[1] He spent most of his childhood in the city of Arzamas, where he frequented the studios of Alexander Stupin, but lacked the means to take lessons.

In 1851, he was apprenticed to a decorative painter named Davydov in Nizhni-Novgorod, but this was not a success, so he was remanded into the service of a local landowner, where he taught himself how to paint.

In 1856, impressed by his progress, his patroness took him to the art school in Kazan where he received lessons from an expatriate Italian artist named Botelli.

He did not, however, become a full-time student until 1863, when he began to study history painting under Alexey Tarasovich Markov and Fyodor Bruni.

Shortly after he, Kramskoi, Markov and Bogdan Wenig went to Moscow to paint the main dome at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour.

During this time, he also did some teaching and served as an "Inspector" at the Stroganov Moscow State Academy of Arts and Industry as well as showing his canvases at numerous exhibitions.

Due to his close association with religious art, it may be assumed that he retired to private life when the revolutionary movements began.