Evgraf Semenovich Sorokin, or Yevgraf Semyonovich Sorokin (russian: Евгра́ф Семёнович Соро́кин; 18 December 1821,

Nekrasovskoye Nekrasovskoye (russian: Некра́совское) is an urban locality (a work settlement) the administrative center of Nekrasovsky District in Yaroslavl Oblast Yaroslavl Oblast (russian: Яросла́вская о́бласть, ''Yarosla ...

(Bolshie Soli) – 1892,

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

) was a Russian artist and teacher; known for historical, religious and

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

paintings.

Biography

His first exposure to art came from an

icon painter 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 c ...

Yaroslavl Yaroslavl ( rus, Ярослáвль, p=jɪrɐˈsɫavlʲ) is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historic part of the city is a World Heritage Site, and is located at the confluence ...

. After a period of apprenticeship, a local priest who liked his work suggested that he create a painting of

Peter the Great Peter I ( – ), most commonly known as Peter the Great,) or Pyotr Alekséyevich ( rus, Пётр Алексе́евич, p=ˈpʲɵtr ɐlʲɪˈksʲejɪvʲɪtɕ, , group=pron was a Russian monarch who ruled the Tsardom of Russia from t ...

discovering the artist,

Andrey Matveyev Count Andrey Artamonovich Matveev (russian: Андрей Артамонович Матвеев) (1666–1728) was a Russian statesman of the Petrine epoch best remembered as one of the first Russian ambassadors and Peter the Great's agent in Lon ...

, for an upcoming visit by Tsar Nicholas I.Brief biography
@ RusArtNet. This painting was presented to the Tsar, who was sufficiently impressed to issue an order that Sorokin should study at the

Imperial Academy of Fine 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 ...

. In 1841, he entered the Academy under the supervision of

Alexey Tarasovich Markov Alexey Tarasovich Markov (russian: Алексей Тарасович Марков, 24 March 1802, Veliky Novgorod - 12 March 1878, Saint Petersburg) was a Russian history painter, academician and Professor Emeritus at the Imperial Academy of Art ...

. The following year, he was already receiving praise from the Academy Council. He won several silver medals and, in 1847, was awarded a gold medal for his rendering of

Daniel in the lions' den Daniel in the lions' den (chapter 6 of the Book of Daniel) tells of how the biblical Daniel is saved from lions by the God of Israel "because I was found blameless before him" (Daniel 6:22). It parallels and complements chapter 3, the story of ...

. Two years later, his painting of the folk hero, Ian Usmovets, won him a gold medal and a stipend to study abroad. He was in Spain from 1851 to 1854 and Italy from 1855 to 1859. In between, he toured Western Europe; visiting Egypt and Syria as well. Some of the works he created in Spain are among his best-known. In 1859, he returned home and was appointed a teacher at the

Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture The Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (russian: Московское училище живописи, ваяния и зодчества, МУЖВЗ) also known by the acronym MUZHZV, was one of the largest educational insti ...

, where he remained until his death. In 1861, he was named an "Academician" and created an

iconostasis In Eastern Christianity, an iconostasis ( gr, εἰκονοστάσιον) is a wall of icons and religious paintings, separating the nave from the sanctuary in a Church (building), church. ''Iconostasis'' also refers to a portable icon stand t ...

for the new

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral Alexander Nevsky Cathedral may refer to the following (alphabetically by country, then by town): * Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Baku in Azerbaijan * Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia in Bulgaria * Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Tallinn, Estonia * Al ...

in Paris. Later, he worked at the

Cathedral of Christ the Saviour The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour ( rus, Храм Христа́ Спаси́теля, r=Khram Khristá Spasítelya, p=xram xrʲɪˈsta spɐˈsʲitʲɪlʲə) is a Russian Orthodox cathedral in Moscow, Russia, on the northern bank of the Moskv ...

, where he also created an iconostasis and completed some images that had been left unfinished by Fyodor Bruni. For that work, he was promoted to "Professor" in 1878. His exact date of death is apparently unrecorded.

Selected paintings

File:Rendezvous by E.Sorokin (1858, Tretyakov gallery).jpg, ''Rendezvous'' (1858) File:Evgraf Semenovich Sorokin - Crucifixion.jpg, '' The Crucifixion'' (1873) File:Sorokin-Spanish Romani people.jpg, ''Spanish Gypsies'' (1853) File:Evgraf Semenovich Sorokin - Ian Usmovets Stopping an Angry Bull.jpg, ''Folk-hero Ian Usmovets Stopping an Angry Bull'' (1849) File:Beggar-girl Spaniard (Evgraf Sorokin).jpg, ''Spanish Beggar Girl'' (1852)

References

Literary sources

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sorokin, Evgraf Semenovich 19th-century painters from the Russian Empire Russian male painters 1821 births 1892 deaths Russian genre painters Religious artists Icon painters People from Nekrasovsky District 19th-century male artists from the Russian Empire Academic staff of the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture