His artwork was a major contribution in recording and preserving medieval Russian culture, which was a common subject of his paintings.

[1] After discovering his artistic ability, his master freed the Solntsev family, which allowed Fedor to enter the Imperial Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg in 1815[1][7] and became a pupil of Alexei Yegorov and Stepan Shchukin.

[7] Later, Fedor's younger brother, Yegor Solntsev also graduated from the Imperial Academy of Art and became a notable painter.

[1][7] In 1836 he became a member of the Imperial Academy of Arts for his work Meeting of Grand Duke Sviatoslav with John of Tzimiskes.

[8] Fedor Solntsev's work was supported by the President of Imperial Academy of Arts Alexey Olenin and Emperor Nicholas I.

[9] Solntsev died in St. Petersburg on 3 March 1892, aged 90; he's interred into the Volkovo Cemetery, south of the Literatorskie Mostki.