Grigory Ugryumov

Who was Grigory Ugryumov?

Grigory Ivanovich Ugryumov was a Russian painter. He is often described as the first Russian history painter.

Ugryumov was born in Moscow. He studied at the Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg from 1770 to 1785, and also attended schools in France and Italy. His paintings include The Trial of Strength of Yan Usmar, The Capture of Kazan by Ivan the Terrible in 1552, and The Invitation to Mikhail Fyodorovich Romanov to Ascend the Throne in 1613. The latter two were painted for the Mikhailovsky Palace in Saint Petersburg. The Grove Dictionary of Art says that Ugryumov's paintings are "notable for their brilliance of design and mastery of colour" and are "strongly patriotic in tone".

Ugryumov spent the later years of his life teaching at the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts. His students included Andrey Ivanov, Vasily Shebuyev, and Aleksey Yegorov. Ugryumov became rector of painting at the academy in 1820.