Nikolai Ge

Nikolai Ge was a Russian painter who was an influential figure in the development of Russian symbolism. He was famous for his works on historical and religious subjects. He was born in Voronezh to a noble family of French origin. His grandfather emigrated to Russia in the 18th century. His mother died of cholera when he was three months old. He grew up on a family estate in Popelukhy near Mohyliv-Podilskyi in Podolia. He graduated from the No. 1 Gymnasium in Kiev and then studied physics and mathematics at Kiev University and Saint Petersburg University. In 1850, he gave up his scientific career and enrolled in the Imperial Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg. He studied under master painter Pyotr Basin. In 1857, he graduated from the Academy and received a gold medal for his painting The Witch of Endor Invoking the Spirit of the Prophet Samuel. He then traveled to Germany, Switzerland, and France. In 1860, he settled in Italy, where he met Alexander Ivanov, who became his mentor and friend. He was inspired by Ivanov's realism and religious themes. In 1861, he painted The Last Supper, which caused a controversy for its unconventional depiction of Christ. He used a photograph of the revolutionary writer Alexander Herzen as a model for Christ. He also painted other biblical scenes, such as Christ and Pilate, Crucifixion, and The Calvary. He returned to Russia in 1870 and joined the Peredvizhniki (The Wanderers) movement. He exhibited his works with them and became a professor at the Academy of Arts. He also painted historical subjects, such as Peter I interrogates Tsarevich Alexei Petrovich in Peterhof, The Judgment of the Sanhedrin, and The End of the Session of the State Duma. He was influenced by the ideas of Leo Tolstoy and became a pacifist and a vegetarian. He also supported the emancipation of women and the abolition of serfdom. He died in 1894 at his farm in Chernigov Province. He was buried in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg. His works were recognized as a new word in art and inspired many Russian realist and symbolist painters of the second half of the 19th century.