Andrey Yefimovich Martynov

Who was Andrey Yefimovich Martynov?

Andrey Yefimovich Martynov was a Russian painter and engraver.

Born in St. Petersburg to the family of a sergeant in the Preobrazhensky Guards regiment, Martynov graduated from the St Petersburg Academy of Art in 1788. In St. Petersburg Martynov studied landscape painting under Semion Shchedrin. From 1788-1794 he studied in Italy and painted the landscapes of Rome and it’s surroundings. These works for art were highly appreciated, by Martynov’s return to St. Petersburg. He was awarded the title of Academican in 1795. He worked on commissions from the Imperial court, and he participated in the decorating of several royal palaces and became a councilor of the Academy in 1802.

He traveled throughout southern Russia from 1804, primarily creating idealized watercolor of rural towns and landscapes. The beauty of the area around Lake Baikal especially captivated him, “it is surrounded by the Sayan Mountains, whose endless chain and picture-like diversity bring to the traveller’s gaze the infectious grandeur of nature”. His works of art is comparable to the present pair in its idealised panoramic vision of nature, with its vast expanses of water and sky.