Ivan Rybakov

Born in 1870 in Kaluga Governorate (Russia), died in 1942 in Mednogorsk (Russia). From 1889 to 1894, he studied at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, and from 1895 to 1898 – at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts. In 1899, he finished the art teaching courses held by this academy. From 1896, Rybakov taught drawing at the Vilnius School of Chemistry and Technology. At the end of 1899, he became Ivan Trutnev’s assistant at the Vilnius Drawing School, and taught drawing and painting in boys’ classes. He was one of the most active organizers on the Vilnius art scene – together with others, he founded the Vilnius Art Circle (1902) and the Vilnius Art Society (1908). After Trutnev’s death, Rybakov was appointed the headmaster of the Vilnius Drawing School, but held this position very briefly. In 1912–1915, he was the head of the Higher Art School of the Vilnius Art Society, which was popularly called Rybakov’s school. In 1913, he travelled in France, and from 1915 lived in Turkestan and Russia. Rybakov painted landscapes of Vilnius and its environs, and made some sketches of Bretagne landscapes. They are characterized by painterly realism and a distinct influence of impressionism and plein-air painting. He also painted portraits, genre paintings and still lifes. In 1904, he painted icons for the Eastern Orthodox church in the Vilnius Lukiškės prison. The majority of Rybakov’s works are held in the Tula Art Museum.

Reference: Académie de Vilna. VILNIUS DRAWING SCHOOL 1866–1915. Exhibition Catalogue. Compiled by dr. J. Širkaitė, Vilnius 2017, P. 52.