Georg Wilhelm Timm (1820–1895) was a Baltic-German painter, a graduate of the Imperial Academy of Arts, a graphic artist, and a skillful book illustrator. In the history of Russian art, he is mainly known as the publisher of the magazine called “Russian Art Sheets”.
In Russia, Georg Timm adopted the Russian-sounding name of Vasily Fyodorovich and entered the class of battle painting led by Professor Alexander Sauerweid at the Saint Petersburg Imperial Academy of Arts. Timm received a first-rank silver medal for his academic achievements.
After graduating from the academy, Vasily Timm studied in France, where he collaborated with the magazine “L’Illustration”. Timm spent the time between 1848 and 1851 in the Caucasus, where he took part in military operations, made sketches of genre and military scenes, and captured the various looks of Russian soldiers and highlanders.
Vasily Timm began publishing the famous “Russian Art Sheets” in 1851 in Saint Petersburg. In the publisher’s note, Timm expanded on the goals and nature of the magazine, “Our goal is to portray every wonderful thing about Russia, everything close to our hearts, and all that is precious about the Russian way of living, except for anything foreign that has nothing to do with Russia.”
The magazine was published three times a month on the 1st, 10th, and 20th day. The publication looked like a large 36×53 cm illustrated sheet with lithographs, to which an explanatory text was attached. The text usually consisted of four columns, rarely eight. At the end of the year, the last issue featured a table of contents indicating all the drawings and articles published over the past twelve months.
The magazine circulated until 1862 when Wilhelm Timm began to suffer from an eye disease and decided to temporarily suspend the publication in the hope that it would be resumed no later than 1865. The artist left for Berlin and started working on ceramics.
The magazine’s 7th issue of 1862 was dedicated to Mikhail Lermontov. This issue consisted of one page with a lithograph for the poet’s painting “Memories of the Caucasus”, drawings by Alexander Arnoldi called “The balcony of the Umanov House, where Mikhail Lermontov lived while in Pyatigorsk”, “Mikhail Lermontov’s grave at the Pyatigorsk Cemetery in the first year after his death”, and “Rebrov’s House in Kislovodsk — the setting of the novel ‘A Hero of Our Time’”. The issue also included a drawing by Robert Schwede called “Lermontov on his Deathbed”.
In Russia, Georg Timm adopted the Russian-sounding name of Vasily Fyodorovich and entered the class of battle painting led by Professor Alexander Sauerweid at the Saint Petersburg Imperial Academy of Arts. Timm received a first-rank silver medal for his academic achievements.
After graduating from the academy, Vasily Timm studied in France, where he collaborated with the magazine “L’Illustration”. Timm spent the time between 1848 and 1851 in the Caucasus, where he took part in military operations, made sketches of genre and military scenes, and captured the various looks of Russian soldiers and highlanders.
Vasily Timm began publishing the famous “Russian Art Sheets” in 1851 in Saint Petersburg. In the publisher’s note, Timm expanded on the goals and nature of the magazine, “Our goal is to portray every wonderful thing about Russia, everything close to our hearts, and all that is precious about the Russian way of living, except for anything foreign that has nothing to do with Russia.”
The magazine was published three times a month on the 1st, 10th, and 20th day. The publication looked like a large 36×53 cm illustrated sheet with lithographs, to which an explanatory text was attached. The text usually consisted of four columns, rarely eight. At the end of the year, the last issue featured a table of contents indicating all the drawings and articles published over the past twelve months.
The magazine circulated until 1862 when Wilhelm Timm began to suffer from an eye disease and decided to temporarily suspend the publication in the hope that it would be resumed no later than 1865. The artist left for Berlin and started working on ceramics.
The magazine’s 7th issue of 1862 was dedicated to Mikhail Lermontov. This issue consisted of one page with a lithograph for the poet’s painting “Memories of the Caucasus”, drawings by Alexander Arnoldi called “The balcony of the Umanov House, where Mikhail Lermontov lived while in Pyatigorsk”, “Mikhail Lermontov’s grave at the Pyatigorsk Cemetery in the first year after his death”, and “Rebrov’s House in Kislovodsk — the setting of the novel ‘A Hero of Our Time’”. The issue also included a drawing by Robert Schwede called “Lermontov on his Deathbed”.
