Karl Rabus

Karl Rabus (c.1825)

Karl Rabus (Russian: Карл Иванович Рабус (11 May 1800, St. Petersburg - 14 January 1857, Moscow) was a Russian architectural painter and art teacher.

Biography[]

His father died when Karl was seven. At the age of only ten, he was sent to study at the Imperial Academy of Arts; remaining there until 1821, when he received a small gold medal and a second-degree certificate.^[1]

Crimea became one of his favorite places to paint. There, he created the works necessary for him to obtain the title of "Academician" by painting landmarks in a manner that would later become known as en plein aire. He was awarded the title in 1827 for his canvas depicting a villa in Gurzuf, built by the Duc de Richelieu. He also received praise for his view of Balaklava. From Crimea, he went to Odessa, then spent some time in Istanbul.^[2]

In 1835, he moved to Moscow and became a teacher of perspective, at the [ru]. Later, he taught the same subject at the [ru]. He also taught a few classes in the theory of colors and art history. Sometimes, he would offer financial support to his most promising students.

A painting of the village church in [ru] was presented at court; obtaining him the title of Court Painter. In his later years, he tried his hand at writing; producing "A Guide to Perspective" and beginning a history of art. He also provided commentary on art for several magazines and newspapers.^[2] During those years, he taught landscape painting at the Stroganov School and the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture.^[1]

Toward the end of his life, he suffered from a type of color blindness (possibly due to glaucoma), that left him unable to distinguish orange and yellow shades.^{[citation needed]} He died after an unspecified long and serious illness.