Antonio Canoppi

Italian painter, theatrical designer, architect. Studied under Antonio Canova and worked as a theatrical decorator in Modena (1770–1805). Sentenced to death for resisting the Napoleonic invasion, but fled to Vienna, where he was invited to St Petersburg by the Russian ambassador Count Alexei Razumovsky (1805). Lived in Moscow and decorated the Nobleman’s Assembly (1805–12). Moved to St Petersburg (1812), where he was nominated to the Imperial Academy of Arts (1813). Worked for the Imperial Theatres (1815–26). Painted images of the Evangelists and the Lord of Hosts in the cupola of the Kazan Cathedral (1820). Drew works for the Views of St Petersburg and Environs series of lithographs published by the Society for the Encouragement of Artists (1821–26). Member of the Accademia di Belle Arti in Bologna and Milan. Died in St Petersburg and buried at the Volkovo Lutheran Cemetery (1832).