One portrait - Ivan vasilyevich Markov, Governor of Mogilev, by Feodor Tulov, circa 1837-38

To my way of thinking, this is a perfect portrait. Precise, elegant, insightful, both grand and intimate. And quite surprisingly modern in its directness and the austerity of the pictorial plane; it's almost starkly beautiful. And for the artist - it must be said that the little known Tulov was a wildly inconsistent painter - this is certainly his masterpiece.

Russian families - portraits by Feodor Tulov

Vladimir Ivanovich Benckendorff, 1845.

Elizaveta Alexeievna Benckendorff, née Janova, 1845.

Feodor Andreievich Tulov (1792 - 1855), little-known Russian artist, predominantly a portrait painter, he also contributed to the decoration of churches. Born a serf, he later attained his freedom. There is no record of his early life, but after 1810 he is known to have worked for Prince Mikhail Alexandrovich Shakhovsky, producing portraits of his family. And from 1830 he lived and worked at the estate of Alexander Ivanovich von Benckendorff where he portrayed many members of that family as well. To date more than sixty of his works have been identified in various museums and private collections in Russia, Belarus, and the Ukraine.

A child of the Benckendorff family, 1842.

A child of the Benckendorff family, 1842.

Sophia Pavlovna Baranova, née Benckendorff, circa 1850.

Prince Mikhail Alexandrovich Shakhovsky, 1815.

Princess Elisaveta Mikhailevna Shakhovskaya, circa 1820.

Princess Aleksandra Mikhailovna Shakhovskaya, circa 1815.

Princess (unknown) Mikhailovna Shakhovskaya, circa 1815.

Alexander Nikolaievich Muravyov, circa 1820.

Praskovia Mikhailovna Muravyova with her daughter Sophia, 1826.

Unknown, circa 1820s.

Boy in Schoolboy Uniform, 1853.

Girl in White Dress, 1854.

Unknown, nd.

Young Officer, 1841.

Unknown, circa 1820s.

Portrait of a Lady, circa 1820s.