Origins & Early Life

Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin (Russian: Иван Иванович Шишкин; 25 January [O.S. 13 January] 1832 – 20 March [O.S. 8 March] 1898) was a Russian Realist painter and draughtsman, best known for his landscape subjects. One of the most notable artisans to emerge during Tsar Alexander II's reign, he was among founding members of the Peredvizhniki company.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

Shishkin was born in Yelabuga, Vyatka Governorate (today Republic of Tatarstan). He came from a family of Yelabuga merchants and was the son of grain merchant Ivan Vasilyevich Shishkin (1792–1872). The artist’s grandfather, Vasily Afanasyevich Shishkin-Serebryakov (1764–1827), was a palace peasant who registered as a third-guild merchant in Yelabuga in 1792. At the age of 12 Shishkin was enrolled in the First Kazan Boys' Gymnasium but after five years of study he returned home to Yelabuga, where he lived for four years. In 1852 he entered the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, where he studied for four years until 1856.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

After completing his course, he continued his education at the Saint Petersburg Imperial Academy of Arts from 1857 to 1860, where he became a student of the landscape...

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