A Life of Accumulation and Artistry Moscow, 1839. A child is born into a merchant family built on the tea trade. The early years are marked by sudden loss; his mother passes when he is only two, and his father follows when he reaches fourteen. His older brother, Vasily, steps in to complete his upbringing. By 1856, the boy enters the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts, seeking a path beyond commerce. The halls of the Academy provide rigorou…