Semyon Fyodorovich Shchedrin (1745–1804) was a Russian landscape painter, the uncle and mentor of

Sylvester Shchedrin Sylvester Feodosiyevich Shchedrin (russian: Сильвестр Феодосиевич Щедрин; 13 February 17918 November 1830) was a Russian landscape painter. Biography Sylvester Shchedrin was born in St. Petersburg into the family o ...

. Member of 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 ...

Biography

He was born in

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 ...

into the family of a life guard. In 1759, he entered the Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg, and in 1765 graduated with a gold medal and grants to study abroad. Shchedrin ventured to

Paris Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, then 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 ...

. In Paris he studied the works of old and contemporary painters. Under the influence of

Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment throughout Europe, as well as aspects of the French Revolu ...

's idea that beauty exists not only in classic patterns of arts but also in everyday life and nature, Shchedrin worked much en

plein-air ''En plein air'' (; French for 'outdoors'), or ''plein air'' painting, is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein air' painting ...

, otherwise known as painting in outdoor environments. In Rome, however, he fell under the influence 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 ...

, the idea that art should reflect the works of antiquity and thus prolong their successes. Shchedrin returned to St. Petersburg in 1776 and became a professor of landscape painting in the Academy of Arts. One of his students at the Academy was Fyodor Matveyev. Shchedrin was assigned to draw views of the palaces and parks of

Catherine the Great , en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes , house = , father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst , mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp , birth_date = , birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...

, which brought into existence such works as ''View of the Large Pond Island in the Tsarskoselsky Gardens'' (1777), ''View of the Large Pond in the Tsarskoselsky Gardens'' (1777), ''View of the Farmyard in the

Tsarskoye Selo Tsarskoye Selo ( rus, Ца́рское Село́, p=ˈtsarskəɪ sʲɪˈlo, a=Ru_Tsarskoye_Selo.ogg, "Tsar's Village") was the town containing a former residence of the Russian imperial family and visiting nobility, located south from the cen ...

'' (1777). After 1780, Shchedrin also participated in the restoration of pictures in the Hermitage, and in 1799 he headed a new class of landscape graphics. The pinnacle of his art career came in the 1790s. The most famous of his works of the period are views of parks and palaces in Pavlovsk,

Gatchina The town of Gatchina ( rus, Га́тчина, , ˈɡatːɕɪnə, links=y) serves as the administrative center of the Gatchinsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia. It lies south-south-west of St. Petersburg, along the E95 highway which ...

, and

Petergof Petergof (russian: Петерго́ф), known as Petrodvorets () from 1944 to 1997, is a municipal town in Petrodvortsovy District of the federal city of St. Petersburg, located on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland. The town hosts ...

: ''The Mill and the Peel Tower at Pavlovsk'' (1792), ''View of the Gatchina Palace from the Silver Lake'' (1798), ''View of the Gatchina Palace from Long Island'' (1798), ''The Stone Bridge at Gatchina'' (1799–1801), ''View of the

Kamennoostrovsky Palace Kamenny Island Palace (Каменноостровский дворец) is a former imperial palace on the south-western promontory of Kamenny Island in St. Petersburg. The Neoclassical edifice was commissioned in the 1770s by Catherine II of R ...

through Bolshaya Nevka from the Stroganov Seashore'' (1803). The composition of all of his works is the same in accordance with the rules of academic classicism.

Gallery

File:Semion Shchedrin The Stone Bridge in Gatchina near Constable Square.jpg, ''The Stone Bridge at Gatchina'' File:Semen Shchedrin - Пейзаж в окрестностях Петербурга - Google Art Project.jpg, ''View in Petersburg's Environs'' File:Shchedrin kamenny.jpg, ''View of Kamenny Island and the Palace in St. Petersburg'' File:Семен Щедрин. Пейзаж в Царскосельском парке с видом на ферму.jpg, ''Landscape in the park Tsarskoe Selo''

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shchedrin, Semyon Russian neoclassical painters Russian landscape painters 1745 births 1804 deaths