Roubaud Franz Alekseevich (1856-1928), the outstanding battle-painter and the founder of Russian panoramic art. He painted about 200 genre battle works of art. He was an author of 3 panoramas “Assault of aul Akhulgo” (1890), “Assault on June 6, 1855” (1905), “Borodino Battle” (1912).

Roubaud was born on June 3/15 in Odessa in the family of a French merchant who was a migrant from Marseilles. From 1865 he studied in Odessa in drawing school of fine art Society. His outstanding abilities in drawing confirmed him in his desire of being a painter. He continued his art education in Royal Bavaria Academy of Arts (1878-1883). The well-known artist U.Brandt taught him.

After he completed his education in Academy he devoted his creative work to the battle painting. He painted series of pictures from the Caucasus Wars’ history for the military historical museum in Tiflis (1885-1895). This period of work was finished with the panorama ”Assault of aul Akhulgo”’s creation. It was shown in Munich, Paris, N.Novgorod (1896), Sevastopol (1909-1911). Some preserved fragments of the panorama are kept in the folk museum of local lore in Makhachkala. His contemporaries adored the panorama. He was given a tittle of the professor by Bavaria Academy of Arts.

His 3rd panorama “Borodino battle” was created to the 100 anniversary of the Patriotic War (1812). It was opened in the special building on Chistiye Prudy (Clean Ponds) in Moscow (1912). (After being restored the panorama was recreated in the new building on Kutuzovskiy Av. (1962)).

In 1904-1912 he was the professor, the head of battle class in St.Petersburg Academy of Arts. His learners were the famous soviet battle artists like M.B.Grekov, M.I.Avilov, P.S.Dobrynin, etc. While living in Munich he organized Russian sections at International Art Exhibitions on the instructions of St.Petersburg Academy of Art in order to introduce creative works of Russian painters to the world community.

F.A.Roubaud became the Full Member of St.Petersburg Academy of Art in 1910. He left Russia for Germany in autumn 1912.

He died on March 13, 1928 in Munich.