Makhaev, Mikhail Ivanovich

Born in 1718; died Mar. 30 (Apr. 10), 1770. Russian draftsman and engraver.

Makhaev studied and worked primarily at the studios of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences (from 1731). He drew views of cities, mainly of St. Petersburg, Moscow, and their environs, which he intended to reproduce in copper engravings (drawings for the album Plan of the Capital City of St. Petersburg, published in 1753). Makhaev’s drawings are noted for their accuracy, masterful rendering of perspective and the ambience of light and air, and picturesqueness. His work marked an important phase in the evolution of Russian art: the panoramic depictions of cities typical of Petrine times gave way to integrated representations of landscapes.