Alexey Yakovlevich Voloskov (Russian: Алексей Яковлевич Волосков; 13 March 1822, Rzhev - 19 September 1882, Rzhev) was a Russian painter; primarily of landscapes.
He was born to a family of merchants. His great uncle, Terentiy Voloskov (1729-1806), was the inventor of an early astronomical clock that showed phases of the moon and calculated dates for the church calendar, among other things.[1]
A childhood illness (probably polio) left him unable to walk without the aid of crutches.[2] In 1837, he began auditing classes at the Imperial Academy of Arts; notably, the landscape painting workshops of Maxim Vorobyov. In 1843, he was awarded a silver medal and was granted the title of "Free Artist" in 1845.[3] He became a member of the Academy in 1851 and used his position there to help struggling young artists.
Later, he lived in Ukraine, where he executed commissions for the philanthropist, Grigory Galagan [ru] and other members of the local nobility. In 1863, after an illness, he returned to Rzhev and married the daughter of a local priest. Not quite able to support his family by painting, he served as a notary and was the agent for a Moscow insurance company.[2]
A major retrospective was held at the Russian Museum in 2006-2007.[3]
Media related to Alexey Voloskov at Wikimedia Commons