Middle 18 th century Russia through the eyes of Jean-Baptist Le Prince

Abstract

Jean-Baptist Le Prince (1734-1781), the French artist, who lived in Russia for about four years, was the founder of “russerie” genre in French art and became famous as the author of many Russian life canvases and etching series. His landscapes and views of different towns, population types, furniture and costumes became well known during his life. Subsequently they were often included in history publications and were used by other painters. Although being very sentimental they became the important sources of studying the 18th century life, the Russian customs and costumes.