Alexei Harlamov

Alexei Harlamov was a Russian painter who specialized in portraits, genre scenes, and flowers. He was born in Saratov in 1840 to a family of serfs. He became a guest student at the Imperial Academy of Arts in St. Petersburg in 1854 and won several medals for his drawings and paintings. He graduated from the Academy in 1868 and received a scholarship to study abroad. He traveled to Germany, Switzerland, France, Belgium, and England, where he visited exhibitions of Old Masters and copied their works. He settled in Paris in 1870 and studied under Léon Bonnat. He became a member of the Salon and exhibited his works there regularly. He also participated in the Vienna Universal Exhibition in 1873 and the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. He was known for his realistic and elegant portraits of women and children, often in rural or domestic settings. He also painted flowers with great delicacy and skill. He used a soft and harmonious palette and a refined technique. He was influenced by the French Impressionists and the Pre-Raphaelites. He was admired by many collectors and critics, and his works were sold in Europe and America. He died in Paris in 1925.