, the sun again gets official business (for example, in Vladimir-on-Klyazma) and ranked as the Imperial archaeological Commission. Due to his achievements Academy of Arts in 1863 gave him the title of honorary it member. In 1876, was solemnly celebrated 50th anniversary activities Solntseva, and presented to him engraved in his honor, the gold medal and he was elevated to the rank of Professor. Not having a particularly bright artistic talent, Solntsev took a very prominent place in the history of Russian art of his tireless activities in the field of study of the artistic monuments of the Russian antiquity: they are filled with countless drawings of all kinds of antiquities of Russia, of which many were then published and made precious contributions to our archeology. Very curious also paintings of the vernacular, now mostly defunct, costumes of different regions of Russia, which the sun lovingly studied and reproduced during his travels; finally, owe him a lot as a Russian iconography and ornamentation buildings and utensils, mostly of the Church. (N. Sobko)