Nikolai Ivanovich Fechin was a painter, graphic artist, and a sculptor, a representative of Impressionism and Art Nouveau.

During his time in Kazan, from 1909 to 1920, the artist showed his maturity as a draftsman.

Those 15 years he taught at the Kazan Art School and headed the still life and life drawing classes of the painting department saw him raise teaching to a qualitatively new level.

The graphics of this period are quite diverse. They are represented by sketches and studies of future works, portraits and still life set-ups.

Fechin graduated from the Higher Art School at the Imperial Academy of Arts where he studied in the workshop of the painter Ilya Repin. This affected the development of his teaching approach.

The artist was particularly known for his method of visual teaching. He often put his easel in the classroom, choosing the most difficult angles. He worked alongside his pupils. During this period, he created many studies (i.e., instructional drawings, sketches) from nudes.

The aspiring artists saw Nikolai Fechin as a teacher who, having studied in Repin’s studio, became a master himself, inspiring them by his personal example.

The teacher nurtured talented artists who occupied a prominent place in Soviet art and pedagogy. Among them are the painter Fyodor Modorov, the artist and memoirist Alexander Solovyov, the painter Nikolai Khristenko, the painter Nikita Sverchkov, the Mari artist and public figure Alexander Grigoriev and many others.

Teaching the craft and interacting with young people served as a creative stimulus for the artist.

Nikolai Fechin used the traditions of Repin’s drawing, but was able to develop an independent manner. His studies were based on the techniques of academic drawing, where all conditions were observed — the image of a nude model, who is isolated from her surroundings, and light-and-dark modeling.

Nikolai Fechin retained his interest in studies for the rest of his life.

The works of the Kazan period that have survived to this day are housed in Russian museums and private collections.