Vladimir Lukich Borovikovsky, original surname Borovik (born July 24 [Aug. 4, New Style], 1757, Mirgorod, Russia (now Myrhorod, Ukraine)—died April 6 [April 18, New Style], 1825, St. Petersburg); Russian artist of Ukrainian background who was the foremost portraitist of the sentimentalist era and a master of ecclesiastic painting. Borovikovsky lived in Ukraine until he was 31 years old, having learned the trade of painting from his father, a Cossack and a minor member of the nobility who worked as an icon painter. Only a few of his father’s icons and portraits are extant. Though deeply sincere, they are slightly rough in execution. Vladimir Borovikovsky became a prominent master in St. Petersburg under the positive influence of the international art scene in the capital and the group of St. Petersburg literary figures who were his patrons. The representatives of this group were responsible for drawing the attention of the imperial court to his work, thus securing his future career. In 1787 Borovikovsky was commissioned to decorate a temporary palace for Catherine II (the Great) on the Dnieper River at Kremenchug (now Kremenchuk, Ukraine). She was so pleased with his work that she sent him to St. Petersburg. His literary friends assisted him with his move in late 1788. Borovikovsky’s concept of portrait painting matured under their influence, assuming moral feeling as a basis of the image (in accordance with the principles of the literary movement of sentimentalism). In an attempt to supplement his education, Borovikovsky studied with Johann Baptist Lampi the Elder, a professor of the Vienna Academy of the Arts who lived in St. Petersburg from 1792 to 1797. Borovikovsky’s portrait of Catherine, painted in 1794 in accordance with the principles of his literary friends and presented to the empress, was the first emergence of sentimentalism in painting. The painting .... (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vladimir-Lukich-Borovikovsky) undefined

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