Pavel Fedotov

He played the flute and attended evening classes at the Academy of Fine Arts, where he focused on painting.

[citation needed] Although, what would equate to a notable career of the day, the idea of being a regiment painter did not appeal to Fedotov, who believed that a true creative artist should devote himself to art completely and so choosing to concentrate more fully on his painting, he retired himself from the army in 1844 and handed himself over to his artistry.

Since his salary within the army was not insubstantial and having to support his family back in Moscow his future, now resting on his creative talents alone would have been somewhat daunting.

He initially used both pencil and watercolor to produce his works, though began to develop a more mature medium by changing to painting with oils in 1846.

Completing a number of pieces using the new medium, most notable the 'Newly Decorated', 'Picky Bride' and 'Untimely Guest' were full of the satire and critique surrounding the then current social and political order.

Perhaps the crowning achievement of his career was Major’s Marriage Proposal (1851) displaying the maturity with which Fedotov skill had developed.

In the spring of 1852, he started to exhibit significant psychological problems; there was also an unhappy love affair that contributed to his troubles.

His drawings are poorly developed and his aim is not to reproduce reality but to flaunt its common human weaknesses and faults, to ridicule the banal or obscure aspects of Russian morals.