I.P. Vol'skii entered the Academy of Arts in 1833 and won the silver medal in 1839 for his Perspective View of a Staircase. He was later elected Academician of the Academy for perspective watercolour drawing, living and teaching in St. Petersburg.

The corner shrine with rows of icons is an unusual feature since the emphasis in Russian interior views of this date is more on the fahionable Western taste that dominated aristocratic Russian decorating practices until very late in the nineteenth century