Mikhail Ivanovich Lebedev was born in Derpt (now Tartu), into the family of a serf. In the 1820s, serfdom was abolished in that part of the Russian Empire (now the independent state of Estonia) and young Mikhail even got the opportunity to study in the Derpt gymnasium; his success in drawing attracted the attention of the Count P.A. Palen, who promoted the young man to the St. Petersburg Academy with an Imperial scholarship (1829-1833).
1833. Oil on canvas. The Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia.
1833. Oil on canvas. The Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia.
1833. Oil on canvas. The Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia.
c.1833. Oil on canvas. The Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia.
1833. Watercolor and ink on paper. The Russian Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia.
1835. Pencil on paper. The Russian Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia.
c.1835-37. Oil on canvas. The Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia.
c.1835-37. Oil on canvas. The Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia.
1836. Sepia, pen-and-ink on paper pasted on cardbord. The Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia.
1835. Study. Pencil on paper. The Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia.
1836. Oil on canvas. The Russian Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia.
1836. Oil on canvas. The Russian Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia.
1837. Oil on canvas. The Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia.
1837. Oil on canvas. The Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia.
1837. Oil on canvas. The Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia.
1835-36. Watercolor on paper. The Russian Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia.