Tolstoy, Fyodor Petrovich (1783-1873), an artist

Subject / Art/Personnel
TOLSTOY, Fyodor Petrovich, Count (1783–1873), a medallist, a master of drawing and an artist, a privy councillor (1846). He graduated from the Navy military school (1802), served in the Navy, resigned in 1804. Since 1802 Tolstoy studied at the Academy of Fine Arts (as an auditor student, his teacher was Prokofiev I.P.). Since 1806 he worked at the Hermitage. From 1810 to 1825 Tostoy woked as a medallist at the Mint. Since 1825 he worked as a teacher at the Academy of Fine Arts; in 1842 he became a professor; since 1809 he was a honorary member of the Academy of Fine Arts; he woked as a vice-president of the Academy from 1828 to 1859 and as a president's assistant from 1859 to 1868. The most popularity Tolstoy gained as an author of wax bas-reliefs such as: "Dushenka" ("Sweetheart") (1808-09, the State Hermitage Museum), scenes from "Odysseus" by Homer (1810-15, the State Tretyakov Gallery) and the following medallions: a series in the memory of war events 1812-15 (1814-26, the State Russian Museum), Russian-Persian war 1826-28 and Russian-Turkish war 1828-29 (1826-39, the State Russian Museum). His illustrations made in pen to I.F.Bogdanovich's poem "Dushenka" ("Sweetheart") made considerable influence on the development of Russian book graphics. Tolstoy created miniatures, illusive still lives ("A Bouquet of Flowers, a Butterfly and a Bird", 1820, the State Tretyakov Gallery), he cut out silhouettes depicting the scenes from folk and army life, having risen this style to a high professional level. Tolstoy composed ballets "Eolova Fleita" ("Aeolian Flute") (1838) and "Ekho" ("Echo") (1842), he made drafts for their set design. Tolstoy's special manner, typical for all kinds of his creative works, combined formal principles of classicism with romantic impression of reality. He was a Mason and took part in Decembrists' movement. He was also a member of political organizations "Soiuz Spaseniya" ("A Union for Salvation") and a Main Board of "Soiuz Blagodenstviya" ("A Union for Prosperity") (1818-21), he left political organizations in 1821 and, according to high will, he wasn't under examination. Tolstoy was a honorary member of Russian Literature Lovers' Free Society (1818, chairman since 1820) and Art, Scince and Literature Lovers' Free Society (1817). He was one of the founders and a chairman (1819-20) of Methodological Society for Mutual Training of Students. He was an author of memoirs. In the period 1788-90 Tolstoy lived in Vyborg Town where his father served. In 1850-70s Тolstoy owned "Markovilla" ("Marcovilla") estate in the suburbs of Vyborg Town (at present the place is on the 4th km of Svyatogorskoye Shosse (Svyatogorsk Highway), estate does not exist). Here Tolstoy was visited by artists Meshchersky A.I., Chernetsov G.G., a historian Kostomarov N.I. and a zoologist Severtsov N.A. Tolstoy was buried in Lazarevskoye ("Lazarus") Cemetery ( XVIII c. necropolis) in Alexander Nevsky Laura, St.Petereburg. Margolis, Aleksandr Davidovich
Bogdanovich, Ippolit Fyodorovich
Chernetsov, Grigory Grigoryevich
Homer
Kostomarov, Nikolay Ivanovich
Meshchersky, Arseny Ivanovich
Prokofyev, Ivan Prokofyevich
Severtsov, Nikolay Alekseyevich
Tolstoy, Fyodor Petrovich, Count
Leningrad Oblast, the/Vyborg District/Vyborg Town/Svyatogorskoye Shosse (Svyatogorsk Highway)
Leningrad Oblast, the/Vyborg District/Vyborg Town
Кузнецова Э. В. Федор Петрович Толстой, 1783–1873. М., 1977
Выборг: Очерк-путеводитель /Сост. Кепп Е.Е. – Л., 1980. – 85., С.86.
Новоселова З.А. Выборг в жизне Ф.П.Толстого // Страницы Выборгской истории: Краеведческие записки. Выборг, 2000., С. 325-331
Markovilla, a country estate