Andrei Osipovich Karelin (Russian: ''Андре́й О́сипович Каре́лин'', 16 July 1837, near

Tambov Tambov (, ; rus, Тамбов, p=tɐmˈbof) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Tambov Oblast, Central Federal District, central Russia, at the confluence of the Tsna River (Moksha basin), Tsna and ...

— 12 August 1906,

Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət ), colloquially shortened to Nizhny, from the 13th to the 17th century Novgorod of the Lower Land, formerly known as Gork ...

Фотография могилы в Нижнем Новгороде
/ref>) — was a Russian painter and photographer.

Biography

He was the illegitimate son of Tatyana Karelina, a peasant woman. In 1847, he went to Tambov to study

icon painting An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...

. Ten years later, he was able to enroll at the

Imperial Academy of Arts The Russian Academy of Arts, informally known as the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts, was an art academy in Saint Petersburg, founded in 1757 by the founder of the Imperial Moscow University Ivan Shuvalov under the name ''Academy of the Thre ...

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. Soon after, he began taking his first photographs. In 1863, he was awarded two small silver medals, for drawings from nature. He completed his studies the following year, and was awarded the title of "Free Artist". In 1865, with his wife, Evgenia, and their two children, he moved to

Kostroma Kostroma ( rus, Кострома́, p=kəstrɐˈma) is a historic city and the administrative center of Kostroma Oblast, Russia. A part of the Golden Ring of Russian cities, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Volga and Kostroma. Popu ...

. There, he worked in the photography studios operated by . The following year, Evgenia died while giving birth to their third child, , who would become a well known portrait painter. He later remarried, to Olga Lermontova, a distant relative of the writer,

Mikhail Lermontov Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov (; russian: Михаи́л Ю́рьевич Ле́рмонтов, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ˈjurʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈlʲɛrməntəf; – ) was a Russian Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called "the poet of the Caucas ...

. They moved to Nizhny Novgorod, where they had three more children. He also opened his own drawing school, and taught there until 1905. He and the painter,

Ivan Shishkin Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin (russian: Ива́н Ива́нович Ши́шкин; 25 January 1832 – 20 March 1898) was a Russian landscape painter closely associated with the Peredvizhniki movement. Biography Shishkin was born to a Russian me ...

, created an album of color scenes of the city for the 1870

Nizhny Novgorod Fair Nizhny Novgorod Fair (''old name — Makaryev Fair'') (russian: Нижегородская ярмарка) was a fair in Nizhny Novgorod held annually every July near Makaryev Monastery on the left bank of the Volga River from the mid-16th century ...

. It became very popular, and is now a historical source. Three years later, he participated in a major exhibition in Vienna. In 1876, he was awarded a bronze medal at the

Centennial Exposition The Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, the first official World's Fair to be held in the United States, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. In 1878, he became a member of the French National Academy of Arts, and received a gold medal at the Exposition Universelle Another album of scenes of Nizhny Novgorod followed in 1886. He travelled to

Yuryevets Yuryevets (russian: Юрьевец) is the name of several inhabited localities in Russia. Modern localities Urban localities *Yuryevets, Ivanovo Oblast, a town in Yuryevetsky District of Ivanovo Oblast Rural localities * Yuryevets, Dzerzhinsk, ...

in 1887, to take photographs of a

total solar eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of the Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six month ...

. In 1898, he began making transparencies for

magic lantern The magic lantern, also known by its Latin name , is an early type of image projector that used pictures—paintings, prints, or photographs—on transparent plates (usually made of glass), one or more lenses, and a light source. Because a si ...

s; as a teaching aid for the public schools. Recalling his early days, he also painted the occasional church icon. Due to the unstable political situation, his later years were marred by poverty. Eventually, debts forced him to sell his home and live in apartments. He also found it necessary to sell an extensive collection of antique art objects.

Selected photographs

File:At Granny's.jpg, At Granny's House File:Charity; stylishly dressed woman giving alms to peasant.jpg, Charity File:Playing blind man's bluff.jpg, Playing

Blind Man's Buff Blind man's buff or blind man's bluff is a variant of tag in which the player who is "It" is blindfolded. The traditional name of the game is "blind man's buff", where the word ''buff'' is used in its older sense of a small push. Gameplay Blin ...

File:Andrei Osipovich Karelin girl 1.jpg, Portrait of a Girl File:Buying berries.jpg, Buying Berries

Sources

Biography, works, timeline and references
the Andrei Karelin website * Likin, ''Художники-живописцы в Нижнем Новгороде'' (Artists and painters of Nizhny Novgorod), Нижегородский краеведческий сборник, 1929

References

External links

(Pioneers of Russian Photography) Archived {{DEFAULTSORT:Karelin, Andrei 1837 births 1906 deaths People from Tambovsky District, Tambov Oblast People from Tambovsky Uyezd Russian artists Russian photographers Pictorialists Imperial Academy of Arts alumni