[2] In 1770, he was enrolled in the elementary classes at the Imperial Academy of Arts and later studied under Ivan Akimov.

[2] In 1787, he received a fellowship to study in Italy, where he made drawings of the statues, especially those of Paolo Veronese and Guido Reni.

In 1794, he became a Candidate Academician and was awarded the title in 1797 for his painting of the legendary 10th century hero Jan Usmar.

[3] He won the favor of a succession of Tsars and Tsarinas, executing large works at the Trinity Cathedral of Alexander Nevsky Monastery, Saint Michael's Castle, Kazan Cathedral[3] and the church of the Finland Guard Regiment.

His students included many names that would become familiar, such as Andrey Ivanovich Ivanov, Vasily Shebuyev, Alexei Yegorov and Orest Kiprensky.