When he returned in 1860, he received a gold medal for his painting "Jewish Smugglers", which might now be perceived as somewhat Anti-Semitic although, judging by his later works, he harbored no such sentiment.

After that, he travelled again, to Spain and Belgium and, when he returned in 1862, received another gold medal along with a stipend that allowed him to continue his studies abroad.

[2] He spent four years in Paris and Rome, where he painted portraits of the Catholic clergy, scenes from folk life, and interiors of church buildings and synagogues.

From this point on, his works dealt almost exclusively with the Catholic Church; plus some portraits of young women.

[citation needed] An extremely harsh article appeared in the June 1901 issue of Мир искусства [ru] (World of Art) calling him the "worst of all modern artists", a disgrace to Russian art, and suggesting that all of his works be thrown away;[citation needed] an attack that was probably related to his subject matter and loyalties, rather than artistic quality.