He was born to a middle-class family and attended the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts, where he studied under Alexey Markov and was awarded several small silver medals.

The following year, he was one of the graduate students who participated in the "Revolt of the Fourteen"; refusing to compete for a special gold medal on the occasion of the Academy's 100th anniversary, in protest of the school's continued adherence to what they felt were outmoded styles and teaching methods.

He was also involved in church decoration projects in Kronstadt, Ostrogozhsk, Oskol and Yekaterinodar and painted portraits of the nobility.

[2] In an effort to regain his health, he moved to Italy, spent some time studying the Old Masters, and created genre scenes on Italian subjects.

He was buried at the Cimitero Acattolico in Rome, not far from his fellow Russian painters, Pimen Orlov and Karl Bryullov.