The exhibition "Russian Italians" Sylvester Shchedrin was opened in St. Petersburg

The Mikhailovsky Castle in St. Petersburg, an exhibition of the works of Sylvester Shchedrin. This year marks 225 years since the birth of the artist. He is considered a brilliant representative of the golden age of Russian painting. However, most of his life Shchedrin spent abroad - in Italy. There he became one of the founders of the so-called School of Posillipo. Its representatives have worked in the genre of landscape. The exhibition is a picture of Shchedrin, as well as works by masters of the southern Italian school.

In the self-portrait - a young man with a painful blush on his face. Rather, an Englishman than a resident of the Eternal City. But it is in Italy Shchedrin created all of their important work.

"Initially, it came as a Fellow of the Academy of Arts. He successfully graduated with a gold medal. This gave him the right to receive a scholarship for three years ", - said a senior researcher at the Department of Painting of XVIII - first half of the XIX century, the State Russian Museum Lada Vikhoreva.

Italy at that time was the "promised land" for artists. However, Shchedrin attracted not majestic ruins of Rome, and a wonderful climate. Almost all the pictures of Sylvester Shchedrin very positive. They have a lot of sea, sun and some Italian serenity. And this is connected with the fact that he wrote always with nature, and only in good weather. Therefore, to meet on his canvases bad weather is impossible. Is that just leaving clouds.

He even managed to see the eruption of Vesuvius. But he has devoted to this event only a small sketch. Pension Shchedrin instead of three years, lasted five. But after he did not return home. only his paintings for wealthy clients go to Russia. Money is given the opportunity to move to Naples, where Shchedrin adjacent to the school of Posillipo as the most congenial.

"It was not, shall we say, to manifest the union with its status, with its own rules, membership cards, God forbid, with whom there would be taken. But it is the union of artists, which later became known as School of Posillipo ", - said the head of the department of painting XVIII - the first half of the XIX century, the State Russian Museum Gregory Goldovskiy.

This name appeared in an academic environment as an ironic symbol "artisans of painting." You can have different attitudes to the school of Posillipo, but its representatives first came out in the open air, and began to write from life. Thus, paving the way for the Impressionists. Only Shchedrin drew more than a dozen times in the coast of Sorrento at different sunlight. As the researchers note of his work, in his letters, and pictures the artist appears very bright man. He never thought about the poor. Perhaps, therefore, unexpected acute severe illness always found him by surprise. And look for a good doctor Shchedrin once was.

"This is some kind of hepatitis. He turned yellow skin. He could have lived longer, but one of the local doctors gave him a dose of medicine insane. A remedy was mercury ", - said Lada Vikhoreva.

Sylvester Shchedrin died in Sorrento, November 8, 1830, he was only 39. He left behind more than a hundred works. Over the years of his life in Italy Shchedrin so fond of Neapolitan that they have long brought flowers to the grave of the artist, calling him "our good Sylvester."