Matthew Chizhov
Encyclopedia
Matthew Afanasyevich Chizhov (1838–1916) was a Russian sculptor.
Chizhov was born the son of a peasant mason on November 10, 1838 in the village of Pudov in the Podolsky District
of Moscow Oblast
. Chizhov's father had a small workshop and made tombstones for the Moscow German cemetery. Even as a small boy Chizhov made clay figurines of animals, and from the age of eleven he helped his father in his work.
Chizhov studed at Moscow's German School of St. Michael, then attended the Stroganov School of Technical Drawing where he learned sculpting under the guidance of Brovskogo. Brovskogo recommended him to Nikolai Alexandrovich Ramazanov, a professor at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture
, and advised Ramazanov to take the talented young man into the institution.
There, Chizhov began to systematically study sculpture and quickly showed his adeptness. In 1858, he fashioned a high relief sculture, "Champions", for which the school awarded him a silver medal. Another high relief, "Agony of the Saviour", also won Chizhov a silver medal.
Ramazanov took on Chizhov as his assistant in the execution of works for the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow. Chizhov, working from the drawings and sketches of his mentor, produced for the cathedral the huge high relief sculpture ""Christ's Descent into Hell". He also produced for two other Moscow churches the high reliefs "Assumption" and "Saint Nicholas".
Chizhov was soon invited by Mikhail Mikeshin
to participate in the project to create "Millennium of Russia
", a large monument erected in Novgorod in 1863. Chizhov created the high relief figures "Heroes", "Enlightenment", and "Statesmen" for this monument.
Chizhov moved to St. Petersburg, where in 1863 he enrolled in the Imperial Academy of Arts
, where he studied under Peter Klodt and Nikolai Pimenov. Chizhov soon won two silver medals for sculpting from life and a small gold medal in 1865 for "Kievan
riding with a bridle in his hands through the camp of the Pechenegs", a bronze copy of which exists at the Russian Museum
in Petersburg.
Chizhov's studies did not prevent him from performing a variety of private commissions and work for Mikeshin, including drawings for a model of the St. Petersburg monument to Catherine the Great and the fashioning of parts of this colossal monument to the empress.
Chizhov was graduated from the Academy in 1867 with the title of Expert Artist of the First Degree and a large gold medal earned for a high relief of Christ's resurrection, copies of which are now located at the Academy and in the Russian Museum. He then traveled in Europe, visiting several cities in Germany, Austria, and Italy before settling in Rome, where he spent six years in continuous work.
Of the numerous works executed by Chizhov during this period, the most noteworthy are:
All of these works were exhibited in St. Petersburg. The first two earned the artist, in 1873, the title of Academician. "The unfortunate peasant" earned, in 1874, a gold medal established by the Academy by the bequest of A. Rzhevsk and N. Demidov. "Frolicsome girl" won the Le Brun gold medal, third class, at the 1878 Paris World's Fair.
Back in St. Petersburg in 1875, Chizhov taught sculpture at the Saint Petersburg Art and Industry Academy
and was appointed as a scultor and art restorer at the Hermitage
. In 1893 he was made a member of the Academy of Fine Arts.
In addition to the works already mentioned, some of Chizov's major works include:
Chizhov died on May 28, 1916, in Petrograd.
Chizhov was born the son of a peasant mason on November 10, 1838 in the village of Pudov in the Podolsky District
Podolsky District
Podolsky District is an administrative and municipal district , one of the 38 in Moscow Oblast, Russia....
of Moscow Oblast
Moscow Oblast
Moscow Oblast , or Podmoskovye , is a federal subject of Russia . Its area, at , is relatively small compared to other federal subjects, but it is one of the most densely populated regions in the country and, with the 2010 population of 7,092,941, is the second most populous federal subject...
. Chizhov's father had a small workshop and made tombstones for the Moscow German cemetery. Even as a small boy Chizhov made clay figurines of animals, and from the age of eleven he helped his father in his work.
Chizhov studed at Moscow's German School of St. Michael, then attended the Stroganov School of Technical Drawing where he learned sculpting under the guidance of Brovskogo. Brovskogo recommended him to Nikolai Alexandrovich Ramazanov, a professor at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture
Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture
The Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture was one of the largest educational institutions in Russia. The school was formed by the 1865 merger of a private art college, established in Moscow in 1832, and the Palace School of Architecture, established in 1749 by Dmitry Ukhtomsky. By...
, and advised Ramazanov to take the talented young man into the institution.
There, Chizhov began to systematically study sculpture and quickly showed his adeptness. In 1858, he fashioned a high relief sculture, "Champions", for which the school awarded him a silver medal. Another high relief, "Agony of the Saviour", also won Chizhov a silver medal.
Ramazanov took on Chizhov as his assistant in the execution of works for the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow. Chizhov, working from the drawings and sketches of his mentor, produced for the cathedral the huge high relief sculpture ""Christ's Descent into Hell". He also produced for two other Moscow churches the high reliefs "Assumption" and "Saint Nicholas".
Chizhov was soon invited by Mikhail Mikeshin
Mikhail Mikeshin
Mikhail Osipovich Mikeshin was a Russian artist who regularly worked for the Romanov family and designed a number of outdoor statues in the major cities of the Russian Empire.Mikeshin was born on 21 February 1835 in a village near Roslavl...
to participate in the project to create "Millennium of Russia
Millennium of Russia
The Millennium of Russia is a famous bronze monument in the Novgorod Kremlin. It was erected in 1862 to celebrate the millennium of Rurik's arrival to Novgorod, an event traditionally taken as a starting point of Russian history.A competition to design the monument was held in 1859...
", a large monument erected in Novgorod in 1863. Chizhov created the high relief figures "Heroes", "Enlightenment", and "Statesmen" for this monument.
Chizhov moved to St. Petersburg, where in 1863 he enrolled in the Imperial Academy of Arts
Imperial Academy of Arts
The Russian Academy of Arts, informally known as the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, was founded in 1757 by Ivan Shuvalov under the name Academy of the Three Noblest Arts. Catherine the Great renamed it the Imperial Academy of Arts and commissioned a new building, completed 25 years later in 1789...
, where he studied under Peter Klodt and Nikolai Pimenov. Chizhov soon won two silver medals for sculpting from life and a small gold medal in 1865 for "Kievan
Kievan Rus'
Kievan Rus was a medieval polity in Eastern Europe, from the late 9th to the mid 13th century, when it disintegrated under the pressure of the Mongol invasion of 1237–1240....
riding with a bridle in his hands through the camp of the Pechenegs", a bronze copy of which exists at the Russian Museum
Russian Museum
The State Russian Museum is the largest depository of Russian fine art in St Petersburg....
in Petersburg.
Chizhov's studies did not prevent him from performing a variety of private commissions and work for Mikeshin, including drawings for a model of the St. Petersburg monument to Catherine the Great and the fashioning of parts of this colossal monument to the empress.
Chizhov was graduated from the Academy in 1867 with the title of Expert Artist of the First Degree and a large gold medal earned for a high relief of Christ's resurrection, copies of which are now located at the Academy and in the Russian Museum. He then traveled in Europe, visiting several cities in Germany, Austria, and Italy before settling in Rome, where he spent six years in continuous work.
Of the numerous works executed by Chizhov during this period, the most noteworthy are:
- "The game of hide and seek" (at the Russian Museum)
- "First love"
- "The unfortunate peasant" (at the Moscow Public Museum)
- "Frolicsome girl", a graceful figure of a girl crossing a stream on a log (many copies were made of this popular sculture; one is at Livadia PalaceLivadia PalaceLivadia Palace was a summer retreat of the last Russian tsar, Nicholas II, and his family in Livadiya, Crimea in southern Ukraine. The Yalta Conference was held there in 1945, when the palace housed the apartments of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and other members of the American delegation...
)
All of these works were exhibited in St. Petersburg. The first two earned the artist, in 1873, the title of Academician. "The unfortunate peasant" earned, in 1874, a gold medal established by the Academy by the bequest of A. Rzhevsk and N. Demidov. "Frolicsome girl" won the Le Brun gold medal, third class, at the 1878 Paris World's Fair.
Back in St. Petersburg in 1875, Chizhov taught sculpture at the Saint Petersburg Art and Industry Academy
Saint Petersburg Art and Industry Academy
The Saint Petersburg State Art and Industry Academy, named after Alexander von Stieglitz and informally known as the Vera Mukhina Higher School of Art and Design, was founded in Saint Petersburg in 1876 as the School of Technical Drawing of Baron Alexander von Stieglitz...
and was appointed as a scultor and art restorer at the Hermitage
Hermitage Museum
The State Hermitage is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. One of the largest and oldest museums of the world, it was founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great and has been opened to the public since 1852. Its collections, of which only a small part is on permanent display,...
. In 1893 he was made a member of the Academy of Fine Arts.
In addition to the works already mentioned, some of Chizov's major works include:
- Busts of the Emperor Alexander IIAlexander II of RussiaAlexander II , also known as Alexander the Liberator was the Emperor of the Russian Empire from 3 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881...
, created for the Kharkov Court of Justice and for the County Council of PermPerm OblastUntil December 1, 2005, Perm Oblast was a federal subject of Russia in Privolzhsky Federal District. According to the results of the referendum held in October 2004, Perm Oblast was merged with Komi-Permyak Autonomous Okrug to form Perm Krai.The oblast was named after its administrative center,...
. - Busts of Prince Peter Oldenburg (in the Imperial School of JurisprudenceImperial School of JurisprudenceThe Imperial School of Jurisprudence was, along with the Page Corps, the most prestigious school for noble boys in Saint Petersburg, the capital of the Russian Empire....
) and of Mikhail GlinkaMikhail GlinkaMikhail Ivanovich Glinka , was the first Russian composer to gain wide recognition within his own country, and is often regarded as the father of Russian classical music...
(in the foyer of the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg). - Busts of the artist Alexei Bogolyubov and F. G. Gromov (in Saint Petersburg Art and Industry AcademySaint Petersburg Art and Industry AcademyThe Saint Petersburg State Art and Industry Academy, named after Alexander von Stieglitz and informally known as the Vera Mukhina Higher School of Art and Design, was founded in Saint Petersburg in 1876 as the School of Technical Drawing of Baron Alexander von Stieglitz...
) and Nikolay Nekrasov (in the cemetery of the Novodevichy ConventNovodevichy Cemetery (Saint Petersburg)Novodevichy Cemetery in Saint Petersburg is a historic cemetery in the South-West part of the city near the Moscow Triumphal Gate. The cemetery is named after the historical Resurrection Convent...
in St. Petersburg). - A colossal statue of L. Knoop in his monument at his Kreenholm factory.
- A great bust of Alexander II and decorations on the pedestal for the monument the emperor in KaliszKaliszKalisz is a city in central Poland with 106,857 inhabitants , the capital city of the Kalisz Region. Situated on the Prosna river in the southeastern part of the Greater Poland Voivodeship, the city forms a conurbation with the nearby towns of Ostrów Wielkopolski and Nowe Skalmierzyce...
. - A large statue of Emperor Nicholas INicholas I of RussiaNicholas I , was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855, known as one of the most reactionary of the Russian monarchs. On the eve of his death, the Russian Empire reached its historical zenith spanning over 20 million square kilometers...
for his monument in Kiev. - A monument to Admiral Pavel NakhimovPavel NakhimovPavel Stepanovich Nakhimov |Siege of Sevastopol]] during the Crimean War.-Biography:Born in the Gorodok village of Vyazma district of Smolensk region. Nakhimov entered the Naval Academy for the Nobility in Saint Petersburg in 1815. He made his first sea voyage in 1817, aboard the frigate Feniks ,...
in SimferopolSimferopol-Russian Empire and Civil War:The city was renamed Simferopol in 1784 after the annexation of the Crimean Khanate to the Russian Empire by Catherine II of Russia. The name Simferopol is derived from the Greek, Συμφερόπολις , translated as "the city of usefulness." In 1802, Simferopol became the...
. - A monument to Count Mikhail Vilensky in Vilna.
- A monument to Catherine the Great in OdessaOdessaOdessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
. - Figure-group sculptures: "At the well", "The reading lesson", and others.
Chizhov died on May 28, 1916, in Petrograd.