The exhibition is dedicated to the establishment of artistic education in the 18th century and shows how European academic traditions shaped the system of artist training in Russia. The foundation consists of works by masters that served as examples for students and reflect the development of the animalistic genre and still life. The project reveals the history of the teaching classes of the Imperial Academy of Arts, where the most important methodology was the copying of exemplary works by European and domestic masters. The basis of the exhibition is the painting and graphics of artists whose works were used in teaching, as well as archival materials and rare publications from the 18th century. Particular attention is paid to two areas of study - the depiction of animals, birds, flowers, and fruits. Works by P. de Vos, I. F. Groot, K. F. Knapp, D. Segers, J. B. Oudry, and other authors, whose creations served as examples for students, are presented. Guests will see how secular genres of painting were formed in Russia, trace the path from the decorative abundance of baroque to the rational art of the Enlightenment, and get acquainted with the symbolism of objects hidden in the paintings. The exhibition allows tracing the evolution of chamber genres that became the foundation of the landscape and genre school and remembering the names of artists who studied in these classes and defined the development of Russian art. Find other exhibitions in St. Petersburg on KUDAGO.