At that time, he was enrolled at the Imperial Academy of Arts where he studied with Fyodor Bruni, Sokrat Vorobiev and Timofey Neff.

Then suddenly, in 1857, he dropped out of the academy and moved to Switzerland (at his own expense or that of a patron) to improve his painting skills by studying with the landscape painter Alexander Kalam (1810-1864).

[1] Two years later, he exhibited at the academy, winning a gold medal, the title of Artist First-Class and a stipend that allowed him to travel at government expense.

[1] In 1864 he returned home, although he continued to travel extensively and, three years later, he was chosen to be part of the entourage accompanying Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich on his voyage around the world.

[3] In mid-November 1902, the newspaper Новое время (New Times) published an obituary (between advertisements for soap and gloves) noting that "Arseny Meshchersky, Professor of landscape painting, who once enjoyed great popularity...", had died from an attack of "asthma".