Boklevsky Peter M.
(1816-1897)

P. Boklevsky not received formal artistic education. First, he graduated from the law faculty of St. Petersburg University, and then living it in the capital, in the province, he studied with various teachers, including, in 1845, even the K. Brullov at the Academy of Fine Arts ("the visitors"), but nowhere was kept everywhere Cashing trouble his defiance and especially evil caricatures.

 Known for his album released lithographic illustrations of the "Inspector" by Nikolai Gogol (1863). They are the famous comedy was the reason for the sharp rebuke ulcers Russian reality: no wonder five years later they were re-released under the name of journalistic "Bureaucratic catechism."
 Encouraged by the success, Boklevsky created a series of "types" of Gogol's "Dead Souls" (1860). Figures published in magazines are widely known, they were fully published only in 1881 depicting the characters of the poem, the artist strongly emphasized their negative traits and physical ugliness - it conflicted with the complexity of Gogol's performance, but was impressed by the mood of the Russian public at the time.

 In the 1870s. Boklevsky performed the second version of the figures - relaxed, but less expressive. In addition, he illustrated the works of Ivan Turgenev (1869), Fyodor Dostoyevsky (1881) and the Melnikov-Pechersky (1882). These works also enjoyed success, but they are clearly inferior illustrations to Gogol. The last period of the artist's life was difficult because of poverty and disease, but over his illustrations, he continued to work almost until his death.