Zauerveid, Aleksandr

Zauerveid, Aleksandr Ivanovich

 

Born Feb. 19 (Mar. 2), 1783, in St. Petersburg (according to other sources in Latvia); died Oct. 25 (Nov. 6), 1844, in St. Petersburg. Russian battle painter and graphic artist.

Zauerveid studied at the Dresden Academy of Art from 1806 to 1812. After living in Dresden, Paris, and London, he returned to St. Petersburg in 1817. He became the principal painter of the General Staff in 1825. He began teaching in the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts in 1831, becoming the professor and director of the battle-piece workshop in 1836. B. P. Villeval’de, A. E. Kotsebu, and V. F. Timm were among his pupils. Zauerveid was the founder of the academic style of Russian battle painting of the first half of the 19th century, which usually sought to re-create with documentary precision the general picture and specific details of the battle.

Zauerveid’s works include The Storming of the Varna For-tress on September 29, 1828, The Battle ofKulm, and The Battle of Leipzig (all in the Hermitage, Leningrad).

REFERENCE

Sadoven’, V. V. Russkie khudozhniki batalisty XVIII-XIX vekov. Moscow, 1955. Pages 81-90.