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Ivan Nikitin was born in Moscow to a family of an Orthodox priest. He received his first artistic lessons from a Dutch artist known as Schwonbek at the engraving shop of the Kremlin Armoury. In 1711, the Armory, together with Ivan Nikitin, was moved to Saint Petersburg. From 1716 to 1720, he and his brother, Roman Nikitin, were sent by Peter the Great to Italy, where the brothers learned the art of painting at Florence and Venice. After returning to Russia, Nikitin became the favorite court painter of Peter the Great and worked in Moscow and Saint Petersburg.

After Peter’s death in 1725, Nikitin continued to work at the court until 1732, when he and his brothers Roman and Rodion (the dean of Cathedral of the Annunciation in Moscow Kremlin) were arrested for the distribution of pamphlets against Vice Procurator of Synod, Feofan Prokopovich. Ivan was tortured, imprisoned for five years in the Peter and Paul Fortress, then whipped and exiled to Tobolsk.

In 1740, Anna of Russia signed an amnesty for the brothers, which came into force in 1741. By request of the new Empress, Elizabeth of Russia, Nikitin travelled back from Tobolsk to Saint Petersburg and died somewhere on the road either in late 1741 or in early 1742.

The early portraits by Nikitin had a strong influence of the traditional 17th century parsuna style, with no perspective, rigid local colors, and dark backgrounds, and his later portraits are typical Baroque paintings. Most art historians consider the Nikitin’s best portraits to be Chancelor G. I. Golovkin and A Malorossian Hetman. There are attribution problems with the subject of the portrait, with different historians arguing that he is either Ivan Mazepa, Ivan Skoropadsky, Kazimir Ian Sapega, or Pavlo Polubotok; however, they all are equivocal in emphasizing the psychological depth of the portrait.

Besides portraits, Ivan Nikitin is also considered to be the first notable Russian battle painter due to his paintings of Battle of Poltava and Battle of Kulikovo. Still wondering about an 18th century Russian painting in your family collection? Contact us… we are the Ivan Nikitin experts.