That same year, he transferred to the Imperial Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg, where he studied with Pyotr Shamshin and Pavel Chistyakov.

The summer heat proved too intense, so he moved to Turin, then spent some time in Paris, exhibiting at the Salon.

After traveling throughout Northwestern Europe, he returned to Italy, where he lived with Vasily Savinsky [ru], who became a sort of mentor.

[2] In 1889, he became an associate professor at the Academy, but stayed for only a short time as his lung condition (diagnosed as tuberculosis) continued to worsen.

The Italian climate had no beneficial effect, so, sensing the end was near, he decided to return to the family estate.