Nikolai Nikolaievich Ghe, a Russian artist, was born into a noble family of French origin. He was brought up by his serf nurse, who taught him, as he later said, compassion for the humiliated and insulted and a keen sense of other people’s sorrows. Ghe entered the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts in 1850, after having studied physics and math in a university for some time.

In the Academy he studied in the class of professor Piotr Basin, a painter of historical subjects and portraits. But, according to Ghe himself, he was mainly influenced by Karl Brulloff. This influence can be traced in Ghe’s student works, such as Achilles Lamenting the Death of Patroclus (1855).

Achilles Lamenting the Death of Patroclus

In 1863, he returned to St. Petersburg and his success was so great (Emperor Alexander II himself bought the picture), that the Academy of Arts had to award the artist a title of professor.

Next year Ghe left for Italy again and upon his return to St. Petersburg in 1870, he became one of the founders and leaders of the Society of Traveling Art Exhibitions. In 1876, he bought an estate and moved there; he stopped painting and went into farming and agriculture. Some time later he got acquainted with Leo Tolstoy and became apologist of his philosophy.

In early 1880, he returned into art. His latest paintings on Bible subjects: Quod Est Veritas? Christ and Pilate (1890) was expelled from the exhibition for blasphemy; The Judgment of the Sanhedrin: He is Guilty! (1892) was not admitted to the annual Academy of Arts exhibition; The Calvary (Golgotha) (1893) remained unfinished; The Crucifixion (1894) was banned by Alexander III. The artist died abruptly in March 1894 in his estate.