Sofia Vasilievna Sukhovo-Kobylina (Russian: Софья Васильевна Сухово-Кобылина; 1825,

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

- 7 October 1867,

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 ...

?) was a Russian painter. She was the first woman to graduate with honors from 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 ...

. Her sister,

Evgenia Tur Evgenia Tur (russian: link=no, Евге́ния Тур; 24 August 1815 – 27 March 1892) was a Russian writer, critic, journalist and publisher. Her birth name was Elizaveta Vasilyevna Sukhovo-Kobylina. Her full married name was Countess Elizavet ...

, and brother,

Alexander Sukhovo-Kobylin Aleksandr Vasilyevich Sukhovo-Kobylin (russian: Александр Васильевич Сухово-Кобылин) (, Moscow - , Beaulieu-sur-Mer, France), was a Russian philosopher and playwright, chiefly known for his satirical plays criticizi ...

, were both well-known writers.

Biography

She was born to wealthy landowning family. Her father, Vasily (1782-1873), was a Marshal of Nobility. She and her siblings were educated at home by professors from

Moscow University M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...

. After deciding on a career as an artist, she received lessons from the landscape painter,

Yegor Meyer Yegor Yegorovich Meyer (Russian: Егор Егорович Мейер; (1820/1823, Novgorod - 29 January 1867, Saint Petersburg) was a Russian landscape painter and explorer who spent part of his career in Siberia. Biography In 1839, he began ...

.Brief biography
from the ''Russian Biographical Dictionary'' @ Russian WikiSource. Convinced that she had talent, he lobbied for her admission to the Imperial Academy. In 1849, one of her works was highly praised at an Academy exhibition. From 1850 to 1851, she accompanied Meyer and some of his other students on a trip to Italy. A painting she sent back to the Academy as an examination piece was awarded a silver medal. From 1852 to 1853, she went on another trip with Meyer; this time to

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

. A painting she sent back from there was awarded a gold medal. She graduated in 1854 with another gold medal and executed a painting that showed herself receiving the medal, as a message that this academic path was now open to women. In 1857, she went to live in Rome and her home became a gathering place for Russian artists visiting Italy. While there, she gradually moved away from landscape painting in favor of portraits. She also wrote essays for Russian magazines about famous Russians who visited or lived in Rome, many of which are still valuable to historians. Information on the last months of her life are contradictory. The ''

Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary The ''Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopaedic Dictionary'' (Russian: Энциклопедический словарь Брокгауза и Ефрона, abbr. ЭСБЕ, tr. ; 35 volumes, small; 86 volumes, large) is a comprehensive multi-volume ...

'' says she died in Rome,Brief biography
from the B&E Dictionary @ Russian WikiSource while the ''

Russian Biographical Dictionary The ''Russian Biographical Dictionary'' (RBD, russian: Русский биографический словарь) is a Russian-language biographical dictionary published by the Russian Historian Society edited by a collective with Alexander Polov ...

'' says that she returned to her father's estate near Kobylinka shortly before her death. A major retrospective was held at the Imperial Academy in 1868 and over 150 of her works were sold; the majority of them landscapes of Italy and portraits of famous Italians. Most of her paintings remain in private collections.

Selected paintings

File:S Suhovo-Kobylina Italyanskij Pejzazh(2).jpg, Italian landscape File:S V Suhovo-Kobylina Pered Grozoj.jpg, Before the storm File:S Suhovo-Kobylina Italyanskij Pejzazh(1).jpg, Italian landscape (etude) File:Sukhovo-Kobylina-Graduation.jpg, Self-depiction of
her graduation from
the Academy

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sukhovo-Kobylina, Sofia 1825 births 1867 deaths 19th-century painters from the Russian Empire 19th-century women artists from the Russian Empire Russian landscape painters Russian portrait painters Russian emigrants to Italy Russian women painters