Russian Engravers — Shchedrovsky, Ignatius Stepanovich

Ignatiy Stepanovich Shchedrovsky (Ignatas Marius Shchedrauskas) 1815 - 1870, - Russian painter, graphic artist, draftsman, lithographer, master of landscape and everyday genres of Polish-Lithuanian origin. Born into the family of a poor Polish gentry, a titular councilor from Vilna. The plots of his paintings reflected the everyday life, life and occupations of ordinary workers and poor residents of Russia. At the age of 18 he moved to St. Petersburg, to enter the Imperial Academy of Arts, but could not pass the selection, so he attended classes as a volunteer student. During his studies, he earned money by making lithographs from famous works of art, orders for which he received from the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of Arts. In 1836 he received the title of free artist. In 1837, he made an offer to the St. Petersburg Society for the Encouragement of Artists to draw up drawings from life depicting common scenes and costumes of St. Petersburg residents, and received consent. In 1839, Ignatiy Stepanovich Shchedrovsky released his first album, Scenes from Russian Folk Life from 36 Lithographs, in which he faithfully conveyed scenes of urban life and portraits of urban street types of the first half of the 19th century. The album was a great success with the public. He also worked in the genre of historical painting, in 1842 Shchedrovsky received the title of academician in historical painting for the painting Russian Wedding. In 1845 the artist released the second album of lithographs "Here are ours!". And in 1852 the third edition of "Scenes from Russian Folk Life. Drawn from Life by I.S. Shchedrovsky" (dedicated to Emperor Nicholas I) with a text by V.N. Savinov on 79 pages. In 1856, Shchedrovsky moved to Moscow, where he worked mainly in the portrait genre. The artist's works are kept in the Russian Museum of St. Petersburg and the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.