Fedot Ivanovich Shubin (May 28, 1740 – May 24, 1805) is widely regarded as the greatest

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

of 18th-century

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Biography

A peasant's son, Fedot Shubnoy was born in a

Pomor Pomors or Pomory ( rus, помо́ры, p=pɐˈmorɨ, ''seasiders'') are an ethnographic group descended from Russian settlers, primarily from Veliky Novgorod, living on the White Sea coasts and the territory whose southern border lies on a ...

village near Kholmogory and, inspired by the example of his neighbour Mikhail Lomonosov, he walked all the way to St Petersburg at the age of 18. Lomonosov took notice of his talent in walrus ivory carving ( a folkcraft traditionally practised in Kholmogory) and helped him join the newly established

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 T ...

, where his instructor, Nicolas-François Gillet, was so impressed with his abilities that he had Shubin awarded with a gold medal, which opened to him the prospect of furthering his education abroad. Through the help of Falconet, in 1767 he joined the

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atelier of the great Pigalle, before moving to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

three years later. Upon his return to Russia in 1772, Shubin became the most fashionable and sought-after sculptor in the country. In the 1770s and 1780s, he executed numerous pieces for the

Marble Palace Marble Palace (Мраморный дворец) is one of the first Neoclassical palaces in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is situated between the Field of Mars and Palace Quay, slightly to the east from New Michael Palace. Design and pre-1917 o ...

and the Alexandro-Nevsky Lavra, designed 58 medallions representing all the Russian sovereigns from Rurik onward, and was admitted into the Academy of Arts as an academician. The intrigues of his rivals undermined his career, however. He remained destitute until 1794, when the academy eventually bestowed a professorship on him. A plaster copy of an early Shubin bust of Tsar Alexander I is housed at

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the natio ...

's house

Monticello Monticello ( ) was the primary plantation of Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, who began designing Monticello after inheriting land from his father at age 26. Located just outside Charlottesville, V ...

in Albemarle County, Virginia. The original Shubin work was a gift from the American

consul general A consul is an official representative of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, as well as to facilitate trade and friendship between the people ...

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 ...

, Levett Harris, in 1804. Shubin's original work given by Harris to Jefferson was lost. Shubin's portrait of Tsar Alexander is in the collection of the Voronezh Museum of Plastic Arts in

Voronezh Voronezh ( rus, links=no, Воро́неж, p=vɐˈronʲɪʂ}) is a city and the administrative centre of Voronezh Oblast in southwestern Russia straddling the Voronezh River, located from where it flows into the Don River. The city sits on ...

, Russia. The plaster copy, executed in 1955, is housed in the parlor at Monticello.

Works

File:Скульптура Екатерины II в "Русском Музее", г.Санкт-Петербург (2).jpg, Marble statue of Catherine II (1789-1790) File:Grigoriy Orlov by F.Shubin (1773, GRM) by shakko 02.jpg, Count

Grigory Orlov Prince Grigory Grigoryevich Orlov (russian: Князь Григорий Григорьевич Орлов; 6 October 1734, Bezhetsky Uyezd – 13 April 1783, Moscow) was a favourite of the Empress Catherine the Great of Russia. He became a leade ...

(1773) File:Maria Panina by Shubin (GTG, 1770s) by shakko 02.jpg, Countess Maria Panina (1775) File:Alexander Bezborodko by F.Shubin by shakko 02.jpg, Count

Alexander Bezborodko Prince Alexander Andreyevich Bezborodko (russian: Князь Алекса́ндр Андре́евич Безборо́дко; 6 April 1799) was the Grand Chancellor of Russian Empire and chief architect of Catherine the Great's foreign policy aft ...

File:Marble bust of Catherine the Great, 1771 CE. From Rome, Italy. By Fedot Shubin, commissioned by Ivan Shuvalov for Catherine the Great. The Victoria and Albert Museum, London.jpg, Marble bust of Catherine the Great (1771)From Rome, Italy. By Fedot Shubin, commissioned by Ivan Shuvalov for Catherine the Great. The Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

References

External links

The Grove Dictionary of Art

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shubin Russian male sculptors Neoclassical sculptors Pomors 1740 births 1805 deaths People from Kholmogorsky District Burials at Lazarevskoe Cemetery (Saint Petersburg) 18th-century sculptors from the Russian Empire