Кающийся грешник

Nikolai Nikolaevich Ge (Russian: Николай Николаевич Ге; 27 February [O.S. 15 February] 1831 – 13 June [O.S. 1 June] 1894) was a Russian painter who was influential in the development of Russian symbolism. He was famous for his works on historical and religious subjects.

Nikolai Nikolaevich Ge was born on 27 February [O.S. 15 February] 1831 in Voronezh, Russia, to a family in the Russian nobility. His great-grandfather, who was a French nobleman, immigrated to Russia during the 18th century and married a Russian woman. The original French spelling of the surname was Gay, and many French sources use this spelling rather than the Russian transliteration. Ge's mother died of cholera when he was three months old.

Ge grew up on a family estate in Popelukhy near Mogilev-Podolskiy in the region of Podolia. His grandmother and a serf nurse cared for him. He graduated from the No. 1 Gymnasium in Kiev where Mykola Kostomarov was one of his teachers. Then he studied physics and mathematics at Kiev University and Saint Petersburg University.

In 1850, Ge gave up his career in science and enrolled in the Imperial Academy of Arts in Saint Petersburg.