Pyotr Mikhailovich Shamshin (Russian: Пётр Михайлович Шамшин; (10 January 1811 – 6 February 1895)Biographical notes @ Art Catalog.ru. was a Russian painter in the Academical style, active in St. Petersburg during Tsars Nicholas I through Alexander III's reigns, primarily known for his history paintings.
Biography His father, , was a portrait painter who taught at the Imperial Academy of Arts.Life and appreciation @ LiveInternet. At the age of ten, he entered the primary school at the Academy and studied under Alexei Yegorov and Vasily Shebuyev, with Pyotr Basin joining much later. In 1836, he was awarded a large gold medal for his depiction of the massacre of Niobe's children by Artemis and Apollo..
He graduated in 1838 with the title of "Artist" and a small gold medal for a scene from the Iliad. His title included a stipend to study abroad, so he went to Italy and remained there for seven years. After returning, he became a teacher at the Academy. He was elected an Imperial Academician in 1844 for his paintings of Hagar in the desert and Peter the Great rescuing drowning soldiers near his estate in Lakhta; an act that probably hastened Peter's death.
He was awarded the title of Professor in 1853 for his version of the Resurrection. Six years later, due to changes in the Academy's charter, he was redesignated as an "Associate Professor". In 1863, he became a "Professor, First Degree". After holding that position for twenty years, he was named the Rector for painting and sculpture. Among his best-known students were Isaak Asknaziy, , Viktor Bobrov and Vasily Smirnov. Shortly before his death, due to a new statute for the Academy, he was dismissed because of age. His burial, at the Smolensky Cemetery, was lost during the Soviet era.
Most of his works were religious in nature and may be seen at Saint Isaac's Cathedral and the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. He also painted for smaller churches throughout Russia, but some of those works were lost or destroyed during the early Soviet period.
Selected paintings
References
Further reading
External links
Pyotr Shamshin at the Russian Academy of Arts' official website