Portrait of a Cossack knight of two St. George crosses, painted by I. Vladimirova, 1917

Canvas, oil. The stretcher and frame are modern. The size without frame is 930*700 mm. Signature of the artist "I. Vladimirov 1917" (?). Excellent condition. Guarantee of authenticity.

The artist Ivan Vladimirov became famous as a batalist and the author of "revolutionary watercolors". With documentary accuracy, he depicted the events of the Russian-Japanese, World War I and Soviet-Finnish wars, the life of the besieged Leningrad. For many years Vladimirov worked as a correspondent artist: his illustrations were published in the Russian and foreign press.

Ivan Vladimirova's mother, the Englishwoman Elizabeth Wakhorn, was an artist. The father of the future painter, priest Alexei Vladimirov, met her in the UK, where he worked as a translator. In the late 1860s, he and his wife returned to Russia and settled in Vilna (now Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania). Russian Russian teacher Vladimirov worked at the local Junker school, was a member of the Russian Geographical Society, wrote books, educational brochures, articles for the magazine "Vestnik Evropy" and the newspaper "Novoye Vremya". Ivan Vladimirov was born here, in Vilna, on January 10, 1870.

The parents of the future artist paid great attention to the education of their son. Ivan Vladimirov grew up curious, loved to read and listen to his father's stories about distant countries, dreamed of traveling. One day he ran away from home and managed to get to the UK, where he found his uncle, the owner of the steamer. Vladimirov lived with him for six months, and after returning to Vilna, he left home on his own more than once, but now he traveled only through Polesie.

From the age of 16, Ivan Vladimirov studied at the Vilna Drawing School. Teachers believed that he would become an artist, but Vladimirov became interested in military affairs and entered the St. Petersburg Cadet School. There he was considered one of the best students, which promised him a brilliant career in the army. But due to poor health, the future artist had to give up the service.

In 1891, Ivan Vladimirov entered again — this time at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. He studied with famous painters of that time: Alexey Kishenko, Bogdan Villevalde and Franz Roubaud. Soon a student who was interested in battle painting was sent to the Caucasus to study the history of the war of 1817-1864 and illustrate its main events. For the paintings "The Capture of the Turkish Redoubt" and "Dressing station during the Caucasian War", he received large and small silver medals, and for "The Defeat of the Adygeans on the Malka River" — the title of class artist of the first degree.

While still studying, Ivan Vladimirov got a job as an art correspondent for the magazine "Niva". At the end of the XIX century, publishers often hired painters and graphic artists, because it was difficult and expensive to illustrate materials with photographs. Vladimirov wrote in a realistic manner, was attentive to details, and these qualities were especially appreciated in the "Field".

In 1904, Vladimirov, on the instructions of the editorial board, went to the Russian-Japanese War. There he painted the paintings "A gun in danger", "Artillery battle", "Returned from the war", "Interrogation of a prisoner", "In Manchuria". Vladimirova's reportage illustrations were published, in addition to Niva, in the foreign press — the English newspaper The Graphic and the French magazine L'Illustration.

Ivan Vladimirov returned to St. Petersburg just at the time when the first Russian revolution began. The artist reflected its events in the works "The Battle on Presnya" and "On the barricades in 1905". Critics ambiguously assessed Vladimirova's work: realists praised him, and modernists considered him "a man of the old rotten school."

After the October Revolution of 1917​ Ivan Vladimirov left Niva. In 1917-1918, he collaborated with the Petrograd police — he drew sketches of criminals and made sketches of future paintings.

In 1922, Ivan Vladimirov joined the Association of Artists of Revolutionary Russia, which was supported by the Soviet government. Vladimirov became popular: his illustrations were printed in Soviet magazines, and his paintings were exhibited in art galleries. In 1937, Vladimirova's paintings were shown at the World Exhibition in Paris.

In 1939, the Soviet-Finnish War began. 69-year-old Ivan Vladimirov could not go to it as a correspondent artist: age did not allow. However, he studied newspaper reports, created paintings based on them "Surrender of the White Finns", "Entry of Soviet troops into Vyborg" and others Throughout the war Vladimirov created propaganda posters, leaflets and paintings, including "The Battle for Tikhvin", "Starving in Berlin", "Victims of a high—explosive bomb. The work of firefighters". In addition, the artist kept a diary in which he described the life of the besieged city.

In 1945, Vladimirova was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor for "fruitful activity in the field of Soviet art." In 1946, he was awarded the title of Honored Artist of the RSFSR.

Ivan Vladimirov died on December 14, 1947. He was buried at the Serafimovsky Cemetery in Leningrad. The artist's works are kept in the Tretyakov Gallery, the Russian Museum, and private collections.