Brief Biography-Maxim Vorobiev studied under the Russian veduta artist Fyodor Yakovlevich Alekseyev in Saint Petersburg. He began teaching at the Imperial Academy in 1815, a post he held for the remainder of his life. He gained a commission to sketch various sites throughout Palestine and the Middle East, after which he received a pension for the undertaking. Tsar Nicholas 1 engaged him to draw and paint scenes during the Russo-Turkish War, particularly views from the battles of Varna. Unfortunately, his health deteriorated dramatically when his wife died in 1840. His work became significantly reduced due to grief and alcoholism, and he died in virtual poverty. Ivan Shishkin was one of his many successful students, and his adopted son, Sokrat, was a renowned landscape artist.