Nikolai Stepanov

Born Apr. 21 (May 3), 1807, in Kaluga; died Nov. 23 (Dec. 5), 1877, in Moscow. Russian satirical graphic artist.

Stepanov was the artistic director of the journal Iskra (The Spark) from 1859 to 1864 and the editor-publisher of the journal Budil’nik (Alarm Clock). Many of his caricatures appeared in the two journals. Stepanov was one of the originators of the sculptural caricature and the political journalistic caricature in Russia. Distinguished by their democratic tendencies, his most important works unmask the bureaucracy of the civil service. Stepanov’s best works are notable for the ability to typify social characteristics and for the skillful rendering of pose and gesture. A number of Stepanov’s caricatures appeared in the magazines Eralash (Hodgepodge), Sovremennye shutki (Contemporary Jokes, 1856), and Znakomye (Acquaintances, 1857–58).