Fyodor Mikhaylovich Matveyev (russian: Фёдор Михайлович Матвеев; 1758–1826) was a Russian classicist landscape painter, most recognizable for his Italian landscapes. He was one of the first Russian landscape painters.

Biography

Matveyev was a son of a soldier of the

Izmaylovsky Regiment The Izmaylovsky Regiment (russian: Изма́йловский лейб-гва́рдии полк, Izmáylovskiy leyb-gvárdii polk) was one of the oldest regiments of the Imperial Russian Army, a subdivision of the 1st Guards Infantry Division o ...

. He was admitted to 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 ...

, where he graduated from in 1778 with a Grand Gold medal. One of his professors was Semyon Shchedrin. Matveyev specialized from the very beginning as a landscape painter and became the first landscape artist graduated with a gold medal. He was subsequently awarded a fellowship to travel to Europe, as was common at the time for talented graduates of the Academy. In 1779, Matveyev travelled to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and eventually settled there. He never returned to Russia and died in Italy in 1826. Matveyev travelled back and forth in Italy and surrounding countries, painting landscapes. Initially, he had commissions from Russian nobles residing in Italy. Eventually, the commissions thinned out, and Matveyev wrote letters to the Imperial Academy of Arts in 1789 and 1795, asking to subsidize his return to Russia. Apparently, he did not receive any reply. In 1806, he sent his painting ''View around Naples'' to the Academy and was awarded the title of the academician. He created oil paintings as well as a number of graphic works. Most of the paintings are made according to the strict rules of

classicism Classicism, in the arts, refers generally to a high regard for a classical period, classical antiquity in the Western tradition, as setting standards for taste which the classicists seek to emulate. In its purest form, classicism is an aestheti ...

, meaning the image is similar to the theater scene, with buildings or trees at the sides. There are always people present in the landscape, to indicate the scale. Landscapes by Matveyev never represent original landscapes with photographic precision. In contrast, his drawings are much more skewed towards

Romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...

, and may actually be first Russian Romantic landscapes. Matveyev tivoli.jpg, A landscape in the vicinity of Tivoli

Tretyakov Gallery The State Tretyakov Gallery (russian: Государственная Третьяковская Галерея, ''Gosudarstvennaya Tretyâkovskaya Galereya''; abbreviated ГТГ, ''GTG'') is an art gallery in Moscow, Russia, which is considered th ...

(1819) Fyodor Matveyev 1.jpg, View of

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 ...

Colosseum The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world to ...

(1816) Forum of Rome.jpg, View of Rome. Ruins of the Forum (1816) Матвеев. Швейцарский пейзаж.jpg, Swiss landscape (1818) Cascades of the Papal Palace by F Matveyev.JPG, Cascades of the Papal Palacein the vicinity of Rome (1818) Fedor Matveev Vodopad Imatra 1819.jpg, Imatra Falls in Finland

Russian Museum The State Russian Museum (russian: Государственный Русский музей), formerly the Russian Museum of His Imperial Majesty Alexander III (russian: Русский Музей Императора Александра III), on ...

(1819)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matveyev, Fyodor Russian neoclassical painters Landscape painters from the Russian Empire 1758 births 1826 deaths