This portrait depicts Alexander Fomin, the famous public figure of the 18th century, painted by an unknown artist.
The museum received the work under the title “Portrait of a Young Man in a Pink Caftan”. Thanks to research work, it was possible to establish the name of the person depicted: Alexander Fomin — an Arkhangelsk merchant, collector of old books and manuscripts, ethnographer, public figure, and traveler.
Fomin was born in 1733 in an Arkhangelsk merchant family and received a good home education by the standards of that time: he knew Latin and German and had a penchant for natural sciences. In 1759, Alexander Fomin became one of the founders of the Arkhangelsk Society for Historical Research. He collected information on the geography and topography of the Russian North and had his articles included in academic publications. Fomin opened the first bookstore in the city, which sold books published by the Russian Academy of Sciences. They were brought to the city along with merchants, who took their products to St. Petersburg and returned empty. Fomin was the first entrepreneur to implement the pre-order strategy: buyers could place an order for any book from the Academy in the store, and the publication came with the next delivery.
On September 11, 1786, Fomin, as a person who had “sufficient scientific knowledge and propensity to use it” and upon the recommendation of Governor-General Timofey Tutolmin, was appointed the head of the public schools of the Arkhangelsk viceroyalty. He ruled the viceroyalty for 10 years.
In 1795, Fomin was elected a Corresponding Member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. Before that, he collaborated with encyclopedists Ivan Lepyokhin and Nikolay Ozeretskovsky.
Alexander Fomin had two sons and a few daughters. His last descendant died in Arkhangelsk in 1840.
In the portrait, the artist depicted his character in a caftan fashionable at that time, embroidered with gold and silver threads. The merchant’s head is adorned with a traditional powdered wig. Similar wigs, with a short ponytail and a black ribbon wrapped around it, replaced peruke wigs that were popular in the early 18th century.
The museum received the work under the title “Portrait of a Young Man in a Pink Caftan”. Thanks to research work, it was possible to establish the name of the person depicted: Alexander Fomin — an Arkhangelsk merchant, collector of old books and manuscripts, ethnographer, public figure, and traveler.
Fomin was born in 1733 in an Arkhangelsk merchant family and received a good home education by the standards of that time: he knew Latin and German and had a penchant for natural sciences. In 1759, Alexander Fomin became one of the founders of the Arkhangelsk Society for Historical Research. He collected information on the geography and topography of the Russian North and had his articles included in academic publications. Fomin opened the first bookstore in the city, which sold books published by the Russian Academy of Sciences. They were brought to the city along with merchants, who took their products to St. Petersburg and returned empty. Fomin was the first entrepreneur to implement the pre-order strategy: buyers could place an order for any book from the Academy in the store, and the publication came with the next delivery.
On September 11, 1786, Fomin, as a person who had “sufficient scientific knowledge and propensity to use it” and upon the recommendation of Governor-General Timofey Tutolmin, was appointed the head of the public schools of the Arkhangelsk viceroyalty. He ruled the viceroyalty for 10 years.
In 1795, Fomin was elected a Corresponding Member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. Before that, he collaborated with encyclopedists Ivan Lepyokhin and Nikolay Ozeretskovsky.
Alexander Fomin had two sons and a few daughters. His last descendant died in Arkhangelsk in 1840.
In the portrait, the artist depicted his character in a caftan fashionable at that time, embroidered with gold and silver threads. The merchant’s head is adorned with a traditional powdered wig. Similar wigs, with a short ponytail and a black ribbon wrapped around it, replaced peruke wigs that were popular in the early 18th century.
