Wilhelm August Golicke
1802–1848 · Russian painter of Baltic German origin
Wilhelm August Golicke, also known as Vasily Aleksandrovich Golike, was a Russian painter of Baltic German origin who worked in St. Petersburg during the reigns of Alexander I and Nicholas I. He is best known for his portraits, though after his years with George Dawe he also produced genre scenes, still lifes and history paintings. His birth year is uncertain (1790 or 1802), and he died in 1848.
He grew up in the German community of Tallinn and trained in St. Petersburg in the studio of the English painter George Dawe. Between 1822 and 1828, Dawe, Golicke and another pupil, Alexander Polyakov, a serf, together painted 332 portraits of Tsarist generals who had distinguished themselves in the war against Napoleon. The canvases were hung in the Military Gallery of the Winter Palace. Dawe left him an annuity in his will.
After Dawe's death he studied at the Imperial Academy of Arts, graduating in 1832 and being named an "Independent Artist", a mark of official recognition. In 1837 he travelled to England and Italy. He died of cholera in St. Petersburg in 1848.
His work after Dawe consisted mostly of genre paintings, still lifes and historical scenes. Many of his works are held at the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow.