From 1859 to 1870, he attended the Imperial Academy of Arts where he was awarded silver medals for "success in drawing" in 1862, 1863 and 1867.

[1] Upon graduating, he was given the title of "Artist", third degree, and became a lecturer at a district school in Tsarskoye Selo.

[1] After presenting two works at the Academy's exhibition in 1872, he was promoted to Artist, second degree.

In 1878, for his painting "Bulgarian Boy", he received a gold medal from the Academy's council.

From 1884 to 1889, he worked on the mural restoration project at St. Cyril's Church, under the direction of Mikhail Vrubel.