Fyodor Solntsev was one of the most remarkable graphic artists of the XIXth century. Schooled as a historical painter he devoted himself to images of antiquities and results of archaeological investigations. He has masterly depicted various subjects of research, from the Greek and Phanagoria pieces of virtu to Old Russian artworks of the XIIth-XVIIth century. Such kind of specialization and tastes were developed under the influence of his tutor Alexei Olenin, president of the Imperial Academy of Arts, and Emperor Nicholas I, who guided his work during the ensuing years.

Born into a family of serfs in april 1801, Solntsev obtained a manumission in 1815. He was admitted to the Academy of Arts and trained as a portrait painter. Succeeded in education he earned a medal for his final examination painting and started working for the Academy as a pensioner.

Since 1830s Solntsev travelled a lot to the main old Russian towns and spent many time in Moscow and the Moscow Kremlin. In the second half of the XIXth century the painter worked at a monumental project of a great historical and cultural value, i.e. publication of the "Antiquities of the Russian State". This collection of articles and illustrations, revealing the antiquities and artworks of Russia, covers icons and church artifacts, the tsars' personal belongings and clothes, arms and armour, costumes, domestic utensils and architectural monuments. The project had a great success therefore a special committee was formed on 27 April 1844 to organize the publishing process. The publication was authorised and financed by Emperor Nicholas I, and was edited under the supervision of Count Stroganov, using the original illustrations of F. Solntsev. That limited edition is regarded as the best example of Russian lithography of the mid-XIXth century, and an invaluable reference source. Only 600 copies were published and Solntsev himself considered the complete set of works to be an extremely rare book.

An unabridged edition of the "Antiquities of the Russian State", spanning 7 volumes, has been preserved in several copies only in museum collections.

Nowadays funds of the Moscow Kremlin museum include about 1400 water-colours and drawings by Solntsev. The virtual exhibition represents only few artworks, revealing the main conception and stylistics of this Armoury collection.