Simon (Pimen) Fyodorovich Ushakov (Russian: Симон (Пимен) Федорович Ушаков) (1626 – 25 June 1686) was a leading

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-ei ...

icon An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The mos ...

painter of the late 17th-century. Together with Fyodor Zubov and Fyodor Rozhnov, he is associated with the comprehensive reform of the

Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

undertaken by

Patriarch Nikon Nikon ( ru , Ни́кон, Old Russian: ''Нїконъ''), born Nikita Minin (''Никита Минин''; 7 May 1605 – 17 August 1681) was the seventh Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus' of the Russian Orthodox Church, serving officially fro ...

. We know almost nothing about the early years of Simon Ushakov. His birth date is deduced from his inscription on one of the icons: ''In the year 7166 painted this icon Simon Ushakov son, being 32 years of age''. At 22 he became a paid artist of the Silver Chamber, affiliated with the Armory

Prikaz A prikaz (russian: прика́з, ''prikaz''; , plural: ) was an administrative, judicial, territorial, or executive office functioning on behalf of palace, civil, military, or church authorities in Muscovy and in Russia from the 15th to the 1 ...

. The bright, fresh colours and exquisite, curving lines of his proto-

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 ...

icons caught the eye of

, who introduced Simon to the tsar

Alexei Mikhailovich Aleksey Mikhaylovich ( rus, Алексе́й Миха́йлович, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsʲej mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ; – ) was the Tsar of Russia from 1645 until his death in 1676. While finding success in foreign affairs, his reign saw several wars ...

. He became a great favourite with the royal family and was eventually (1664) assigned to 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. ( ...

, run by an educated

boyar A boyar or bolyar was a member of the highest rank of the feudal nobility in many Eastern European states, including Kievan Rus', Bulgaria, Russia, Wallachia and Moldavia, and later Romania, Lithuania and among Baltic Germans. Boyars were ...

Bogdan Khitrovo Bogdan Matveyevich Khitrovo (russian: Богдан Матвеевич Хитрово) (ca. 1615 – 27 March 1680) was a high-placed Russian statesman, or boyar, who served Tsar Alexis and his son Fyodor III, supporting the party of Maria Miloslav ...

. Ushakov had a lot of pupils and associates and even published a short treatise on icon-painting entitle
''A Word to Loving-Meticulous Icon Painting''
(1664). Some of the more conservative Russian priests, such as archpriest

Avvakum Avvakum Petrov (russian: link=no, Аввакум Петров; 20 November 1620/21 – 14 April 1682) (also spelled Awakum) was an Old Believer and Russian protopope of the Kazan Cathedral on Red Square who led the opposition to Patriarch N ...

, regarded his icons as "lascivious works of devil", for they were too Western for their tastes. Avvakum, in particular, alleged that Ushakov painted his "fleshly saints" after his own portly appearance. Ushakov also executed secular commissions and produced engravings for book illustrations. In other words, he was one of the first secular painters in Russia. Some of his icons, transported to Western Europe, were instrumental in fomenting interest for nascent Russian painting. He died on 25 June 1686 in Moscow.
Chapter on Ushakov and his school from Igor Grabar's ''History of Russian Art''
*V. N. Alexandrov, ''History of Russian Art'', Minsk, 2004,

External links

– in Russian

– in Russian {{DEFAULTSORT:Ushakov, Simon 17th-century Russian painters Russian male painters Russian icon painters 1626 births 1686 deaths