“Hymn of the Pythagoreans to the Rising Sun” was painted by the artist Fyodor Bronnikov. The painting was donated to the museum in 1967 by the Ostrogozhsk citizen, famous doctor, music lover, and art collector Mikhail Mikhailovich Melentyev.
Fyodor Andreyevich Bronnikov was one of the most prominent representatives of academic art in the second half of the 19th century. He was born into the family of an icon painter in the town of Shadrinsk (nowadays — part of the Kurgan Region). At an early age, Fyodor became fascinated with drawing, learning from his father who became his first teacher. After the death of his father, the sixteen-year-old boy went to St. Petersburg with a baggage train hoping to enter the Academy of Arts. During that time, representatives of the petty bourgeoisie were not admitted to the Academy, and Fyodor had to serve an apprenticeship with an engraver: in that role, he was noticed by the great sculptor Pyotr Klodt. He was the one who helped the talented young man obtain a free pass and attend drawing classes at the Imperial Academy of Arts as a non-matriculated student. To enter the Academy, a lot of paperwork was required to exclude Bronnikov from the petty bourgeoisie of Shadrinsk.
Very soon, members of the Academy recognized his talent. He received many well-deserved awards. In the end, Fyodor Bronnikov was awarded the Grand Gold Medal and the title of a classed artist, 1st degree which gave him the right to travel abroad at the Academy’s expense. In 1854, the artist went to Italy where he worked a lot: he painted portraits of wealthy citizens, landscapes, urban and rural streets, genre scenes from the life of Italians, as well as scenes from the history of Ancient Rome and the Middle Ages. He demonstrated his works at exhibitions of the Academy of Arts, the Society for Traveling Art Exhibitions, and abroad.
In Russia, Fyodor Bronnikov was recognized as the master of history painting. “Hymn of the Pythagoreans to the Rising Sun” from the collection of the Ostrogozhsk Art Gallery is an outstanding example of his work. Against an ancient landscape, he depicted a group of standing and kneeling men of various age, wearing long flowing garments. They are the Pythagoreans — members of a religious and political community. The painting had a heavy antique frame with relief wood carving.
The works of Fyodor Bronnikov are displayed in the Russian Museum, the Tretyakov Gallery, and in other museums in Russia and beyond.
Fyodor Andreyevich Bronnikov was one of the most prominent representatives of academic art in the second half of the 19th century. He was born into the family of an icon painter in the town of Shadrinsk (nowadays — part of the Kurgan Region). At an early age, Fyodor became fascinated with drawing, learning from his father who became his first teacher. After the death of his father, the sixteen-year-old boy went to St. Petersburg with a baggage train hoping to enter the Academy of Arts. During that time, representatives of the petty bourgeoisie were not admitted to the Academy, and Fyodor had to serve an apprenticeship with an engraver: in that role, he was noticed by the great sculptor Pyotr Klodt. He was the one who helped the talented young man obtain a free pass and attend drawing classes at the Imperial Academy of Arts as a non-matriculated student. To enter the Academy, a lot of paperwork was required to exclude Bronnikov from the petty bourgeoisie of Shadrinsk.
Very soon, members of the Academy recognized his talent. He received many well-deserved awards. In the end, Fyodor Bronnikov was awarded the Grand Gold Medal and the title of a classed artist, 1st degree which gave him the right to travel abroad at the Academy’s expense. In 1854, the artist went to Italy where he worked a lot: he painted portraits of wealthy citizens, landscapes, urban and rural streets, genre scenes from the life of Italians, as well as scenes from the history of Ancient Rome and the Middle Ages. He demonstrated his works at exhibitions of the Academy of Arts, the Society for Traveling Art Exhibitions, and abroad.
In Russia, Fyodor Bronnikov was recognized as the master of history painting. “Hymn of the Pythagoreans to the Rising Sun” from the collection of the Ostrogozhsk Art Gallery is an outstanding example of his work. Against an ancient landscape, he depicted a group of standing and kneeling men of various age, wearing long flowing garments. They are the Pythagoreans — members of a religious and political community. The painting had a heavy antique frame with relief wood carving.
The works of Fyodor Bronnikov are displayed in the Russian Museum, the Tretyakov Gallery, and in other museums in Russia and beyond.
