Alexei Kondratyevich Savrasov was a Russian landscape painter and one of the founding members of the Peredvizhniki movement. He was born in Moscow and studied at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, where he became close friends with Ivan Shishkin. He began exhibiting his works in 1851 and quickly gained recognition for his masterful handling of light and shadow. Savrasov's paintings are known for their delicate tonality and poetic mood, often depicting the Russian countryside in different seasons and times of day. His most famous works include "The Rooks Have Returned" (1871), "View of the Moscow Kremlin" (1875), and "Winter Road" (1871). His painting "The Rooks Have Returned" is widely regarded as one of the most iconic works of Russian landscape painting. In addition to his painting, Savrasov was also an influential teacher, and many of his students went on to become famous artists in their own right. He served as a professor at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture and played a significant role in the development of the Peredvizhniki movement, which sought to bring art out of the galleries and into the public sphere. Savrasov died in Moscow in 1897, leaving behind a legacy as one of the greatest landscape painters in Russian history.