Fyodor Shekhtel was an architect and illustrator, and one of the founders of Russian Art Nouveau. Born in Saint Petersburg into a family of Russified Germans. At the age of six, he moved with his family to Saratov. After his father’s death and his mother’s departure to Moscow, he remained in Saratov, where he continued his education. In 1875, he graduated from the school at the Tiraspol Roman Catholic Gymnasium and moved to Moscow to join his mother, who was employed at the Tretyakov household. In Moscow, he enrolled in the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, though he did not complete his studies. He subsequently worked in the architectural studio of Alexander Kaminsky. Fyodor Shekhtel distinguished himself both as an architect and as an illustrator. He reconstructed the building of the Moscow Art Theatre, designed the Livadia Theatre in Saint Petersburg and the Antei Theatre in Moscow, created a wooden mansion for Savva Morozov, the Ryabushinsky Mansion, and numerous other buildings. He also designed the cover for Anton Chekhov’s collection “Motley Stories” and contributed illustrations to Moscow newspapers and magazines such as “Sverchok” and “Budilnik”, collaborating with Nikolai Chekhov. In the early 1880s, he began working as a theatrical designer. He designed exhibition pavilions and created stage sets and costumes for productions at the Bolshoi Theatre and the Skomorokh Theatre. In 1882, he began collaborating with Mikhail Lentovsky, designing productions including “A Trip to the Moon”, "Forest Tramp", “Uriel Acosta”, “Little Thumb”, and many others. The Bakhrushin Theatre Museum holds costume and set design sketches for various productions, as well as photographs and letters by Fyodor Shekhtel.