The artist Nikolai Bekker was born in 1877 in the family of the academician of architecture, state councilor Nikolai Bekker, who supervised the construction of apartment buildings in St. Petersburg. After grammar school, he entered the Institute of the Transport Engineers and began to take private lessons from the painter Joseph Krachkovsky.
In 1901, Bekker entered the Imperial Academy of Arts, where he studied until 1910, his teachers being Pavel Kovalevsky, Franz Roubaud and Jan Zionglinsky.
At first, Becker painted landscapes in oil and pastels. In 1914, he designed the set for the opera ‘Aida’ by Giuseppe Verdi for the theater of the People’s House in St. Petersburg.
However, Becker won renown as a master of fashionable portraits. The artist was commissioned to paint beautiful ladies and operetta divas, actresses, ballerinas, etc.
In 1901, Bekker entered the Imperial Academy of Arts, where he studied until 1910, his teachers being Pavel Kovalevsky, Franz Roubaud and Jan Zionglinsky.
At first, Becker painted landscapes in oil and pastels. In 1914, he designed the set for the opera ‘Aida’ by Giuseppe Verdi for the theater of the People’s House in St. Petersburg.
However, Becker won renown as a master of fashionable portraits. The artist was commissioned to paint beautiful ladies and operetta divas, actresses, ballerinas, etc.
