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Ivan Tsvetaev | |
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Ива́н Влади́мирович Цвета́ев | |
 Tsvetaev in 1913; photograph byKarl Fischer | |
| Born | (1847-05-16)16 May 1847 |
| Died | 12 September 1913(1913-09-12) (aged 66) Moscow, Russian Empire |
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| Academic background | |
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Ivan Vladimirovich Tsvetaev (Russian:Ива́н Влади́мирович Цвета́ев; 16 May [O. S. 4 May] 1847 – 12 September 1913) was a Russianart historian,archaeologist and Classicalphilologist.
Tsvetaev was born 16 May (O. S. 4 May) 1847, inShuya, Ivanovo Oblast, the son of Vladimir Vasilyevich Tsvetaev (1818–1884), a village priest. After the early death of his mother in 1859, his father raised him and his three brothers for a life in the priesthood, sending them to the religious school in Shuya, and then to the seminary inVladimir. He also studied briefly at theImperial Medical and Surgical Academy, but quit, citing poor health, and enrolled atSaint Petersburg State University instead; following a course in Classical Studies and graduating in 1870 as a "Candidate in the Sciences".
The following year, he became a teacher of Classical Greek Studies at agymnasium inSaint Petersburg. This only lasted a short time as, in 1872, he was appointed a lecturer at theImperial University of Warsaw, where he presented adissertation onTacitus to obtain hishabilitation in 1873.
In 1874, he travelled to Italy to study the ancientItalic languages and writings. In 1876, he was called to theSaint Vladimir Royal University of Kiev. Still, he only a year later was presented with a position at theMoscow State University as a candidate for the Chair of theLatin literature department.
He marriedVarvara Ilovayskaya [ru], an opera singer. Under her influence, he gradually switched his interests from Classical philology toantiquities. After 1881, he worked at theRumyantsev Museum, serving as its director from 1900 to 1910. In 1888, he was named an honorary faculty member at theUniversity of Bologna. By the following year, he had made a part-time return to the academic world as the Chair of Art History and Theory at Moscow University. He also became a contributor to a journal, thePhilological Review [ru]. Varvara died in 1890 and he remarried in 1891; toMaria Meyn [ru], a pianist. They had two daughters;Marina andAnastasia, both of whom became well-known poets and writers.
In 1894, at the "First Congress of Artists and Art Lovers", he presented plans for a new museum of fine arts, inspired by a visit to theAlbertinum inDresden, where he became lifelong friends withGeorg Treu, the head of its world-famousSkulpturensammlung.[1] A design competition was organized and the award went toRoman Klein. In 1897, Tsvetaev was able to secure the wealthy glassware manufacturer,Yury Nechaev-Maltsov, as the museum's primary sponsor. Thecornerstone was laid in 1899 and the museum was officially opened in 1912. Tsvetaev served as its first director until his death on 12 September 1913, inMoscow. Originally the "Alexander III Museum of Fine Arts", it is now known as thePushkin Museum.
