Andrei Osipovich Karelin (1837-1906)

Andrei Osipovich (I.) Karelin left an imprint on Russian culture, perhaps, not only and not so much as a painter.

 Drake was born in the village of Tambov province, he studied at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts (1856-1864), after which he received the title of a free artist. At the same time, emerging a new kind of art - photography. Young Alexander Karelin is seeking in it is so great success that in 1876 he received an unusual title - the "photographer of the Academy of Fine Arts."

 In the future, SA Karelin is committed to both kinds of art, creating a painting plant VI Ragozin in Balachna, portraits of his wife, OG Karelin, VI Demidov, AV Demidova, the founder of the Art Museum of Kaluga, Dr. N. Vasilyeva, LN Pustoroslevoy, SS Thermal, etc., in art photography: portraits DI Mendeleev, VG Korolenko, IS Turgenev AM Gorky, VV Vereshchagin , II Shishkin , KE Makovsky and others for his photographic work AO Karelin received numerous gold medals at international exhibitions. Living since 1866 in Nizhny Novgorod, he contributed greatly to the development of the cultural life of the city. In 1869, founded a photographic institution and at the same time an art studio studio (later - the school of drawing), where he taught until his last days.

 In 1896, thanks to the efforts and AO Karelin was opened in Nizhny Novgorod City Art and History Museum, a significant part of the original collection of objects which were Russian antiquities collected by a master of painting and art photography, a great patriot of his country and the city.