Nikolai Nevrev

Self-portrait, (1858), Tretyakov Gallery.

Nikolai Vasilyevich Nevrev (Russian: Никола́й Васи́льевич Не́врев) (1830–1904) was a Russian painter.

Life

Nevrev was born to a family of merchants in Moscow. At the age of 21, Nevrev entered the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, where he studied under the Russian-Italian painter, Mikhail Scotti. In the 60s, Nevrev painted one of his masterpieces, "The Bargain" (1866), in which he depicted the sale of a serf. His other paintings focused on criticisms of the Church.

Painting

He temporarily stopped working in the 1870s, for seemingly unknown reasons, but began painting historical art in the 80s. In 1881, Nevrev became a member of the Association of Travelling Art Exhibitions. Nevrev's best work during this time was arguably his genre paintings, each exhibiting a human moral. At the age of 74, Nevrev lost his son and consequently committed suicide.

Commemoration

On 25 September 1980, the Soviet Union issued a 6 kopek postage stamp commemorating the 150th anniversary of his birth (together with that of Konstantin Flavitsky).

An international open-air painting festival is held annually in his honor in the Mogilev Region of Belarus.