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
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
.
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
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
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 ...
at
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