Ivan Nikitich Nikitin (russian: link=no, Иван Никитич Никитин c. 1690–1741) was a Russian painter, an author of portraits and battle paintings.

Biography

Ivan Nikitin was born in Moscow to a family of an

Orthodox Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to: Religion * Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pag ...

priest. He received his first artistic lessons from a Dutch artist Schwonbek at the engraving shop of the

Kremlin Armoury The Kremlin Armoury,Officially called the "Armou/ory Chamber" but also known as the cannon yard, the "Armou/ory Palace", the "Moscow Armou/ory", the "Armou/ory Museum", and the "Moscow Armou/ory Museum" but different from the Kremlin Arsenal. (r ...

. In 1711 the Armory together with Ivan Nikitin was moved to

Saint 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 ...

. In 1716–1720 he and his brother Roman Nikitin were sent 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 ...

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 ...

. The brothers learnt the art of painting at

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

and

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

. After returning to

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Nikitin became the favorite court painter of Peter the Great. He worked in Moscow and Saint Petersburg. After Peter's death in 1725 Nikitin continued to work at the court until 1732, when he and his brothers Roman and Rodion (the dean of the Cathedral of the Annunciation in

Moscow Kremlin The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of the kremlins (R ...

) were arrested for the distribution of pamphlets against vice-Procurator of

Synod A synod () is a council of a Christian denomination, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. The word ''wikt:synod, synod'' comes from the meaning "assembly" or "meeting" and is analogous with the Latin ...

Feofan Prokopovich. Ivan was tortured, for five years imprisoned in the

Peter and Paul Fortress The Peter and Paul Fortress is the original citadel of St. Petersburg, Russia, founded by Peter the Great in 1703 and built to Domenico Trezzini's designs from 1706 to 1740 as a star fortress. Between the first half of the 1700s and early 1920s i ...

, then whipped and exiled to

Tobolsk Tobolsk (russian: Тобо́льск) is a town in Tyumen Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Tobol and Irtysh rivers. Founded in 1590, Tobolsk is the second-oldest Russian settlement east of the Ural Mountains in Asian Russia, and i ...

. In 1740

Anna of Russia Anna Ioannovna (russian: Анна Иоанновна; ), also russified as Anna Ivanovna and sometimes anglicized as Anne, served as regent of the duchy of Courland from 1711 until 1730 and then ruled as Empress of Russia from 1730 to 1740. Much ...

signed an amnesty for the brothers. The amnesty came into force in 1741. By request of the new Empress

Elizabeth of Russia Elizabeth Petrovna (russian: Елизаве́та (Елисаве́та) Петро́вна) (), also known as Yelisaveta or Elizaveta, reigned as Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death in 1762. She remains one of the most popular Russian ...

, Nikitin travelled back from

to Saint Petersburg and died somewhere on the road either in late 1741 or in early 1742.

Works

The early portraits by Nikitin had a strong influence of the traditional 17th century parsuna style: no perspective, rigid local colors, dark backgrounds. The later portraits are typical

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

paintings. Most art historians consider the Nikitin's best portraits to be ''Chancellor G. I. Golovkin'' and A Malorossian Hetman. There are problems with attributing of the subject of the portrait, with different historians arguing that he is Ivan Mazepa or Ivan Skoropadsky or Kazimir Ian Sapega, or

Pavlo Polubotok Pavlo Polubotok ( uk, Павло Леонтійович Полуботок, russian: Павел Леонтьевич Полуботок, pl, Paweł Połubotok; born around 1660, died on 29 December 1724), was a Ukrainian Cossack political and mili ...

, but they all are equal in emphasising the psychological depth of the portrait. Besides portraits, Ivan Nikitin is also considered to be the first notable Russian battle painter due to his paintings of the

Battle of Poltava The Battle of Poltava; russian: Полта́вская би́тва; uk, Полта́вська би́тва (8 July 1709) was the decisive and largest battle of the Great Northern War. A Russian army under the command of Tsar Peter I defeate ...

and Battle of Kulikovo. File:Nikitin Elizaveta.jpg, Princess Elizabeth, 1712–1713 File:Praskovia Ioannovna by I.Nikitin (1714, Russian museum).jpg, Tsarevna Praskovya Ivanovna, 1714 File:Nikitin Peter 1.jpg,

, 1715–1716 File:Anna Petrovna of Russia by I.Nikitin (before 1718, Tretyakov gallery).jpg, Grand Duchess

Anna Petrovna Grand Duchess Anna Petrovna of Russia (russian: А́нна Петро́вна; 27 January 1708 – 4 March 1728) was the eldest daughter of Emperor Peter I of Russia and his wife Empress Catherine I. Her younger sister, Empress Elizabeth, ...

, before 1716 File:Natalia Alexeevna by I.Nikitin (before 1716, GTG).jpg, Tsarevna Natalya Alexeyevna 1716 File:Nikitin Ekaterina.jpg,

Catherine I of Russia Catherine I ( rus, Екатери́на I Алексе́евна Миха́йлова, Yekaterína I Alekséyevna Mikháylova; born , ; – ) was the second wife and empress consort of Peter the Great, and Empress Regnant of Russia from 1725 un ...

, 1717 File:Nikitin Peter 1717.jpg,

, 1717 File:Maria kantemir (?) by i.nikitin.jpeg, Maria Cantemir File:Chancelor G.I.Golovkin by I.Nikitin (1720s, Tretyakov gallery).jpg, Chancellor G. I. Golovkin 1720s File:Deathbed portrait of Peter I by I.Nikitin (1725, Russian museum).jpg,

on the deathbed 1725 File:Nikitin stroganov.jpg, Baron Sergei Grigoriyevich Stroganov 1726 image:Praskovia Saltykova by I.Nikitin (18th c., Sergiev Posad).jpg, Tsarina Praskovia Saltykova

External links

Nikitin's site
– in Russian
Biography
– in Russian

– in Russian {{DEFAULTSORT:Nikitin, Ivan 1741 deaths 18th-century painters from the Russian Empire Russian male painters Year of birth uncertain War artists