Fedor Grigorevich Solntsev, who lived for more than 90 years, has a remarkably eclectic biography. Though born on the estate of Prince A. I. Musin-Pushkin, his serf-father worked as a theatre cashier in St. Petersburg. The enormously talented F. G. entered the Academy of Arts, where Director Alexei Olenin became his mentor. A draftsman and watercolorist with as keen an eye for detail as there ever was one, Solntsev created the visual style of Russian romantic nationalism with his six volumes of Antiquities of the Russian State, published 1849-53. Among the many architectural ruins he helped to restore, the Kremlin’s Terem Palace stands out. Despite having no formal education, he became an Acamedician.