Dmitry Aleksandrovich Rovinsky (russian: Дми́трий Алекса́ндрович Рови́нский; - 23 June 1895) was an art historian and compiler of reference albums on Russian portraits and engravings of the 18th to 19th centuries. He was an honorary member of the

Academy of Science An academy of sciences is a type of learned society or academy (as special scientific institution) dedicated to sciences that may or may not be state funded. Some state funded academies are tuned into national or royal (in case of the Unit ...

and

Academy of Arts An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, f ...

Biography

Dmitry Aleksandrovich Rovinsky was born into the family of a Moscow policeman. After graduating from a law college he started his service in Moscow, taking various legal posts. From 1870 till the end of his life he served as the Senator of the Criminal Cassation Department. From the 1840s he took a great interest in collecting engravings, including the

lubok A ''lubok'' (plural ''lubki'', Cyrillic: russian: лубо́к, лубо́чная картинка) is a Russian popular print, characterized by simple graphics and narratives derived from literature, religious stories, and popular tales. Lubki ...

s. His fundamental works on the history of Russian

gravure Rotogravure (or gravure for short) is a type of intaglio printing process, which involves engraving the image onto an image carrier. In gravure printing, the image is engraved onto a cylinder because, like offset printing and flexography ...

and lubok were the first ones of the kind. His historical and bibliographical treatises, rich in actual data were highly estimated by art critics and have kept up their significance till date. Being the publisher of his own works, Dmitry Rovinsky paid a great attention to polygraphic processes (was one of the first who applied the

heliograph A heliograph () is a semaphore system that signals by flashes of sunlight (generally using Morse code) reflected by a mirror. The flashes are produced by momentarily pivoting the mirror, or by interrupting the beam with a shutter. The heliograp ...

) and printed books on excellent paper, with superb design, etc. Rovinsky signed away some of his assets to establish prizes for the best illustrated books for common folks, the best research work on art archeology and the best painting, in turn. Rovinsky’s unique collection of etchings and other art works, as well his library were legated to the

Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is the list of ...

, Rumyantsev’s Museum, the Public Library and the Academy of Arts. Dmitry Rovinsky died on 23 June 1895 in

Bad Wildungen Bad Wildungen is a state-run spa and a small town in Waldeck-Frankenberg district in Hesse, Germany. It is located on the German Timber-Frame Road. Geography Location Bad Wildungen lies in the eastern foothills of the Kellerwald range in the s ...

, Waldeck,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. The "Rovinsky Collection for a Russian Iconography" was published in 2006 in German with a comprehensive commentary.

Literature about Rovinsky

*Hermann Goltz: ''Alles von Zarin und Teufel. Europäische Russlandbilder. Die gesamten Rovinskij-Materialien für eine Russische Ikonographie.'' Köln: DuMont (2006) .

External links

Biography of Dmitry Rovinsky
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rovinsky, Dmitry 1824 births 1895 deaths Burials at Kuntsevo Cemetery Writers from Moscow Russian art historians Corresponding members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences Honorary members of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences