Mikhail Nesterov

Mikhail Vasilyevich Nesterov (May 19, 1862, Ufa - October 18, 1942, Moscow) was a leading representative of religious Symbolism in Russian art. He studied under Pavel Tchistyakov at the Imperial Academy of Arts but later allied himself with the Peredvizhniki. His canvas Vision to Youth Bartholomew (1890-91), depicting the conversion of Sergii Radonezhsky, is usually taken as a starting point of the Russian Symbolism. From 1890 to 1910 Nesterov lived in Kiev and St Petersburg, working on the frescoes of St Vladimir's Cathedral and Church of the Savior on Blood. He spent the rest of his life in Moscow, working in Marfo-Mariinsky Convent and painting portraits.