Ivan Ivanovich Belsky

He was part of the "Belsky Dynasty" of painters of the Eighteenth Century and one of the first teachers at the Imperial Academy of Arts, where he taught history painting.

In 1740, together with his brother Alexei Ivanovich, he was enrolled at the "Канцелярия от строений" (Chancellory of Buildings), where he studied under Ivan Vishnyakov and others.

While there, he participated in drawing up plans for the cathedral of the Alexander Nevsky Monastery.

He subsequently became the supervisor of Mikhail Lomonosov's mosaic workshop and painted icons for the Grand Church of the Winter Palace.

The best known are "Архиерей во время служения литургии" (Bishop Presenting the Divine Liturgy, 1770), and "Голова апостола Петра" (Head of the Apostle Peter, 1783), both in the Tretyakov Gallery.