[1] After graduating, he spent the next eleven years in Rome on a fellowship, which he was given for his painting of Christ driving the money changers from the Temple.

Upon his return to Saint Petersburg in 1830, having been recalled by Tsar Nicholas I to work on a project, he was made an Academician for his portrayal of Socrates saving Alcibiades (1828).

[1] The painting itself required some saving, as the ship carrying it from Rome was wrecked, causing water damage, and it had to be reconstructed on its arrival.

[3] During the time he was a Professor, he created numerous portraits (including those of Mikhail Kutuzov and Hans Karl von Diebitsch) and allegorical scenes for the restoration of the Winter Palace, after the disastrous fire in 1837,[3] but his religious works are the most familiar.

After losing his sight, some of his earlier sketches were used as models for paintings at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, executed by Nikolay Koshelev.